Risk (Vault 1)

“Pfft, it’s easy to be confident when you know you’re right.”

I try not to smile. “Drink up, woman.” Fuck, there I go again. I can’t call an employee, woman. It’s a good thing I’m assigning her to work with Trent, because by the looks of it, I can’t be trusted around her.

She takes a sip, and I see the surprise in her eyes, but she doesn’t give me anything else to go on. Stubborn too, I see. After the fourth sip, she caves. “Okay, so you weren’t kidding when you said you made good coffee. I’m actually just going to call it now—you win. Not even my coffee can stand up to this.”

I grin. “And here I was thinking you weren’t a quitter. Isn’t that what you said the other night? Where’s that fighting spirit?”

She smacks my stomach. The way her eyes widen tells me she possibly didn’t mean to hit me there. And when her apology tumbles out of her mouth, I know she’s experiencing the same concerns about working with me that I’m having about her.

“God, Owen, I am so sorry. You’re my boss now, and so far this morning I’ve knocked you over and hit you, and we haven’t even started work for the day. This might take me a second to get used to, but please don’t fire me for being inappropriate.”

I turn to face her, leaning my hip against the counter. “There’s no need to—”

My ex wife takes that moment to breeze into the kitchen, interrupting our conversation. “Oh good, you’re here,” she says before glancing at Charlize. She slows, her eyes narrowing as she takes us in. When she speaks again, her tone is sharp. “I need to go over some things with you.” Waving her hand in Charlize’s direction, she adds, “Of course, finish with the staff first. I’ll be in my office.”

These two women couldn’t be any different, and I’m left wondering what I ever saw in Jill as I watch her leave. I could swear she never used to be this rude, but years of putting up with her have made my memories foggy.

“Sorry about that,” I apologise.

Charlize is still staring after Jill. “Is she always like that?” She turns back to me. “And will I be working for her?”

“I hate to break it to you, but yes. That’s my ex wife. She owns half the company.”

A flash of understanding crosses her face. “Ah, gotcha. Makes sense.”

I frown. “What makes sense?”

“Her rudeness. She was staking her territory.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “What territory?”

She pulls a face as if I’ve just asked the dumbest question. “You, of course.”

Trent joins us then, effectively ending our conversation and leaving me confused. I’m not sure why Charlize would think Jill was staking her territory. Jill has slept with at least a dozen men since our divorce and two that I know of during our marriage. We ended things badly, and not once since then have either of us tried to reconcile, so there’s no territory to be staked.

I introduce the two of them, and once I’m sure Charlize is comfortable with him, I leave them to it. I filled him in on the phone last night about the work I want her doing, so he’s ready to go. And the fact they hit it off straight away puts my mind at ease. Trent’s not as hard as the other guys I have working for me—he’ll take the time to guide her that none of them would have.

Jill’s waiting in my office for me, and her cold eyes greet mine as I enter. “You took your time.”

I move to my chair and sit. “And I thought you said you’d be waiting in your office for me.” I’m not ready to play her games yet this morning. I need at least one more coffee for that.

She scowls. “I see you were busy in the kitchen with the flavour of the month.”

I stare at her. Who is this woman? Sure, she’s caused me no end of problems over the last year where this company is concerned, but it’s like she’s morphed into a whole new level of bitch recently. “What the hell does that mean, Jill?”

Leaning her hands on my desk, she snarls, “It means that if you’re thinking of fucking that staff member, don’t. We do not need a sexual harassment suit because you can’t keep your dick in your pants.”

I push my chair back as my blood boils. Levelling an angry glare on her, I say, “I’ve never had a problem keeping my dick in my pants, and I’ve certainly never done anything to put my company at risk. I don’t appreciate you throwing those kind of accusations around.”

Her brows arch. “Your company?”

“Fuck, Jill, why are you being like this? I’ve worked damn hard over the last year to keep you happy, but you just seem to become moodier and bitchier with each passing month. If you’re not happy here, I’ll buy you out. You can go and find something that will make you happy. That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

“Screw you, Owen. All you’ve ever wanted since the day I met you was to fix the sins of your father. You put everything second to that one goal, including me. Not once did you think about my happiness, so don’t give me that bullshit now. And as far as your precious company is concerned, I’m not going anywhere. I stayed by your side for six long years, taking scraps of your time whenever you decided to hand them out. I deserve my seat at the table.”

I grip the back of my neck and rub it. The guilt I feel over the breakdown of our marriage rears its ugly head. It’s the reason why I allow her to get away with some of the shit she does. Rationally I know she contributed to the breakdown, but this is one area of my life where my head doesn’t always win.

When I don’t respond straight away, she snaps, “Just remember the Bluestone Award the next time you’re tempted to sleep with the staff.”