by Tia Siren
I looked at the numbers, and, sure enough, the J.E. department’s budget had gone up by four thousand dollars. None of this shit made any sense, but all it did do was confirm a fear that was running around inside my head.
Alex knew something was going on, and he was avoiding talking to me.
I still had no idea if this had anything to do with the company acquisition shit going down in New Orleans, but since Alex seemed to be the link between all this bullshit, I had a feeling he at least knew something.
My stomach grew uneasy, and my head began to hurt. What the hell was going on? Why was everything suddenly going to shit? Why did I get the sense that the one man I trusted in this whole fucking company was sneaking behind my back? Why would he have any reason to?
“Thank you, Mrs. Rubenstein. Keep me posted. Check the logs regularly, bring me paper copies, don’t email me, and don’t let anyone know you’re looking up anything or keeping me in the loop.”
“Yes, sir,” she said. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Keep an eye out for me. You seem to be very good at that.”
“I’ve got five kids, sir,” she said, grinning. “It’s the only thing I’m an expert at.”
I sighed and sat back in my chair as she exited my office. Raking my hands across my face, I twirled my chair around to take in the view in front of me. My heart was pounding in my ears, and my blood was rushing through my veins. I felt myself simultaneously exploding and imploding. I was just glad I hadn’t taken any of this to the media yet. They’d be devouring me alive right now.
“Grant?”
I whipped around and saw Crissy sitting there. The door was closed, and she’d cut the lights off, giving my eyes a bit of a break as I sat forward on my forearms.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t get upset, but I was listening outside,” she said.
“With the door closed?” I asked.
“I may have cracked it open, and if you’d like my opinion, I’m willing to share it.”
“Go on,” I said.
“I know you’re thinking the worst. That maybe, somehow, my father’s trying to take this company away from you. Maybe he’s trying to buy out the other company himself by taking money from underneath your nose so he can be CEO and compete with you. But I know my father. I can’t honestly tell you I like him most of the time, but I know him. And I know how much he cherishes your friendship. My father is many things: weak to women, controlled by his current wife, a pussy who doesn’t know how to put his foot down so he exercises his control over me.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her as she winked at me.
“But one thing my father would never do is try to fuck you over,” she said. “He adores this company. He built it alongside my mother with his bare fucking hands. I’m not sure why he and the junior executives would be skimming money, but it’s most certainly not to take this company from you or demean your reputation or somehow become your competition.”
“I’ll take your opinion into consideration, Miss Marks. You’re growing into a very intuitive business woman, and I value your insight.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said. “If I may, I have one other suggestion.”
“Go for it.”
“You have every right not to trust people right now, including me since I’m his daughter. If things need to stop between us—”
“No,” I said, interrupting her.
I knew what she was getting at, and in any other circumstance, she would be right. But those date stamps were dated weeks before she got here, and some of the most recent issues happened when she was by my side in New Orleans.
If anything, I needed her now more than ever.
I just wasn’t going to tell her that.
“There will be no need for that, Miss Marks. If there’s nothing else, you are dismissed.”
The smile on her face warmed my heart before she got up and headed back to her desk.
Chapter 26
Crissy
I had no idea what my father could’ve been getting into. I mean, I knew he’d been distracted lately, but was he distracted enough for his junior executives to take advantage of something like this? Something was going on right underneath our noses, and I wanted to figure out what it was.
Maybe he was just too distracted with Mel lately. They’d been arguing a bit more in the evenings whenever they thought Sissy and I were asleep. There was the possibility that his silence and hesitation was because he was going through a rough patch with Barbie.
I didn’t even get set up at my desk before an idea struck me. I looked back up and saw Grant turned toward the windows, so I charged back in and commanded his attention.
“I think I have an idea,” I said.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I refuse to believe my father’s doing something wrong, and I know that’s a personal opinion. However, I’d like the chance to prove it.”
“As your mentor, I’m supposed to tell you that your personal opinions have no weight in the matter with regard to business,” he said. “However, as your father’s best friend, I’m having a hard time thinking that as well.”
I was honestly shocked that he admitted something like that, and it took me a second to gather my thoughts. But once he turned around in his chair and faced me, I found my voice and continued.
“I’m concerned my father might have someone taking advantage of him,” I said.
“You did say he was a pushover,” Grant said, grinning. “How would you like to go about this plan you haven’t talked about yet?”
“We need information, and I think I can garner information from some of the junior executives.”
“No,” he said.
“Just hear me out,” I said. “I could try to feel out someone on the team. Dylan, possibly. He’s always up my father’s ass, and every single second he’s talking about work, it’s either about you or him. I could try to feel him out, see if he’s got any insight as to what’s going on. Maybe play dumb and ask him about this deal to see if he knows more than he should.”
“And you think you could do this without alerting anyone or getting yourself in trouble?” he asked.
“I know I can. It’s how I was able to miss so many class days in college without it affecting my grade.”
“How did you learn the material for your tests then?” he asked.
