Page 40 of Serena

“Have a good weekend, Ms. Nerva.” She grabs her bag and heads toward the elevator. “Also, Mr. Kayde informed me thatthe only person who can interrupt him is you.” She gives me a knowing look and walks away.

I blame my impulse for what I do next. Without hesitation, I open the door of his office and walk in. Ian is pacing the room while his brother is sitting. They both turn to look at me, surprised by my sudden interruption. Ian stops and takes a seat. I can see the familiarity between them but also the vast difference.

Gabriel is the first to speak. “Ms. Nerva, how lovely to see you. I heard you met my father.”

“Hello, Mr. Kayde. Yes, I did.”

“Please call me Gabe. He said you left quite an impression.” His voice is friendly.

“Oh, I hope in a good way. Gabe, I actually came to ask Mr. Kayde a question.”

“Oh. Should I take my leave?”

“No,” I say.

“Yes,” Ian says at the same time.

Gabe can’t help but smile, and damn, this family is full of handsome men and charmers. I turn to face Ian. “Did you have anything to do with Byran Carson getting fired from Phoenix Marketing?”

“Yes, I did.” Ian looks from me to his brother.

“How do you know?” the younger Kayde asks.

“Well, he just yelled at me over the phone. Accusing me of getting him fired.”

“He did what?” Ian shouts loud enough to make me flinch.

As if ready for orders, Gabe stands up. “I’ll take care of this. We’ll talk later.” With that, he turns to me. “Don’t answer his calls. If he tries to contact you, let us know.”

“Okay, but I need answers.”

“That is up to my brother, I’m afraid.” Then he walks out the door.

I take a seat in front of Ian. “What the hell, Ian?”

“Is that all you have to say to me, Mi Reina?”

“Stop calling me that.”

“No. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been avoiding me all week. What did I say about running?”

“I can’t do this right now. Just tell me.”

He opens the top drawer of his desk and pulls out a black folder, handing it to me.

“What is this, Ian?”

“Take a look, Mi Reina.”

I start to read the documents. It’s a police report on Byran Carson—a couple of reports.

“I ran a background check on the marketing team. Imagine my surprise when I found out this information. I spoke to the firm's CEO, and he assured me he had no idea how this got past them, but I do. It seems that Byran knows someone in the hiring department who helped him pass the background check when he applied. That person has also been fired.”

Byran’s been arrested for a couple of DUIs, which should have landed him in jail. I’m assuming his parents had something to do with the cleanup. They always do. I look up and see Ian’s eyes locked on me.

“Mi Reina, I know he hurt you in the past. That part was obvious at the gala. Truth be told, when I found out who he was, I thought about killing him, but the only reason I didn’t is because this would get back to you, and I’m not putting you at risk.”

“Please stop talking like that.”