As soon as Edward’s speech was over, he got the feeling he was missing something significant. Why did he feel that way? What was going on with this whole fiasco that he was still missing?
Then Diana pursed her lips and gave him a long look. “I need your help with something. But right now I don’t want to ask you for anything. I’m so angry with you. I feel as though you lied to me and made a fool out of me. I want you to go. I’ll call you in a little bit.”
Edward was utterly taken aback. He had never had anyone be quite that forthright with him before. It was good. Sort of. But before he could manage to just do the right thing and turn and walk away, his mouth had to get him in trouble one last time.
“See?” Edward pointed to the Orvilles. “If you would just talk to Alaina Ariosa in that tone of voice and use simple and direct words just like those, you could avoid this whole problem.”
As soon as the words were out, Edward knew he needed to get out of there before the three of them murdered him and mounted his head on the wall. Apparently there were still too many things he did not understand about this situation. But then he had a feeling that there were plenty of things they didn’t understand about his situation too because that was just how life seemed determined to be.
Chapter Seventeen
If Gwen Pallister had showed her face in Diana’s office there would have been no questioning the sort of welcome that would have waited for her. Diana was spoiling for a fight. She was so angry right now that she was pretty certain that it was going to take her hours and hours to get over this.
She had been pacing her office for what felt like the whole day. Her mind was still tired, but now it could not settle. Her brain just kept spinning around and around. She felt like such a fool! How could she even begin to unravel what had happened in the last week? It was almost as though every single moment she had spent with Edward King had been a lie from the beginning.
“What does he want anyway?” Diana walked to her window and pulled the blinds up.
Her office had eastern-facing windows. That meant she got plenty of the early morning sunlight but none of the horrible heat of the day kind of thing that happened in the afternoon when the Texas sun beat down on the earth as though it had a score to settle.
Diana peered down at the street far below. There were hordes of people down there. How odd. Not that the Dallas streets were ever particularly deserted, but this seemed like an unusual amount of traffic for a regular afternoon.
“Halloween,” Diana whispered.
In all of the drama and upheaval, Diana had completely forgotten that today was Halloween. When she had been a child she had loved the holiday. She loved to dress up like her favorite characters and skulk around the neighborhood knocking on doors just to get candy. It was every kid’s dream. For just one night a year Diana had been able to be someone totally different. She had gotten to play a game of let’s pretend and the whole world had played along with her.
Turning around, Diana made a decision to go home. She did not want to be a bad employee, but today most of the staff would have gone home early anyway. They had children of their own that would be needing help getting ready for their special night. The kids on the street below were doing their trick or treating at local businesses in order to get not only candy but also the special advertising swag that businesses seemed to hand out at every opportunity.
Diana turned off her computer monitor and scooped up her purse and the light sweater she usually carried in fall. She was going to sit in front of her television and watch old horror movies. That was what she intended to do. Then tomorrow morning she would make an attempt to pick up the pieces of her life, which was going to require a phone call to Edward King and a reminder that he now officially owed her no matter what he thought about it.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gwen’s snarky voice actually made Diana’s fists clench in irritation.
Diana did not look up from her purse as she dug for her car keys. It was silly to drive only a few blocks, but today Diana had wanted to have her car down in the parking garage just in case. Now she was regretting the decision. Maybe she should just leave the car in the garage and walk home. It would be fun to be down on the sidewalk with the kids in costume as though she were a part of the holiday celebrations once again.
Gwen stepped further into the office and planted herself in the doorway like a road block. “I asked you where you think you’re going.”
“And I didn’t answer because I feel like it isn’t any of your business.” Diana finally found her keys. She figured that tonight of all nights was probably not the best time to leave her car in the underground garage. She would drive home and take a walk in the neighborhood around her apartment building. Maybe she could get a coffee and sit outside and watch the kids.
Gwen actually put one hand out traffic-cop style to stop Diana from leaving the office. “I didn’t say it was okay for you to leave. Where in the hell do you think you’re going? You’re not leaving this office until you fix that Amatuzzio deal.”
“I see.” And this was true in a way. Diana did absolutely see what was going on right here. “You screwed up a deal that was almost in the closing stages. You messed things up so badly that you are now trying to make it seem like a lacking or a fault on my part somehow. And by pushing me around and pretending that you’re my boss and that it’s your job to micromanage me, you think you’re going to save face or something. That is what I see.”
Gwen’s mouth fell right open. Diana took the opportunity offered by Gwen’s momentary shock and pushed past her into the hallway. Within seconds Diana thought that she was free. She could just keep walking down the hallway and into the elevator and she would not have to deal with Gwen anymore today.
But that wasn’t the way it worked out. At the last second Gwen grabbed hold of Diana. Her hand slipped off of Gwen’s arm and caught the strap of her bag. One hard tug and the strap came off. The bag tumbled off Diana’s shoulder and the contents exploded all over the hallway floor. For just a moment both Gwen and Diana stared at the contents littering the industrial carpet. Then Gwen gave a derisive snort and placed her hands on her hips.
