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Monica leaned back in her chair. “And?”
“And? And I want you to help me get this train back on the tracks.”
Monica just stared at her.
“Don’t you want to work with our company?”
“Sure,” she answered, as if she didn’t give a damn.
Tessa gritted her teeth and tried to hold on to her temper. “Then perhaps you could speak to your father about this. After seeing Jamie leaving your house, your dad isn’t exactly eager to do business with us. But maybe you could talk him into it.”
Her laughter was back, but this time Monica sounded more bitter than amused. “Why would you think my father would listen to a word I say?”
“Because you’re the vice president of High West Air?”
“Oh, sure,” she sneered. “I’m vice president, but Daddy’s the president.”
“Exactly. He made you vice president, so he obviously respects your input—”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Tessa blinked. “Noo…”
“Look around, Tessa. Does this look like my office?”
“Um.” Tessa glanced around at the dark bookshelves and tall curtains. The artwork on the walls was a little generic and masculine, but…
“My dad designed this office, just like he designed the whole business. He chose the name, the logo, the mission statement, the routes, the planes, the executives, the long-and short-term goals—”
“Look,” Tessa interrupted, “I understand what that’s like. My brother Eric is the same way. He—”
“No,” Monica snapped. “It is not the same thing. I go to the meetings my dad tells me to. I deal with the clients he wants me to deal with. He ignores my suggestions and scoffs at my ideas. I make no decisions and I make no difference, and he can fire me at any time. Does that sound like your little family business?”
Tessa suddenly couldn’t help but be hyperaware of how tiny Monica looked sitting in her tall leather chair behind her giant mahogany desk. Her sharpness now looked less like pure meanness an
d more like defensiveness. “You and Jamie made a mistake. I get that. But I can’t be the only person trying to fix it. I need help. If you could just try…”
“I wouldn’t call it a mistake,” Monica said. “It was something I wanted to do, and I did it.”
That was a little impersonal, but Tessa held out her hands. “Please. Just tell your father that whatever happened between you and my brother will have no effect on the business relationship.”
“Sure. Fine. But it won’t help. My dad has very rigid beliefs, and he’s stubborn as all hell. He’s managed to build an empire by being unmovable. How that happened is a complete mystery to me, but there you have it.”
“But you’ll talk with him?”
“Sure,” she said with a smirk. “Whatever you want. But don’t get your hopes up.”
“Thank you.” Tessa stood, but hesitated before leaving. “Um, and if you could avoid telling Eric anything about this? That would be great.”
Monica finally offered a genuine smile. “Oh, that’s the way it is, huh? Sure. I won’t say a word.”
Tessa left, and with every step, she told herself she was doing the right thing. She was. She was sure of it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LUKE KEPT A CLOSE eye on Simone as he followed her to the car. Corpses always made him feel slightly sick no matter how many he saw, and with Simone in the state she was in… Surely her skin looked a little gray. But though he kept close in case she wobbled, Simone walked on without faltering once.
It probably helped that the death hadn’t been a homicide. They’d investigate further before making a final determination, but the drug paraphernalia surrounding the body indicated a more solitary tragedy.
