Page 21 of Danger and Dominance
“I’m here to offer you and your team a job.”
“No thanks.”David didn’t even have to think about it.
“Well, don’t be so hasty, David.”Marshall’s smile grew and seemed more sincere.Whatever he was up to, he was genuinely happy about it, which made David even more suspicious.“You don’t know how much money I’m offering to come join my team.”
David snorted.
“There is not enough money in the world.”Seriously.Even if Lincoln fired him, David would rather be on the street than work for someone like Marshall.He didn’t trust him, he didn’t like him, and he didn’t think the man had an ethical bone in his body.
Something in Marshall’s eyes flashed.He didn’t like being told ‘no’.
“Well, I’ll just stay here and put my proposal to the rest of the team.You don’t speak for all of them.”
Another snort of derision.
“Trust me, when it comes to you, yes, I do.”
He heard the sound of the elevator doors opening behind him and conversation drifting out into the hall that was abruptly cut off.
Speak of the devils.Turning his head, he saw that it was a full elevator.Not just Claudia and Drew, but two of Harris’ team as well, Seth Loving and Miguel Gomez.That made two snipers and two of the muscle.Both Drew and Miguel were built like mini tanks.None of whom had any love for Marshall, either.
David felt fairly certain he could drag Marshall out by the neck of his suit jacket if he needed to, but Marshall had a few tricks up his sleeve.Faced with an overwhelming force, there probably wouldn’t be a need for a forcible exit.
They came in, Claudia leading the way.Her dark eyes were cold, flat, and hard the way they went when she was in her sniper headspace.There was a reason her call sign had been Scary.Lesser men ran when they got that look from her.Even David had to steel himself, and he could see Marshall doing the same as her snake-like gaze rested on him.
“What’s Shit Stain doing here?”she asked, directing the question at David even as she continued to stare down Marshall.Behind her, Seth and Drew snickered.
The other man bristled at her nickname for him but pasted on his smile again, acting as if he hadn’t heard it.
“I’m here to offer you all three times what you make at Black Fox to come work for me on a very important job… top secret at the moment, so I can’t tell you the details until you come join me.”He made the offer in a coaxing tone, hinting at big things, teasing them with the secret.
It didn’t work—to no one’s surprise except Marshall.
“No.”Claudia didn’t bother to listen anymore.She just started walking again, straight toward Marshall, who jumped out of her way rather than allow her to run into him as she headed toward the back.She paused at the desk.“You okay, Jen?”
“I’m great.”Jennifer gave her a thumbs-up and a weak smile.“No job offers for me, apparently.Not that I would take it.”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Seth said, snorting in a manner that was very reminiscent of the way David had done.He’d started walking, too, though he didn’t try to walk through Marshall like Claudia had.“I like making less money.I wouldn’t know what to do with more.”
“Three times is a lot and yet still not enough,” Miguel joked, keeping up with Seth.
They acted as if they didn’t see Marshall as they walked around him, heading for their side of the office.Drew didn’t say a word, he just walked over to the front desk and leaned on the edge of it, arms crossed over his chest.It was clear he was hovering protectively around Jennifer and also effectively stated his preference without a single word.
Marshall’s face had turned bright red, a little vein throbbing in the middle of his forehead.
“You’re all going to regret this.”He spat the words out.“You have no idea what you’re turning down, what you could be?—”
“Doesn’t matter,” David told him.“We’d rather have our souls than your money.You can take the answers you’ve already gotten as representative of the entire firm.Your team might have followed you, poor bastards, but the rest of us see you for what you are, and we want nothing to do with you.Get out.Don’t come back.And I will be figuring out how you got into here in the first place, and that way will be closed to you from now on.”
Marshall’s upper lip curled in a sneer.
“You do that.”The words were a challenge.“You’ll be sorry for not taking my offer, though.Black Fox is dying.You can’t keep up the workload without me.Lincoln and Harris don’t know shit about running a business.That’s why they had me in the first place.And there’s nothing any of you are going to be able to do about it.”
Stalking out, he hit the glass door like he was trying to shatter it—not that he could, not without a storm of bullets, but damned if he didn’t try, anyway.
David watched him go with a frown.
It didn’t matter that he’d been entirely in the wrong.He was obviously carrying a grudge.
