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My teeth press together, and I look out the door toward her office. Jerry’s still there, and she still looks uncomfortable. This is not why I wanted to see Taron, but I’m changing my agenda.
“We’re sending Buckingham to LA. Effective now.”
“Wait. We’re sending Jerry… Why?”
I turn back to him, and Taron’s face is scrunched with pain? Confusion? I don’t give a fuck.
“I want him there by tomorrow ready to work. It’s only 5 a.m. in LA now, right?”
“I think it’s six.”
“I’ll get Sandra to book him a flight. We’ll put him up at the Wilshire until he finds his own place. Tell him to clean out his desk.”
Taron stops me before I walk out. “Any reason we’re sending him to LA so abruptly?”
“We need someone there to scout new properties and see the locations in person.” I say it like it should be obvious. “I don’t want to waste any time. Pictures only give us so much information.”
“Okay.” Taron exhales, lowering himself into his chair. “You got a time frame on this assignment?”
“He’ll stay as long as we need him there.”
Taron’s lips pucker and he nods, his eyes going to the desk in front of him.
“What?”
He holds both hands up, and I start for the door, moderating my tone. “I’m going for coffee you want some?”
“No, thanks.”
“Watch out for Marley. We need to talk when he gets in.”
“You got it.”
Instead of coffee, I take a brisk walk around the building and smoke. I feel like a shark that stopped moving—my insides are tight. I’m more relaxed when I get back to my office, ready to run the numbers and see where we stand, when again, my office door opens without warning.
This time, I stand when I see who it is, and my fists automatically clench.
“What the fuck, Patton? LA? Today? I can’t just haul off and leave on a moment’s notice.” Jerry’s voice is loud. I’m a little surprised he actually has the balls to challenge me this way.
“Then you can find another job.” My voice is calm, my gaze level.
He steps back, doing a mock laugh and throwing out his hands. “Oh, it’s like that now. Go to LA or you’re fired? What is this? The motherfucking Apprentice?”
“It’s my tech-based commercial property rental firm, and I need someone in the new markets finding prestige rentals and verifying they’re as good as we say they are. I’m sending you to LA on the company’s dime to fill an important role, and you’re standing in my office saying you won’t do your job.”
His flat brown eyes narrow at me, and he tugs on his tie, doing a goose-neck in the process. “I’m not looking to fight with you, Fletcher, but I’m pretty established in Nashville. I’ve worked here five years.”
I sit slowly in my chair, crossing my leather loafer over my knee. “It’s a temporary assignment. You could always come back.”
The sound of footsteps outside my door draws our attention, and Raquel passes, her long brown hair swaying down her back, ending just above her perky little ass, and I catch a glimpse of those sexy legs.
Jerry’s eyes shoot to me, and I blink away the momentary lapse into lust, focusing instead on my computer screen.
He puts his hands on my desk, leaning closer. “You’re a real hypocrite, you know that?”
My eyes cut up to him, and my jaw tightens. Now he’s looking to get punched. “You’d better make the right decision and get out of my office. Now.”
He pushes his hands off the wood and backs to the door. “Sure, I’ll take your assignment. I’ll go to motherfuckin LA. But don’t think for one minute I don’t know the real reason you’re sending me there.”
