“Good, you will be sitting in on my meetings, not just conferences, unless I tell you differently.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Alexa
Leo is such an asshole. I don’t care how gorgeous he looks today in a steel gray suit with a light blue shirt and dark purple tie. I remember reading he has over a hundred suits, all cut to fit him. He even has his shirts made to fit him because he’s so freaking rich and apparently people as rich as him don’t buy shirts off the rack. I can’t imagine dangling three hundred thousand dollars as an enticement like it was a piece of candy. I send the email to Elizabeth Ward and look through his schedule. I’m as certain as he is she’ll call back.
Typing the email to Natalie, I fumble. Dang it, holy crap, I’m so tired. I could close my eyes and fall asleep sitting up. I’m barely done hitting send on the email when Natalie calls my cell.
“What does Leo want?”
“I’m almost a hundred percent sure it’s about Douglas Harden.”
“Oh, good, that’s a relief. Finally confirmed his suspicion, cool. I was beginning to wonder. If the head of our accounting, a forensic accountant couldn’t find it I didn’t think anyone would.”
“Wait, Leo had other people looking into it?”
“What do you mean other people? Did you look into this?”
I hate him so much right now. “Yeah, for like ten fucking hours.”
Thirty-one years old and I’ve dropped the f-bomb maybe ten times in my life, not even a week with Leandros Kaplan and it’s rolling off my tongue and feels so good. “It’s why I didn’t get home until ten last night. And man was Felix mad at me, he got under my covers and peed on my bed. I slept on the couch. Leo had other people looking, and they couldn’t find it?”
“The head of trading and the head of accounting. It’s been a month, and neither of them found anything. I can’t believe you found it.”
“It wasn’t easy. He told me if I left without finding it then I was basically quitting my job. He’s such a fucker.”
“Oh my god, don’t say that. What if he hears you?”
“Right this second I’m not worried about it. I have to go my line is ringing.” And I don’t, I really don’t. He is a fucker, he went past jerk and asshole yesterday. Okay, maybe he kind of made up for it with dinner. My order from Porters and that amazing scotch. Then there was the way he teased me, Leandros Kaplan teased me and smiled at me over a shared dinner. Last night I had fallen asleep dreaming of Leo and his smile and licking scotch from his body and—damn it.
“Okay, I won’t stop off at my desk. I’ll be there in about a half an hour.”
I mumble some response as I work to breathe deep after that dang reminder of the dream last night I somehow managed to forget until now.
When Natalie comes in. I ring Leo to let him know she’s here. “Good, come in.”
I sit behind Natalie, pen ready. I’m relieved I can follow along without much work. It’s a longer meeting than I thought it would be. Leo goes over how to terminate Harden. Harden settled, they talked about two other new employees and their progress.
I check my watch. Elizabeth Ward is due in almost fifteen minutes. Even though I don’t say a word, Leo nods at me. “That will be all, Natalie. Good work.”
Natalie leaves with a look at me that tells me to call her. I nod, as I stay behind. “Would you like me to type up my notes and give them to you when I’m done?”
“Type them up yes, give to me, no. Just save them in the individual employee file, on my personal server.”
I’m barely in my seat when security calls to let me know Ward is here. Natalie sends me a text to call her ASAP. Without responding I toss my cell in a drawer seconds before the elevator opens to Elizabeth Ward.
I beep Leo to let him know she’s here. He gives the okay, and I show Elizabeth into his office.
The change in Leo over the next half hour is unbelievable. This is a new Leo entirely, smiling, charming, laughing, teasing and I want to scratch Elizabeth Ward’s eyes out for seeing this side of him. Jealousy, sharp and pointy, flares bright inside of me. It’s a challenge to focus on what they are saying when I can’t take my eyes off Leo. Leo asks me a question, and I freeze, I hadn’t been paying attention. That damn dark eyebrow goes up. I barely have time to stutter out an apology before he’s back to Elizabeth.
Trying desperately to find that ice deep down, I’m able to get back on track. Leo wanted her to be in charge of a job work center on the southside. There would be GED classes and testing available in addition to accredited certificates and community college credit hours as well as the usual resume assistance and computer classes. The plan is for apprenticeships and internships, and even childcare with a portion of it focused on helping young women. The center would be a nonprofit with initial funding provided by both Leo and Markhoff at twenty-five million each.
It’s so hard to hate him right now when he’s not quite the asshole I think he is.
***