“You don’t have to be in class to read a book and regurgitate information,” I said. “I could be a mole you plant to get information. It would give you an inside look at things that you wouldn’t otherwise get because you’re the CEO.”
I waited for him to shoot me down. I saw how he bristled at Dylan’s name, but I knew I could do it. Boys like Dylan were suckers for idiotic women and big boobs. I could rein him in with some drinks, ask him a few dumb questions, and have his tongue flapping before he knew what hit him.
“All right,” he said. “I trust you.”
“Wait. What?”
“It’s your idea, and you seem confident, so go ahead,” Grant said. “I’ve been very impressed with the tasks you’ve taken on thus far, so I have no precedence that would tell me that this would somehow go south. This would be a good way to put those sly, manipulative practices to good use. It happens all the time in the business world. But you have to approve your plan through me. Sit.”
This was the part he wasn’t gonna like, but I was all in. I knew the best way to get information from guys like Dylan, and I wasn’t allowing some idiotic junior executives to take down my father or Grant.
“Plan. Go.”
“Well, we already know Dylan’s interested in me, and we’ve done a good job of concealing what we’re doing, so I’ll piggyback off those emotions,” I said.
I already saw his face hardening with jealousy, and a shock of electricity flowed through my system. Only men who gave a shit got jealous, and the thought of a man like Grant Jacobs actually caring about me set my heart thrumming in my chest.
“I
’ll ask if he wants to meet for drinks, maybe chat a little bit, then I’ll turn on the ‘dumb Crissy’ charm. Giggle at his jokes, feed him a bit of strong alcohol, make him feel like he’s the smartest man in the room. Then I’ll start asking him questions about ‘some company buying shit.’ By that time, his ego will be so inflated that his mouth will do the rest of the work for me.”
I could tell he didn’t enjoy the idea of me cozying up to another guy. His eyes raked down my body, feeling me out to make sure I wasn’t too excited about this plan. His arms flexed, meaning his hands were balling into fists as he tried to keep his emotions at bay.
My, my, how wonderful jealousy looked in his stern, overbearing eyes.
“I’ll remember our rules; I promise,” I said, winking.
“Fine,” he said. “But you’ll message me before the date and then again when you get home. I want to make sure you’re all right.”
“Dylan won’t harm me,” I said.
“Agree, or it’s a no,” he said.
“Okay, okay. I’ll do it. Yikes.”
I got up from my chair and started for the door. I wanted to get Dylan talking as soon as possible. I looked back at Grant, whose eyes were wholly connected to my body, and I blew him a kiss before I left his office. I looked at the clock, which was already ticking toward four thirty, and I knew if I could hurry and shut things down, I could position myself outside the junior executives’ office.
So, I closed out everything, logged out, grabbed my stuff, and headed for the elevator.
I stood by the door as I watched the clock tick down, and the moment five o’clock rolled around, I bent over to fiddle with my sandal strap. I shoved my tits closer together with my arms, grunting a bit as I worked with my shoe, and no sooner had I started than I heard a familiar voice beside my ear.
“Need a bit of help?” Dylan asked.
“I had something in my shoe, and now I can’t get the strap right,” I said.
“Here. Let me help.”
I rose and locked eyes with him before he bent down and helped untwist the sandal strap I’d purposely twisted. I smiled down at him, making sure to crinkle my eyes before he slowly stood back up. My back pressed against the wall as he leaned forward, his hand landing beside my head, and I looked down and snickered just to play up the self-conscious girl act.
“Fancy seeing you down here,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again given the rules Mr. Jacobs rained down on us.”
“Well, I guess I missed you a bit,” I said.
“I’m glad you paid us a visit,” he said. “The workday’s over, though. You do realize that.”
“I do, actually. I guess I just…wanted to see you.”
Dylan looked around, searching for Grant before he stepped a bit closer. I could tell his senses were on guard, on the lookout for anyone who would rat on him for what he was doing. He had the type of demeanor that screamed “guilt,” and I knew I was already on the right path. If this man was taking advantage of my father, I would destroy him. My father was many things, but a thief he was not.
“You look a bit frazzled,” I said as I traced my fingertip down his tie. “Long day?”
“I suppose you could say that,” he said as he cleared his throat. “Listen, would you like to get out of here maybe?”
“Actually, I was thinking maybe I could get your number and we could text later. You know, when I’m lying around or whatnot.”
He grinned as his hand meandered to his pocket. He pulled out his phone and handed it to me, but I saw it was locked. I giggled, handing it back to him so he could type in his password. Then he leaned into me as I typed in my number. I stood next to him, taking a picture of the both of us before I set it as his contact photo. Then I handed it back to him as he called my number.
My phone rang with his number, and I picked it up. He smiled at me before he hung up the call, and I acted as if I was saving it into my phone. I didn’t want this asshole’s number, but I needed it in order to set up our date.
So, I decided I’d slather on the cheekiness and shoot him a message while we were standing there.
Got any plans for tomorrow night?
