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“You haven’t heard?” Krissy asked, throwing me a look over her shoulder.
“No, but I’ve been on the road for almost a week. What’s going on?”
“Ms. Sloan. Harlow is here,” Krissy called out to a woman who was rushing down the hallway going the other way.
The woman stopped short, turning around and blowing out enough air it shifted several inches of her coiffed hair. “Thank goodness. Harlow. Come with me.”
“Nice to meet you, Krissy,” I said as the girl raced back down the corridor. What in God’s name was going on? “I’m sorry, Mrs. Sloan?”
“Ms. I finally divorced the Elvis wannabe last month. The cocksucker. He thought I didn’t know what he was doing while he was on all those long trips.”
I bit back a laugh as she led me down yet another hallway.
“And you can call me Jackie. Would you prefer Mrs. Fox or Harlow?”
“I assure you, Jackie, that there has never been, nor will there be a Mr. Fox. Just Harlow is fine.”
It was obvious I gave her a good answer by the bright smile crossing her face. “Here’s your office. Unfortunately, I need to deal with an interloper, but we will get you up to speed right away.”
As she started to run off, I grabbed her arm. “Whoa. What tragedy was Krissy talking about?”
Her face instantly changed, shifting from the tight, uncaring look of a professional to one of sadness. “Let’s go in here. I thought you knew.”
I allowed her to pull me into my office and it was difficult not to take a few seconds to allow my breath to be ripped from my body. The single room was bigger than the nasty trailer I was living in, the desk larger than my bed. Swallowing hard, I tried to picture myself in the thick leather chair, conducting business or moving to the couch with the stunning glass and intricate wood coffee table, or grabbing a drink from the artistic bar nestled in the corner while looking out one of two walls of windows. Holy shit.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“We hadn’t expected Mr. Masters’ death. Not that you ever do. He was so young and vital. I just…” Tears formed in Jackie’s eyes.
“Death. Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Oh, God. What had I walked into the middle of?
She took a few seconds to compose herself. “It was a horrible traffic accident. He died instantly. We’re all still in shock.”
“That’s terrible. What’s happening with the company?” I’d been hired as vice president, but that didn’t mean my job was stable by any means.
“Oh, he willed the entire business to a family member. That’s my problem today. We’re expecting him on site at any minute and this asshole stormed in, acting as if he owned the place. I might need to call the police. He just won’t leave.”
“Wait a minute. This dude is here?”
“He’s not only here. He found Mr. Masters’ office and refuses to leave. I’ve never had anything like this happen before.”
I realized at that moment that I had to take the helm, if only until things got sorted out. Great. I was still sweating, and I needed to face some son of a bitch who thought he could take advantage of the situation. “Did he give you any reason for his behavior?”
“He hasn’t said a word. He grunted a little and if you ask me, I think that’s all the barbarian can do.”
I’d heard men called a lot of things in my life. I’d cursed a few nice words myself, but barbarian? “Since I’m here, I think it’s my job to try and handle the situation.” I laid my purse and briefcase down and offered a reassuring smile.
The look of relief on her face was instantaneous. “That would be wonderful. I hate to admit it, but I’m not used to dealing with people like this.”
“Just point me in the right direction.”
“He’s close. Just the next office down the hall in the corner.”
I smoothed my hands down my skirt and nodded before heading toward the door. When I walked into the hallway, a knot formed in my stomach the size of a basketball. While I was no different than anyone else in that I didn’t usually like confrontations, today I was in the mood to wrestle a bear. Maybe confronting the asshole would allow a portion of my anger to wash away.
Maybe.
Well, not likely but it was well worth the effort.
