AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He rolled the window back up and got comfortable. He had a feeling it would be a while before Monica finished with her day and there was no telling how she would react to him choosing to move in.
Was it bad that he looked forward to a potential fight?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Her morning had gone marginally better after her argument with Carmichael. Fortunately, he chose to stay away. That was probably for the best considering, even with three cups of coffee, Monica wasn't sure she was ready to deal with him in the professional manner she needed to.
She did however get a lot accomplished. The conversation with her insurance agent had been both smooth and quick. The dealership at which she had purchased her last car had already ordered her a new one in the latest model. And as an apology, she had ordered Amelia lunch from her favorite spot. She figured she was forgiven when Amelia popped in with a huge smile on her face.
Now she was elbow-deep in emails that would need to wait because her best friend was calling and ignoring Ash was pointless. Her friend would just keep calling until she answered anyway.
"Hello." There was no hiding the sigh in that one word.
"Care to tell me why you didn't call me and tell me your car had been vandalized overnight?"
"Who called you?"
She loved Ash like a sister, but she didn't want to get into it with her over the phone. Not when she felt jittery from lack of sleep and too much caffeine. She was normally a one-cup-a-day kind of girl. She'd had triple that, so there was no way to predict how she would act.
"It doesn't matter who called me. The whole office heard you and my father fight. I know I told you to stand up to him, but I didn't think you would go off the deep end."
"Is that why you're calling me? Because I yelled at your father?" The words were barely out of her mouth before she wished she could take them back.
"Don't be obtuse," Ash snapped. "You know I don't give a damn about his feelings, but I care about yours. I know you better than anyone. Once you've calmed down, the severity of what you did will kick in and you're going to panic."
Her best friend was right. She had been so busy that morning that she hadn't allowed herself time to think about what the consequences would be. Her outburst could very well push Carmichael over the edge and have him deciding that he doesn’t want her as a partner anymore.
"Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit." The panic that Ash anticipated took hold. "Your father is going to buy me out and get rid of me. He's going to strip me of my title and toss me to the curb."
Monica watched her dreams of co-owning the company go down the drain.
"No, he won't. I refuse to let that happen."
No one knew, but Ash's daughter actually owned a majority of Carmichael's shares. He had gifted them to her when she was born. Mallory was one very rich baby, but until she was eighteen, her mother controlled them. Ash would never abuse that power unless it was an emergency. And Carmichael firing her would be what Ash considered an emergency.
"I don't need you interfering. Your and your father's relationship is strained enough."
"Actually, he likes me better now that I'm a mother. He would do anything for Mallory. I know it's just his way of trying to control her future, like he did mine, but right now it's okay. Bentley and I protect Mallory's assets and my father gets to spoil her."
With any luck, Carmichael would have changed his ways by the time Mallory was old enough to decide her future. It was no secret that if it wasn't for Ash meeting Bentley, her best friend would still be miserable working for the company and trying to gain her father's approval.
"Is that all you called to tell me?"
Monica hated rushing Ash off the phone, but she still had a ton of work to get done before she could consider leaving for the day. At the rate she was going, it would be after seven before that would happen.
"No, I called because you scared me. Someone vandalized your car, and you didn't think to call me. You know that when I get scared, I lash out."
She did know. Ash had one of the biggest hearts and she wore it on her sleeve.
"I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't handle it well."
"Do the police have any idea who did it?"
Monica sighed. She glanced quickly at the calendar on her computer. She didn't have another meeting for an hour and the emails could wait a bit longer.
"I'm not sure. To be honest I barely spoke to them. Luke was leaving my place when he discovered my car. I let him handle things for the most part. I was too pissed to care what they had to say but I'm thinking it's the client who wanted me to pass him information."
"So this goes back to Samuel."
