“Thank you.” Chris turned his attention on Kent. “Using another employee’s email without authorization is grounds for termination.”
“I didn’t send those emails. Someone else must have done it.”
“No one else sent them. You did.” Chris nodded toward Mr. Young. “We spoke to Nico, who told us how you arrived at his and Luke’s apartment and showed him these emails. You said they were from Luke. Since both emails were written on this terminal, your claim that someone used your account lacks credibility. In fact, your admission inculpates you in the unauthorized use of Luke’s account.
“Your internship is terminated. Mr. Young will escort you back to your cubicle, where you will collect your personal belongings, turn over your ID badge, and then vacate the premises. You are also barred from entering this building without further written notice.”
He flicked two fingers, and Mr. Young motioned for Kent to leave. Sparing a last angry stare at Luke, Kent shrugged away from Mr. Young’s grasp and walked out of the office.
The IT guy left, leaving Luke with his managing partner. When Chris didn’t leave, Luke knew what was coming next. It wasn’t how he’d expected the summer to end. He had regrets, but not for making sure Kent answered for what he’d done.
“I’ll get my things and leave my badge here, Chris.” He dug the hard plastic rectangle out of his pocket and set it on the desk. “Thank you for everything, and I’m truly sorry for what happened.”
Chris nodded and headed toward the door. Instead of leaving, he swung it shut. When he turned, he motioned for Luke to take his seat.
His legs were like jelly, so sitting wasn’t hard. Chris still hadn’t said anything as he used Luke’s other chair. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said back. “You think you’re being terminated as well?”
“I can’t imagine the firm has time for this kind of petty stuff.”
“You didn’t need to tell me. Had you kept quiet, we’d never have found out.”
And Kent would have gotten away with it. But that wasn’t his motivation. “Nico needed to know the truth.”
“Nico?” Chris raised an eyebrow. “Not the firm?”
“The firm does too, but I’d be lying to you if I said that was my motivation.” It might have saved his internship if he’d lied. “Kent really hurt Nico with this deception.”
Chris uncrossed his arms, reached forward, and picked up Luke’s badge. “You’re right about the firm not wanting to deal with drama. Any time an accountant is making waves, it generally isn’t good news. Our clients prefer we be noticed as little as possible.”
Luke swallowed the bile rising in his throat as Chris turned Luke’s ID card around and around. Telling his parents he’d wasted his summer was going suck. Even more so when he told them it was a failure in part due to Kent.
“But they also prize integrity.” Luke snapped his gaze back to Chris’s. “It’s one of the hardest traits for us to measure during the summer program, because it’s rarely an issue.”
He tossed the badge in Luke’s direction. It skidded across the hard surface and into Luke’s lap.
“Go home and relax tonight.” He smiled as he stood. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, and Luke?”
“Yes?”
“How about you and Nico come for dinner next weekend? The kids keep asking about you.”
Luke swallowed a sigh of relief. “Let me check with Nico.”
Luke stopped halfway up the stairs. The aroma coming from their apartment had him salivating.
Nico was home.
Thank God.
“Nico?” he called as soon as he shut the door.
“In the kitchen.”
Where else? Smiling, Luke moved around the wall to find Nico working in front of the stove. “Smells great. What is it?”
“Spaghetti aglio e olio. Which is spaghetti with olive oil and garlic.” Nico stirred the garlic in the frying pan with a wooden spoon. “Along with lots of fresh parsley and pine nuts. Nonna makes hers with anchovies, but I like it without.”
They looked at each other, wordlessly acknowledging Nico’s absence. How he’d run. Luke caught a glimmer of fragile uncertainty in Nico’s eyes and smiled gently.
“Really? You don’t like Nonna’s cooking?”
“Shush.” Nico waved the spoon at Luke, smiling. A real smile that made Luke’s heart skip. “Trust me, you’ll be glad I left them out. They make it too fishy.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” He leaned in for a kiss, and Nico didn’t disappoint him. It reeked of the domestic bliss he’d glimpsed all summer. “Let me change, and I’ll help you.”
“It’s almost done, but thanks.” It looked like Nico had it under control. He always did.
“Okay. I’ll be right out.”
He quickly changed into khaki shorts and a salmon polo shirt. His stomach rumbled, and he emerged in record time. Nico, however, wasn’t in the kitchen. “Nico?”
“Here.”
Luke turned left, and Nico held out a black tux. “What’s that?”
“I went to Cantangello’s to get my tux today.” That being the tailor Rocco Esposito recommended when they needed tuxedoes for the charity event. “Funny thing. They gave me two.”