I kept flipping through pages, occasionally looking up in wonder at Annie. There was even a conversation between Cliff and a client about whether Annie or I would be more likely to sleep with the client as a ‘bonus’ (apparently the client preferred Annie but Cliff thought I was more likely to put out). It was horrifying stuff, especially when presented all together. Practically every one of our senior managers had put something in writing that was illegal, immoral, or just plain old gross. Azure Group was rotten from the inside out.
It was absolutely revolting, but simultaneously fascinating. Like watching a train wreck. Just reading through all the years’ worth of bullshit that we’d each been sent filled me with anger. Bizarrely, even though I knew that it was crap that I’d received so many inappropriate messages from my coworkers and superiors, it was the messages to Annie and Kyle and others that really made me angry. I guess I’d always figured that I could just ‘take it’ but I couldn’t stomach the idea that by not speaking out, the perpetrators just got away with what they were doing, and then they did it to others.
“This could work,” I heard myself saying. “I think it could really work.”
Annie grinned. “So, are you in?”
“Are you kidding? Of course, I’m in. I think we might be able to do more than just save Notable Match. We might be able to save Azure Group from itself.”
39
Lucas
I got the call at seven in the morning, which meant it was six in the morning in Texas. I stared at the unknown number before picking it up. It must be important. It was probably my lawyer or something.
“So, I don’t think that you have any cats,” came the voice of Jason Kane through the tinny speakers of my cell phone. “This is a really weird prank. Like, really weird.”
I couldn’t stop my bark of laughter. “What?”
“I’m at your place right now and there are no cats. I looked all over. Bedroom? No cats. Bathroom? No cats. Kitchen? No cats. Living room? No cats. There are only four rooms and I checked them all. The only logical conclusion is that there no cats here.”
“Dude, I definitely have cats. Two cats. Moxie and Bob. They’re probably just hiding.” I took another bitter sip of my terrible diner coffee and winced. “Did you look under the couch?”
I heard shuffling through the line and the distinctive noise of someone holding the phone directly against their face. “Oh. There they are.” In another, crooning baby voice that was clearly not meant for me, I heard, “Hey dudes. Have you been hiding from me? Don’t hide from me. Oooh, you’re so fluffy and pretty. Aww, come here. I’m nice!” Then a sigh. Then, Jason was back. “Ok. I’m really glad I found them. They hate me, but at least now I know they’re ok. I was getting worried.”
“Um… how long have you been in my apartment looking for the cats?”
“Not that long.” The reply was defensive.
I smirked. “Half an hour?” I took a wild guess.
Silence.
“An hour?” I tried.
“Probably a little bit longer than that. I thought maybe they’d slipped out the door and I maybe panicked.” He sighed. It was a strangely defeated sound.
It’s not every day a world-famous rockstar spent his early morning looking desperately for my cats.
“Don’t worry, you couldn’t pay those cats to go outside. But you’re one hell of a morning person, Kane.”
“It’s morning?” There was shuffling through the line again. “Oh crap. It’s really late. The sun is coming up.”
I blinked in surprise. “Early actually. What time did you think it was?”
“Um, I don’t know. Maybe like two a.m.? Maybe three?”
“So, you haven’t slept at all since last night?”
“Not since my gig. No. I came back from Houston, got my shit from Victoria’s place and told her to eat dirt, we had a nice screaming fight, and then came here to feed the cats.”
“Do you want to crash at my apartment for a bit before driving?” I was honestly a bit concerned about the guy. At least I’d caught a few hours rest on the plane. He might not be safe on the roads. The last thing I needed was to be responsible for his death.
“Would that be ok?” He sounded incredibly relieved, and tired. The poor guy had been up for a very long time.
“Dude, you did me a big favor by feeding the cats. Of course, you can stay for a while.” Then I paused. “No crazy rockstar parties though. You gotta promise me.”
Kane laughed. “I think I’d have a hard time getting all my hard-drinking, hard-partying friends over here at five a.m. on a Monday. I usually can’t get them awake before three p.m., and that’s on a good day. I pinky swear that I will not trash your place.” He paused. “It might scare the cats.”
I laughed as well. “Fair enough. Oh, there’s a fresh toothbrush under the sink in the bathroom, and cold brew coffee in the fridge.”
“Thanks.” There was another pause on the line. “You’re a decent guy, Stevenson. I’m glad you told me about Victoria. I’d rather have you as a friend than her as a girlfriend any day.”
“Same.”
I wondered vaguely what Victoria was up to at the moment, and how exactly Kane had dumped her after our conversation, but I squashed the thought. It really didn’t matter.
“Do you think the cats will come out from under the couch if I stay really still?” He paused. “I feel like they don’t like me.” His voice sounded inexplicably wounded. I could sympathize. I hated it when cats didn’t like me too.
“Once you’re asleep they’ll probably come out and sniff you a whole bunch. And don’t take it personally that they’re hiding, they’re very picky with new people at first. Once they get used to you they’ll be all over you.” I shook my head. He was going to have more cats than he could stand on him.