He looked at his phone before his eyebrows hiked up his forehead. Some people were chattering and coming around the corner, causing Dylan to take a massive step backward as they walked between us. I smiled, hiding the flush upon my cheeks as I tried to keep up the ruse just a bit longer. I felt like a spy, like I was somehow fighting for Grant’s honor, and I had to admit I was a bit turned on by the entire thing. I’d gather all this information and take it back to him, and I just knew he would reward me with whatever I wanted.
The thought made me shiver.
Dylan texted back. I’m wide open for you. What did you have in mind?
I looked down at the message Dylan sent before I fluttered my gaze back up to him. He stayed on the other side of the hallway, his hand in his pocket as his eyes grazed up and down my body. I could just vomit at the idea of him mentally undressing me, but I reminded myself why I was doing this.
The thought alone enabled me to send another message back.
Hound Dogs? Eight o’clock tomorrow evening?
The devilish grin that crossed his face when my message rang out on his phone set a fire in my stomach. I’d corner him like the bug he was before I squashed him, and all the while, he’d be drooling over every inch of me.
See you then.
Chapter 27
Grant
Crissy hadn’t even left the office yesterday before she had plans with Dylan, and I had to admit that burned my blood. There was something off about that Dylan character. Ever since he started hanging around Crissy’s desk those first few days, I saw the look in his eye. I didn’t want to step on Crissy’s toes with this little operation of hers, partially because I knew it would work, but I wanted to keep her safe. She reassured me no rules would be broken, but we were far past those asinine rules.
I wanted her safe.
I knew where they were going, and I knew what time they’d be there. By the time 7:45 p.m. crept up, I was a mess. It was Saturday, and usually I would be doing something with her. Taking her out to dinner, teaching her a new lesson, having that little ass of hers in the back of my car. But instead she was out to meet another man, and I didn’t like that.
Not one fucking bit.
My phone buzzed, and I picked it up from the table. It was a message from Crissy saying she’d gotten to Hound Dogs all right. I got up and paced, my hands gripping one another behind my back. Dylan was gonna pull something. I just knew it. So, I sent her a message back to be careful. I told her not to drink too much and let the ice water down her drinks if she insisted on drinking.
But personally, I wanted to command her to not drink at all.
When she didn’t return my text, I got nervous. I couldn’t stand here all night and wait for her while she was out with some other dude. This was Crissy, and she was with a guy who wanted to undress her, have her, wine her and dine her. My mind got the best of me, and I ripped my scarf and a hat from my coat rack before I grabbed a pair of sunglasses. As long as I stayed out of sight of the two of them, I could make sure she was safe.
And make sure Dylan didn’t pull anything stupid.
I got into my car and headed to the bar they were meeting at, and I realized it was actually a night club. That meant drinks and grinding on one another, and that already had my gut churning with anger. I knew I was crossing a line, following her like this, but what the fuck was she thinking? I knew Crissy well enough to know that Hound Dogs would’ve been her idea in the first fucking place. This had her written all over it. Why the fuck would she bring some dude here? It gave the impression she wanted to dance closely with him. It gave men like Dylan permission to touch her.
I pulled into the parking lot and searched for Crissy’s car. I saw it parked in the corner, way off in the distance. Every fucking choice she had already made was wrong, and I knew in that inst
ant I’d made a terrible choice. Why did she park her car so far away from the brightly lit entrance?
I wanted to trust her. I wanted to believe her when she told me she’d be all right, that no rules would be broken. I wanted to trust Dylan, but that was impossible. I saw how he drooled all over her and made pathetic excuses to come see her. I knew he was still asking about her around the junior executive office, and I even knew Alex probably wouldn’t have an issue with them going out.
My mind ran away from me. I slipped on my scarf and hat and got past the bouncer as my mind began to whirl. What else was she doing to entice him out? Was she sending him pictures? Maybe of her beautiful breasts with those tasty little barbells? The rules I’d set forth didn’t extend to messaging and flirting with other men, and I felt my jealousy rage out of control.
I knew no one would recognize me in the jeans and black T-shirt I was wearing, but when I got into the club I put on the sunglasses anyway. I blended in with the crowd just fine, and I cased the inside of the club until I found them. Crissy had the two of them sitting on a bench by the dance floor, drinks in their hands while Dylan sat way too fucking close for my taste.
I went up to the tables on the balcony that overlooked the dance floor and took a seat.
Dylan was rubbing his hand slowly along Crissy’s knee. She was giggling, putting on her dumb-ass routine, but all I wanted to do was break the man’s fingers. Didn’t he know who she belonged to? Who treated her better than he ever could? I sat on the edge of my chair, poised and ready to attack should anything happen to her. Crissy was precious, and while she was doing this for me, I cursed myself for ever allowing it.
Crissy got up, throwing her drink away before she dragged Dylan to the floor. My jaw clenched as he willingly went, his hands settling on her hips as they swayed to the music. I’d break that man’s fucking arms if he touched more of that beautiful body. Only men who were worthy could have a body like Crissy’s beneath their touch at night.
And Dylan was anything but worthy.