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The following two days passed in much the same way, virtually zero conversation with Nat, and me, turning to Shane for company at the end of a long day at work. I was fine to hang out with her brother, but shit, I was beginning to feel like he and I were the ones in a relationship.
“Nat,” I said, pulling back the covers and getting into my side of the bed, “you need to talk to me.”
“I don’t need to do anything, Spencer,” she said, lying on her side and facing the wall. “What I need to do is go to sleep. Then, tomorrow when I wake up, I need to get dressed and nail this project down. That’s what I need to do.”
I lay on my back, staring up into nothing, and ran my fingers through my hair.
It wasn’t in my nature to deal with anyone’s bullshit, but for the first time ever, my heart was overruling my brain, which was the only reason I hadn’t walked away.
If I could get Nat to open up, we might be able to have an honest discussion and unpack what’s going on here. I wasn’t the type of man to sit back and be walked all over, but it was clear that Nat was acting out because she was in pain, and if I could help her, I would.
The next morning, I decided to spend my free afternoon with Shane, attempting to get some insight into why Nat had shut down. He was the best lead I had since she wasn’t talking.
“Mr. Monroe?”
“Yes, Christine,” I answered my assistant, who was old enough to be my mother, through my desk intercom.
“Shane Hoover is here to see you.”
“Show him in, thank you,” I said, shutting down my laptop.
I turned to gather my leather briefcase and put away the last of my work on the Grover project. I would deal with those bastards in the morning.
“Holy shit!” I heard Shane say from behind me. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said to my secretary.
She smiled. “Not to worry, deary,” she glanced at me, staring over her glasses, “Mr. Monroe’s office isn’t soundproof, so trust me when I say I’ve heard it all.”
“Hopefully not my sister when she’s here,” Shane said, then looked immediately back at my smile and watched as I shook my head no.
“Mr. Monroe knows better than to pull that nonsense on me,” she said with an authoritative gaze, her Birmingham accent thicker than a moment ago.
“I would never,” I smoothly lied as she playfully waved her hand dismissively. “Thank you, Christine.”
She nodded and turned to leave as Shane walked forward and took an empty chair across from my desk.
“So, who sits in this hot seat?”
I grinned as I continued to pack up my things neatly. “You do at the moment,” I said, glancing up at him. “And tomorrow, I’ll have the CEO of a company we acquired last October sitting in it.”
“And exactly what do you do here? Must be good, judging from the view.”
I glanced out my office windows, taking in the sprawling views of the city. “Tomorrow, I’ll have Benson Fields sitting in that chair,” I eyed Shane’s confused expression. “And he’ll sit there until I make him crack and tell me why he’s been embezzling money from Mitchell and Associates.”
“Fucking hell,” he answered. “How can you tell he’s embezzling? I mean, are you sure?”
I sat in my chair, tucking away my computer chords, “It’s my job to sniff out the weasels. And when we have a CEO who’s withholding earnings from the company that funds it, all it takes is one tiny little slip-up, one wrong glance, and I’m on their asses. And trust me, Mr. Fields will not enjoy sitting in that chair tomorrow.”
“Will you have him arrested?”
“Not before I destroy his mental state,” I said. “As I said, it won’t be fun for him. For one, he’s not just stealing from my best friend’s company,” I glanced around my meticulous office and then back to Shane, “but I’ve been needing to blow some steam off given that your sister has been ignoring me for the past few days.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Shane said.
“Yeah, I doubt that,” I answered, knowing this kid had no idea how irritable I’d become since Nat shut down on me. But I wasn’t in the mood to go into any of my drama, so I returned to the plans at hand. “All right,” I took the strap to my leather bag and pulled it onto my shoulder, “where are you taking me to lunch?”
“You’re not going to tell me about this Fields guy? What you’re going to do to him tomorrow?”
“No,” I answered, “I’m off the clock and done with the shop talk. So, let’s get out of here. I’m down for wherever you want to go. So, where are we going?”
