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He watched me for a moment, but when I didn’t elaborate, he blew out a breath. “You’re going to kill the deal to keep her away from Fellows, and that’s good, but you don’t seem to care that it’s going to fuck both her and a new author over…again. You still don’t give a damn that you’re hurting innocent people.”
“Jessica made her choice,” I said again. “And she sure as hell didn’t think about who she hurt in the process.”
The look he gave me suggested that he knew I wasn’t just talking about Bristol and Jami being hurt. Thankfully, he didn’t ask questions I wasn’t ready to answer. I didn’t even want to admit to myself how much Jessica had hurt me. I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Drew.
“You could offer her the job back,” he suggested. “We both know she’s the best person for the position and—”
“Stop.” Temper sharpened my voice. “I don’t plan on ever seeing her again, got it? It’s over. I’ll keep Fellows away from her because no woman should have to deal with him, but that’s it. Now leave me the fuck alone.”
I could tell he wanted to say more but he just rose and left, pulling the door shut behind him. It was definitely for the best. I didn’t want to lose my best friend over this shit.
I started to reach for the phone, but stopped and picked up my coffee instead. I needed a clearer head for this. Clearer head, calmer emotions. Focus on the problem and not the emotion. Think about what an asshole Fellows was and not how it’d felt standing in front of my family and friends as my fiancée said she couldn’t marry me.
Fuck Jessica for doing this to me. Fuck her and Drew and everybody at this point.
That was not clearer or calmer.
I let out a sigh and reminded myself that it’d be a bad idea to pour myself something stronger than coffee. I needed to stay sharp too. Sharp. Calm. Clear.
Maybe I should’ve made decaf.
A few minutes later, I felt in control enough to do what needed to be done. I called Frank’s direct line. Or, rather, as direct as it could get.
“Frank Fellows’s office. How can I help you?” A perky voice that probably belonged to a curvy, barely-legal blonde greeted me.
“Tell Mr. Fellows that Derrick Thomas wants to speak to him.”
“May I ask what this is in regards to?” She sounded like she was reading from a script.
“I’m the CEO of Broker Publishing,” I said, letting her make whatever assumption she wanted.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Thomas. Let me just put you on hold for a moment and I’ll get you right over to him.”
A moment later, a familiar voice came over the line.
“Derrick! To what do I owe this pleasure?” Frank sounded more bored than anything else, but I’d known he’d take the call, if for nothing else than his connections to my dad…and the hope that I’d hire him to distribute Broker Publishing books.
“I heard about a new publisher you recently made a deal with. One Jessica Ellis.”
“Words move fast.” He chuckled. “We haven’t even signed the paperwork. It’s happening though. Contracts are in with the lawyers now. I heard she’d been working with you. Bad luck, man. I wouldn’t have let a sexy thing like–”
“I’m glad you haven’t signed the paperwork yet,” I said, cutting him off. “Kill the deal.”
Several seconds of silence passed before he said, “What?”
“You heard me. Kill the deal or I’ll make sure you’re blackballed in the publishing industry,” I told him. “Everyone who owes me a favor or wants me to owe them one. Broker might not be one of the big four, but I have more than enough contacts to make a sizable dent in your income.”
“You…what the fuck, Thomas?” he half-shouted. “What’s this about?”
“You don’t need to know what it’s about,” I replied. “You just need to know that if you do any business with Jessica Ellis, or gonearher, you won’t do business with the Thomas family ever again.” I paused, then added, “And I’ll start letting word spread about some of theproblemsyou’ve had in the past. Won’t take much to ruin your…reputation.”
“You fuck. I’ll sue your ass.” He sounded like he was talking through clenched teeth and I had no doubt that his face was a frightening shade of red.
If he wasn’t careful, he’d give himself a heart attack and save me the trouble of having to threaten him.
“You can’t sue over the truth, you stupid prick.” I couldn’t deny that I was enjoying this. “But I’d love to see you try. Now…are you going to end that deal or not?”
His labored breaths filled the line for five seconds before he snapped, “Fine. I’ll kill the deal, you son of a bitch.”