“Yes?”
Despite the grave situation, I almost laughed at the desperation in his voice.
“There is a fashion designer by the name of Amanda Kersey—”
“She’s done,” Pierre cut in. “I'll be calling her immediately to tell her that something came up and someone else will be taking her place.”
The line went dead and I stood there, feeling numb all over.
“Victoria?” Christine said to me. I looked over at her, noting the wicked curl to her lips. She’d won her little power play and now could privately gloat. “Stop standing there like an imbecile and get to work.”
She’s really testing me.
Holding back an acidic reply, I turned away and numbly walked back to my desk, slamming the phone down. I grasped my head in my palms and blew out a stressful breath. After a moment, I straightened up and began going through Christine’s schedule, marking the calendar for Pierre’s show.
As much as I wanted to quit my job, I knew if I stuck it out for a little while longer, big things would happen for me. At least that’s what I hoped.
“That door just can’t open quick enough,” I muttered to myself.
Chapter 2
Tyler
“You’ve got to get your shit together, man,” Jeff growled at me.
Sitting back in my chair, I winced as a sharp pain sliced through my brain. As usual, I’d stayed up late after a night of drinking and wild sex. It would’ve been worth it, but the girl I’d gone home with last night, a blonde with big tits and a nice round ass, had been too eager to suck my dick.
I like a challenge, a girl who likes to play hard to get, and lately, all of them have given it up without any effort from me.
Too easy.
It probably had something to do with the fact that I was a man of wealth, co-founder of Armex Corp with my father, James Locklin. Or maybe it was just my confident swagger. I was, after all, six-foot-three, tall, blonde and cut like exquisitely carved stone thanks to my workout regimen.
Jeff hissed with exasperation and leaned across the table. “Are you listening to me?”
The pain in my skull pounded relentlessly. I didn't want to listen to this shit. How many times had I heard it before? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? Who gives a fuck? I don’t.
“You can’t keep sleeping around with these groupie sluts,” Jeff continued. “As one of the top executives, you're making Armex look bad.”
I settled my gaze on Jeff. With dark brown hair and hazel eyes, he was a few years my senior. He was dressed in a business suit that made him look older than what he really was. I think he needed to lighten up and go out and get some *, then maybe he wouldn’t be so uptight all the time. I could fix him up in one night.
“I don’t see how the girls I fuck are any business of the company,” I responded in a cavalier tone that I knew would piss Jeff off. I enjoyed getting under people's skin, for no other reason than I knew I could without consequence.
It worked.
“Well, it is when it's affecting our public image and our bottom line,” Jeff growled back at me, his face twisting into an angry scowl. “If you made sure no one saw you publicly consorting with those skanks, then it would be different. Since you don’t, the board members are getting tired of it. They’re tired of your making us look unprofessional.”
Anger boiled up from my rock-hard abs. How dare my peers complain about my private business? I was the co-founder of the fucking company. They wouldn’t be shit without me.
"That's bullshit, Jeff, and you know it. Since when is it a crime to have a life outside of your place of business? Shit, half these guys cheat on their wives behind their backs and have the fucking nerve to tell me that I can't live the way I want to on my own time? Fuck off."
I didn't miss the poorly-hidden smile flash across Jeff's face. "All I know is, if you don't start behaving soon, you might be out of a job. There’s talk of a vote. Co-founder or not . . .”
Enraged, I jumped out of my chair and regretted it a second later. The pain stabbed my brain like a hammer pounding a nail into wood. "A vote?" I snorted, fighting back the momentary dizziness that overcame me. “The fuck for? Are they going to demote me? Fire me? They can't do that. My dad will—”
Jeff gave me his infamous gotcha smirk. "Your dad is in agreement.”
I froze momentarily, shocked. I couldn't believe that my dad, the biggest womanizer I know, could be party to something as asinine as this.
"Your dad thinks if you're to become CEO one day, you have to drop the bad boy image. Instead of rolling around with the local sluts, maybe it's time you start looking for a suitable partner. Settle down."
"Fuck that." The idea appalled me. I'd been in a serious relationship before and it didn't turn out well. I'd worn my heart on my sleeve only to get fucked royally in the end when I caught her cheating on me. On me.