CHAPTER 20
Aaron
I laughed to myself on the way to work the next morning. I usually looked forward to going in—one of the benefits of loving my work. I genuinely loved what I did, which I knew was a blessing not many got to enjoy. Too many people lived in a fog from day to day, or in a windowless hell like the one I’d rescued Kenzie from. I didn’t take my good fortune for granted.
Still, there was something extra special about this particular morning, something that put an extra spring in my step as I showered and groomed, dressed and enjoyed a cup of coffee while reading the paper. My morning routine seemed even more enjoyable than usual.
I knew it was all because of her.
I didn’t like thinking Kenzie had so much influence over me, but the evidence was all there in front of me. She was a special person, unlike anyone I’d ever met. I didn’t look forward to the tongue lashing she’d probably give me over the clothes, but it would all be a lot of huffing and puffing to no real purpose.
She would be wearing the clothes I’d sent. I knew that much. And she would come around to the practical nature of my decision to replace her wardrobe. A woman in her position had to dress as such, especially if she worked for a high-end clothing line. She would represent the brand wherever she went. And if that meant getting rid of a lot of polyester and cheap crap, so much the better.
I got to the office at my usual time, long before most of my employees got in. I’d found the early morning to be my most productive time of day, and it wasn’t rocket science: the fewer distractions, the better. I loved feeling like I had the jump on other executives who probably had just finished their shower by the time I’d cleared out my inbox.
The only person I could count on beating me was Jeanine. Sure enough, she waited for me behind her desk. And she did not look happy.
She stood as soon as the elevator doors opened in front of her, one hand up, signaling me to stop. She glanced at the door to my office, which was open. The spring in my step disappeared. Funny how quickly that could happen when at the helm of a billion-dollar business.
“Who opened my door?” I asked. She held a finger to her lips, glancing over again.
“I can see him from here,” she whispered. “He’s been sitting there since I got in. I had to put him somewhere.”
“Who?” I asked, keeping my voice low. Everything about her body language suggested trouble.
“Reed Kingsley.”
I wasn’t a man easily knocked off-balance, but that did it to me. “Him? What’s he doing here?” I already had a pretty good idea, having given him plenty of heads up about stealing Kenzie from him with the note on my personal paper.
“I honestly don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “He showed up only a few minutes after I did. I wonder if he was waiting outside for me to walk in. How does he even know who I am? He called me by my first name and everything.”
The son of a bitch. So he thought he could do intel on me, huh?
No. It didn’t work that way.
He was about to get a lesson in what happened to people who overstepped their boundaries.
Jeanine looked like she didn’t know whether to cry or laugh or have a nervous breakdown. I put a hand on her shoulder, giving her my best attempt at a smile. “It’s all right,” I said. “I’ll take care of him. He won’t be here for long.” I started toward my office, then thought twice and turned back to my assistant. “When Kenzie gets here, don’t tell her about this. Okay?”
“Okay,” Jeanine nodded. “You got it.” She was used to doing what I asked without questioning my motives. It hadn’t taken long to train her to my liking.
Once I stepped into my office, every brain cell was focused on one thing: Making sure Reed knew what a small, insignificant little cockroach he was.
Look at him, I thought, eyeing him up. All the money in the world, and the man couldn’t get a decent haircut or find a suit that fit him.
He reminded me of a clueless kid, fresh out of college on his first job interview. He might have had the money to buy Madison Media Group from under me, but he would never have the taste, sophistication, or leadership skills it took to be a successful man.
“Reed Kingsley. I wish I could say it was a pleasure. What brings you here?” I sat behind my desk, folding my hands. His beady eyes nearly burned holes into me.
“You know why I’m here, so cut the bullshit.” He crossed one ankle over the opposite knee, slouching back in his chair like he owned the place. My blood would have boiled had I not learned to exercise control at an early age.
I pressed my still-folded hands together, reminding myself to stay calm—that he’d stepped inside my empire and not the other way around. I wouldn’t play his game.
“Fine. We know why you’re here; you didn’t want your toy while you had it, but you want it very much now that it’s gone.”
“Is that how you refer to her? As a toy? Wow, no wonder you took the liberty of resigning for her.” He narrowed his eyes.
“I can tell you read the Hardy Boys books growing up,” I smirked. “So good at solving mysteries.”
He sneered, tapping his fingertips together as though his patience were wavering. “Enough. I want her back, and I’m here to make sure I get her back.”
I nodded, pursing my lips as if in deep thought. I’d anticipated this, but I hadn’t guessed he would do it in person.
“Who says she wants to go back there? I mean, honestly, you hardly made her life easy while she worked for you.”
