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“It won’t go to legal,” I said. We’d brought down dozens of companies. We’d never had to take things to a court before. I hoped this wouldn’t be the first time we did. Usually, all it took was a few corrupt people in the right places we could lean on. It was surprisingly easy to bring down a juggernaut if you worked from the inside. A handful of shady accounting fabrications. A pile of bad investments. A few misplaced forms. Sometimes that was all it took, and the cracks would grow on their own until the whole thing crumbled.
“Let’s hope,” Travis said. “So how are you going to make sure you keep this girl happy?”
“She’s not a pet, Travis.”
“I didn’t say she was. She’s your girlfriend, from the sounds of it. And she’s a person. That means she’s going to have the reasonable expectation that you occasionally put work aside and pay attention to her. Are you capable of that?”
“Of course I am.”
“How many dates have you guys been on since this started?”
“Define a date,” I said slowly.
Noah plastered a palm to his forehead. “Come on, Adrian. You used to be good with women. What happened?”
“I’ve been busy,” I argued. “She and I both know how hectic the move was. And I’m-”
“Making excuses,” Travis interrupted. “So think of something really sweet, gooey, and romantic. That’s what you and her are doing tomorrow. Noah and I will cover for you.”
I sighed. “Maybe you guys are right.” To tell the truth, the idea of getting to shut off my work brain and be with Jules for an evening sounded incredible. I just hadn’t let myself believe I could afford the time so far. “Fine,” I said suddenly. “I’ll be out of the office by five in the evening, tomorrow.”
“Two,” Travis countered. “Take her out after lunch to pick something to wear for tonight. Then take her somewhere nice. She’ll enjoy that.”
I nodded. “That’s not a horrible idea.”
“This is why you pay me to deal with people. I’m good at it. So take my advice.”
I thanked the guys, then dug into work once I was alone again. The way our team split duties was simple. Noah was the saboteur. He had the brains to get his work done but also dig up weakness after weakness. If it was a digital weakness, he’d make sure it was ready to exploit when we wanted to pull the trigger. If it was a vulnerable employee we could use, he sent Travis to do the smooth talking. They both reported to me and let me know if they needed to be shifted around within the company for better access. My sister, Jordan, was responsible for keeping her ear to the ground. She would let us know if someone was getting suspicious, and she was good at it. She went to every company function she could and was a natural with gaining people’s trust.
Most importantly, Jordan and I operated separately. If I ever fucked up and got fired, there was no official link between Jordan and I. Part of Travis’ job was helping Jordan get promoted along with us but far more subtly than the methods I used to get Noah and Travis brought along with me. I doubted the people he influenced even knew they’d promoted her because of his involvement.
My job was to excel. I needed to be the best damn employee at the position the company had ever seen. I needed to single handedly earn the places of my team and fast-track myself toward every available upward promotion. It was why I worked so hard. I couldn’t afford to take my foot off the pedal.
But that’s exactly what I was planning to do for Jules.
I’d seen the look on her face before I left. Getting scraps of my attention wasn’t going to be enough. She deserved far more than scraps, and I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to find a way to give her exactly that.
My new secretary came in the office when eight o’ clock came and went. “Will you be much later, Mr. White?” she asked.
My secretary was in her seventies, a grandmother, and as non-threatening for Jules as I could manage. They’d tried to set me up with a young woman when I started here, but I’d insisted on Polina. The only catch was even I felt bad snapping at a grandmother who loved collecting birdhouses and spending weekends with her grandkids.
I forced myself to sound polite. “I’ll be late, Polina. You can head home.”
“Thank you, Mr. White. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
She ambled out, jingling from the hundreds of keys she seemed to carry on her person at all times.
It was going to be a late night, but tomorrow would be worth it.
27
Jules
“I still can’t believe you’re not at work right now,” I said.
