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“She did a good job. Did you justice. I think you’ll be happy.”
“Rebecca said she wasn’t going to go easy on me.”
“She didn’t.” He stood. “I could have texted you this information after I left for the day, but I wanted to see your reaction in person.”
“Was it worth it?”
“I suppose.” He spread a hand. “I know better than to try to read too hard into your reactions. But I thought maybe this time...maybe this time you wouldn’t be so careful.”
“Why is that?”
“I thought I saw something the other night at the cocktail party, but maybe I was wrong. Either way”—he shrugged— “this was a good move. It was the right thing to do.”
“Next time you give me advice on something like this, I won’t hesitate.”
He cocked his head. “And...?”
“And what?” I was eager for him to leave. I wanted to read the article immediately but wanted to do so privately. Once I was alone, I could mull over every word, and my thoughts of Rebecca. “Oh, I know. I’ve been meaning to ask, are we all l set for the travel to Ohio on Friday night?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“Good.”
He chuckled. “So, I was right, wasn’t I?”
“About what?”
“Sparks doesn’t have any business in Ohio. We aren’t looking to get in there.”
I stared at him, again working to make sure my expression gave nothing away, and I didn’t offer a reply. I was the leader of the company, and what I did was ultimately my business, not his. Robert might have been my friend, but that didn’t make him my equal.
“There’s only one thing in Ohio...one person in Ohio.” He paused. “Her.”
“Who?”
My longtime partner shook his head. “You asshole.”
“Guilty as charged.”
He stared right back at me, and I felt a charge pulse in the room, tension that hadn’t been there moments before. Something had shifted beneath us, but I didn’t know what.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“No.”
“Good.”
Another beat passed, and then he got up. “All right, I’ll leave you to it, since I know you have some reading to do.”
Robert departed my office and I pressed the “do not disturb” button on the intercom system so that anyone who walked by would know not to bother me. Not that there were many left at Chatter so late in the day. Working past five hadn’t been part of the company culture, and it was one aspect I knew had to change now I was in command. Even so, I wanted to make sure I had complete privacy with which to read what Rebecca had written about me. I fixed myself a fresh glass of bourbon on the rocks from the small bar I kept in the corner of the office, then scooted the swivel chair back to the computer station.
Just as promised, the email with the forwarded article awaited.
It took about twenty minutes for me to read it. I skimmed it first, going over the layout and photos, then allowed myself to take in her words.
Rebecca did a damn good job. She was an impressive, talented writer. I made a note to compliment her about that the next time I saw her. Better still, what happened between us didn’t show up in the paragraphs. Somehow, she managed to write a fair, interesting, compelling article that maintained the same sort of detached objectivity that had made her newsletter so popular. She didn’t rake me over the coals, but she also didn’t give me a glowing portrait.
I appreciated that.
