Page 135 of Release Me

Guys like him, though?

They take what they want while shattering hearts.

I tuck my phone into my pocket and stick to my plan.

I’ll call Ryan tomorrow.

51.Ronan

Iknock on Belinda’s office door.

Her soft sigh of irritation is followed by, “Come in.”

She’s hunched over her laptop, her hot pink suit jacket draped over her chair, her matching stilettos kicked off. A half-finished smoothie sits next to her mouse. She was here before me this morning. For all else that Belinda may be, no one can claim she doesn’t work hard for Wolf. That seems to be all she does.

“Henry didn’t get in early, did he?” She checks her watch. “His plane should be landing right now.”

“No, I have an issue I have to deal with in the boardroom, and I’d like you present.”

Her perfectly drawn eyebrows arch, waiting for me to elaborate.

“I need to fire someone, and I’ve never done it before. I need you.”

“This should be interesting.” Tossing her pen onto her leather blotter, she slips on her heels and jacket and rounds her desk. “Walk and talk.”

I hold her door for her, and she strolls through, head held high, hips swinging. “One of our employees in HR sharedinformation about hires from our job fair. Names of people who made the final cut but were crossed off when they reached the director’s approval.” It wasn’t hard to figure out who the culprit was. A female HR employee whose name starts with the lettersJaand who accessed the documents? It took Archie less than five minutes to track down Jasmine Guilly for me.

Belinda smirks. “The cuts for that little negotiation of yours.”

“The deal that got all those signs down ahead of media open,” I remind her.

Her lips purse. “Shared with whom?”

“One of the people who we cut.” Technically, Lena cut him.

“Which we’re fully in our right to do at any time in the process,” Belinda retorts.

“True, but she’s sharing sensitive company information.” We’ll ignore the fact that I did the exact same thing. Nobody but Sloane knows and, besides, I’m the fucking director.

“Why would she do this?” Belinda asks.

“That’s what we’re about to find out.” But I have my suspicions when it comes to a guy like Cody.

Don’t worry. Sloane’s not a tourist. She’s just a raging bitch.

My fist clenches. I can’t wait until the next time I run into him. It’s been a while since I’ve punched anyone.

“Mike is the HR manager,” Belinda cuts into my vengeful thoughts. “He needs to sit in for this?—”

“Already there.”

Her eyes bore into the side of my face. “I don’t think I’ve seen you so zealous about a cause before.”

Not a cause. A person. One who never responded to my text last night. It was an innocuous one at that, about Katie, and yet Sloane didn’t respond.

Maybe she didn’t get it.

I know that’s not true, and it’s bugging me more than it should.

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