Page 5 of Cocky Prince
“Ahh.” He shifts so that he’s fully facing me. I have the urge to step back, but I don’t. “Is that the issue? That I didn’t ask for your opinion, Hayden?”
He hasn’t invited me to sit, so I stand near the door in my designer heels that give me a sense of confidence. Because I earned them through hard work, just like I earned the degrees that got me a job in a luxury casino like Blue. “I’m concerned about how the team perceives my position,” I say. “I worry that perhaps your disregard for the work I’ve done to fill the executive slot gives more ammunition to managers who have the wrong impression about my role here.”
“And what impression would that be?” His smile is menacingly saccharine.
I inadvertently step back. “That I am a figurehead for HR.”
Holy shit. Did I say that out loud?
“And here I thought we didn’t understand each other.” The receptionist comes over the intercom, telling him he has a call. He picks up the receiver on his desk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me?” He presses the red light that’s flashing. “Ed, thank you for waiting.” He turns away in his chair, effectively shutting me out.
Blackwellwantspeople to believe I’m a figurehead? It’s what I suspected, but I still thought he chose me because I’m capable. What is the point of my being here?
Right, for PR purposes. If Blue gets rid of me and hires someone else, it won’t look good. Blackwell couldn’t care less if I do my job, so long as I stay out of his way.
I reach for the door, and he calls my name. I slowly turn, my gaze unwavering. “Adam will be hiring several employees for a new venture.” His hand is over the base of the receiver, preventing whomever he’s talking to from hearing. “Stay out of his way and don’t question whom he hires. If you don’t, you won’t like the consequences. Do you understand?”
Oh my God. What did I get myself into when I took this job? I knew things were bad once I figured out Blue’s history of harassment, but it’s getting worse.
“Yes.” I exit his office before I throw up, nearly running into Eve in my rush out. Eve is one of two women I suspect brown-nose Blackwell so often she could diagram his colon.
“Pardon me, Hayden.” She shifts the files in her arms and overtly lowers her knit blouse. Blackwell glances at the open door with the phone to his ear. He waves Eve inside, and she gives me an insincere grin that barely flexes her lips, as she shimmies past me.
I walk down the hall, disgusted, and so damned angry at myself for not asking around before I jumped at the position at Blue. Unlike Adam,Iwas underqualified. Or at least, a borderline fit for the human resources director. I had the degrees, but not the length of experience when Blue hired me. The applicant list for my job had to have been long. I’d thought they’d seen something special in me…
The only thing they saw was an easy target.
* * *
Adam
IenterFarley’s and spot two guys I work with. I wouldn’t call Paul and Williamfriends,but they’re close work associates. We shoot the shit in the break room, and they’ve made certain I’m comped the few times I’ve entered Blue’s nightclub.
Paul and William roll around Blue Casino like celebrities, and I can’t say I mind it. As a Cade, I’m accustomed to deference in Lake Tahoe.
“Congrats, man.” Paul grips my palm with a firm hand pump, his brown eyes sparkling. I watch as he gestures to the bartender and points to the Gran Patrón Platinum. Farley’s is a hole in the wall, but they keep the good stuff around for execs who drop by after work, looking to blow off steam.
The bartender places three shots in front of us, and Paul holds up his. “To the new venture.”
I pick up a glass and flick my wrist back, downing the clear liquid. The top-shelf tequila is about as smooth as it gets.
I slide the empty glass to the bartender, and it’s bussed and quickly replaced with a bottle of Corona. Almost as if Paul or William requested it beforehand. Farley’s is good, but they’re notthatgood.
I raise my eyebrow and glance at the guys. “I get that we’re celebrating, but what else is this get-together about? Does it have anything to do with the venture you’ve been working on but won’t discuss? Blackwell didn’t go into specifics this afternoon, but he mentioned that hospitality will handle the front face, and you two are to head up the back end.” Which is an odd way of putting it, but hey—Blackwell’s words, not mine.
Paul and William have remained tight-lipped about this new project, and I’m anxious as hell to know what all of the secrecy is about.
Paul takes a sip of his beer, his head dipped low as if he’s trying to hide his expression. He scratches the side of his brown hair. “In due time. Don’t worry, you’ll be filled in soon enough.”
I gulp my beer. This is ridiculous. I’ve kept my mouth shut, not asking questions when I was nothing but the lowly assistant to the hospitality manager, but now I’m running the department. It’s time someone filled me in.
I don’t respond, giving them my best Cade glare.
William clears his throat, shooting Paul a conspiratorial look. “Blackwell told us you’re hiring new people. Just make sure you hire therightpeople. The best you can find, and make sure they’re discreet. If you have something on them, even better.”
“Are you talking blackmail?”
William’s black winged eyebrows vee upward. He holds up his hands, a douchey grin on his face. “You said it, not me.”
