Page 25 of The Butterfly Effect
Watchingher storm red-faced out of my office was a lot less fun knowing she was leaving angry and not aroused. But as angry as she was, it had nothing on me. I had to take a call from that cocky son of a bitch talking down to me, which was a challenge, especially with the suspicion that he had hurt Julianna, even if she wouldn’t tell me he did. She didn’t have to confirm it; I could tell by the way she’d stiffened when he walked into the room. She didn’t do that before the bruises appeared on her arm.
When I told her to fix it, I wanted her to tell me the truth so we could shut that asshole down and go above his head. With the way Richard had reacted to her plans, he was completely sold. It wasn’t that easy, though. I couldn’t go above his head unless she told me. I didn’t actually know what happened, but now that I knew he was blackmailing her, it just frustrated me even more that she wouldn’t tell me the full story.
I sat back and took several deep breaths, trying to calm my rage to a manageable level, when there was a knock at the door. Every part of me wanted it to be Julianna. I wanted to yell at her and comfort her at the same time. I wanted to shake her and tell her she was stupid for not telling me it was Roger who’d hurt her. I know it was him.
“Come in.” I regretted the invite seconds later when the door opened and Sandra walked into my office. “What do you need?”
“I overhead your conversation. We lost the Great Lakes account?”
Shaking my head slightly, I looked at her. I didn’t bother standing up from my seat. She wouldn’t be staying long if she was here for gossip. “No. Julianna has it under control.”
“I’m sure she does,” she muttered.
I raised my eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?” I tried to mask my need to defend Julianna as professional concern, but I didn’t like hearing anyone speak about her that way.
Sandra shrugged, casually talking to me like a friend. “I wouldn’t put it past her to sleep her way to success, that’s all.” She walked over to me, stepping behind the chair I was sitting in. She ran her hand across my back and over my shoulder, resting it on my chest. “If you know what I mean.”
“Get out!”
She jumped back, a look of embarrassment painting her face. She didn’t move her feet, though, frozen in place. I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head at her, giving her a brief moment to catch herself and go, but when she didn’t budge, I snapped my fingers. She broke out of her trance and stared at me in horror. “I just mean…”
“I don’t care what you mean. Watch what you say, or you’ll no longer have a job here. Now get out.” I gestured with my arm towards the door. I stood up when she hesitated, and she took off quickly towards the door.
Sitting back down, I rubbed my fingers against my eyes, pushing down hard enough for white flashes to show for a long moment. I made a mental note to fire Sandra as soon as I could. She had been nothing more than a glorified receptionist, and we didn’t need her attitude in the office. From what I’d seen, she’d provided no merit. Not like Julianna had.
I was thinking about the way she’d captured the attention of her team the day before and about her excitement when they came up with the silly slogans that were catchier than I cared to admit to her. She had shut up a room of men in every meeting we had with Great Lakes Brewing, getting all of their attention in a matter of moments and keeping it. She’d convinced a high-maintenance team to buy into her plan and implementation strategy while putting all the work and labor cost on the client themselves, guaranteeing only profit on the deal. Now, hopefully she could manage to keep it.
For a moment I wanted to text her, checking on her after the way she’d ran out of the office, but I was sure I was the last person she was going to want to hear from. Judging by the scowl on her best friend’s face when she got back, the best thing would be leaving her alone for now. I’d find her tomorrow and check on her. It was exasperating that I even cared enough to plan on doing so. That was never who I was, but something about this woman made me want to make sure she was okay.
My phone vibrating on my desk interrupted my thoughts, and my heartbeat picked up slightly in my chest. I was disappointed it was only my brother.
Demetri:Mom wants to know if you’ll be home for Thanksgiving.
Me:Hello to you too, brother.
Demetri:Don’t be a baby. Yes or no?
Me:Probably not. I have some things to take care at the office.
Demetri:With the brewery? Hear you might be about to lose that one.
Frustration filled me, and I growled.How the fuck did he know so quickly?I tried to wrap my mind around how my brother had found out from a different state that a dealmightfall through, when they’d only threatened it less than three hours ago.
Me:Fuck you, Demetri. I have it under control.
Demetri:I guess we’ll see.
It’s not uncommon for my brother and father to doubt me. Since I’m younger than my brother, he has had longer to prove his success. They acted like I didn’t compare, but all of my companies succeeded in the end, and I hoped I wasn’t about to prove them right for the first time.
Demetri:So really not coming home for Thanksgiving? Mom won’t like that.
Me:I’ll make it up to her.
Demetri:Whatever you say.
I tossed my phone onto my desk and dropped my head into my hands, taking a deep breath before deciding to leave for the day. I slipped my phone into my pocket and grabbed my keys, heading for the door and slamming it shut harder than intended. Shrugging semi-apologetically, I walked to the stairs and skipped down the few flights to the parking garage.
My car was parked right in front in a designated spot, and I climbed into it, tossing my phone in the little holder in the center. I wouldn’t be needing it for a while. I was going to buy a bottle of good whiskey and spend a quiet evening at home alone. If I kept my phone on me, I was going to end up calling an ashy-blonde woman I had no business calling on a weeknight. Or any night.
