Cuddle bear, p.21
Cuddle Bear, page 21
“Don’t tell him that,” Wick hissed.
I winked at Edgar, then smiled at Wick as he slid his arm around my waist on the way to my office.
The day had started out strangely and just got weirder and busier, though it wasn’t necessarily bad. Almost everyone in the whole damned building stopped by Wick’s office during the first hour after we opened to tell him they thought he did a good job, which had my chest about to burst for him, because as much as I liked to think he was perfect, he had some self-esteem issues. I hoped all this support would go a long way toward building his confidence.
After a boss-sponsored long lunch, Wick’s office was as crowded as I’d ever seen it. My knees knocked against his wooden desk—an antique family heirloom he used with pride—and I glanced around at everyone as I ended a call on my cell phone. I’d been talking to our clients all day, touching base to make sure they were still happy.
Shelby, who was an all-around gem, was sitting on my desk chair in the corner, munching a bag of popcorn and talking in hushed tones to someone. She had on khaki cargo pants today, and they were bulging with pens and notepads that she occasionally pulled out to use. Every now and then she would cup her hand around the phone, then laugh, her ponytail dancing back and forth. She was also doing damage control with clients, but she knew people across the state who worked in various technical aspects of our business, and while I tended to talk to managers, she spoke directly with people on the ground—who would be asked to give input on hiring new members of a team. Xadrian was going to have one hell of a time finding a job after she was finished.
We traded smiles, and she went back to nodding her head at something someone was saying on the other end of the phone.
Sitting cross-legged underneath a window was another man I didn’t see in Wick’s office much. Albion Guthrie was tall and imposing with dark hair and classy stubble, serious brown eyes, and a tendency toward frowning.
I’d never seen him smile.
Add his love of gray suits—never any color for him—and he had a dire aura. Albion led his team with an iron fist. By the time their ideas got to Wick there was never any wiffle-waffling or bullshit because they knew exactly what they were doing, and I’d never heard anything except professionalism from them. I had a feeling Albion wouldn’t allow improper behavior. Ever since he’d gotten back from a client meeting this morning he’d been carefully sifting through Xadrian’s files, searching for any signs of illegal activity.
Albion had volunteered for the job, and I got the feeling Xadrian had personally offended him with his antics. He scowled, and I leaned forward.
“Did you find something, Albion?”
Wick sighed and tossed his cell phone onto the desk, and I turned in the folding chair I’d dragged in next to him earlier, focusing on his pinched expression. Across the desk from Wick the last person in our cleanup party, Bedford Pickett, glanced up. The man was a damned good lawyer and I’d called him first thing. He was close to sixty with green eyes, silver hair, and a beard to match, and his black suit would’ve been worse than Albion’s, except he softened it with a lavender tie.
“How goes it?” Bedford asked, in a deep Georgian drawl that stuck out like a sore thumb in these parts.
“We’ve lost two clients thanks to this clusterfuck, one of which is Galyon Wilkes. He didn’t want a cardboard-cutout hotel for his project by the highway, but the fact that there’s been so much shake-up with the work put him off. He’s going elsewhere, and I had to charge him the kill fee on the contract, which means we’re still taking a loss on our work.” Wick ran his fingers through his hair.
“It’s only two clients,” Shelby called over. She munched popcorn and sat up straighter in her chair, rolling her head back and forth as if working out kinks.
Wick shrugged.
I took a list of phone numbers out of a folder I’d tossed on his desk earlier and handed it to him. “Start calling,” I said, then gave him my best smile.
He glanced down and his bottom lip popped out in something close to a pout. “These are my competitors.”
I nodded. “Yes, it’s a list of our personal contacts at each business. Tell them what happened here. Make sure you outline what a horrible employee Xadrian was and spare no details.”
Wick shook his head and a sly smirk spread across his lips. “You’re positively evil, love.”
“Well, one of us has to be,” I grumbled.
