That brush-off comes with the same megawatt smile she gave me at Atlas 22 when she thought I was Dale.
“I’ll call you.” Fred cups his cell phone in his hand. “Thanks for everything, Bella.”
“No problem,” she mumbles back.
He turns to me, stopping mid-step to shove a finger into the center of my chest. “You’re an asshole.”
I’ve heard it before. I’ll likely hear it again before the day is over.
I step back to cease contact between my body and his. “Go now, Fred.”
“Duke didn’t fire people for no good reason,” he seethes. “He would never kick people out on the street like this.”
He’s right. Duke overlooked the bottom line to employ people who did virtually nothing all day. His last name gave him carte blanche to do whatever the fuck he wanted with his dad’s company.
In the process he was wasting millions of dollars a year. It’s my job to see that Garent Industr
ies survives the whims of Ivan’s prodigal son.
“Duke’s not here.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Your position doesn’t exist anymore, Fred. If you saved wisely, you could retire on that and the severance I generously gave you.”
“Generous?” He laughs in my face. “Duke was generous. You don’t know the meaning of the word.”
He’s likely right.
I glance at Isabella. Her fingers are nervously picking at the nail polish on her right thumb. Her gaze is focused on that, but I know she’s keenly listening to the exchange between Fred and me.
“It’s been a pleasure.” I toss Fred a grin because if nothing else, I’m sure as hell calm in the face of an insult. “See your way out of the building within the next fifteen minutes, or security will assist you.”
“Fucking jerk,” he shouts. “You can go straight to hell.”
I take a step to the side to allow him a clear path to the elevator.
“He was mad,” Isabella points out the obvious. “He needs that job.”
“He needs a stiff drink.” I button my suit jacket. “Your evening plans sound interesting.”
Pink blooms high on her cheeks. Jesus, she’s beautiful.
Whatever is on her agenda tonight, I’m certain it won’t end with her in bed with two men. Maybe that’s the bite of envy I feel making that assumption.
“It’s just drinks with Dale and…” Her voice trails when her desk phone rings.
“Good afternoon,” she chirps into the receiver. “Mr. Adler’s office. How can I help you?”
I watch her lips move as she launches into a conversation about the projected purchase of a company Duke had his eye on.
I’ll crush that deal later. I’m stuck back where she confessed that she’s meeting Dale and someone else for drinks.
I want to know who the ‘and’ is in that equation.
A name will mean nothing to me, but I crave it for some goddamn reason.
My cell phone starts on a ring in my jacket pocket. I should ignore it and wait until Isabella is done so we can continue our conversation at the point it left off.
She wiggles a finger at me, alerting me to my incoming call as if I’m oblivious to the jarring sound.
I curse under my breath, drag the phone out of my pocket, and answer it in a steady tone. “Ivan, how are you?”