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“Miss Jones, you are not a ...
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“You didn’t ‘take a hit for the team’. By jumping rank, you spit in the face of the company rules and completely ignored the chain of command. That’s not something you can brush off by claiming you did it for the right reasons.” “It was an emergency and I was th...
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“If you hadn’t tossed the train off the rails, we could have gotten Sutherburg to hear another pitch, but you had to jump on an impulse and blow everything up.” “Even if we’d gotten a chance to pitch a brand-new idea, it still would have been rejected by him because your angle ...
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“I stand by my decision to intervene.” He glares at me. I glare right back.
“If Sutherburg had agreed to your pitch, we might be having a different conversation right now. But he didn’t. And that, Miss Jones, is on you.” He lets out a deep breath. “Now that we’ve discussed the first problem… let’s discuss the second.”
“If this is about Sutherburg mentioning your daughter—” “Don’t try to shift the blame to Sutherburg. This is ...
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“How dare you throw my family into the ring like our private business ...
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“It wasn’t intentional.” I try to explain myself. “And Sutherburg was the one who mentioned your daughter. I had no intentions—” “I don’t give a damn what your intentions were!” he yells. “You had no right to go there without my permission.” I clasp my hands together. “I know. I’m sorry.” “Sorry?”
“You’re sorry? I don’t think you understand the scope of what you did, Miss Jones. I don’t care if it costs this company millions of dollars, you do not negotiate with my family.”
“That outburst might cost us a multimillion-dollar contract. Be prepared to take responsibility.”
“I won’t go easy on you because you’re new to this, Miss Jones. Even if you’ve never stepped foot in a boardroom before, there are some lines you don’t cross. And today, you went too far.”
“I truly didn’t know about your daughter,” I blurt. His face goes cold.
“Mess up again and I won’t be this kind,” Alistair hisses. Kind? This is his version of kind? Does this man own a dictionary?
out, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll oversee the Yazmite project, take notes and get coffee as quietly as possible. Breathe too hard and I might start regretting my decision.”
I take pride in everything I do. It sucks that I tried and failed. It sucks even more to be called out so harshly for it.
“Miss Jones,” he touches my hand softly. “I was hoping you hadn’t left yet.” “What do you mean?” “I’ll take you back to the office.” “Is Alistair looking for me?” “No.” He gestures to the door. “Uh… I’ll catch the subway.” He shakes his head. “I have my instructions.” “From Alistair?”
“Is Alistair waiting in the car?” “No, he’s not.” Bernard motions for me to follow him.
“Is something wrong, Miss Jones?” “Not really,” I murmur. He goes quiet. “In fact, yeah. Something’s wrong.”
“This. What’s up with this?” “What are you referring to?” “Some things went down in the Baby Box meeting today.” “What kind of things?” “Let’s just say Alistair and I didn’t end the meeting on a good note. He was pissed.” “Hm.”
“Why did he arrange my ride back to the office?” “Didn’t yo...
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“Yeah but—” “Mr. Alistair might be a hard man to please, but he’s not unreasonable. He takes responsibility for those under him.” “I’m his responsibility?” “You’re his assistant, aren’t you?” “Second assistant,”
“He takes care of his people as much as he demands from them.” Bernard smiles warmly at me. I roll my eyes. “Another Alistair cheerleader?”
“I don’t get what you mean.” “Nothing,” I murmur, folding my arms over my chest. “Have I answered your question?” “Not to a satisfying degree.”
“But I have a feeling you’re not going to badmouth Alistair any time soon, so I won’t push for more.” “I have no reason to talk ill of him. He’s been good to me.” Good? Is there a good bone in tha...
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connection. “Bernard, I had no idea. Is your wife okay?” “She’s great now. She beat it. But beating cancer was easier than paying off our debt. That’s when Alistair swooped in. He paid all our medical fees and allowed me to take time off work to care for her.” “Are you sure it wasn’t his twin brother?”
“Look, Bernard, I’m really, really happy that your wife’s okay.” He nods. “But you have to understand that the Holland Alistair you’re talking about is not the Alistair I’ve met.” He arches an eyebrow. “Maybe you have met that side of him, and you just can’t see it.”
In the distance, Alistair stomps down the hallway, Ezekiel hot on his heels. The executive assistant looks frantic. I know that poor man is receiving the backlash from the Baby Box disaster. My eyes shift to the boss. Alistair’s still angry. I can tell. I glare a hole into his beautiful neck. If I aimed my pen just so… would it hit the target?
“Did you really drag Alistair’s kid into the Baby Box proposal?” I turn away from her. She walks around my chair to face me. “Hey.”
“I’m not in the mood, okay?” “The news is all over the office,” she snaps. “You ruined the Baby Box deal.” “Look, if you want to take a dump on me, take a number and get in line. It’s not your turn today.”
“What’s your name again?” “None of yo...
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Her eyes land there. “Kenya.” “Since we’re making introductions, why don’t you tell me who you are?” “It’s Heather.”
“Heather, you weren’t at the meeting, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t run around listening to gossip. What I did at Baby Box has nothing to do with you.”
“I heard what you did.” She leans down. “And it doesn’t sit well with me.” “Is that so?” I doubt she can hear the sarcasm. She’s too busy enjoying the sound of her own voice. “Mr. Alistair doesn’t talk about his daughter. Ever. Not to us and definitely not to clients. You need to know your place, errand girl.”
“Thanks, Botox girl. I’ll keep that in mind.” Gasps ripple around the room.
“You’re despicable.”
“Step back now while I’m asking nicely.”
“I’ll tell you right now; the way we do things around here is different. You don’t open your mouth in a team meeting unless someone asks you to. And you don’t bring up other people’s families unless you have a death wish. Mess with me and I’ll show you what happens to people who don’t stay in their lane.” “Is that a threat?” “Just a little advice.” “Thanks for the tip.”
“But Alistair already ripped my behind for what I did today. So don’t worry. You can save your little intimidation act for someone who has the patience.”
“Mess with me again and you’ll find out what it means to see your backside from your top lip.” “What?”
“That’s a threat. Und...
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“You’re a thug!” “That’s right. I come from a long line of don’t give a damn. And don’t you forget it.”
“Do you need something?” He smiles. “Follow me.”
“Why don’t you sit? I’m making coffee for Alistair and he mentioned you enjoyed a good brew.” “He told you that? Today?” “Oh not today.” Ezekiel’s neck flushes. “He had… different words today.” “I can imagine.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Ezekiel says as he fixes the coffee. “There will be other collaborations.”
Maybe he wasn’t out to get revenge before, but this isn’t just business anymore.
This feels personal.
Miss Jones keeps inhabiting my dreams, I wonder who’s beating whom.
Grunting, I motion for him to get in the car. “Let’s go.”
“Alistair—” “She’s in my dreams,” I blurt. He goes still. “Claire?” “Always. But I wasn’t talking about her.” My heart slams against my ribs. “Miss Jones.” His eyes widen a bit. “What kind of dreams?” He taps his fingers on the table. “Sexual? Is she naked?” “Dammit, Darrel. I’m not dreaming of another woman naked while my wife is right there.” “What do you mean ‘right there’?”
“The nightmare. Miss Jones is inside the nightmare?” “She bursts into the hotel room. Into that… memory. She gives me attitude and kind of shocks me awake.” Surprise passes over his usually blank face. “I can’t get her out.”
