Gifted Connections 4

“Not all, honestly.” Jace shrugged.

“That’s right,” I said with a teasing smile. “You dated a supermodel. This isn’t your first time rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.”

He gave me a pointed look. “You know I broke up with her when she hit it big, but I have worked some of her shows and been to events such as last night and today. Troy turned to me for backup whenever he had particularly high-strung clients.”

“I wish we had our gifts now,” I said wryly as Jen began screaming at a bartender for something. “I know I’m a little behind on current entertainment and on who’s at the top and who’s near the bottom, but who is she really?” I nudged my chin in Jen’s direction. “I know I watched a couple of movies she’s been in, and she said a few lines here and there, but she was never prevalent, was she?”

Jace chuckled. “You’re asking the wrong person. I recognize her, but I couldn’t tell you what she played in or who she was before today.”

“Hey, you. Girl!” Jen was now below and screaming up at us.

I looked around, confused at first. I looked behind me and noticed she must be talking to me. I held a finger to my chest with a raised brow because there was no way I was going to stoop to her level and yell like a crazed banshee.

“Yes, you! Girl, you are so dense! Did you even realize what you did last night, or was it a happy accident? Come down here, now,” she continued to yell, her voice efficiently carrying across the lawn.

I stared at her in shock for a moment. I’ve been talked down to several times in my life, but this was a little excessive.

Jace laid a hand on my lower back. “Let’s see what the delusional diva wants.”

“So, help me,” I muttered angrily. “Woo Sa,” I breathed deeply. “If this wasn’t Troy’s company and his name wasn’t on the line, I think I would use every word in the book Non-Pops Approved.”

“Relax,” he assured me. “If she crosses the line one more time, I’ll speak to her.”

As Jace reassured me, I saw Troy rounding the corner of the mansion. He beat us to her. He was wearing his game face, the one he wore before he entered the ring, readying to go a few rounds.

“I’m not sure if you got a chance to read our contract, Jen. The contract you signed before we signed your contract,” he said with deadly calm. “In the contract, we made it quite clear that none, and I mean none of our people would be talked down to. I’m confused why you are yelling and talking down to my employee and belittling her in front of everyone. Has she done something wrong? Is she not doing her job? Even if she was, you were to come to Leo, not address her directly.”

“Are you threatening me?” she asked him with narrowed eyes.

“No, ma’am, I’m just reminding you what you signed. If you fail to uphold your end of the bargain, we will pull our whole team, and we will be collecting our payment in full,” Troy stated coolly.

“I will be calling your owner directly. You have no right to talk to me in that manner. I was just trying to get the girl’s attention. You will be staying, or I will be suing you, the owner, and everyone in your team,” she answered scathingly, making air quotes on that last part.

Troy continued to talk to her in an almost bored tone, and I could see it was only raising her ire even more so. “Ma’am, I am the owner and you can threaten my team and me all you want, but in the end, I have my lawyers on standby and my contract is ironclad.”

“I can have you blackballed in our scene. You would never be able to work here or anywhere near here ever again. Is one employee really worth your whole company and your livelihood?” she snapped at him.

Troy crossed his arms over your chest. “You can try, but I have a client list a mile long that continue to recommend us. We have references from several reputable congressmen, politicians, musicians, actors…need I continue? There’s a reason I have a successful company, I have great people working for me and I, in turn, treat them the way they should be treated.”

“Relax, Jen.” Mark Holmes came out of the house. It was clear that he had been standing there for some time. “I apologize for my fiancés…behavior, Mr. Ricci.” He held out his hand. “She’s a little tense, you know how that is. You and I’ve worked together before, you know we’ve never had any issues.” He seemed to be silently communicating with Troy as he gave him a pointed look. “I would really like it if you were to stay.”

Mark’s attention then turned to me. I didn’t like the way his eyes roved over me—made my skin crawl. “I apologize Ms. I requested Jennifer to see if you could guide our guests into the house once you check the guest list. It’s cooler inside, and after the night you had, I figured you’d like the reprieve.”

I looked over at Troy, and he looked back at me. I knew he was giving me the final say whether we stayed or left. Even though I knew it wouldn’t affect his company, I still didn’t feel right not fulfilling our obligations over one high-strung diva. That, and I really needed to figure out who Otto was. “If you can lead the way,” I said somewhat stiffly.

Mark smiled at me and we went inside the house, which was just as ostentatious as the outside. I would have hired an interior decorator or fired the one who designed this mess.

“Your services aren’t necessary,” Mark frowned at Jace who had followed.

“After last night’s incident, the company has created a partnership policy. We are required to work in pairs,” Jace said staidly.

Mark frowned again. “If it’s company policy, far be it from me to go against it.”

“Shoot me now,” I muttered as we sat behind the podium on stools. I felt like a glorified hostess as I verified the name on the list to the picture beside it.

“No thank you, I already went through that harrowing experience last night,” Jace said sardonically.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “Didn’t think that one through.”