Bedford sighed and straightened in his chair, then drummed his hands on the desk as if in thought. “You don’t have to pay out severance to Xadrian, according to the contract he signed. He violated the ethics clause for certain, and if I dig, I could find other reasons, but that’s the easiest thing to go on. Fight unemployment all the way and give him nothing. As of right now, I’m afraid Maurice’s plan is the best avenue for any sort of satisfaction. As for everyone else who quit, you’re going to be required to provide the severance packages.”
“Fuck,” I snapped, and Bedford hid a smile behind a cough. “What about suing Xadrian?”
Bedford shrugged. “For what, exactly? Slander and defamation are notoriously difficult to prove. You would have to show serious financial loss from this, and that is all vague and open to interpretation. It’s not worth it.”
“We lost two clients.” Wick leaned back against his chair and pursed his lips.
Bedford nodded. “I’m sorry, it’s not a perfect system we deal with. It’s not fair.”
Bern knocked on the doorjamb between my office and Wick’s and all eyes turned his way. He flashed a sheepish grin. “I brought you someone who was too afraid to come alone.”
Anger had me standing as one of Xadrian’s flunkies snuck inside the room, and I wasn’t the only person glaring. He had some nerve staying when the rest of his friends had left the way they did and caused so much trouble on the way out. He should be scared.
The man plucked at the collar of his white polo. He wasn’t a bad-looking guy, probably about thirty, with straw-yellow hair and wide hazel eyes. He wasn’t very big and a strong breeze could toss him on his ass. I found it amusing that he’d chosen to dress the way Xadrian always seemed to enforce while coming to what? Beg for his job?
“Sirs,” he said, glancing between me and Wick, but I gestured at Wick, and he fixed his gaze on my boyfriend, which I didn’t necessarily like better. “My name is Wade Lee Sawyer. I know you hired me, but I’ve been pretty quiet in the last two years. I was—”
“On Xadrian’s team. We know,” Wick snapped.
“Should we clear out the room?” I asked, glancing at Wick with concern.
He snorted. “No. Are you quitting, too?”
Wade Lee rubbed a hand along his arm and his gaze slid to the floor. “No, I hope not. Xadrian made my life hell. I don’t think he was a homophobe.” Wade Lee stumbled over the word. “He just hated everyone who stood in his way, and he used anything he could to make other people upset with them. He wasn’t very nice.” Wade Lee glanced up and seemed to be imploring Wick to take pity on him, and I was so hopping pissed off over what had happened this morning I didn’t want Wick to have mercy.
“Why didn’t you report any offensive behavior to me?” Wick asked, and I could hear the exasperation creeping into his tone, which meant he might be softening toward the plight of little Wade Lee.
Wade Lee shrugged and studied his toes. “He was a very powerful presence here in the office.”
Glaring around the room, my attention landed on Albion, who was ignoring all of us. I nudged Wick with my elbow and nodded in Albion’s direction, and thankfully Wick saw the track my thoughts were chugging along without me opening my mouth.
“Albion,” Wick barked.
He straightened like someone had jammed a hot poker against his ass. “Yes, sir?”
“I’m giving you Wade Lee. His life is in your hands. Put him on your team wherever you see fit—make him fetch coffee and staple documents if that’s what you need. One slipup, one misstep, and you’re gone,” Wick said, leaning forward with narrowed eyes.
Wade Lee gasped. “I need this job!”
Albion winced as he stood and stretched his arms over his head, wandering closer to Wade Lee with a scowl on his face. “Can we have him sign a contract stating all his communications and work must go through me before anyone else sees them?” He stared between me and Wick. “Otherwise I’m not comfortable with it. I can’t have him trashing my reputation.”
Wade Lee huffed and crossed his arms, but he didn’t seem brave enough to say anything about Albion’s proposal, which was in line with his behavior to date. “Won’t that make my job harder?” he finally asked, so quiet the words were nearly a whisper.
“So what?” I asked.
Wick grinned. “I like it. Bedford, can you help us? Let’s say Wade Lee here has to pay a penalty of some sort for any violation as well. What could it be?”
