Switch (Landry Family 3)

“If I want to threaten you, I’ll do it in the open. Because that’s what women do. We keep things on the up-and-up, say it like it is.” I glance at Raza and then back to Vanessa again. “You know, little things, like . . . if we’re married.”

Her face pales.

“What you did to Graham is repulsive. You’re nothing more than a deceitful, disgusting excuse for a woman.”

“How dare you!”

“How dare you,” I spit. “How dare you walk in his office and pretend like you have some right to talk to him.”

“He’ll be the judge of that.”

“No, I’ll be the judge of that.” I march to my desk phone and hit the button for security. “George? This is Mallory. I need someone in my suite, please.”

“I’m not leaving here until I talk to him. Get my drift?”

“You’ll be leaving here when George gets here,” I laugh. “And I’ll ensure you never get through those doors again. Get my drift?”

George’s partner, Marty, bursts through the door. “Ms. Sims, is there a problem?”

“Can you escort her out of here, please?”

“I just talked to Mr. Landry last week. He’s expecting me,” Vanessa says.

Her words cut me to the core, even though I don’t think I believe them. Why would Graham talk to her and not tell me, especially after our conversation last night? It can’t be true. I won’t believe it.

Marty looks at me and raises his brows. I stand taller. “Please see her out.”

He angles himself towards Vanessa and asks her to leave. She argues with him for a moment before glaring at me. “You’re fucking him, aren’t you?”

I grin. “No, Vanessa. You fucked him. He ma

kes love to me.”

I’m not sure that’s true, but it’s enough to get to her. She starts thrashing around, yelling obscenities. Marty subdues her, guiding her out, but not before she tosses an envelope at Raza.

Once she’s gone, the air still filled with her crazy energy, Raza and I stare at each other.

“What was that about?” she asks.

“Honestly?” I say, trying to block out all of Vanessa’s accusations and settle down. “I’m not sure.”

Raza picks up the envelope and places it on my desk. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Good idea,” I mutter, trying to catch my breath as the adrenaline starts to wear off.

I watch her go, and a few short seconds later, Graham streaks by the glass. My heart flutters as I watch him race to the door, coming to my side. I don’t know how he heard about Vanessa so fast, but by the tempo of his steps, I know he must have.

“Did you send the fax to Gulica on Friday?” he barks before the door is even shut behind him.

Startled at the question, one I wasn’t expecting and catching me off-guard, I stutter, “Yes, of course. I sent it before I left.”

“They didn’t get it.” He marches to my desk and stands in front of it, fury radiating off him. “You know what that means? It means Landry Security is now on hold.”

My eyes go wide, my heart stills in my chest as he looks at me with a mixture of anger and pity. My head spins as my mind is yanked from one thing to another so quickly, I feel sick to my stomach. “You’re kidding me.”

“Does it look like I’m kidding? Everything we’ve worked on for months now is in jeopardy because we don’t have insurance. We can’t move forward on anything, and when we do get things in line, our premiums won’t be locked in. They’ll likely be three times higher than they would’ve last week. Damn it!”

“Graham, I’m sorry,” I rush, jumping to my feet. “Let me find the confirmation sheet from the fax.”