“You’re welcome, Dante.” He goes back inside, shutting the balcony doors behind him.
I don’t linger over the rest of my coffee, finishing it in a hurry and scrubbing my face with my hands. This is a lot of shit to process, but I know I don’t have time to mull it over.
Jessica must be dealt with.
The worst part is, Francesca tried to tell me she was a problem, and I thought it was jealousy talking. Hell, that’s not completely true. I’ve always known Jessica was a loose wire, but I’ve been too busy to rein her in. And look what happened. This mistake is mine.
I go inside and send her a text.Meet me at the house. My wife isn’t home.That’ll bring her running.
When her car pulls up outside, tires crunching on the driveway, I go downstairs to confront her. I’m fixing my right cuff as I descend, one slow step at a time. I’m not in a hurry to see her, or the cock-hungry look on her face. I’ve been pissed at her before, but never like this.
“Dante,” she says eagerly.
“Jessica.”
I reach her, and just like I presumed, she’s dressed like she’s expecting us to fuck. She’s in a skin-tight blue dress, her cleavage heaving over the neckline, and her heels are four inches tall. She’s on me in a flash, her hands running up and down my arms as she steps into me. Her breasts press against my chest, her hot breath in my ear.
“I’m so glad you texted—”
Removing myself from her octopus arms, I push her away and ground her with a stare.
“You changed the pricing on the barcodes.”
Her eyes narrow as if she’s confused. “What? No. I certainly did not.”
“Armani tracked your software logins. You’re the only one besides my wife who accessed inventory management before the Elite Reserve price got fucked up.”
Jessica grips her clutch with both hands, as if it can shield her from my wrath.
“There must be a misunderstanding. I don’t know anything about that. I don’t even knowhowto do that.”
I flash her a cold smile. “But you did log in?”
Her mouth opens, closes. “I…yes, I did log in. I was adding new inventory to the system—the dessert wines we just got in. That’s all I did.”
“Really? Huh. That’s interesting. Because I have sales receipts reflecting the correct pricebeforeyou logged in, and receipts reflecting the incorrect priceafteryou logged in. Which is fascinating. Because nobody else used the program. It’s almost as if…ithadto be you.”
A moment passes. My eyes drill into hers.
She drops her eyes to the floor. “Okay. Fine. I made changes to some of the barcode descriptions. I was trying to update the system with the dessert wine, but something happened, and…I guess I accidentally overwrote the Elite Reserve info. I couldn’t figure out how to undo it. I swear I didn’t realize what happened until it was too late, Dante. It was an honest mistake.”
I nod, letting out a long breath, think carefully about what to say next. There’s a thunderstorm inside me right now and if I don’t temper myself, I’m going to rain down on this bitch. “I believe you.”
Jessica’s shoulders sag with relief. “I just—”
“But I also believe you should have owned up to your mistake instead of trying to use it to break up my marriage.”
She smiles, as if I’ve just made some kind of joke. “Dante, you can’t be serious—”
“You’re fired,” I tell her flatly. “So pack up your things from the office, get the fuck out of my life, and stay away from Francesca.”
The color drains from her face. “Dante, we can talk about this.”
“We’re done.” I lower my voice, leaning in menacingly. “And if I were you, I’d say my prayers real hard tonight. Because I could have easily arranged for you to not make it home in one piece.”
Her chin juts but she doesn’t say anything else before stomping out the door in a rage. The sound of her footsteps is loud on the stone driveway until the roar of an engine overtakes it. I reach the doorway and see Francesca getting out of the Jag just as Jessica reaches her own car.
The two women pause just long enough to exchange words. My wife’s expression changes just a touch, but I can’t hear what Jessica’s saying to her.
