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“I need to talk to you about Livia.”
“What about her?”
I’m going to have to tell the truth… or some of it, anyway. “I—I’ve just fired her.”
“You have? What the hell for?”
“I’ve discovered she’s the daughter of someone who used to work here… years ago.”
“You don’t know that,” Drew says, and I glare at him.
“And?” Miles says in my ear.
“The man’s name was Ken Bevan…”
“Oh, yes? I’ve heard of him.”
“Yeah, you would have done.” Everyone knows what he did, even the people who weren’t here at the time. “The point is, did you check her out before you interviewed her?”
“As much as I could in the time you gave me. But I focused on her previous employment. I didn’t look into her parents. Why would I? Her surname is Hopkins, not Bevan.”
“Hmm… she must have changed it.” I guess that makes sense. I’d change my name if my dad was sent to prison.
“Do you need me to arrange her severance pay?” he asks. “I can liaise with her…”
“No.” My voice is loud and my reply hasty. He can’t fail to have noticed. “I’ll deal with it, if you send me her bank details.”
“I’m sure you’ve got better things to do.”
“It’s fine. Just send me what I’ve asked for.”
I end the call, putting down my phone, and Drew tips his head to one side. “Are you always so rude to the people who work for you?”
“No. It’s just Miles. He has that effect on me.”
“Is that anything to do with Livia?”
“He had a reputation even before she started working here…”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’.”
I nod my head. “He used to hang around her, and she didn’t like it.”
“Neither did you.”
“No. Not that it matters anymore.”
“You keep telling yourself that, you might even believe it one day.” He sighs. “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing, Hunter? You guys were good together. Why would you treat her like this?”
“Because her father almost wiped out our entire family.”
“So? That’s not her fault.”
I shake my head. “Maybe not. But why did she come here, if not to pull the same stunt?”
“Maybe it was a coincidence.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences. I certainly…” I’m cut off by the ringing of my phone and I glance down to see Ella’s name on the screen. “It’s our sister,” I mutter, connecting the call, and putting it on to speaker.
