Page 56 of The Last Morgan

"About time," Deza teased, pulling Lucy into a quick hug.

Lucy laughed. They already knew each other well enough that the tension of business meetings wasn’t there — this was just two women catching up.

They ordered light lunches and leaned in to talk.

Deza filled her in on the lighter side of company life — the best local spots, inside jokes about board members — but Lucy eventually steered the conversation where she wanted it.

"So," Lucy said casually, spearing a piece of grilled chicken with her fork, "what’s the deal with Rufus?"

Deza’s face darkened slightly, the easy humor draining away.

"Rufus Blake?" she said, voice dropping low.

Lucy nodded.

"I heard... stories."

Deza set down her drink.

"They’re not just stories," she said grimly. "He’s a snake. Always has been.

Good at covering it up though. Smart enough to survive by attaching himself to whoever’s in power."

Lucy listened intently.

“He acts like he owns the support staff," Deza continued.

"Abuses the ones he thinks are too scared to fight back. Pretty sure he’s got dirt on some of the board members too, which is why he’s still around."

Lucy’s fingers tightened around her fork.

"And Davina?"

Deza’s lips pressed into a thin line.

"She wasn’t the first. Won’t be the last if someone doesn’t stop him."

Lucy leaned back, processing what Deza had just told her.

Rage simmered quietly beneath her ribs, but she kept her face neutral.

"I’ll deal with it," she said simply.

Deza’s eyebrows were raised slightly.

"You sure you want to stir that pot?"

Lucy smiled. "I didn’t come back to inherit a mess," she said. "I came back to clean house."

Deza clinked her glass lightly against Lucy’s.

"In that case," she said with a grin, "welcome, boss."

The ladies finished lunch on a high. Deza leaned back in her chair, laughing at something Lucy had said, the ice well and truly broken between them now.

"We should definitely do this again," Deza said, raising her glass.

Lucy clinked her own lightly against it. "Absolutely. I’ll set something up soon. We've got a lot more to talk about."