Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 82060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Literally,” Samantha added.
The door opened and we all looked that way.
Jeffrey was in it.
“Malia. My office. Now.”
He turned on his heel and stormed through the cubbies toward his office.
With Samantha and Robin staring at me, I got up and followed him.
“Close the door,” he snapped when I made it to his office.
I closed the door and stood in front of it.
“Did you defy my direct orders about our client, Remostros?” he asked.
“Sorry?” I asked back.
“Remostros. I told you to let that lie and keep it confidential. Did you speak to anyone about it?”
“I…” I faked confusion. “Wait, you mean that empty file?”
“Yes,” he said through his teeth.
“Honestly, I didn’t think anything about it. I mean, it was empty, and you said you’d handle it and I’ve been busy with other things.” I looked to the door behind me, still faking it, then back to him. “Did I mess up? Is something wrong? Did you need my assistance with something on that?”
He visibly ground his teeth before he kept talking through them. “No. It’s fine. Get back to that discovery.”
I nodded, but still faking it, I asked with concern, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he forced out. “Thank you. But that discovery needs your attention.”
“Of course,” I murmured, then lit out of there trying not to look like I was lighting out of there.
Samantha gave it some time after I returned before she asked, “What was that?”
“My guess, he fucked around and found out,” I told her.
She smiled.
I got to work.
I’d learned to keep the Bluetooth bud in my ear when I was in the car, considering I was a Rock Chick now, and they knew I didn’t have time at work to field calls, but they were rabid communicators. And it wasn’t all just invitations. It was also that they needed style advice, or to complain about their hot guys and how their overabundance of testosterone made them behave, or just to shoot the shit.
I liked it.
I’d missed it.
I’d had a big posse in high school, and I loved having that back.
But this time, on my way home that evening, it was me who called Ally.
“Yo, chickie,” she answered.
“The shit hit the fan today at work.”
Now she was faking it. “Did it?”
“Ally, after Carrie, the woman he’s cheating on his wife with, shouted at him in his office, he came right to me and asked about Remostros.”
“What’d you say?”
“I pretended I forgot all about it.”
“Good.”
“But he latched right onto me,” I told her.
“Assholes like him need someone to blame, considering, in their minds, they can do no wrong. He’s looking for someone to blame.”
“Should I be worried?”
“It’s impossible for this to blow back on you.”
“He can fire me, Ally.”
“He has to have cause, Malia.”
“It’s an employment-at-will state.”
“That’s bullshit, and you above everyone knows it. That protects an employer only so far. And when you’re lashing out because you got caught with your dick in a woman not your wife at the same time you’re moving marital assets to hide them from said wife, you best not be firing a valued employee in retaliation for some slight you have zero evidence she gave you.”
I blew out a breath.
Because she was right.
“Just be cool. He’ll turn his attention to someone else,” Ally advised.
“All right.”
“See you at Liam’s game on Friday. Ren and I are coming.”
“Great, see you then.”
We hung up and I’d almost made it home without another RC interaction before my phone rang.
Tod.
I smiled and answered, “Hey, Tod.”
“Fuchsia, tea rose and lilac blue,” he replied.
I thought about it.
“Don’t answer now,” he said into my thoughts. “I found a bouquet. It…is…life. I’m inspired. I’ll text you a picture. Byeeeeee.” With that, he hung up.
I smiled again, and as I was pulling into the garage, I got a bing on my phone that I had a text.
Once I parked, I pulled it out and looked at it.
Tod was right.
That bouquet was life.
Now I was inspired.
And excited.
My fluffy happy-goodness cloud grew even fluffier.
I texted, Roll with it.
Then I texted, Does it have Toni’s approval?
I hit the remote to lower the garage door, grabbed my purse and headed to the house.
Halfway there, I got a return text from Tod that read, Of course it does! You’ll be a goddess. I swear. It’s perfect!
I’d seen some of the pictures of the other RCHB weddings.
I trusted him.
I hit the back door, the laundry room, but stopped dead in the doorway to the kitchen.
Because Darius wasn’t cooking.
Darius wasn’t doing anything but sitting at a stool by the island, a full wineglass and an open bottle beside him, staring at me like he wanted to murder me.
Chapter Twenty
Scrapper
“Did you forget to tell me something?” he asked in that dangerous voice he’d used when things first sparked off between him and Danni weeks ago.
God, in the ten minutes since I talked with Ally, did she call Darius and fill him in on my work situation?