“May I be excused?” I asked, falling back on how I’d been brought up to be respectful to my elders no matter what. And I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I stayed there and let him insult me.
He pointed at me. “I like that she has manners.” Though he’d been looking in my direction, he hadn’t spoken to me. “Yes, you may leave.”
I hustled out of the room, only to be greeted by Scott and our boss, who ended a phone call when he spotted me.
“Miss Glicks, I’m sure this comes as no surprise that you can no longer work on this assignment. Additionally, you will be on administrative leave until a full review can be done to see how far you compromised this audit.”
A scream of frustration and anger wanted out more than words, so I nodded and held it in. When the door opened, and the younger King waved my boss in, I walked with as much dignity as I could in the opposite direction.
I didn’t make it halfway there when an arm hooked around mine to stop me.
Thirty-Two
KALEN
There was a moment when I thought I would kill my father. I’d already moved and stood right in front of the man.
“Dinnae talk about her like that or I’ll cut off your tongue and shove it down your gullet.”
The old man didn’t back down and only waved me off.
“I can’t understand you when you get like this. Speak English, son. Are you upset I called your pretty auditor a whore?”
Connor was there, which probably saved my father’s life. He held the arm that I’d been about to swing with.
“I warned yer. I won’t say it again. And don’t call me son. You haven’t earned that right.”
The old man laughed. “Don’t be a fool. That woman will only bring you grief. Take it from me. I loved your mother, gave her the world, and she left me.”
I shook off my brother. “Because you brought her here where she knew no one and left her on her own, only to screw around on her.”
He spread his arms. “I was building an empire for her, us. She tightened those legs of hers, and what was I supposed to do?”
I barreled toward the man who helped give me life, ready to take his. Connor, though slightly smaller than me, bear hugged me before I made good on my threats.
“You’re walking a tight rope, son. Those auditors have found something. If you’ve been working against me, I will make sure not only your life, but your mother’s is hell. And when you’re rotting in prison, my grandson will follow in my footsteps.”
“Calm down, big guy,” Connor said in my ear. “He’s not worth it. Think of Gabe.”
Hearing my son’s name was the only thing that calmed me.
“Let me go,” I demanded.
Connor did and went to the door.
Before he opened it, I said, “I’m only here because you’re a dying old man. Remember that.”
I wanted to punch a hole in the wall, but it was glass. When I passed the dobber Bailey had called fiancé, the little arsehole smirked at me. It didn’t matter. I needed to find my woman before she left thinking the worst of me.
She was heading to the elevator when I caught her.
“Wait. We need to talk.”
The fire that I loved that matched her hair rose and stiffened her spine.
She eyed the place where I held on to her and I let go. Then her narrowed eyes steadied blankly on mine.
“We. Don’t. Need. To. Talk. About. Anything. I’ve heard enough.”
“You haven’t heard everything.” When she angled her head like we should have it out right there in the open, I said, “Five minutes.”
She glanced at the watch I’d given her. “Counting.”
“Not here. Follow me.”
She wasn’t going to let me touch her, so I put my hand at the small of her back to guide her to my office.
We were stopped short by the very lawyer I spoke with at her holiday party.
“This isn’t advisable,” he said, his gaze bouncing between us.
“I need to speak with her.”
“Jeremy, I must caution against this. You and she cannot have any more contact.”
When had my father notified him?
“I need five minutes.”
I didn’t wait for him to approve and ushered her into my office, closing the door on my father’s right-hand man. She stopped and turned to face me, owning me in that moment.
There was so much I needed to say. So much more she needed to know. I was stopped short when she started clapping.
Thirty-Three
Bailey
“Congratulations. You had me completely fooled, but that’s what I am. A fool, isn’t it?”
“Lass.”
I jabbed a finger in his direction. “Somehow, I don’t think legally you can call me that anymore. Why don’t we go back to Miss Glicks? That’s how you saw me anyway.”
He prowled forward. I lifted the arm with all my bags in front of me as some sort of shield. “Don’t touch me,” I warned.