Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“Cleaning up Dom’s messes again?” Christine asked. She had wide set eyes and curly black hair. Christine worked for a winery in the New York countryside called Julianne Rows. She split her time between being on location and coming to the city to work on pitching their product to various restaurants in hopes of finding regular customers.
“Dom doesn’t make messes,” Marcus said, grinning as he squeezed my arm. “He just imposes his will on the world and sometimes the people in his way get a little dusted up. But that’s why he’s lucky to have such a diplomatic best friend.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Except I wish you hadn’t been so diplomatic. I really wanted one of them to start swinging.”
“Your boss is just kidding,” Marcus said, leaning past me to address the four employees all sitting in a row at the bar. “He’s a professional who doesn’t start bar fights for fun.”
I made a point of getting to know my staff, so I knew all of them well enough by now. Pollie was one I hired recently. She was young, ambitious, and talented. Elizabeth’s writing was genuinely funny, and I made a mental note to try to keep her around once I read a few pieces she worked on. She was in her early twenties, lived in a shitty part of the city, and didn’t seem to be in a relationship.
Farhad was in his thirties. I’d read his work, too, which was why I moved him to politics. I needed to see if he could adapt. His piece on fashion and trends had been well written and showed an understanding of the market, but the content was a waste of his abilities. If he could learn to adapt and learn under Kirk–the poly sci major I hired–then he could stick around too.
And of course I knew Darcy. She was the beautiful little thorn in my side. The worst thing about her was that she’d grabbed my attention so fully that first day and then mostly made good on her promise. She had been a model employee. She worked her ass off and was clearly one of the best all-around writers at The Squawker. Her pieces all had a voice that was just the right blend of chatty and approachable without leaving professionalism behind. It was a unique blend that she wove well. I couldn’t help but admire her eye for stories, too. Whether she was writing about some obscure and ignored charity or a gossip piece, she knew how to find an angle that captivated.
I didn’t want to admire Darcy. I wanted to fire her. She was too damn attractive. Too damn distracting.
“Well,” Darcy said. “Are you proud of yourself, Mr. Lockwood?”
Her friends at the bar all seemed to shrink back. Normal people didn’t like making eye contact with me, let alone taunting me. Of course, Darcy wasn’t normal. That was half of the problem.
“He had it coming,” I said.
Allie stepped forward, extending her hand. “I’m sorry about him. He’s your boss, right? I’m Allie Fitzroy, Marcus’ sister.”
Darcy’s eyes shifted between us in a way that made me realize she assumed we were together. Was that a spark of jealousy? No. She acted like I didn’t exist ever since our first few confrontations.
Darcy caught my eye. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?”
Everyone else had been starting to mingle, but the tone of her voice caused a hiccup in conversation. I sensed several pairs of eyes on us.
Apparently, I was allergic to common sense because I shook my head. It felt like she was challenging me, and I wanted to remind her she wasn’t in charge. “No,” I said. “If you have something to say, you can say it here.” Call it payback for when she refused to speak with me in private on her first full day. I’d wanted to try to dissolve some of the tension before things got out of hand, but she stubbornly refused to let me get her alone, and now here we were.
The entire group was waiting, eager to hear whatever it was she wanted to say.
Darcy folded her arms. “Alright. I was going to tell you it would be nice if you made up your mind. Either fire me, chase me off, or stop trying to play hero for me. So which is it, do you want me gone, or are you trying to protect me, Mr. Lockwood?”
“I’m not looking to fire anyone,” I said. It was a bold-faced lie, of course, but I couldn’t openly admit I was hoping to prune most of the existing staff in front of Pollie, Farhad, and Elizabeth. “Any capable employees will find they’re more than secure in their jobs at The Squawker.”
“And what would you call me, Mr. Lockwood?”
Obnoxiously attractive. A pain in my ass. Her eyes were big and accusatory with just the faintest flicker of flirtation. I knew we were being watched, but I could only see her. I only saw that heart-shaped face and that short sexy hair of hers that was growing more my type by the day.