Page 9 of The Boss Situation

The call ends, and I slam my phone on the base and sit at my desk.

Harper walks in and glances at the window. She immediately tries to hold back laughter. She keeps it in for five seconds before it bursts out of her. She nearly folds over, gasping for air. “He’s hilarious.”

“It’s not funny! I’mpissed,” I growl out with frustration. “I have a meeting at eight. I cannot have Benjamin Gibson, the editor ofFashion News, witnessing that. We need that fall feature.” I point back at Banks’s office. “This message will have everyone talking.”

“No problem,” she says, sitting. “Have you reconsidered him? Hecouldactually save us.”

“I won’t beg him,” I tell her.

“What if you just tried asking? Nicely?”

“He won’t accept anything else, Harp. Not with me. He’s trying to humiliate me, like he always does.”

She huffs. “This vendetta you two have has to end.”

“Impossible,” I say between gritted teeth.

“Why? I don’t understand it. You can’t even tell me why you hate him.”

My heart races. “I hate him because he’s a dickhead and he treats me like shit. He’s humiliated and embarrassed me countless times. He purposely does things to poke at me and drive me insane. He bought that building. Now he has a thirty-foot sign stretched across his office. He claims he’s so fucking busy, but he has plenty of time to write a message and hang it. He’s an inconsiderate jerk. Do you want me to keep going? Egomaniac. Man-whore. One-upper. He probably kicks puppies for fun and laughs afterward.”

Harper laughs. “He’s not that bad.”

“I know exactly who he is and the mask he wears.”

“The one he wears or the one you put on him?”

I glare at her. “When did you become a Banks apologist?”

“Your brothers wouldn’t be friends with him if he were awful. They’re very careful about who they get close to, Billie. I find it hard to believe he’s horrible if he has Easton’s and Weston’s friendship.”

“I’m convinced it’s all strategic,” I tell her. “My brothers keep the right people around just in case they need them.”

“Weston proposed to his current wife at Asher’s house.” She blinks at me, not buying it. “No way your brother would’ve felt comfortable doing something likethatjust anywhere. Not to mention, they hang out all the time. They were together twice last week.”

My face contorts. “How do you know that?”

“Weston told me. He was the one who suggested I contact Asher. You think no one knows we’re struggling, but everyone does. We needed help three months ago, and right now, we’re losing time. Don’t forget, Lustre approached Asher, and Josh won’t stop until you’re nothing. He hates you more than Asher ever could. Choose your poison.”

Lustre is our number one competitor. They play dirty. Not to mention, the CEO, Josh Lustre, is my ex.

Fuck him too.My shit list is written on a scroll, and it’s full of men.

I’m convinced Lustre has access to our designs. What he’s launched is slightly different so I can’t sue them, but the color schemes are exact. Lustre produces the clothing faster, releases their line close to ours, and sells it to customers cheaper. By the time we launch, we look like copycats. He’s nothing more than a cheap Bellamore knock-off.

We haven’t discovered how he’s gaining access. Josh—because it’s always a fucking Josh—was a dream at first. He very quickly became a nightmare. With Lustre copying our designs and undercutting us, our market share has dropped significantly this past quarter.

This competition began after I dumped his ass because I’d finally snapped and had enough.

“I will not work with Asher Banks. We can hire someone else to help us with this. Who’s number two in the world?”

“If Asher signs with us first, he won’t work with Josh. It’s a safe move,” she says. “Together, they will become supervillains, Billie. We will lose. Asher will not half-ass it. He knows our weaknesses. He will exploit them and ruin us while wearing a smirk.”

I place my head on my desk. “I hate them. Knowing they’d work together to destroy me … I’m fuckinglivid! What choice does this give me? Work with one devil to obliterate another?”

“It’s the only option,” she says. “I’d love to see Josh get what he has coming. Asher will goall inwithout backing down. Even you know that. Sure, he’s a total asshole, but he’s also unafraid.” Her face softens, and she smiles. “I’d rather have him work for us than against us. He single-handedly raised handfuls of companies from the bottom to theverytop.”

I turn in my chair and focus on the sign. “We can’t afford him.”

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