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Melinda touched the place over her heart, laughing nervously. “Oh…so she’s telling lies, is she?” she asked. I moved closer to her, cutting the distance between us. She just smiled. Her eyes dipped down to my lips and then back up to my eyes. “See, I knew you wanted me. It’s alright to give in to those feelings, Matt. I really like you too, and we would make sweet love together, if you’d stop letting her fill your head up with foolishness.”
Tasha didn’t want to pursue suing Colorful Times and Melinda, because she didn’t want to get into a messy battle, but I wasn’t Tasha and I took rogues to the cleaners for a living. By the time I got done with Melinda, she wouldn’t be able to see straight enough to want me, or any other man.
“Listen here, Melinda. You might have everyone in this town fooled, but not me. I know that you are jealous of the talent Tasha has, and now that she has the man that you want it’s burning you up inside.?
“That’s absurd. You’re crazy, Matt.”
“Oh, I bet you lay awake at night wondering why you’re so inadequate, or why you’re not getting enough attention. Well, if you keep barking up Tasha’s tree, you might just get the attention you’re seeking. So, instead of coming on to me, which is really not going to turn out the way you expect it to, you should watch your back. At some point, you just might lose it all.”
She smirked. “Are you threatening me, Matt Wilde?” she asked. But even as she said those words, she looked like she enjoyed them a little too much. I just shook my head.
“I’m not threatening you. I’m promising you. Your day is coming.” With that, I turned around and left the building. On my way to my car, I dialed up Joseph Mallard’s number.
“Hello, this is Stephanie, how may I direct your call?”
“Give me Mr. Mallard please,” I said.
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Tell him it’s Matt Wilde.”
“One moment please.”
Some music played on the line, and I unlocked my car door and slid into the driver’s seat. He answered as I started my vehicle. “This is Joseph Mallard.”
“Hey, Joe…it’s Matt Wilde.”
“Hey, Matt. How’s it going?”
I backed out of the parking spot. “I have something to discuss with you about two of your employees. Would you have some time later this afternoon?”
“This sounds serious.”
“Yes, it kind of is and I’d rather discuss it in person.”
“Okay, I could meet you at four thirty. Will that work for you?”
“That’ll work,” I answered.
We finished setting up the appointment and said goodbye to him. I continued my drive to the studio, thinking about how I needed to take care of this matter. I didn’t want to worry Tasha with her old job, but she deserved to be happy, and I would do anything to make that happen.
***
“Mr. Mallard will you see you now!” His secretary went back to her desk as I got up and headed to his office. This wasn’t the first time I had been at his place of business. Colorful Times was only one of the many businesses he owned, and, over the course of a few years, we had met during networking mixers and a few times when I was representing clients for their advertisement contracts. I knocked on his door once I reached it.
“Come in!” he hollered out. The minute I got inside his office, he looked up and away from his computer. He stood up from his desk. “Matt, it’s good to see you,” Joseph said, shaking my hand.
“Hello, Joe, thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”
I took my seat and Joseph joined me. “It sounded urgent. What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t want to cause any trouble,” I started out by saying. “But it’s come to my attention that one of your employees has violated copyright laws.”
Joseph sat back in his chair. “That’s a pretty big accusation there, Matt. Care to divulge more?”
I told him the whole story, everything Tasha shared with me, and how Melinda doesn’t even show remorse about it. I even told him about Nina and Melinda mocking Tasha at the charity ball. By the time I was done explaining the situation to him, I was left hoping I didn’t leave any pertinent details out. I didn’t want this to come across as a vendetta against women who had wronged my girlfriend, but what they had done to Tasha was unethical, and quite frankly could land them in a world of trouble, if Tasha allowed me to go full blast with a case for her.
I sat there, waiting for his response and what came was more like a sigh. I opened my mouth to question if that was all he was going to give me, when he continued. “Well, first of all, thank you for bringing this to my attention and giving me the opportunity to right any wrong that may have been done. Secondly, Melinda Lory has had one of the most promising careers here at Colorful Times. I can’t believe she would stoop so low as to doing something of this nature.”