“Really?” He sounded incredibly excited about the prospect of having them crawling all over him as he slept. “What’s the big fluffy one named?” Kane asked.
“Oh, he’s Bob. The smaller one is his mom, Moxie.” I’d found them in an alleyway downtown. There had probably been more kittens at one point, but the others hadn’t made it. Just Bob. He’d been so tiny and sad, and his mom had been scrawny and exhausted looking. They’d cost a fortune in vet bills to get healthy, but they were worth every penny.
I heard the rustling again that told me Kane was looking under my couch. “Bob, your dad said you should be nice to me. You want come take a nap with me? I’m gonna go take a nap.”
I smirked at my coffee and pancakes. Jason Kane was kind of a trip. He didn’t sound drunk or high though. Just weird. I could deal with weird. Hell, I was weird. Apparently, Victoria had a type, just like I did.
Ok, let’s not ever think about that again.
I shook my head to dispel that disturbing thought. “Talk to you later, Kane. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks man. I promise I’ll be gone by the time you get home and it’ll be like I was never here.”
“No worries. I’ll probably be gone a few days. Feel free to stay.”
I knew it was risky to let a guy who’d been known to trash hotel rooms stay in my home and take care of my cats, but I was getting the feeling that the rumors about Jason Kane were a bit overblown. The man loved cats, for goodness sake. How bad could he be?
40
Lucas
“Excuse me, sir, but you can’t loiter in this building.” The security guard looked me up and down dismissively.
“I’m sorry, what?” I replied tiredly, feeling profiled because of my jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, and generally unshaven and scruffy appearance. I probably looked homeless or something. There were plenty of people just standing or sitting in the lobby area of the huge office building. But I was the only one who looked like he’d overnighted in an IHOP after a long flight. I was also the only man not wearing a suit and tie.
“You’re loitering, sir. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to leave the premises. Immediately.”
Every word was enunciated carefully like he was concerned I might not understand English properly. He looked at me like I was a particularly large, ugly cockroach, and he pointed at the revolving doors as if I was too stupid to know they were the way to exit the building.
I frowned at the older, potbellied man. “I am not loitering. I have urgent business here. I’m waiting on a meeting with someone from Azure Group.” I prayed that would be enough to deter him from hassling me further. I was not aware that loitering was an actual thing that someone could get in trouble for. It definitely wasn’t a thing that anyone ever got in trouble for in Austin. The rules were clearly different here in New York.
He looked down at my converse and then up at my face with a disbelieving expression. He pushed his bifocals up the bridge of his nose. Behind them, his eyes were narrowed. “I see. Do you have an appointment? You can go upstairs and wait in their reception area. But I’m sorry, you can’t wait here.”
People had begun to pick up on our contentious conversation and were now giving me a wide berth. Ordinarily I’d be somewhat self-conscious to be stared at by so many strangers. Today, I was just plain annoyed.
“Why exactly can’t I wait here for my appointment?” I asked grumpily. After spending countless hours in the goddamn IHOP, I was entirely out of patience. It was also cold and rainy outside. This was bullshit. “I’m going to need you to spell it out for me.”
“Don’t make me call the police to remove you,” the security guard said. He had the tired-while-simultaneously-dismissive tone that I usually associated with grade school teachers and government employees. I’d been a problem child all throughout my school experience. I was too smart, so I had free time. That free time was spent primarily getting into trouble. Clearly, nothing had changed.
“You really think I’m lying about having business here? Why would I do that? I just got off a damn plane, I’m exhausted, and I’m honestly in no mood. I’m so sorry I forgot to bring my best suit. Do you have a dress code here? I didn’t get the memo. Perhaps you should post a sign.”
The security guard seemed honestly surprised that I wasn’t just tottering off the premises obediently like a good little transient. Unfortunately, it only made him more obstinate and angrier. He put his hands on his hips. “I’m not here to argue with you. Leave now, or I call the police.” He’d raised his voice considerably. The guy was legit yelling at me. Everyone in the lobby was staring at us now.
“Dude. Are you serious?” I asked with a laugh. I could barely believe this was happening. People were looking at me like I was some kind of dangerous, t-shirt wearing criminal. “I’m an app developer from the west coast. This how we dress. I don’t wear suits unless it’s to a funeral or a wedding.”
“This is your final warning.” The guy didn’t even have a taser. He was also way smaller and older than me. What was he gonna do? Lecture me to death? No. He had to call the real cops if he wanted me gone.
“Whatever man. You want to call the police? Call ‘em up,” I told him belligerently. “I’m not going to be cowed by some rude, judgmental rent-a-cop who left his chill on the subway this morning.” I rolled my eyes at him.
The security guard bristled at being called a rent-a-cop but didn’t seem to know how to react to actually being challenged. He turned a bright, angry red color and drew himself up to his full height (I’d estimate him at about five-foot-seven). His eyes blinked repeatedly, and his pudgy hands gathered into pudgy fists.
“Listen up you little—"
“Little?” I looked down at him in amusement. He sputtered.
“Lucas? What are you doing here?”