Bedford hummed and stroked his beard. “Could be a financial penalty. You could take him down to minimum wage for a couple of months for violations, if he agrees to it beforehand. That’s legal. He can stay and deal with it or quit. That’s assuming you don’t simply fire him.” Bedford cut a look at Wade Lee out of the corner of his eye, obviously enjoying being devious.
“Okay,” Wade Lee murmured.
Less than ten minutes later Albion returned from the printer with the freshly typed contract, and we all stared at Wick as he scrawled his signature on it. Wade Lee painstakingly inked his name on the dotted line with a shaking hand.
Albion snorted, and the spirit of the moment must’ve overtaken him because he winked at Wick from behind Wade Lee, then leaned forward to say directly into his ear, “I own you now.”
Wade Lee jumped and spun to face him, and Albion took a step back, grinning.
“Go home for the day,” Wick said, waving a hand at the door. “Come back tomorrow morning and report to Albion. You’ll be working in his office from now on. Do not contact Xadrian.”
Wade Lee nodded and slunk out, and I held in a snort until he was gone.
Wick picked up his phone and dragged the list of contact numbers toward himself, dropping down into his chair with a smile.
About an hour later I was feeling exhausted with all the talking and took Wick’s hand the second he was between calls. He allowed me to lead him out into my office without question. Shelby laughed at something Bedford said to her in a snide tone, and we both glanced in that direction.
Running my hands along Wick’s shoulders, I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, and we lingered over it for a while. “I’m so proud of you for finally taking control of this situation.”
His eyes widened and he shrugged, glancing back toward his office. “If it wasn’t for you and all our colleagues—”
“They’re your friends,” I said, shaking him around a little.
He smiled. “I’m not sure I would’ve gotten this far in life without you. Thank you for being here for me.”
I brushed a kiss to his cheek and inhaled the wonderful scent of his cologne. “Any time, any place. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Wick said and rested his forehead against mine.
“Boss!” Albion sounded less refined than usual as he excitedly called to us from the doorway. His smile dug dimples into his cheeks and made him look younger. “You gotta see this. I think Xadrian took some completed project plans with him.”
We rushed back in, and Albion held up his laptop like it was a prize catch in a fishing tournament.
Bedford clapped his hands. “Good. Theft we can do something about! I can have that boy in front of a judge in under a week, if we can get some solid evidence. I happen to know the local prosecutor hates white-collar criminals.”
Wick scrubbed his hands over his face as he stared around the room. “Should I be happy or even more angry?”
I hugged him and the tension drained out of his body as he leaned into my arms. “Both is fine. We’ll fix this together. I promise.”
EPILOGUE
MAURICE
Thunder cracked in the sky outside of Sew Much Better than the Rest, Indy Yves’ tailor shop. I had my laptop open on the coffee table in front of the tan leather couch where I sat, and as I glanced up, Wick walked out from the back in the final suit Indy was checking over. The breath leaked out of me as he stepped up on the small podium in front of the mirrors. The outfit was to be worn for Christmas events, and I loved the deep pine green that made Wick’s gray eyes look even more vibrant than usual when he glanced over and grinned at me.
“What do you think, darlin’?” Wick asked, smoothing down the lapels on the jacket.
“I love it.”
“Yay!” Indy danced around as he checked over the suit. I had no clue what he was looking for, but he got very close to Wick to inspect his work, and I had no doubt his attention was solely for the clothing. “These measurements were good. Sometimes I still need to make final adjustments before I make deliveries, but I must’ve been very focused that night.” He fluttered his eyelashes at Wick. “I wonder why.” They laughed, and even I had to snicker over the way he’d flirted that first evening. Now that I’d been with Wick for a while I was less worried he would go somewhere else, and it felt good to be so confident in our relationship.
Indy looked fantastic, as usual, in a pink shirt and white shorts topped with a cute straw hat. It was dark out and we were inside, so the headwear was only a fashion choice. Jewelry glittered in a line at his throat.
