“I NEED THESE numbers on my desk, Emma. Now, not tomorrow or in two hours. You were supposed to give them to me yesterday.’’ I cross my arms and lean back in my big black chair. This shitty week has me so tensed it’s not even funny.
Emma, a young woman in her thirties who has yet to lose the weight of her second pregnancy, flushes. Her round cheeks take a deep red, so blazing that it gets me worried, but I don’t move or soften my words. That’s the thing when you’re younger than most of the employees, and you’re their boss. You have to keep a hard armor, show that while you can be understanding and kind, nobody can mess with you and nobody can see you as a dumb heiress. I have to constantly assert my position and prove I deserve it.
Emma nods and turns around, half-running, half-walking out of my office, almost toppling over Brock who jumps out of her way, catching a file from his arms before it lands on the floor. His thick eyebrows go up high on his forehead as he watches me put some order on my desk with jerky movements.
“What was that? It looks like Emma is about to either cry or kill someone.’’
Brock puts a few files on my desk, and I deftly grab them. At least someone can give me what I ask in a timeline manner, something I was starting to doubt as possible since all week long I had to play the big bad bitchy boss.
He leans on my desk and grabs the files I have in hands. I groan at him and let them go to massage my temples and close my eyes. Fortunately, the end of the day and week is in one hour top. Soon, I’ll be able to go back home and enjoy a peaceful night watching the silly tv shows I missed.
“Addy?’’
Startled, I re-open my eyes and groan. “Emma isn’t doing her work as she’s asked. I get it, she has two small kids to take care of, and it means that her mind can’t always be fully focused on her work, but I’ve been begging for…’’ I trail off and wave in the air, brushing it away. “Never mind.’’
His phone beeps, probably warning him of an incoming email or text and he checks it quickly, typing a short answer with his strong fingers, very deft on the screen before he refocuses his attention on me. His golden eyes are serious, inquiring and I’m already squirming.
Since what happened the previous weekend, things have been strange for lack of a better word. We’re still attached at the hip, still very close, but when I lock eyes with him, I can’t help the sensations conjured by my traitorous memories. I see Brock like a woman sees a man and it’s difficult to hide it, more so when that man is your best friend.
“Are you sure it’s work related? You’ve been on edge all week.’’
I frown and ignore the other thought bugging me. “We lost two clients this week, Brock. Two! Since the company hired us, it never happened.’’
“Be serious. We knew some companies wouldn’t renew their contract. We’re still doing great, way better than any other in the field.’’
I laugh humorlessly and open a drawer of my slick desk and take the first file on the top and extend it to Brock. He eyes it as if the thing is poisonous and then grabs it.
“We lost the first contract because the wonderful Leo Gillian, your college friend, fucked the wife of Browsman & Colton’s CEO. How would you qualify this?’’
Brock blanches at seeing the pictures attached to the letter written by Mr. Colton and the termination contract. He closes the file and drops it on the desk. He runs a hand over his jawline, his eyes turning darker. If there is something we both have in common, it’s work ethic. This screw-up is unforgivable.
“Does your father know?’’
“He heard about it this morning. His assistant called him to give him the rundown of this awful week. Needless to say that our chat didn’t go well since I’ve been the one pushing him to hire Leo in the first place.’’
“I’m sorry, Addy. I’ll talk to Malcolm.’’
I stand up and pace in front of the big windows overlooking the Chicago River. My ponytail swishes against the nape of my neck. I take off my brown jacket and drop it on the back of the chair. I’m pretty sure that my cream-colored blouse is sticking to me from sweating from nerves.
“Let it go. I handled him, but I don’t know what to do about Leo anymore. It’s not the first time something like this came back to me. He’s known to be unprofessional as soon as there’s a short skirt and exposed cleavage around.’’
The sound of a chair scraping the floor makes me turn around. Brock stands up. His tall body making it impossible to miss him, even in a big office like mine. He tugs on the sleeves of his light blue pressed shirt and black vest. “He made a big mistake that cost the company a client. There’s just one thing to do. You have to fire him.’’
I shake my head, already cringing at the thought. Leo has never been my biggest fan, and it all goes from way back when I mocked his flirting attempts on me at the first party I went to freshman year. If I hired him to begin with, it was just for Brock.
“I’ll talk with him before going to this extreme.’’
Brock walks to me, puts his big hands on my shoulders and locks eyes with me. “You can’t put the company in jeopardy. If he can’t be professional and keep it in his pants, then he needs to go. It’s that simple, and you know it.’’
“He’s going to be so mad,’’ I whine, taking advantage to let go of my façade while the door is closed and we’re alone.
He smiles and squeezes my shoulders before he steps back, checking the time on his watch. “Do you want me to be here? I can be the buffer, which wouldn’t be anything new when it comes to you two.’’
I exhale heavily and walk back to my desk, ready for the task I hate the most in my position. “If you don’t have plans, I’d like you to stay.’’
“What plans do you think I could have?’’
I grab the receiver on my desk and glance at Brock over my shoulder. “I don’t know. A date? Anything?’’
“A date? What are you talking about?’’
“Hey! I’m just saying it’s Friday and it wouldn’t be far-stretched if you had a date.’’ I wave the receiver in the air and then scowl at my moving hand. I press a button on the phone, and after the first ring my assistant picks up. “Julie, I need you to call Leo Gillian and tell him to meet me in my office immediately, thank you.’’
