“I see. And she got a call late in the day. A call that said her fiancée wanted her there, or something to that effect? And now that we’re on the subject, how did you even know Karen and Ben had even been in a relationship?”
He shifts in his seat. Not once but three times. Then he raises his hands in the air and says, “Rhoades is an asshole. He’s only going to hurt you. Like he hurt her. I overheard Lisa talking to someone about it at the event. I was trying to protect you.”
“I thought we’d covered this. You don’t have the right to protect me, Nick. You’re not my brother, father, sister, or mother. You’re not my friend. You are my employee, or I should say were. You overstepped your bounds on too many occasions and this one went way too far. You need to clear out your desk.”
His eyes bulge again. “You can’t be serious? I was doing you a favor. The guy’s going to fuck you over.”
“That’s enough.” I stand and point to the door. “It’s time for you to leave, Nick.”
He actually looks shocked, which on one dimension is slightly comical to me.
“I … I can’t believe you’d let me go over this. I did this for you—to save you from him.”
“Perhaps you should’ve concentrated more on saving your job and not meddling in other people’s lives. You nearly cost Rhoades Investment Team a lawsuit over this. I hope this teaches you something at least and that’s to keep your nose out of other people’s business.”
Okay, so I did exaggerate that a bit, but he does need to be scared. This type of thing is intolerable and he could get into serious trouble down the line if he persists with this behavior.
“I’m sorry if you think having someone trying to help you is meddling. You’ll see, Sam. He’s going to hurt you. And bad. Then you’ll be wishing you’d listened to me.”
With that, he stomps out of my office. I follow him into his and watch as he cleans out his desk into a banker’s box. As he leaves the building, I say, “You probably don’t believe this, but I am sorry it turned out this way. If there’s anything you left behind, I’ll see that it’s returned to you.”
He nods and continues out the door.
Nancy approaches and wants to know what happened. I have to tell her the truth. When I do, she believes I did the right thing.
“He was so intrusive, always asking personal questions about you. I think he had a thing for you.”
I shrug. “Maybe, but in the end, he still needs to learn that he has to stick to the job. Personal feelings be damned at work. But now I’ll be underwater with everything we have going on.”
“Hey, if you need me to fill in, just say so. And let’s make good use of those interns. They haven’t been doing much lately. I can put them on all kinds of assignments.”
“What would I do without you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Cry?”
We both start laughing. Nancy’s right. We have enough coverage to squeak by. Granted, it’s not ideal, but we can make it work.
Late that afternoon, my phone buzzes.
Ben: How’d it go?
Me: He was shocked. Thought he was my hero. Lol Ben: Yeah? How so?
Me: He thinks you’re as ass! Btw, he overhead Lisa talking about it to someone at the event.
Ben: I guess he’s one in a long line for my ass kicking. No doubt she was jealous about you. But I can’t fire her for office gossip. Can I see you tonight?
Me: Love to say yeah, but I don’t think I can do it.
Ben: No worries. I’ll call you later.
Me: Sounds good.
Sure wish I could make it work, but by the time I leave here, it’ll be at least nine and I’m still feeling tired from our sexcapades last night. What a night that was. Just thinking about it gets me wet.
“You feeling all right?” I didn’t hear Nancy enter my office.
“Huh?”
“Your face is awfully flushed. Are you coming down with something?”
“Oh, no. I’m fine. Just a bit warm is all.”
With pursed lips, she says, “You need to take care of yourself, honey. You work too hard.”
“Nancy, I love you for caring so much.”
She smiles and hugs me. “Well, I’m outta here for the night. See you in the morning. And don’t stay too late.”
“Okay, Mom!”
We both laugh because Nancy is a lot like my mom. She’s not quite as old, but she acts a lot like her.
It’s dark when I finally shut everything down and make my way home. My neck muscles scream and it reminds me of how much I could use a good massage. The house is empty when I get there. No doubt Lauren is staying is at her parents’ beach house again.
I shovel in a few bites of a quick dinner and change my clothes desperate for bed when my phone buzzes.
“Ben.” My face brightens as I imagine his messy hair and steel gray eyes on the other end.
“Hey, gorgeous. Tell me, what are you wearing right now?”
After a throaty chuckle, I say, “A white tank top, tiny boxers, and that’s about it.”
“Oh, God, you’re killing me. No bra?”
“Why would I do that when I’m in bed?”
He groans and I smile even more. “Do me a favor. Take a selfie and text it to me. I need to see you.”
“Seriously?”
“As a fucking heart attack.”