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29
Camilla
It was early afternoon by the time I stepped into my office.
Mallory jumped at the sight of me, hurrying toward me from behind her desk.
“I was so worried about you,” she said, throwing her arms around me. “What took you so long to come to work?”
I patted her shoulder, wincing a little as my aching back protested against the hug.
Mallory released me and stepped back, her gaze inspecting me closely.
“Something happened,” she guessed immediately. “Was it at Nick Civella’s casino?”
“Surprisingly, no,” I answered. Glancing around, I made sure we were alone. “We stopped to rest at a diner. On our way back, the car malfunctioned and we were lucky to avoid a lethal collision. Noah seems okay but I hurt my back and legs.”
Mallory’s hands rose to cover her mouth. “Do you suspect anyone?” she whispered.
“Not yet,” I lied. Deep inside, I was sure it was Luke or his dad who got someone to follow us to New York City. Noah suspected them too. Still, it was best we kept our suspicions quiet until we could gather concrete proof against them.
“Could it be the Civellas?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “If they wanted to hurt me, they would have done so while we were on their turf. They wouldn’t bother driving that far from New York City to do a lousy job.”
Mallory gave a thoughtful nod. “I guess you’re right. Are you sure you don’t want Greg and Tom to know? They could come and help you if you asked.”
“I’m sure they’ve already taken up another job,” I said. “Besides, they couldn’t have prevented this accident. It came out of nowhere.”
“At least, you had Noah with you.”
A smile came on my lips. “Yeah. It wasn’t so bad with him.” My mind strayed to the night in the motel and it suddenly became a struggle to keep a straight face before her.
“I’m glad to see that you’re well enough to come to work,” said Mallory. “If I was in your place, I’d have taken a few days off.”
A chuckle escaped me. “That reminds me. I’m going to need three more assistants. Maybe more but let’s start with three. Can you contact HR to look for candidates?”
Mallory’s face brightened. “We could definitely do with more help around here. I’m still going to be there boss, right?” She stared at me with a pleading look.
“Yep. You’ll be training them, so look forward to that.”
A gleam came into her eyes. “Dominating over inexperienced young men and women is what I do best.”
“Say you’ll be supportive to them,” I said with a snort.
“Of course. I don’t want to be called into HR for being inappropriate again. Their lecturing back in LA drove me fucking nuts.”
I thought back to the time when two young employees complained against her to the HR for inappropriate behavior. HR wanted to fire her for using sexually degrading language with the young men working under her.
Mallory the best assistant I had, so I transferred the two guys to a different department and kept her at my side. Deciding to keep her with me was still the best choice I made.
“Do your best,” I said, patting her back and walking away.
Reaching my office, I closed the door and eyed the piles of folders lying on my desk. A few of them needed my signature while the rest were reports on ongoing projects.
I wanted to spend more time reviewing the Eastern Corridor project but there were other ventures that needed my attention. Depositing my bag on my table, I sat down in my chair and opened my laptop.
I stayed immersed in my work over the next few hours.
