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It didn’t make sense that they would send the money before we’d signed, and now wecouldn’tlegally sign without Liam’s approval, which clearly wasn’t coming. So we couldn’t accept the money.
Grace giggled. “The other half of theQuigleymoney came in.” She bounced off to give the good news to Samantha.
I slumped in my chair. The world was upside down.
It took me a minute to process. Liam had sent the moneyandreleased me from my consulting obligation. He did care about me. Vivienne had been right, and I’d been too pig-headed to see it.
My heart raced as I dialed. Liam’s cell phone went straight to voicemail. I dialed the other number I knew by heart. His assistant, Veronica, answered.
“Sorry, Ms. Hudson, I haven’t seen Mr. Quigley yet this morning.”
I’d tried to get her to call me Amy, but it hadn’t worked. Liam swore she was efficient, but to me she just seemed cold. The lady could use some counseling to lighten up a little.
We ended the call after she either wouldn’t tell me where he was or honestly didn’t know. I couldn’t tell which.
Everything was so screwed up with Liam and me and the company. I couldn’t just sit in this office. This was an untenable situation.
I marched to Samantha’s office. I needed to leave. I couldn’t stay another minute.
Chapter 21
Liam
An electronic bug exterminator,that’s what I needed. I wandered back in from the patio. After starting another cup of coffee, I headed to the master bath and turned on the shower. Feeling sorry for myself wouldn't fix the situation I'd put myself and Josh in, and I definitely needed some help.
Vincent Benson had taken over for me running Covington East, and he would be my first call. He probably knew someone who could sweep for bugs.
Finally I had something concrete to do.
The water was warm and soothing as it flowed over my head and drowned out both sound and thought. I needed to clear my mind before I got in to work. And I did need to show up there today.
The bug sweep of our offices would need to be top of my list. I realized I couldn’t make the call from our offices, or my phone. It would risk alerting the other side. I didn’t know where any payphones were off the top of my head… Maybe I could borrow our doorman’s phone for a few minutes; that should be safe enough.
I got the faintest whiff of cherry and turned to see Amy leaning against the bathroom counter, watching me through the steamed glass. I covered up. “A little privacy, please.”
She didn't budge. She came forward and lifted the coffee cup she was holding over the glass. “I brought you Starbucks.”
I took the coffee with one hand, covering myself with the other. “Thanks. You didn't need to.”
“I know, but I wanted to.”
Her words warmed me more than they should have.
“I need your help getting a job,” she said matter-of-factly.
I’d never meant to hurt her, or cause her a problem at her business——and I certainly hadn’t meant for her to lose her job. I thought I’d prevented any trouble by sending along the remainder of the money I’d promised her.
I set the coffee on the ledge. “Look, I didn’t mean——”
“Just hear me out,” she said, interrupting me. “I quit my job. I wasn't quite cut out for it.” She looked down at the floor. “The situation became untenable. It wasn’t right for me.”
Her words destroyed me.
* * *
Amy
“I want a better job,”I explained, leaning against the counter.
