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I stood up. “Resignation accepted—don’t worry about the two weeks’ notice. Clear out your desk as you leave.”
“What?” she gasped.
I picked up my phone and called the security extension. “Jeff, can you come up to the fourth floor and escort out a former employee? Thanks.”
Elise was still standing there, gaping at me.
“I don’t know how to make this any fucking clearer. I don’t want you and your fucking desperate attempts to… what? Get on my dick? Do you think your vagina will be so fucking magical that I’ll wife you up?” She was beautiful. She’d probably wielded that beauty like a weapon her whole life. “Leave.”
Her face flushed. “Fuck you, Devan Mayson.”
“Not in your wildest damn dreams,” I growled.
“I’m going to sue the shit out of you for wrongful dismissal. I’m going to tell everyone you seduced me and then fired me. Who wouldn’t believe me now, you fucking pervert? Is that why you don’t want me? Can’t get it up without your buddies watching?”
My face remained motionless, not giving her any of the reaction she so desperately wanted. “Go ahead. This room has a security camera. You signed an NDA. I’ll ensure you have to move countries to work in finance again.” I gave her a cruel smirk. “At this point, destroying a conniving cunt like you might actually get me hard. Well done. Now get the fuck out of my building.”
She turned and strode out of my office, screeching threats, and I slumped back in my chair. Fuck, when did this get so tedious?
Jeff appeared, and didn't even say a word. He tilted his head toward Elise, who sounded like she was trashing the place. I wouldn’t have put it past Jeff to have been watching the whole thing on the security feed.
Standing, I quickly sent a copy of the footage to my lawyers for safekeeping, and then headed to the elevator. I wanted out of here.
A call came through my car stereo speakers on the way home. The private investigator I’d put on the task of finding who the fuck wrote those articles and who was basically stalking us for a story. I’d also put her on watching Nova, to make sure she was okay. Safe.
“What have you found?” I said without niceties. I wasn’t paying her for niceties.
“Well, good evening to you too, Mr. Mayson,” Daria sniped back. Her voice was sickly saccharine, but I had no doubt Daria would cut off my balls rather than try to seduce me. She was from the old days, before we were billionaires and professional sports people. Before Rigby.
River and I had met her at a bar, when I was trying to pick up the same girl as her. Fair to say, the girl rejected us both, but she’d become a useful contact over the years. She had a nice boyfriend now, but she still argued she could fuck my girlfriends if she wanted.
Luckily, I’d never had girlfriends to test the theory until now.
“Sorry, Daria. It’s been a trying day.”
She snorted. “Whatever. Like I care if you're a snippy asshole. Just letting you know your girl is fine. She took the baby on a stroll around the block. She looks like shit, but the baby seems happy and healthy.” If Daria had an opinion about the fact that I was basically getting her to stalk my ex-girlfriend, she kept it to herself. “On to more important topics. I might have something on your little problem from the other week. Unless you want to let sleeping dogs lie, now that the buzz around your little ménage—quadage?—has calmed down.”
I sucked in a breath. “Tell me.”
“I had a little peek through the windows of your girl Esperanza’s windows, and the bitch is lowkey obsessed with River Cooper. Like, there's an entire wall of press pictures and team photographs. I’m pretty sure I even saw a used condom in there, man. Full Fatal Attraction style.”
All the air left my lungs. “Did you get pictures?”
Daria snorted a derisive sound, “Are you doubting my skills, Mayson?”
Fuck, finally some good news. “Do you think she leaked the photos and shit to the other journalists?”
There was silence down the end of the line, some shuffling noises. “Yeah, I think that's a fair call. I was able to get in with one of the copy editors of the Tribune at a bar, and he told me that one of the junior interns presented the story, and they ran it. It took me three whiskey-doubles and his pawing hands to get that info, Mayson, so you bet your ass I’m charging this shit to your account.”
“You’re worth every penny, Daria. Every fucking dollar. Chase down the leads. I need to pin this on Esperanza with all the evidence I can. Half the female fans of the IceCaps have pictures of River on their walls. I need something concrete so I can prove harassment and get her thrown out of the sports world, at the least. Out of journalism altogether, if I can.”
Daria was scrawling notes; I could hear the pencil sliding across the page. “I’m on it.” She paused slightly. “What are you going to do about Nova Stone?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “She made her choice, Daria. I’m going to respect it.”
I expected Daria to make some smartass comment, but she just sighed heavily. “I think you’re making a mistake, Devan. Now isn’t the time to play the martyr. Now is the time to play the White Knight. She looks fucking miserable, and honestly, I’m going to go home and ask Xander if we can adopt her or something, because this shit is heartbreaking.” She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. “I know you’re technically my boss, but as a friend, I’m telling you now—fight for her, you chickenshit, or you guys will regret it for the rest of your life. She loves you. It’s written all over her fucking heartbroken face. Do something.”
Then she hung up in my ear, but her words spun around and around in my head for the rest of the night. Even after I repeatedly tell myself I was doing the right thing.
