Page 90 of Serving the CEO

“That’s not what I said, and you haven’t beenfinesince Jessica walked out of your wedding.” She made a sound of disgust low in her throat as she picked up my empty coffee cup. “What was she thinking? I had my doubts about this wedding, but…”

She shook her head as her words trailed off. She took my cup to the small sink by the wet bar and rinsed it out, then poured me a fresh one. All the while, I waited for her to finish that thought.

When she didn’t, I found myself asking, “But what?”

“You seemed like you were…happier,” she finally said. “And I thought she had feelings for you. What I really don’t understand is, if she was just going to cancel the whole thing the day of, why did she even agree to marry you in the first place and cause all this trouble?”

She came back to my desk and put my coffee down, her lips compressed to a thin line. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say to her question, so I didn’t say anything. Anamaria hadn’t agreed with how I’d handled things, but I hadn’t realized she was pissed at Jessica for what’d happened.

“You invested all that time and money, but more importantly, you were happier. Then she left you standing at the altar and didn’t even give you a reason. She wasn’t the woman I thought she was.” Huffing out a breath, she folded her arms over her chest. “You’re better off without her.”

“Talking about Jessica?”

Anamaria jumped a little at the sound of Drew’s voice, but she quickly settled her features. “Mr. Wolff.”

He glanced at her before coming in and taking the chair across from my desk.

“Jessica was an exceptional editor, and she ran her imprint well. We’re still struggling to get our women’s self-help titles to take off and we’ll have trouble replacing her with the budget we have available.” He hooked a leg over his ankle and drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, a look in his eyes that put my senses on alert. “She also took a promising author with her.”

“Who?” Anamaria stiffened, her shoulders drawing back and her eyes narrowing. “Should we contact our lawyers?”

I was glad she asked, because it saved me the trouble. What the hell had Jessica done?

“Bristol Hayden.” Drew gave me a hard look. He’d been a supporter of hers, thought she’d be good for the company. “We hadn’t signed any contracts yet, so Bristol is free to sign with whomever she wants.”

“She’s a new author,” I said dismissively. “Who knows how well her book would’ve done with us. And whatever Jessica is doing, it won’t work. She’ll never get the book into stores.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that.” Drew drummed his fingers faster, a worried look in his eyes.

I waited, but he stayed silent. My gut told me there was a reason my friend had come into my office and it wasn’t just to reiterate his opinion that I’d fucked things up.

“Anamaria, give us a few minutes.”

She glanced at Drew then nodded, leaving us in silence.

Once she was out of the room, the door closed behind her, Drew said, “I just heard through the grapevine that Jessica has made a distribution deal with Frank Fellows. He’ll be working with her on getting Bristol Hayden’s books into stores.”

“What the fuck?” I clenched my hand around the coffee cup convulsively. Frank Fellows? “He’s a predatory piece of shit!”

“I know. Maybe you should call Jessica and warn her about him.” Drew cocked an eyebrow. “He’s got the money and power to keep most of the people he’s made a move on quiet. We both know that, but she probably has no idea what kind of bastard he is.”

I clenched my jaw as myriad emotions coursed through me. Concern for her. Disgust at Fellows. Fury that she’d put herself in such a dangerous position.

Guilt that I’d played a part in putting her there.

“You won’t do it.” Drew sighed and looked away. “Even if she’s put in a bad place with a dangerous fuck, you’re going to stay quiet.” He shook his head. “I wish I could say I was surprised.”

“She made her choice,” I said. I had no intention of ever seeing, or talking, to Jessica Ellis again. But I wouldn’t let any woman be in a position to be victimized by that man, no matter who she was.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to talk to Jessica to deal with Fellows.

“So you’re just going to let her—”

“I’ll handle it,” I snapped. “But I’m not talking to her. I can take care of things without contacting…her.”

Drew’s eyebrows came together as he frowned. “What the fuck does that mean?”

I smirked at him. “I’m going to kill the deal.”

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