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“Why’s that?” Rowe asked.
“Dale Carson is a fucking cancer. He thinks he’s God’s gift to the world and that he knows better than everyone else. While on jobs, he lets his ego get in the way of keeping clients safe. He won’t listen to anyone placed in a position of authority over him, and he won’t listen to a client. I’ve seen him speak abusively to clients, and I’ve seen him put clients in danger as a way of getting even or punishing them for not giving him preferential treatment.”
“And this was at Sanctuary?” Noah asked. “That place has a killer reputation. You’d think that would take a hit with a guy like that.”
Jackson turned sideways so he could more easily face both Rowe and Noah. “They learned quickly that they couldn’t put him on smaller or personal details. He had to be part of a larger group that didn’t have direct contact with the client.” He turned his head to look back at Rowe. “I’m not saying he’s not good. He is. He’s got skills. He knows how to use a weapon and has good instincts, but he lets his fucking ego get in the way. I don’t actually see him risking his own life and health to protect someone.”
Rowe sat forward in his chair, placing his folded hands on the top of his desk. Noah hated to see the lines of fatigue deepening around Rowe’s tired green eyes or the lines around his mouth. Stress was weighing down on his lover’s shoulders.
“Anything else?”
Jackson took a deep breath, his hands fisting at his sides for a moment before he opened them again. There was a sadness in his voice, a worry, that Noah had never heard from him before. “Since coming to Ward Security, I’ve found a family here that I never had at Sanctuary. It was a job. A good one, but just a job. But here, everyone is close. When shit goes down—whether it’s Dom being hunted by his brother or helping Quinn move in with Shane or planning Ian’s bachelor party—everyone jumps in to help. No questions asked. I don’t want to see Dale Carson tear apart this family, and I feel like that’s exactly what he’d do.”
“I’m not hiring him,” Rowe said firmly.
Jackson sighed so heavily with relief that he almost seemed to sway on his feet.
A little smile toyed with Rowe’s mouth, and Noah felt himself relax as well. “He was a cocky son of a bitch and walked in like he knew he already had the job. Like meeting me and Andrei was just a formality.” Rowe snorted. “Fucker even talked down to Andrei once. I thought Andrei was going to challenge him to a few rounds on the mats.”
“That would have taken him down a peg or two,” Noah said.
Jackson shook his head. “You would think so, but not Dale.”
Rowe’s expression grew serious. “You should know that he mentioned you as a reference. Obviously, we’re not going to tell him that you didn’t endorse him when we call him to say that we’ve passed.”
Jackson nodded. “Thanks. I didn’t tell you anything I wouldn’t say to the man’s face, but I’m not looking for trouble with him.”
“And if you happen to have any friends who would fit in at Ward, I’d appreciate it if you gave them a nudge in our direction,” Rowe prodded.
Jackson flashed Rowe a wide smile and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. There might be a few people I wouldn’t mind working with here.”
Noah stepped away from the door, patting Jackson once on the shoulder as the man left, and then closed the door again behind him. When he turned toward Rowe, the man loudly sighed and slouched deep in his chair.
“That was my fourth fucking interview in the past two weeks and nothing!” He dropped his arms over the back of his chair and glared at his computer screen. “I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels while I’ve got more clients coming on every day with all these high-maintenance needs. I’ve got guys wanting to actually take a little vacation time because they’ve got these fucking boyfriends all of a sudden. It’s clear that Sanctuary is struggling out on the West Coast, and Andrei is giving me that same fucking Lucas look.”
“What ‘Lucas look’?”
“The one that says I need to get off my ass and expand to the West Coast so we can soak up all the clients that Sanctuary is losing. But neither one of us has any interest in moving out to LA, even temporarily, so that means finding someone we trust to set up and run the West Coast branch.”
Noah smiled at his lover, his heart going out to him. Rowe was not the kind of guy who sat behind a desk all day and thought of ways to expand his empire so he could take over the world. That was a Lucas thing. Rowe just had this idea of starting a little security company to keep some local people safe.
