The Guardian and the Escort
“I was on an important call to acquire a new client until you rudely hung up.”
“Obviously, not overly important as they haven’t called back.” I turned and headed back to his desk, enjoying the ruddy color working its way up his cheeks. “Let’s assume you won’t get them as a client.”
“Listen, Black—”
“No,” I snapped. Losing all sense of humor, I leveled him with a deadly look as I placed a stack of papers on his desk. I rested both hands on the surface and towered over his overweight body, trying not to cower in the chair. “You will sign this. Every. Single. One.”
He scoffed, stuttering over his rebuttal. “I don’t even know what this is.”
Holding his gaze, I opened the file. “This is the one where you will sign over The Berkshire.” I flipped another page and pointed. “This one is where you will sign over Alec’s shipping company and assets.” Another page turned. “And this is the one you will sign that forfeits your right to any claim or payment as of today.”
“That’s—thi—this is absurd. You can’t just come in here and demand this kind of thing. Alec left it to me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Did he?”
Phillip swallowed. “You saw the will. He requested I manage the company.”
“Until Rose came of age.”
“Well, yes, but she’s just a girl. She can’t handle all of this.”
“I assure you she can. Especially with the team Alec left in place.”
“Which includes me.”
“See, I don’t think it does. I talked to Alec’s lawyer last night, and he informed me that Alec made a meeting for the weekend after he passed away. Obviously, he never made the meeting, but the lawyer informed me that Alec mentioned firing you and how he needed to change his will to accommodate the change.”
The red tinged all the way up to Phillip’s temples. He looked so enraged his jowls shook.
“So, I don’t think you were supposed to be here at all.
“This is my company to manage. I’m not signing anything.”
“He probably fired you because you were skimming money from the beginning, and since you haven’t stopped since, you will sign the papers, or I will take everything from you, down to the shit-stained underwear covering your fat ass.”
I kept my glare threatening but calm.
When I’d gone to my lawyer, he’d had an employee on file who used a set of skills to gain access to every file Phillip kept hidden. We hadn’t had much time for the details, so I’d memorized the most useful and was bullshitting my way through the rest.
Phillip’s nostrils flared like a bull ready to charge but with nowhere to go, he looked ready to explode, and I enjoyed every second. I backed him into the corner and watched him try to grow big to fight his way out—but there was no getting past me. I was always bigger.
“Always the fucking golden boy,” he sneered between his clenched jaw. “I was with Alec from the beginning, and after one fucking consulting job, I told him not to waste his time on, he finds you.”
“Well, Phillip, maybe if you weren’t such a disgusting piece of shit, he wouldn’t have noticed anyone else. You make it easy to be better.”
“Fuck you.”
“Sign the papers,” I ordered.
“Why? So the golden child can run it into the ground? I mean, what the fuck does she know? She’s a goddamn bimbo he left his entire company to. I didn’t get one fucking thing. Nothing,” he shouted. “And that dumb bitch gets it all.”
“Watch what you fucking call her,” I snapped. I’d been nothing but calm and relaxed since walking in, but one slur against Rose and my composure cracked.
As if light spilled through the fissure, Phillip’s face lit up with realization. “Have you got a taste of your ward? I wonder what Alec would say if he knew the perfect man he left his daughter to would take advantage and fuck her.”
“Sign the goddamn papers, or I’ll dig deeper until I uncover every single cent you’ve taken. Not just from Alec, but from every single client you’ve ever spoken to. I’ll dig until the hole is so deep you can’t even see the light of day anymore, and then I’ll leave you there.”
Phillip worked his jaw back and forth, scowling as he probably considered the chances of getting away with murder right now. I glared right back, making sure he knew there was zero chance of him getting out of this winning.
“You’re a filthy piece of shit. You and that bitch can go fuck off.”
I stood upright, needing space to keep from wrapping my hands around his throat. Not looking away for a second, I tugged a pen free from my jacket and tossed it atop the papers. He pressed the pen so tightly to the paper I waited for it to tear through. With each signature finished, he flipped the page, slapping it over and moving on to the next. He looked like a kid stomping his feet, but the reality was that each slap released a band of tension from around my chest like a gavel closing out a winning case.