Black Diamond (Obsidian 2)

She knew she’d crossed an invisible line. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Then don’t,” I said coldly. “You want the job or not?”

Instead of answering right away, she sighed. “What if we have a fight? What if we break up?”

“Even if we have a disagreement, I’m sure both of us can remain professional at the office. And secondly, we aren’t going to break up.” The certainty didn’t come from any belief in our relationship. It derived from obsession. There was no way in hell I was letting her walk away from me unless I was ready to let her go.

And I knew I wouldn’t be ready for a long time.

“We aren’t?” she asked quietly, her eyes soft.

I crossed my legs under the table, my hands resting together on my knee. She was a fiery opponent, someone who didn’t settle for less than what she deserved. If she didn’t agree with something, she had no problem voicing her opinion. “If you think I’d ever let you go, you’re sadly mistaken.”

5

Rome

I interrogated Christopher the instant I saw him. “Did you ask Calloway to give me a job?” I knew he didn’t mention Hank. If he had, my conversation with Calloway would have played out quite differently. The table would have been thrown across the room, and there would be a story about Hank’s murder on the prime-time news.

“What?” Christopher must have just gotten off work because he still had his tie around his neck. It was undone and loose, as were the buttons of his shirt. He had a beer in his hand as he sat on the couch, and his perfectly styled hair had started to come loose from the gel.

“Don’t play stupid with me.” I sat on the couch beside him and pointed my finger into his chest. “Calloway offered me a job out of nowhere over lunch today. That’s pretty random, don’t you think?”

“Random?” he asked. “In case you’ve forgotten, both of you do the exact same thing for a living. It’s not like he’s a dentist and you’re a gymnast. He’s seen your work and knows you’re good at what you do. Did that logic ever cross your mind?”

When my brother belittled me like that, I felt stupid for jumping to conclusions. “Sorry, I just thought it was strange that he offered me this amazing job out of the blue.”

“People resign from positions all the time, and new people are needed to fill them… It’s the circle of life. So, it’s a good gig?”

“Yeah. I’ll be the head of the Homeless and Working Class department.”

“Cool,” he said with a nod. “Sounds boring as hell to me, but good for you.”

“How ironic. Your job sounds boring to me.”

He shrugged. “It is pretty boring.”

I chuckled. “At least you admit it.”

“So, when are you moving out?” he blurted.

“I’m not moving out. You need someone to help with the rent, right?”

“Well…yeah.” He drank his beer. “But I can always find someone else. If you want your space, you should get your own place. No hard feelings, really. Now that you’ll have money, you should treat yourself.”

“I have no idea what the salary is.”

“I’m sure it’s enough to live off of. Calloway seems like a guy who would pay his employees pretty well.”

“Yeah.” I just hoped I wasn’t given special treatment.

“Having your boyfriend as your boss will be nice. You can get away with a lot of stuff.”

I glared at him. “Like I would ever take advantage of that relationship.”

“Why not?” he asked. “If I were screwing my boss, I would.”

“I guess that’s the difference between you and me.”

“So, when do you start?”

“Not sure. I need to have a formal interview at his office tomorrow. He’ll probably tell me then.”

“Awesome. And what about For All? What are you going to do with that?”

Closing down the company wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I only had a few part-time volunteers. It wasn’t like they would be getting a cut in their paychecks. “I guess I’ll cancel my lease and move my stuff out…pretty simple.”

“Hank will have no idea how to track you down. Maybe he’ll give up and forget about you.”

“Yeah…” I hoped so. If not, I might have to kill him. I didn’t put up with harassment. I’d tried contacting the police and that didn’t work, but I would take the matter into my own hands if necessary.

I entered the large building and took the elevator to the top floor. Once the doors opened, I looked at the wide-open office space. Cubicles housed workers at their stations, typing away or talking on the phone. The perimeter of the floor contained offices, probably for the higher-up executives. It was obvious where Calloway’s office was because the back of the building couldn’t be seen at all, blocked by a black wall with a large desk sitting in front of it. Looking as if it was carved from stone sat an enormous desk with a pretty woman behind it.