“Oh, and you know all about it, right? You know what that tells me? That you have a personal relationship with her. Now, why would you start dating a woman who worked for me, unless you only did it to work out some kind of revenge plot?”
“You self-absorbed ass,” I growled. “No wonder she was so miserable, if that’s how highly you think of her. Like she’s nothing but a pawn in our game. Give it a rest, Reed.” It unnerved me, how quickly he had come to the truth of the matter. And when it came from his mouth, my plan sounded slimy and cheap.
“Isn’t that it?”
“Not at all. I happened to meet Miss Olson socially. We started talking about work. I asked her what she did, and she told me everything I needed to know about the kind of boss you are. You used her, worked her like a dog, and never intended to give her what she deserved. I do. I found her work, and she impressed me. I decided to show her how it feels to be appreciated and respected instead of treated like a slave.”
He scoffed. “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?” he asked. “It’s not like I didn’t pay her.”
“But I pay her much more than you did,” I murmured. “Much, much more. What she deserves.”
He shrugged. “Now that I know she was so unhappy, I’m willing to make up for it. Believe me, when she finds out how sweet the deal is, she won’t think twice about coming back. And don’t think you can outbid me, either. You’re not equipped to offer her what I can.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Come on. Ricardo de Lugo might be big in the fashion world, but when it comes to media, no one has the reach that Madison Media Group does. Besides, you’re tiny compared to us. And young. I can put her right at the top, overseeing entire branches of our publications. Editing, creative direction, whatever she wants. I’ll fly her around the world. She can have whatever office she wants, however many staff she wants, all the perks she wants—expense account, company car, the works. At four times her old salary.”
I had to admit: it was a sweet offer, and one I couldn’t make. While my company grew by leaps and bounds, it didn’t have the international profile of Madison Media Group. They were poised to become the next Hearst. Reed could offer Kenzie much more, and he was just the type of person to wave a big, shiny carrot in front of her face and think she would go for it.
The worst part was, she might. I couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t.
“You don’t treat her like an equal now. Who’s to say you wouldn’t treat her like the company maid even with all those perks and the salary?”
“That’s none of your business. And watch yourself—your human side is showing.” My blood wasn’t boiling, thanks to my self-control, but it was at a definite hard simmer. And make no doubts, I wanted to wring his skinny neck.
“Get out of here,” I ordered. “You bore me with this shit.”
“I’ll do that.” He stood, smirking. “I just thought I should prepare you for her inevitable exit. A lot more courtesy than you extended to me.”
“Because, unlike me, you don’t deserve courtesy.” I showed him to the door, happy to see him go. It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed between us that I breathed a sigh of relief.
“What was that all about?” Jeanine asked, sitting behind me at her desk. For once, it didn’t annoy me that she asked a question.
I shook my head as I turned to her. “Nothing to worry about. He’s throwing a fit because I stole his girl away from him.” I glanced down the hall toward Kenzie’s office. The door had been open when I arrived, but it had been closed since then. “She’s here?”
“Yes. She got here only a few minutes ago. I didn’t tell her you were in a meeting.”
“Thank you. And if you could let her know about her next assignment, that would be great. I’ll forward you the information to present to her. I have a few things to take care of.”
“Sure thing.” I could sense the waves of relief pouring off of my assistant, and I couldn’t blame her. She knew there was no love lost between Reed and myself. She’d been privy to much of my email communication for years, and I had urged her to keep the deal with Madison Media Group top-secret. I knew she could be trusted.
I closed the door behind me after entering my office, glaring at the chair Reed had defiled just by sitting in. I had never been one to pay credence to talk of energy in a building or a room, but there was no denying the tension that still hung in the air.
Or it might have just been me.
He could easily take her away from me, ruining my plan for revenge. A plan he had seen through. How did he manage to do it?
Maybe because he thought much the same way. He was a sneaky, conniving bastard who would do anything to get ahead. It wasn’t much of a stretch for him to believe I would steal Kenzie for revenge.
I had to keep it from her. It was the only way I could keep her with me. There had to be a way to position myself between the two of them and stop the offer before it reached her, then find some way to convince Reed not to hire her back. Or to win her over to the point where she wouldn’t consider leaving.
But it wasn’t just that, I realized. Even if she refused Reed’s offer, he would surely out me for hiring her out of revenge. He’d tell her the whole sordid story, probably exaggerating to make himself look like the victim. I couldn’t stand the thought of her believing him even for a single second.
Her new assignment would keep her busy and in love with her new job long enough for me to come up with a counter attack. I only had so much time before he’d pull the offer together, and I couldn’t lose what I already considered to be mine.