Page 79 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

My lip was pleading for mercy after a sharp nip from my teeth. “Urgh. Stupid Matt and his stupid donation. Now Geoffrey feels unwanted.”

Dante gave me a strange look. “That stupid donation was a godsend and it meant we settled with Kincaid almost immediately.” His handsome features twisted into an uneasy frown. “I don’t know, Madi. I’ve been thinking about the agreement we’ve had with him over the years. It’s fine when he just donates funds but I don’t think we should be taking these loans from him.”

“Don’t you start,” I exclaimed in frustration. “You sound just like Matt. You know, he actually forbade me from signing any contracts without letting his solicitors check it out first. And that was before we were even married. Jesus. He is so bossy.”

Dante leaned back in the chair to peer at me. “Why did he say that? There’s nothing legally wrong with the agreement we have with Kincaid. Does he think something is wrong with them? We always have someone look them over and they’re always the same. A temporary loan.”

I flung my hands into the air, expelling the air in my lungs out with a loud huff. “I don’t know. He probably just wanted to take care of me, he’s weird when it comes to money, and it’s a tax break anyway. I don’t know, D. Matt can be crazy jealous sometimes, I think it bothered him someone else was helping our company financially when he has so much money. I honestly don’t know, but I’m stating for the record that I’m not willing to accept another donation from Matt.”

Dante half-leapt from the chair. “What?”

“No.” I said firmly. “And this is not open for discussion, now get out of my chair. I have to call Geoffrey. Thursday night is the wedding anniversary of Matt’s parents and they’re having this big party so we’ll have to rearrange dinner for another time. You know I’m off on Friday, right? I’ll need you to take the meeting with the education department of Greenwich Council, we need their support for the schools’ dance program. Last year only four primary schools partook and I want more this year, Dante. Oh and get Gloria to make an appointment with the Arts Council, all this talk of donations is making me antsy. We need to ensure we’re still meeting their criteria for funding.”

Dante grimaced, slowly vacating the chair. “Huh, can someone say ‘boss ass bitch’ please?”

“Get out,” I said with a grin, pointing to the door. “And bring me back a coffee.”

Ha. He wanted me to be more assertive, well there. When the door closed after him, the temporary burst of amusement I had disappeared immediately. I really didn’t want to fire Paula. She was a nice person, a crap employee but a nice person. I slumped in my chair, pondering what to say to her and drawing a blank.

“You’re fired.” I said, pointing across my desk in the manner of Lord Sugar on his show. Wait a minute, I had my very own tycoon at disposal. Matt would know exactly what to say. I snatched my cell and called him.

“Hi, hon,” I said as soon as the call picked up. It had taken five rings.

“Hello,” Matt’s tone was curt.

Crap. I should have hung up after three rings. My response was unsure. “Are you busy?”

“Quite, I’m in the middle of an important meeting as we speak,” he replied. There was a trace of amusement in his voice but I felt horrible for interrupting him.

“Sorry, I’ll uh, sorry. I’ll leave you to it.” I mumbled.

“Is everything ok?”

“Yes, I’m sorry for disturbing you.” I repeated like an idiot. Why was I still speaking? I should just say bye and let him get back to work instead of keeping him on the line.

“Hold on a moment,” he said, then I heard the muffled sound of numerous voices. A little while later he came back on. “Ok, I’m aloneso what can I do for you?”

“Did you just stop your meeting?” I asked, incredulous and feeling even worse now.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said with a chuckle. “Are you missing me? Is that why you’ve called?”

I smiled, fiddling with the edge of my desk. “I always miss you but that’s not why I called.”

“Well?” he prompted.

I chewed my inner cheeks as I tried to think of a way to phrase it without sounding like an inept businesswoman.

“Poppet,” Matt called gently. “As much as I enjoy the erotic sound of you breathing down the phone, I do have a busy morning ahead of me.”

“I need your advice on how to sack someone.” I blurted out.

“Pardon? Who are you sacking and why?” He was all business now, serious and alert.

“One of my instructors,” I explained. “Didn’t I mention this to you before?”

“No, you didn’t. Do you have sufficient grounds for dismissal?” he queried.

“Well, Dante thinks so, I mean, she’s been missing classes for months and leaving us in the lurch,” I said quickly. “We had a formal discussion about it, twice actually, but her absence levels are still high. I don’t know, Matt. Paula’s a really nice person and I don’t want to hurt her.”

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