“What are those gemstones on your necklace?” I called over.
Indy touched the chain and bracelet he wore while staring at them in the mirror like maybe he’d forgotten what he had on. “Oh! Pink rubies, honey. They were a gift for my birthday.”
“Oh, do tell. From who?” Wick asked.
Indy flicked Wick’s wrist. “My mother. We’re not all lucky in love.” He rolled his eyes but didn’t seem anything other than happy for us.
The bags Indy had laid out on the couch at my side and across the coffee table near my computer were interesting and comprised of different designs and fabrics, and I stared at them, trying to think about how to begin an article detailing the artistic flourishes. “These are really great, Indy. I like the masculine appeal. I’m going to need to take a bunch of pictures, though. I just don’t know how to talk about them.” I shrugged helplessly.
“That’s fine,” he called over, stepping down off the small podium. He crossed his arms and glared at the bags. “I hope they don’t turn out to be a waste of time. It’s so hard to get American men to dig into the bag craze, but how useful are they? Very.” He pointed at me, then went back to critically assessing Wick from a distance. “You are going to be stunning, sir. Stealing hearts. Dominating board rooms. I love it—and Maurice is so lucky.” He winked at me.
I flushed, heat crawling up from under my collar to take over my face. “I am.”
“And you’re a lucky dog, too,” he said, hopping back over to Wick like a hyper bunny to smack him on the arm.
“Don’t I know it?” Wick smiled at me.
I shook my head as my entire body heated. I still hadn’t learned how to take a compliment and probably never would. It helped that I knew Wick meant every word that came out of his mouth.
A fork of lightning flashed and lit up the wide front window. Indy let out a small shriek, then cleared his throat and laughed. “Damn it. I’m not usually this bad.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “And it’s late for you to be driving home in this stinker of a storm.” As if conjured by his words, the sky opened and sheets of rain dumped on the street outside, sending people who’d been walking along racing toward their destinations.
“Somehow we never get here during regular business hours,” I said, turning my attention back to Wick. He smirked at me, looking damned good and knowing it.
“Can I wear this suit out?” Wick asked.
Indy whirled around to stare at him. “Yes, sure. You paid. I’ll deliver the rest to your home.” He sent a look in my direction. “Far be it from me to ruin a good time.”
Wick chuckled and stepped down off the podium, then put his shoes on before casually strolling toward me. “I think Maurice likes this one.”
“I like you in any suit, but this color makes you look powerful,” I said.
“The word you’re looking for is sexy,” Indy stage-whispered, and I had to laugh.
“Let’s stay in town tonight. We already had bags packed just in case the roads were flooded. Why bother with it?” Wick’s gaze was brimming with excitement as he stepped closer, and I swore the crotch of his suit pants was looking a little fuller. My own blood heated faster than a penny on the street at high noon in July.
“Maybe the room we stayed in at the Maison St. Loren is free?” I stood and smoothed my hand down his tie. Damn, all the air must’ve been sucked out of the room because I had trouble breathing for a second. Hell, he looked good.
“Yes, yes, I’m ready to lock up, kids. You go have fun now, ya hear?” Indy flashed us a toothy grin and shooed us toward the door. I grabbed my laptop and stuffed it into the bag he’d given me, which I loved. It was red leather that reminded me of an old cowboy hat I’d had as a kid, with shiny bronze buckles.
“Are you sure you want to give this to me?” I asked, holding up the bag.
He nodded like his neck was a spring. “You can’t write about something unless you test it out, and besides, it’s raining.” He shooed me toward the door with more gusto. “Go!”
“Let me grab the car,” Wick said, then planted a kiss on my cheek. “That way your glasses won’t get splotched.”
Indy groaned as Wick rushed outside. “You really struck gold with that one.”
I shrugged. “He likes to treat me well, and I do the same for him when I can. I hate to tell him, though, but my glasses will need help no matter what.”
He smirked. “I bet you do like to treat him well.”
“You know it.”
