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Short Guy froze, then turned to me slowly. His face had deepened to faint purplish red. “My name?” His voice was menacing.
“Yes,” I said blankly. “So I know who to forward messages to.”
He leaned over the desk, and his sour breath blasted in my face. I had to rock backward to avoid physical contact with him.
“Turn around,” he said. “See that name? Gold letters? On the wall behind you?”
I ventured a quick glance. Clemens & Associates. “Um, yeah. And so?”
“Can you read?” Another blast of his hot, stale breath made me gag.
Seriously?Outrage stacked the vertebrae in my spine to absolute verticality. I lifted my chin and declined to reply, letting my eyes say it for me.Asshole.
“My name is Clemens. Not that you’ll need it. Because you’re fired.” He turned to the door. “Julia!” he bawled. “Get out here right away!”
The office manager scurried out promptly. “Mr. Clemens? Is there a problem?”
Clemens waved his hand in my direction. “Get rid of this one immediately. There’s no place in my organization for idiots.”
“Idiot?” I leaped to my feet, sending the chair rolling back to hit the wall with a thud. “Mister, I justmetyou! What the hell is your problem?”
“Please get your things and leave, miss.” The office manager’s voice was shrill with tension. “We don’t want any scenes. Just go, right now.”
Clemens patted the shoulder of the tall guy, who was watching me with what appeared to be intense fascination. “Go on downstairs, Ethan,” he said. “Sorry you had to see that. Just a little housecleaning.”
“My ass!” I leaned to retrieve my coat and purse. “I am not the problem! This place is messed up!”
“Watch what you say,” Clemens warned.
“Why should I?” I asked him. “What are you going to do? Fire me again?”
Clemens glared at me as I slung my shoulder-strap across my chest to secure my purse, as was my custom. Ready to run or fight at all times. Out came the athletic shoes, swathed in plastic and stowed in my big purse for the self-same reason.
The two men waited and watched in charged silence as I sat back down, tugged on my first shoe, and pulled the laces nice and tight. Not hurrying in the least, because fuck them. Let them sweat and fidget and wait for me to finish.
“You could do that outside, you know,” Clemens growled.
“Maybe I could, but I won’t,” I said evenly, double knotting carefully. “I’ll do it…right…here.”
“Ethan, go on down,” Clemens urged. “Mitch and Follett are waiting for you.”
“And miss the floorshow?” he murmured. “Hell, no.”
Floorshow? He thought this wasfunny?I knotted my second shoe with an angry jerk, looked up, and almost lost myself in those dark, gorgeous eyes again.
“I am not here for your entertainment, buddy,” I told him.
“Of course not. Excuse me.” He lifted his hand in salute to Clemens and Julia, and strolled out to the elevator banks.
I realized, to my utter chagrin, that I had to follow him, that being the only exit from this place, aside from twenty-seven flights of stairs. Right after being insulted, fired, and publicly humiliated right in front of him. Sweet. Just stellar.
I tossed my coat over my arm and marched out. The elevator door was opening right now, and no way was I waiting for the next one while those blithering jerks gave me the hairy eyeball.
Too bad I was too rattled to try flirting with him. Flirting was hard for me in the best of times. I was clumsy as hell at it. I wasn’t likely to get lucky with it today, the way things were going so far.
“Hey! That elevator is for my associate! You wait for the next one!” Clemens lunged after me and grabbed me by the arm.
I wrested my arm out of his sweaty grip and pushed him, hard.
