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“Andy?”

Dan’s face is blank, not a trace of recognition on his face. The fact that he seems to have no idea what — or who – I’m talking about makes me even angrier.

“Andy,” I repeat. “The woman in my office last night.”

Understanding dawns in his eyes and a smile twists across his face.

“Right, Andy,” he says, drawing her name out slowly. “The hot young thing in your office last night. Gotta admit, Stone, she’s a little heavier than the women I’ve seen you with in the past. But she carries it in all of the right places if you know what I mean.Morethan a handful of ass. And those tits — ”

“Shut the fuck up,” I hiss, coming forward with every intention of kicking his desk and then ripping him up from the chair he’s seated in. But out of the corner of my eye I see people peering over their cubicle walls and through the glass window of Dan’s office door.

I want to humiliate Dan, sure. But my employees are already scared enough of me as it is without rumors about me assaulting a senior manager floating around like some kind of stupid urban legend.

No. Better not let myself get too out of hand with witnesses here.

Firing him and making sure nobody else in this city will ever hire him again will have to be revenge enough.

“You’re done here, Dan,” I growl. “I won’t have you talking about an employee in that way.”

“She wasn’t an employee,” Dan scoffs. “She was some massage therapist you had delivered to your door. Like a fucking pizza.”

“Shut. Up,” I say through clenched teeth.

It’s everything I can do not to pick him up and throw him through the wall right now. Every ounce of restraint in my body is needed right now to force my feet to remain rooted in place, my fist balled at my side but not raised, not aimed in the direction of Dan’s weak jaw.

“Look,” Dan continues. “I get it. Okay. You’re soft on this chick from the spa or whatever. I understand. It happens to the best of us. I shouldn’t have joked around like I did and I apologize. But let’s not allow that to interrupt our professional relationship.”

“We don’t have a professional relationship,” I say. “As of right now. And I never want to see you again. Get your shit and go before I pick you up and throw you out myself.”

Dan begins to laugh, that stupid smile spreading out over his greasy face. But then I take a step towards him and he flinches, jumping in his chair a little.

“I’m not going to warn you again,” I say. “Out. Now. Leave your badge.”

I stand in the doorway and watch as he scuttles around like the bottom feeding bug that he is, packing up his few belongings and then squeezing out of the cramped doorway around me.

If he had a tail, it would be tucked under his legs.

I’m pretty sure nothing can give me more satisfaction than watching his cowardly retreat.

Nothing except maybe seeing Andy again.

7

Andy

I haveno idea how Elijah Stone got my personal phone numberandmy address.

I’m pretty sure the latter has something to do with the fact that I gave my address to his driver last night.

But how do you explain the phone number? The Angel Spa handles client communications. I never text or call a client from my own phone, so I know I’ve never given Elijah my number.

The only explanation is that he’s got some kind of rich guy spying methods and got my phone number that way.

Still, though I’ve come to believe this theory on my own, it doesn’t stop me from asking Elijah about it too.

“How the hell did you get this number?” is all that I blurt out when he announces who he is.

“I have my ways,” he says, and I can hear his grin in his voice.