Grumpy Boss

“What can you offer me?” he asked lamely, and I rolled my eyes, getting impatient.

“I’m not going to waste your time,” I said. “Please don’t waste mine. I know what I want, so here’s the deal. You’re going to give me a piece of information, and in return, I’m going to let you ask one question, and I promise I’ll answer to the best of my ability.”

“One for one then,” he said, scratching his chin, then took out his phone. “Can I record your answer?”

“No,” I said. “But it can be on the record, okay?”

“Fine,” he said, though he seemed disappointed. “I’ll admit, I’m surprised you’re playing ball. I didn’t think I knew anything you didn’t know already.”

“Has Desmond Bergson been leaking all these stories about Rees to the media?” It was the one question that mattered, and although I knew the answer already, I needed to confirm it. On the off chance that it wasn’t Desmond, despite his letter admitting that it was him, I had to ask and be completely sure. I could tell Rees was on the verge of falling into the deep end, and I didn’t want him to get sucked down into something worthless.

“Actually, no,” Alex said, grinning a little, and he must’ve realized in that moment he had something big. “I can tell you who it is, but that’s a whole different question.”

I grimaced a little, and felt my anger flare. He was right—technically, which was enough. I was a lawyer after all, and technicalities mattered to me, but still. The little weasel was a punk.

“Fine,” I said. “What do you want to know?”

“Who is Rees dating right now?” he asked.

I sucked in a breath and put my biggest, stupidest smile smack on my face, and leaned nice and close to him.

“Me,” I said.

He pulled back. “What?” His eyes went wide, like he was staring into a cave.

“He’s dating me, you idiot,” I said. “Why do you think he hired me? And why do you think I took the job? I graduated third in my class from Penn Law. I could be on my way to partner in some big firm right now, getting rich. Instead, I’m an assistant. Does that make any sense to you?”

“No,” he stammered, and too ka step bac, nearly sideswiping a guy in a suit. The man cursed and hurried on. Cars coursed down the street, and a taxi honked as a black sedan pulled out in front of it. “I just thought you were taking some time off and weren’t ready to take the bar. I had no clue you were seeing Rees.”

“Nobody does,” I said. “It’s a scoop. The best one of your career, I bet. Now, tell me who’s been planting stories about him.”

He laughed, shaking his head, and shoved his phone in his pocket. “Alright, you know what? You gave me something good, so fuck it. The guy that’s been calling is named Kirk.”

“Who the hell is that?” I asked, frowning. It didn’t mean anything to me, and even less without a surname.

“Tell that name to Rees, he’ll know.” Alex shook his head and took a step away, edging toward the curb. “All of that was on the record. So I’m going to run with this story, you realize that, right?”

“Be my guest,” I said. “We’re two single, consenting adults. Maybe you can print something new for a change.”

He barked another laugh, then turned and walked off, pumping his arms, moving fast into the flow of people. I stood and watched him go, then turned and began to head toward the office again, moving slower this time.

Kirk, Kirk, Kirk. I kept thinking the name, over and over, until I reached the far side of the street. I took out my phone and finally hit that call button, ringing up Rees.

It hit his voicemail. The bastard. If I had really needed him—

“It’s me,” I said. “I don’t know why you’ve been dodging my calls, but something big just happened. I met with a reporter and told him we’re dating. Also, a guy named Kirk’s been planting all these rumors in the media. You should probably come into the office.”

I hung up and shoved my phone into my bag. He returned my call a few minutes later, bug I let it go to voicemail. Let him hear that and stew on it for a little while.

14

Rees

The plane vibrated as we hit a patch of turbulence. Millie’s fingers gripped her arm rest and she crossed her legs nervously. Flying private made her nervous—the luxury was nice, but apparently the smaller plane set her on edge.

She deserved it right now.

That god damn voice message. I deserved that, to be fair. I guess we both got what was coming, but still. That voice message set my teeth on edge. I couldn’t believe she told a reporter that we were dating, and for about ten minutes, I was absolutely livid.