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“Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked, cupping her face in my hands as soon as I got to her.
“I quit,” she blurted, her blue eyes wild with anger.
I dropped my hands from her face, then took a step back to give her some room. “Why? What happened?”
“Bryant accused me of sleeping with youduringthe audit,” she bit out, going back to pacing the carpet. “He had Ward Kelly from human resources waiting in his office for me after getting back from lunch.” I could feel anger licking at my heels, but Landry was really upset, and I didn’t need to make this about me right now. “When I told them that we hadn’t started seeing each other untilafterthe audit, they didn’t believe me.”
Since I owned my own company, I knew how things worked with situations like this, so I asked, “What was their proof?”
Landry stopped, then looked over at me. “Bryant’seyewitness accountsof how you defended me when I’d fallen asleep in the conference room that first day.”
“That’stheir proof?” I asked, already making a note to call my legal team.
“That and youraffectionate mannerwhen you picked me up for lunch,” she added, sneering her words like she was close to coming unhinged. “Even when I pointed out how unblemished my employment history with the company was, they still didn’t want to hear it.”
“Baby-”
“I mean, what the fuck, Rush?” she snapped. “How in the hell do you suspend someone without proof of any wrongdoing?”
“Is that what made you quit?” I asked carefully, not wanting her to lose it. While I really didn’t mind if she gave into her anger, I was very aware of Flaherty watching us like a hawk. All he needed was a tub of popcorn and a soda for the show.
“Bryant said that I was lucky that they were only suspending me, rather than firing me for violating company policy,” she answered, raving and ranting away. “That used tampon actually said that I waslucky. Can you believe that crap?”
“Baby-”
“And Mr. Kelly didn’t even want to hear my side,” she went on. “He’d already made up his mind about my guilt before I’d even been called up to Bryant’s office. I mean, what kind of human resources manager does that? Where’s the fairness?”
“Landry-”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she continued, waving my words away. “Life isn’t fair, and the good guys don’t always win. But you know what, Rush? They should. They really should.”
I walked up to her, placed my hands on her arms, then rubbed them up and down in an attempt to soothe her, though I was pissed off as fuck. Someone was messing with my girl, and I didn’t take kindly to anyone messing with the people that I cared about.
“Baby, I know you’re upset, but…just relax a bit,” I advised, knowing that it was easier said than done. It was hard to downshift when anger was the driving emotion.
“Did you not just hear what I said?” she cried out in frustration. “I no longer have a job, Rush. I mean, I get that you’re filthy rich and probably work for fun at this point, but normal people need jobs to survive.” Landry shook me off. “What’s worse is that I let that twit and his microscopic dick get the best of me. I let him get to me enough to quit my job. That means that I can’t even collect unemployment because Bryant Stanton is a world-class asshole.”
“Landry, there are other jobs out th-”
“I’m thirty-six, Rush,” she snapped, her arms flinging about for emphasis. “Yeah, there are other jobs out there, but other jobs where I’m going to have to start all over at the bottom. While my resumé might land me something decent, I’ll still have to start at the bottom. I’ll still have to pay my dues, and who knows how long that will take.” She started pacing again. “I’m going tokillBryant Stanton.”
I looked over at Flaherty. “She doesn’t mean that.”
His eyes widened. “She should,” he scoffed.
“If Bryant Stanton ever shows up dead, you didn’t hear shit, Flaherty,” I told him.
Flaherty scowled. “Of course.”
That’s when Landry remembered that she had an audience. “Goddamn it,” she muttered.
I reached out, then grabbed Landry’s hand. “Let’s go to my office and talk,” I told her.
With her anger ebbing, she said, “I’m sorry. I know you’re busy-”
“Hey,” I cut in. “I’m never too busy for you, you got that?Never.”
“I’ll hold your calls,” Flaherty offered, and I just nodded at him as I pulled Landry behind me, taking her back to my office.