I sit down heavily on my chair and lean on my elbows, hands over my eyes. Then, I feel Brock’s hand moving up and down my back. While it’s soothing enough that most of the aches in my back from the week’s tension vanish, it’s also very agreeable. Agreeable in the way that goosebumps pebble my skin under my blouse, and my body temperature rises without warning beforehand. It’s agreeable in a lust-filled way.
“It’s not your fault, Addy. You gave him his chance.’’
“I just hate firing people. I know how hard it is to find another job.’’
I sit straighter when someone knocks at the door, and Brock retreats toward the couch against the wall near the windows. I take a deep breath.
“Come in.’’
Leo Gillian walks in with a deep frown already on his face. He’s not like Brock in the looks department. While Brock is very manly looking, rough and edgy in his charm, Leo has boyish charm women mistakenly think that it makes him a safe bet. But Leo is as much a player as Brock, maybe more so because he doesn’t care about anything but his next lay. I thought, or perhaps is it hope, that he left his old ways back in college, but apparently not.
Leo’s baby blue eyes glance at Brock before they settle on me. He closes the door behind him and walks to my desk before he takes a seat, folding his tall and lean body in front of me. His thin lips appear thinner than usual. His curly blond hair is as unkempt as always in a good way, but the typical pink glow on his cheeks isn’t anywhere in sight. He knows he made a huge mistake and for once he’s not acting his cocky self. At least, that’s a good point.
“Hi, Leo.’’
He shakes his head, his blond curls moving along, catching the light. “Cut to the chase. I know that you summoned me because of the mess with Mr. Colton’s wife.’’ His deep voice rings calm and sure in the quiet room.
I hear Brock move on the couch, the leather protesting under his weight. But I don’t look away from Leo’s face. I can’t decide if he regrets what happened or not. This man has always been tricky to read unless he has a few too many beers and he’s trying to flirt.
“We lost them as our client, Leo. They have been working with us for the last eight years! How do you think it looks when one of our employees sleeps with one of our clients' wife?’’
“I made a mistake, and I know that Addeline. It happens to everybody.’’
I laugh without humor and shake my head, disbelief filling me at hearing such words. “Can you hear yourself right now, Leo?’’ I point at him, anger rising fast to brush away the guilt at firing him that plagued me minutes ago. “We’re in Chicago, not in the deepest part of Nebraska. If you needed to get off, you could have gone out to find yourself someone who’s not related to our clients.’’
Leo crosses his arms over his lean chest and tilts his head up as if challenging me. I scowl harder.
“Don’t tell me you never covered Brock. I’m sure he fucked up too, but of course, you’re panting after him, so it’s different.’’
“Hey!’’ Brock suddenly yells, startling Leo and I both. My eyes widen at seeing him standing tall and fierce a couple of feet from my desk, his fists clenched and his eyes burning a hole in Leo’s head. “I take my job seriously. If there’s one thing I place above everything, it’s this company, and you know it. And leave Addy out of it, she’s not the one fucking it all up.’’
Leo looks back and forth between Brock and me, his blue eyes getting colder. “So what? Are you firing me?’’
“Yes.’’
Leo’s eyes widen like saucers as his breath catches in his throat. “Are you serious, Adeline?’’
“You’re not showing any sign of remorse, you disrespect Brock and me, you have no real interest in the company, so I don’t see your value anymore. Your termination contract and your last paycheck will be waiting for you at the front desk.’’
He stands up on weak legs. Suddenly, he’s not the same Leo I’ve known all these past years. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.’’
I avert my eyes on my entwined fingers and grit my teeth. Brock comes closer to me on my right. He clears his throat and toys with his watch. “She is doing her job, something you should have been doing too.’’
Leo laughs harshly, shaking his head again. “Right. You can be almighty, Brock. We all know that your job is secured here since you’re so tight with her. You can do no wrong.’’
“My place is secured as long as I do my job and I do it well. You can say whatever the hell you want, but you’re not going to make me doubt Cox Company or Addy’s integrity.’’
“Who knew you could have so much without fucking someone? Maybe I should have thought about that before I slept with your precious Addy when she hired me.’’ On that bomb, he walks out of the company and probably out of Brock and mine’s life.
To say that I’m frozen on my chair and gaping at the door is an understatement. I’m pretty sure I’m about to have an aneurysm or something equally grave. I can’t move or talk or even blink. I don’t feel my body or the warmth of the room anymore. I’m numb.
“What?’’ Brock’s voice breaks the silence and brings me back to life. The disbelief in his tone is unavoidable, and I already know his next question. “Is it true?’’
I cringe and finally find it in me to stare at my best friend who, as soon as he locks eyes with me, sends daggers at me. He already knows the answer, but it needs to be voiced. “Yes, but it was a one-time kind of thing. Nothing to remember or talk about, really.’’ I stumble on my words and blush under Brock’s scrutiny.
He leans over the top of my desk on his closed fists, his eyebrows bunched over his hard golden eyes. His mouth is stretched in a thin line almost inexistent. “You slept with Leo? The same Leo Gillian you hate and find—‘’
“Cut it, Brock.’’ I stand up and grab my handbag from the floor next to my feet. I made quick work of collecting my jacket and shake my head. “It’s my life.’’
I take four steps toward the door before Brock’s voice alter my tracks. “And what if you’re pregnant with my baby? Won’t I have a right to know who you fucked without me knowing?’’
I don’t turn around, but I tighten my grip on my jacket and handbag. “No, because we’re not a couple.’’
“I really don’t know you.’’
These simple words are like a knife straight to my heart and lungs. My eyes immediately water and a lump appears in my constricted throat. I can’t mutter a single parting word. Instead, I walk out, head hanging between my shoulders and eyes focused on my peep-toe nude high heels.