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“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
The phone started to crackle and then clicked off. Dammit, must be the poor connection down there. At least tonight would be the last night that I had to sleep alone, which I hoped was for a while. I turned on my side and readjusted the pillow under my head. I fell asleep quickly and was woken up by JC. He was kneeling by the couch and smoothing my hair out of my face. It startled me and I bolted upright.
“What are you doing here?”
“Vincent and Marco want to see us. I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer. Nikki said you were still in your office. I figured you were napping. You really should let someone know when you do that.”
“Thanks for the tip,” I said, wiping a small bit of drool off the side of my face.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to get yourself ready.”
He smiled at me as he rose. I sat up and grabbed my purse from the coffee table, taking out my compact mirror. My eyes were puffy with sleep, and I freshened up my makeup a little then ran a brush through my hair. I looked tired but there was nothing I could do about it now.
JC met me in the hall, and we headed to the conference room where Vincent and Marco were already. Surprisingly, you could say that they were brothers even though they weren’t related in any way. Both had dark hair and eyes. They were close to the same height with the only glaring difference being that Marco was heavyset and Vincent was thin. They gestured us to sit down and I started to feel a sense of foreboding.
“We want to congratulate you on today’s successful meeting. That being said, we noticed that you two were not in sync.”
I wanted to tell them the truth, but let JC take the lead.
“As I said before, this campaign was mishandled from the get-go. Lexi’s predecessor dropped the ball. I didn’t think someone of his seasoned experience would require me to hang over his shoulder. I know Mr. Kingston was upset with the progress and that’s my fault. I should have checked on the campaign, but I was swamped with other work.”
“Camden, I understand, but we need you two to be working together. As VP and Director of the same department, you should work hand in hand.”
I almost laughed at that because from JC’s displays the last few days, he wanted to be more than hand in hand. More like hand down my panties. Instead, I bit my tongue to prevent the smile from blooming on my face. JC looked at me and frowned.
“Vincent, we plan on doing that. It’s only been a few days, but I’m sure by next week we will be on the same page. I’m taking Lexi out to dinner tonight to discuss just that.”
“Wonderful. I hope we won’t have any stumbles like this morning in the future. Keep us informed.”
JC hustled me out the door and wrapped his hand around my arm as we walked down the hall. I wanted to shake him loose, but Marco and Vincent were close behind. At my office, he released me, and I gave him a hard look.
“Can we talk?”
“I can’t right now. I promised Brianna I would call her. We can talk at dinner.”
“Suppose I changed my mind and don’t want to have dinner with you?”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll come to get you at five.”
He walked away as if dismissing me. I felt my ire building. It would simmer in me all day while I worked on the Camilla project. At five, he ducked his head into my office door. How could he look so fresh after a full day of work and barely any sleep? I, on the other hand, looked exhausted and ready for bed.
“I made reservations at Marino’s for 5:30.”
Another old haunt of ours. I wished JC would stop dredging up the past.
“Why Marino’s?”
“Because you love their Chicken Piccata. Do you want me to cancel?”
“No, I’m hungry, and I need a glass of good red wine.”
“Good, so do I.”
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I brushed past him on my way to the bathroom catching the scent of his cologne.
When I came back, most of the office was empty. The desks in the central area where the assistants sat were dark, and the cleaning staff was already emptying garbage cans.
JC had put on his suit jacket and was talking on his cell while sitting on my couch. I tried not to listen, but he was talking loudly to his wife. The gist of the conversation was that she wanted to spend a few more days away with her friends. He wanted her home, probably to prevent her from spending more money. He ended the call by saying her name twice, which made me believe that she had hung up on him.