“I guess you got what you deserved for the moment.” Gwen actually sounded triumphant. “You need to stay and clean up this mess and then you can get your ass back in your office and sit there until you’ve fixed that Amatuzzio deal.”
“There isn’t an Amatuzzio deal.” Diana glared at Gwen. This wasn’t true of course. Diana had yet to fix the deal or even to try. But she felt like Gwen deserved the uncertainty and the fear of worrying that she had actually screwed things up big time. “Mr. Amatuzzio said that you violated our agreement when you called to harass him. He does not like doing business with women and certainly doesn’t like being pushed around by an American woman who doesn’t know her place.”
Gwen’s open-mouthed look of horror should have been enough, but Diana wanted her to feel more. She wanted Gwen to know just how rude and pushy she was. Diana wanted to see this woman punished for her behavior. So instead of letting that informational bomb just sit there and fester, Diana decided to go one more step and ignite the whole thing.
“In fact,” Diana continued, “Mr. Amatuzzio said that he was going to tell his acquaintances that they should not be doing business with our firm at all. We’ve officially been blackballed in Italy. Great job there, Gwen. I hope you look forward to explaining that to your grandfather.”
“Explaining what?”
Diana felt the blood drain from her face as she turned to face Mr. Bryan Pallister. Dammit. Her mouth had just gotten her in serious doo doo. There was no doubt about it in Diana’s mind. Not only that, but Gwen’s shock had just turned to spiteful pleasure.
“Diana didn’t fix the deal, Granddaddy, not even though she told you that she could fix it!” Gwen sounded all plaintive and about as whiney as any one of those kids in the costumes down on the street level. “She screwed things up worse! She’s got us
blackballed from Italy altogether!”
“Sir, I can explain…”
But Mr. Bryan Pallister’s expression was absolutely aghast. He looked as though he could not wrap his mind around what they were saying. But he knew enough to be angry about the ramifications of what he was hearing.
“I don’t want an explanation,” Pallister said gruffly. He pointed at Gwen. “I want someone to fix this situation and I want it fixed before the end of the week. Is that understood?”
Wait. He was looking at Gwen and Diana? They were supposed to be working together? No! This had completely backfired.
“But, Granddaddy, I didn’t do anything!” Gwen whined. She reached for her grandfather’s arm, but he pulled it out of her reach as though he were just plain disgusted with her right now.
Pallister shook his mane of white hair. He wasn’t looking particularly jovial or friendly now. In fact, he looked more like the Santa Claus who would have told kids that they had messed up so badly during the year that there would be nothing but coal in their stockings.
“Diana?” Mr. Pallister raised an eyebrow. “I’m not kidding. You and Gwen and your friend had better get yourselves some viable way to fix both the Amatuzzio deal and the whole Italian market before I fire you and Gwen just to avoid more devastating problems.”
Pallister was apparently done with this conversation. He turned and stalked off down the hallway still muttering darkly about how he was surrounded with people who did not understand how bad the market was these days and how they needed to grasp just how important each and every sale was.
It wasn’t fair! Diana absolutely understood that concept. She knew that every deal counted. She knew that there were very few people in this world right who could just drop three million dollars without even batting an eye at the cost or the financial risk. She knew that the company reputation was critical to its success. It was Gwen who never seemed to understand this stuff. One moment of giving into bad behavior had practically decided Diana’s fate.
“Well, I guess you’ll be fixing it,” Gwen said snidely. “No matter what I’ve done you have to fix it or you’re going to get fired. I bet I can change granddaddy’s mind. But you? You’re going to be standing in the unemployment line by the end of the week!”
This seemed to make Gwen’s whole day. She actually whistled as she pranced back down the hallway toward her office. If Diana had only had a hatchet. She could have buried it in Gwen’s back at ten paces like some Wild West sharpshooter. If only Dallas had still been the Wild West. Diana could have called out every one of her enemies so that she could have shoot outs with each and every one of them.
“With my luck I’d probably die,” Diana muttered irritably.
She gathered up the remainder of the spilled contents of her purse and tucked it beneath her arm. With the strap broken, she would be digging through her closet looking for her old bag until she could find a way to repair this one. Only one purse per season. That was her personal rule for buying handbags.
“Ha!” Diana muttered. “I could just go to Orville’s Department Store and buy one and charge it to Aliana Ariosa. The staff would be so frightened of retribution they’d probably let me do it!”
As Diana waited for the elevator she thought about that situation. Edward was constantly saying that they all just needed to set boundaries with Aliana and that it was as easy as telling her no and standing firm even when she threw a fit. Surely he just didn’t realize how horrible Aliana could be. Edward was a King. He didn’t have to deal with the consequences like everyone else.