Both the security guard and I spun around to the owner of the voice. Rae stared at me from the door in obvious disbelief. Her tall, stiletto heels clickety-clacked over the marble floor as she trotted across the lobby. My heart lifted and twisted when I saw her. This had to work. She was wearing the same pretty blue dress she’d worn on our first date. She was so incredibly, heartbreakingly beautiful.
The guard noticed Rae’s beauty too. He puffed up importantly and cleared his throat. “Is this man stalking you ma’am? I was just about to call the police to have him removed from the building.”
Rae blinked. “What? Oh, no.” She looked between the security guard and me in total confusion. “What’s going on here?”
I sighed. “This guy’s being a complete and total dick. He thinks I’m loitering and wants to throw me out. I was just waiting for you. Can you tell him to back off?”
Rae looked like she was fighting a smile. I was glad to amuse her. Maybe it would put her in a good mood for what I had to tell her.
“He’s an Azure Group client,” she explained to the security guard, showing him her employee badge. “I promise he’s got every right to be here, even if he doesn’t look it. I’ll take him upstairs with me.”
“Ma’am?” He shook his head as if trying to dislodge something from his hears that had caused him to mishear her.
“Don’t worry. I know you were just doing your job,” she said diplomatically. She grabbed me and started pulling me away. The joy of being touched by her zapped through me like a static shock. I’d missed her fiercely. Only twenty-four hours away from her had been much too long.
“I told you so,” I said to the security guard in my most obnoxious tone over my shoulder. He was still red faced, but now I think it was in confused embarrassment. I winked at him. “See you around.”
“Don’t antagonize the poor guy,” Rae said, grabbing me more firmly by the elbow and propelling me toward the elevator banks with surprising speed. “I didn’t expect you to be here,” she continued as we walked. Now that we were away from the rent-a-cop, her blue eyes were wide, almost panicked. Her words were barely more than a whisper. “This could really mess up the plan.”
I drew her to a stop and grabbed both her soft little hands in mine. “Rae, I need to talk to you.” I’d been rehearsing my speech to her for hours. I hadn’t expected to require a rescue directly before delivering it, but now that I had her attention, I wasn’t going to waste time. The people swirling around us and staring at the underdressed man meant nothing. I was just focused on Rae.
But she was looking at her watch. “Lucas… there’s no time. We gotta go. You’ll just have to tag along.” She pulled out of my grasp and then pushed us both past the main elevators to one around the corner that said ‘Azure Group Executives Only’ above the panel. She swiped her badge against a card reader and the doors opened. Rae exhaled in obvious relief.
“Tag along?” I was now thoroughly confused. “Rae, we need to talk. I’ve got some really important things to tell you.”
The doors closed behind us, and the elevator started to rise. Did we have to have all our important conversations in an elevator? It seemed so. I turned to face her.
“Rae I—”
“Later,” she said, leaning up to silence me with a swift kiss on the lips. Stunned didn’t begin to explain what I was now feeling. She kissed me? I was now unable to speak, which was apparently what she wanted. Rae smiled at me and it crinkled the corners of her eyes so I knew it was real. “We’ll talk soon. But first I’ve got to destroy someone real quick.”
I was speechless, and the ding of the opening doors kept me from asking any questions. I’d never been to the Azure Group offices before, so I stared around myself with interest when the doors opened to reveal what was quite possibly the fanciest office that I’d ever seen.
The walls were covered with what looked like mahogany paneling, and the floors were inlaid marble. Above our heads, expensive-looking gold chandeliers lit everything in a warm, soft glow. As before, Rae grabbed my elbow to drag me forward. She seemed nervous.
“This is where you work every day?” I should have really been asking her about that kiss, or how she thought we were about to save Notable Match, but damn. This was one nice office. I’d never seen an office with crystal chandeliers before.
Rae chuckled. “No. I worked in t
he joyless cube farm one floor below. This is the executive wing. I was only ever allowed up here for meetings.”
“Worked?”
She nodded. “Yes, I quit. Fuck this place.”
“Then what—”
“I’ll explain soon.” Rae drew us to a halt in front of what was clearly a board room. She looked down at her watch again. “Are you ready?” she asked me.
I frowned. “I honestly have no idea what’s going on.”
“Well then just try to look confident.”
I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion and she nodded approvingly.
“Yeah, just like that,” she said.
She pushed the doors open wide and strode into the room.
41
Rae
The executive team stared at me with a universal mixture of confusion and annoyance. ‘Who the hell are you?’ their beady eyes asked me. I ignored them all. There was only one person I was really here to talk to. At the head of the table, the woman I wanted stood up in anger. Her pink skirt suit made her look sweet and grandmotherly. I knew better. She was a traitorous shark. Right now, she was giving off some serious Dolores Umbridge vibes. She cleared her throat primly.
“Miss Lewis--” began McKenzie, but I cut her off. Should I be appreciative she knew who I was and what I looked like? I so wasn’t.
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt the Monday morning meeting, but I’m afraid you’ve got a bit of a situation. Azure Group is about to be sued in an enormously expensive and embarrassing class action employment lawsuit. I thought you might appreciate a quick heads-up.”
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