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I looked at the phone and shook my head. “That’s the wrong address.”
“No, it’s not.”
“My name is not spelled with a ‘y’. It’s an ‘i’.”
He pretended to study the screen. “I could have sworn. My bad.”
“Here is what you’re going to do. You’re going to send me another email, copy furnished to the president. You’re going to apologize for any mistake you might have made, and you will explain that your corrected email never reached me.”
“Is that necessary?”
“I’m not done. I'll fire you if you don’t own up to your mess or try to make it sound like it was someone else’s fault. Josh, you can weather this storm if you’re honest. If you ambush me again, you’ll be gone before I’m called to the front office.”
“You really are a bitch, aren’t you?”
“That’s only half of it. I’m not sending you packing because I know you’ve worked here for some years. I also know you thought you would get my job. You didn’t. Get over it. You’re getting paid well, so do your job. Find the right people and hire them. Am I clear?”
“You do understand that you're only here because you’re female. Management is always under the gun to achieve diversity.”
“Who did you call?”
Josh’s lips thinned into a line. Anger came off him in waves.
“He’s a friend, and I didn’t know he would contact a director.”
“That’s bull. You knew he would verify the information. You thought you could get away with it.”
I stopped. I had had enough of Josh and his lies and his betrayal.
“Get out of my office,” I said. “Send the email. You have ten minutes for that. If you try anything like this again, you’ll be on the street.”
He stood and glared. “I’ve been here a long time. I’ll be here when you’re gone. Remember that, Ms. Vice President.”
“Oh, one more thing. Stay away from Dawn. I don’t care what you do outside the office, but when you’re here, you steer clear of her.”
“You can’t—”
“I can, and I will,” I interrupted. “I will not have a stalking, sexual harassment suit filed against the bank.”
“She would never do that.”
“Don’t be an idiot. She’s been setting you up for months. If I were to guess, I’d say she’s been recording your conversations, keeping track of how often you stop by and how long you stay. A lawsuit will get you canned in ten minutes.”
He started to say something but stopped himself. Instead, he spun and marched out of the office.
“Ten minutes,” I called after him.
Anger surged through me. I wanted to walk into Josh’s office and fire him. He deserved it. I knew he would try to get me fired, and his next effort would be sneakier and harder to unravel. I felt like I was living with a very dangerous snake that was intent on doing me harm. I couldn’t dump the snake, not yet, so I had to keep a close watch and be exceedingly careful. I could survive—if I was vigilant enough.
At exactly ten minutes, the email from Josh appeared. He offered a couple reasons why he had provided the wrong information and sent an email that bounced. I knew the email would cover my backside. I was in the clear at the moment. So was Josh. His most egregious sin was not following up on the bounced email. I couldn’t fire him for that. I decided to go to Doak’s office and make sure he read the email. I wasn’t about to leave a stone unturned.
The secretary said Doak was busy, and I needed to take a seat. I decided to stand. I needed to burn off a bit of anger energy. I didn’t stand long before the door opened, and Dracula emerged.
My heart flip-flopped.
I didn’t smile. I had long before learned how to control my reactions. I was no longer the schoolgirl mooning over the new, young coach. Still, I couldn’t help but feel the pull, the attraction. Humans reacted to each other. As we aged, we learned to control or hide the responses. I didn’t want to hide mine, but if he could do it, so could I.
He looked neither left nor right, so I was more than a little surprised when he stopped in front of me. No smile, just those gorgeous, embracing lovely eyes.