The elevator doors opened and Diana stepped inside. She waited a brief moment for them to close and the elevator jumped a little as it began its descent to the parking garage. Diana wondered if Edward and his family had ever had any real luck setting boundaries with Aliana Ariosa. Surely it was different when you were higher up the food chain than Aliana. Maybe Alaina only respected people with lots of money that she was trying so hard to impress.
The elevator hit the ground floor parking level with a little jolt. Diana glanced in the mirror and saw two lines between her eyebrows. She was frowning. She was actually trying to decide why the Orvilles thought it was a better idea to sell their store chain than to just cut Alaina off. Why not enjoy the satisfaction of letting the store clerks deny Alaina credit or service or everything? Why not just ban her from the store for nonpayment in a public way? It would absolutely humiliate her.
“There has to be something I’m not seeing,” Diana murmured as she walked toward her tiny little car.
She was one of the only people left parked under here. Apparently Halloween was a really popular day for people to go home early to have fun with their families. The thought sent a pang of regret through Diana. She didn’t have a family. At this rate it was starting to feel as though she never would.
Diana was puzzling over the possibility that there was something going on between the Orvilles and Alaina Ariosa that Diana wasn’t aware of as well as her melancholy feelings about being alone with no family when she heard something truly odd in the deep recesses of the garage.
It was the scuff of nails. Toenails.
Diana spun around and blinked as she tried to focus on a very dark corner of the underground garage. Light spilled in through one side that was partially exposed in order to allow cars to drive in and out. The minimal late afternoon light did not penetrate that corner.
And then all at once Diana saw the glow of two eyes staring back at her from the darkness. “Oh. Shit.”
Chapter Eighteen
“What are you doing here?” Devon frowned at Edward as he entered his office at King Security Solutions, Inc.
Edward glanced at the cleaning lady who was carefully—almost painstakingly—dusting the books on Devon’s shelf. The lady wasn’t really all that feminine to begin with, but she actually appeared to Edward to be actively trying to look dowdy. She was obviously part of the building’s regular cleaning crew. She was wearing a set of dark blue coveralls with the cleaning company logo emblazoned on the back. They reeked of orange oil and some kind of grease. The woman was short and stout with brown hair pulled back into a bun and she offered almost no eye contact. Her gaze never wavered from the shelves that she was dusting. She didn’t even seem to notice Devon and it was his office. How odd.
Edward gestured to his brother’s desk and then at the antique clock hanging on the wall. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? It’s after five o’clock.”
“I work here,” Devon said drily. “Remember?”
Edward did not say anything else. He just kept looking at the cleaning woman and hoping that Devon would get the hint. Finally Devon sighed and said something in low and very rapid Spanish. Edward could not catch a single word. He was good with languages, but Devon was speaking some obscure dialect that Edward had never heard before.
The women turned around. She nodded her head without ever actually making eye contact. Then she left the office and Edward found himself alone with Devon. It was odd. At the last second Edward had felt something almost hostile from the woman. She was actually quite pretty from a certain angle. Maybe without the coveralls she might even have a feminine aspect to her body that could redeem the fact that she was incredibly short and apparently very round if the shape beneath the shapeless blue sack she was wearing was any indication.
“There,” Devon muttered pointedly. “Can you please tell me what’s going on? I do have to be somewhere else this evening.”
“Really?” Edward did not recall any commitments with their mother. No dinner parties, social functions, or other Dallas events to attend. “What do you have to do? I believe Mother’s calendar is frighteningly free. No doubt this will scare her into a tizzy and she will be breathing down your neck and demanding you take her somewhere special.”
“That’s Orion’s gig, not mine,” Devon grunted. “He’s her lapdog. Or hadn’t you noticed?”
“I noticed that he got drunk and went after a civi
lian woman.” Edward held up a hand. “I don’t want to fight. All right. I would just like to discuss a few things. I have concerns.”
Devon nodded as though he had been more or less expecting this. “About Orion?”
“Yes. Among other things.” Edward wondered where to start. With that in mind he sank down into the huge leather chair that made up one corner of a seating area in Devon’s office.
A moment later Devon joined Edward in the other chair. It was sort of odd. Edward’s keen sense of shifter smell was picking up a very strange odor in this chair. He sniffed a few times to try and reconcile what he was smelling with the events as he knew them to be happening in the office.
“What?” Devon prompted. He was looking rather mulish.
Edward frowned. “You need to check in with that cleaning crew and see if that woman is hanging out in here after hours reading your books or something.”
“Why would you say that?” Devon’s countenance soured. “Are you going to start in on me telling me that just because people aren’t rich and work for a real living, they’re also dishonest and pretty much trying to steal from us? Because I’m getting really tired of that.”
“No.” Edward tried to read Devon’s expression. It was obvious that his brother was taking this really personally for some reason that Edward could not fathom. “I was just suggesting that you be careful because I smell that woman all over this chair and to me that means there’s something else going on. You know?”
“Oh.” Devon looked somewhat mollified. “I would imagine the chair sounds like her because she sits there while we chat sometimes.”
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