“That doesn’t matter. You were top of your class and aced the bar on your first attempt. I bet more than half of them didn’t do that.”
“Yeah, well, tell that to the Harvard and Princeton grads.” I shrug. I don’t care where I got my law degree from, just that I got it.
“They sound like a bunch of stuck-up turd-meisters. I can’t wait to be your plus one at an office party. I’ll set them straight. But never mind that, what did this email say?”
I hesitate for a moment, then pull up my work email on my phone. Technically, there’s nothing in the email that breaks the NDA. After opening it, I hand her my phone.
“You told him a contract he signed has red flags? The CEO of the company? What were you thinking?” Cheri says, shaking her head in disbelief, as she pushes the phone across the island.
“I don’t know. That I found something suspicious? That he should know about it? It seemed like the right thing to do. Now, not so much.” I blow out a breath and tug my hair out of the ponytail that suddenly feels like it’s yanking on my scalp. I blame it for the pounding headache in my temples, but it’s stress. This is my dream job, and I've probably just flushed it down the toilet.
“So, wait. You really have to go to Gallant Mountain? You can’t just talk to him on the phone or something?”
“Apparently not. Snyder said Mr. Gallant called him specifically to ‘request my presence’ at the compound.”
“Well, fuck. When do you need to be there?” she asks as she fills two tiny espresso cups with coffee and adds a twist of lemon rind. I’m used to it now. In the beginning, I thought it was weird. She learned from her grandmother—Italian traditions are strong with this one.
I study the cup of espresso Cheri placed in front of me as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Anything to avoid answering her. I don’t want to say the words; I don’t want to go, either. But I’ve made my bed, and now I have to lie in it.
“As soon as I can get to the airport. Their private plane is waiting for me,” I whisper, but I know Cheri hears me. I’ve never flown in my life. I’m not fond of heights. Being in a plane will be bad enough, but a small private one? Holy shitshow, Batman. “I need to pack, but I don’t even know what to bring.”
When I raise my gaze, I find her staring at me sympathetically. I wish I could drag her with me, but it’s impossible. Besides, I’m a big girl, time to pull up my big-girl panties and deal with my fucked-up life. I should be used to it by now.
“C’mon, let’s see what you’ve got. You can borrow some of my clothes and one of my suitcases. It’ll be okay. Did Mr. Dickhead Boss tell you how long you’ll be there?”
Good question. No, he did not. All he said was the plane was waiting for me at San Francisco Airport. Apparently, Mr. Gallant also arranged for a car to be waiting to drive me to the mountain.
Is he worried I won’t show up? Or maybe that I’ll get lost?
Nah. That was giving him way too much credit. Andrew Gallant is a billionaire CEO. I’m small fry. None of this makes sense at all.
“No clue, but I’d doubt he’s flying me all the way to Appalachia to fire me and send me back again. Oh shit, do you think he’ll fire me and I’ll be stranded there? Couldn’t he just fire me over the phone or on a video conference?”
Shit. Fuck. Damn. My mouth fills with watery spit, and I force it back down. I refuse to vomit over this. I’m stronger than that—maybe. Holy hell, I’m so screwed.
Cheri comes around the island and hugs me as I stand. “It’ll be okay. I won’t let you be stranded, no matter what. You have money. I have money. Worst case, we buy you a return ticket. No panicking. You’ve got this—you’re the smartest woman I know, Jaclyn Tanner. You stand up for yourself and don’t take any shit. And if he happens to want to fuck you, don’t say no—it’s been too long.”
“You’re crazy, but I love you! I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Luckily for you, you’ll never have to find out. I love you, too.”
one
Andrew
After rubbing my eyes, I lean my head against the back of my chair. The headache I woke up with this morning is in full bloom. My temples pound, and the pressure in my head makes me want to rip my hair out. Popping acetaminophen like candy all day hasn’t helped, either, because it’s all stress. They say it kills, and I’m on board with that. I’m sure my blood pressure is through the roof, has been ever since I received that cursed email last week.
That’s why I’m staring at the Enki Inc. contract again. I’ve read it so many times in the last week, I have every word memorized—even found a typo we’ll need to fix before we use this template again. At least, that’s a win.
My fingers slide through my shoulder-length hair as I reread the page I’ve been reading all day. The words don’t change, only my frustration levels. With a final yank of the strands, I shove them behind my ears since all my hair ties have disappeared again. I swear they get up and hide while I’m sleeping.
Maybe it’s time to find Adam’s wife, Rebekah, and get her to cut it all off. She did a great job on Aaron’s hair. After heaving another sigh, I push more strands behind my ears. Cutting my hair won’t fix my irritation. It’s perpetual these days, even my brothers have noticed. The need to fill them in on the situation adds one more thing to the shitshow, but I wanted to ferret out what the hell was going on before I brought them in.
Now that Adam, Aaric, and Asher have found their women, I don’t have the heart to pop their happiness bubbles. Honestly, it’s been great to see them so in love—to see them settle down and find peace. Not that I haven’t been jealous, too. I know Aaron, Adrian, and I want to find our forever woman. I have to put faith in the universe that it will happen one day.
Still, the last thing I want to do is drag anyone into this clusterfuck. But fixing the dumpster fire I've been glaring at will not be easy. If we’re lucky, it is a non-issue. Except I don’t believe that for a hot minute. Something is going on, and I won’t rest until I get to the bottom of it.
The Enki Inc. agreement should have been straightforward, like all the others. Each contract we draw up includes a clause stating that our products are forbidden from being weaponized in any way. Every damn one of them—until this one. Somehow, the Enki contract includes an addendum nullifying that clause.
