Grumpy Boss

“He’d do it,” Jack said. “He has the money. A good PI could tail you without being seen pretty easily.”

“Even across the country?” I shook my head, arms crossed, fingers digging into my arm biceps.

“He could’ve hired someone local. Probably does, wherever you go.”

“Fuck,” I said, then walked to his filing cabinet and kick it. “Fuck,” I yelled, and kicked it again. My toe hurt like shit and his lower drawer had a little dent, but he only frowned at me.

“Rees,” Millie said. “You don’t need to break your foot. That’s not going to help anything.”

“She’s right,” Jack said. “Don’t do something stupid. I know Desmond’s gone too far—“

“Fluke’s going to murder me,” I said, miming a knife into my heart. “Don’t you get it? That woman is distantly related to royalty or some shit. I bet she knows a ton of English hitmen.”

“That’s a little much,” Millie said.

“I’m exaggerating, but she’s going to be so angry.” I threw up my hands and balled them into fists, trying to do anything to work out this rage that made my back tremble. “We have to do something about Desmond. He’s going to sabotage this whole thing. I mean, shit, who’s going to meet with me now, after this garbage?”

“We’ll do damage control,” Jack said. “Put out a statement. Sue the shit out of whoever runs this trash blog.”

“Way too late for that,” I said, gesturing at the computer. “Search it. I bet it’s all over the lace.”

He frowned, but started typing, and only frowned some more.

This was bad. Lady Fluke might never forgive me, and now I’d lose one of my only friends in this whole world because Desmond couldn’t get over himself. I could handle losing the SPAC and failing to make as much money as I wanted, but I couldn’t afford to have another friendship crumble.

I was toxic, and I was broken, but god damn it, I wasn’t so bad if Lady Fluke could stand me. That woman couldn’t stand anyone.

And now I’d crossed her, and I knew I’d pay.

“Fuck,” I said, and slumped down into a chair. I leaned back, staring at the ceiling, then squeezed my eyes shut.

“Are you okay?” Millie asked, and there was a real worried quality to her voice. “I can talk to her. I think she likes me. Maybe—“

“It won’t help,” I said, then opened my eyes and looked at Jack. “Desmond has to pay for this.”

“We’ll think of something,” Jack said.

“Really, do you two think hitting him back is the best thing?” Millie asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if we focused on the SPAC? That’s what he’s trying to destroy. The best revenge would be to succeed, despite him.”

I shook my head once. “The SPAC is important, but breaking Desmond takes priority now. He went too far.”

“Just think about it,” Millie said. “This is what he wants. The whole game is to distract you.”

“Then it’s working,” I said, and stood up. “Millie, I understand if you don’t want to be a part of this anymore, but I’ve got new priorities.”

She said something, but I didn’t hear her. I left Jack’s office, rode the elevators down to the lobby, and walked out into the city. I lost myself in the foot traffic, and turned my mind to one thing: destroying Desmond.

13

Millie

I didn’t think it as possible for Rees to be that upset. The whole thing left me dizzy and breathless—one second, we were kissing, the best kiss of my life, and I felt like I was drifting off into an ocean of some deeper meaning, where I’d finally start to understand some lost part of myself—and the next second, Rees was vowing to destroy his rival and storming out.

I went home after that. I didn’t know what else to do, and Jack wasn’t much help. He seemed as lost as I felt. I tried calling Rees, tried emailing and texting, but I got no reply. I was genuinely worried about him—the look on his face was heartbreaking.

I knew he cared about Lady Fluke. Not in a romantic way, but they were close, and I got the sense that Rees had very few close relationships. He clearly valued her, and the thought of their friendship crumbling deeply hurt him. I wished I could find him and do something, but he could be anywhere in the world, and I was all alone in my tiny apartment, wondering if everything I worked toward had just taken a turn for the worse.

At the very least, I was back to square one, with the bar still staring me in the face, daring me to sit down and try to pass it. Except I still didn’t want to take the chance, and I still didn’t want to give up on what I had with Rees—whatever it was—or maybe I only wanted a chance at the money he promised, so much money that it would change my life and my grandmother’s for good.