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“Okay, what’s going on here?” he demanded.

Since no one offered her a chair, Grace pulled one out for herself, sat down, and crossed her legs. She flashed an inviting smile at her opponent, in sharp contrast with the lethal look in her eyes.

“Good question, Zac,” she approved. “I think we should all sit down, and let my former head of marketing explain.”

???

“Taking into account various levels of stupidity, there is foolish, dumb, irresponsible. Then you’ve got the likes of Katya Barnett,” Grace later told her lawyer over the phone. “She’s all that and a few more. Yes, yes, we are definitely suing.”

During the meeting at Excelsior, she had easily dismantled every single argument her competitor came up with in her own defense. Grace explained to Wills and his people that the woman used to work under her. Deliberately using the word ‘under’ instead of ‘for’. And that she’d fired her for poor performance, and an even worse pissy attitude. In light of this information, the similarities in her designs and ideas could no longer only be attributed to a strange coincidence. It all pointed to the obvious and more serious issue: material theft.

“Of course, she denied it all when I confronted her,” Grace stated with a derisive snort. “Claimed that Charles is her maiden name, and Kathryn just a swankier version of her first name. She said her company is legit. She refused to back down, and swore blind that she had not stolen anything from me.”

“Did Wills believe her?”

“Not after I told him the full story, no. We won that contract fair and square.”

“Has he confirmed this yet?”

“Hundred percent.” Grace smiled in satisfaction as she eyed the final paperwork on her desk. “Before I left his office today, I got the man and his lawyer to sign on the dotted line.”

“Ah, well done.”

“Yes, indeed. So now, I want you to sue Kat Barnett and her company into the ground. I want her incinerated.”

“Consider it smoking, Ms. Michaels.”

“Excellent. Keep me posted.”

Grace went back to stand in front of her panoramic wall as she hung up. The storm had passed, and her creative mood had evaporated with it. This little interlude had cost her… But hey, never mind. The Excelsior deal was hers now, officially, and that was the most important thing.

“Ms. Michaels?” Her assistant poked her head back in. “Do you have a minute?”

“Sure.” Grace waved her in.

Libby Jackson was a petite woman on the plump side, with a thick mass of glossy black hair currently arranged in an artful bun on top of her head and intelligent blue eyes. She owned her size and was always splendidly dressed. Today, this meant flare-out black linen trousers with a large silver belt and a fuchsia silk shirt with the top three buttons open. Stylish. On point. Grace reflected that the Excelsior receptionist would probably benefit greatly from spending a bit of time with a woman like her. She watched Libby set a flower on her desk in a multi-colored stained glass vase.

“What is this?”

“It’s a wild orchid, Ms. Michaels.”

“Yes, I can see that.” And a beautiful one too. Three stems, with the center of each delicate white bloom dappled in deep purple. Grace had a weakness for orchids, and this one definitely was a winner. “Who sent it?”

“No one,” Libby revealed with a bit of a shy glance at her. “This is from me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. Happy birthday, Ms. Michaels.”

Grace blinked.Oh, gosh.“It is my birthday, huh?”

“Yes, indeed,” Libby grinned.

“I totally forgot it was today.”

“I thought it might skip your mind, yes. I know how busy you’ve been with securing this new deal. Congratulations, by the way.”

Of course, being busy was not specifically related to this one deal. If not Excelsior, it would have been another challenge. Grace did not just drive the members of her team hard; she also led by example and was even more ferocious and uncompromising with her own self. Work served another purpose too. The more time she spent focused on business, the less opportunity she had to reflect on the things she missed.