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I had the retort for that. “Find someone by tomorrow, or you come up and do the job yourself.”
“Let’s talk in the morning when you’ve had a chance to cool off.” He hung up.
I didn’t call back and berate him because I didn’t need the blood-pressure spike.
I couldn’t fantasize about my Starbucks girl anymore, the Talbot transaction was going sideways, and I was on the verge of pushing Jay too far. Everything about today sucked.
I wanted to rewind to two days ago where I could jerk off to visions of Jennifer, I hadn’t gotten the latest nastygram from Melissa, Sigurd hadn’t written another hit piece, and Talbot was within my grasp.
This week sucked big time.
* * *
Jennifer
After closingthe door to Dennis’s office, I leaned back against the wall to catch my breath. He’d chewed me a new one, and I didn’t deserve it. It was so unfair.
Cindy wasn’t at her desk, so I could stand here and contemplate the path he’d laid out: kiss ass and suck dick. My God, the man was crude, but above allmean. It didn’t matter to him how demeaning it was—or whether they were cheating him—so long as he got his stupid deal.
It only made my blood boil hotter to think of how he’d ravaged my family and was now killing my career. At the next job, they’d want a reference from here, and there was no way I was getting a good one after pissing off the CEO.
I felt for Mom’s ring on my finger and counted to ten in my head before I opened the conference room door. If I was leaving, it wouldn’t be with my tail between my legs. The parting shot would be mine.
The conversation stopped, and all eyes went to me when I closed the door behind me and moved to the beverage cart.
“When is Dennis joining us again?” Talbot asked.
I unscrewed the top of a second Diet Coke and downed two swallows, this time directly from the bottle, before answering him. “He’s not.”
Talbot’s eyes widened. “Pardon?”
The other suits were speechless, and even Syd’s brow knit with confusion.
I retook my seat. “He put me in charge of this negotiation.”
“That’s absurd,” Talbot said with a huff.
“Do you have a problem with a woman being in charge, James?” I asked. “Because I’m the one you’re talking with now, not Dennis. If you don’t like it, you’re free to leave.”
He didn’t budge, at least not yet. “Now you remind me of his father.”
I fixed Talbot with my coldest stare and ignored the comment. “He told me to handle it, and I am. End of story.”
Syd looked like he might have a heart attack any second.
If Benson thought I was screwing up his negotiation, he had no idea how bad I could make it for him. I would gladly fuck him over with these idiots.
“You four are the ones who waltzed in here trying to hide material information.”
Sweaty Palms and Baldy cringed. Only Beak Nose held his head high. Lawyers had no compunctions about trying to cheat. I’d learned that years ago.
I took the agreement Talbot had pushed our way earlier and slid it back to him. “You tried to cheat. We’re not signing this. You insulted me. You insulted my boss, and our entire organization.”
“But…” was all Talbot had to say for himself.
I stood and walked out.
Fuck them. Fuck Benson, fuck ’em all. Benson wanted this deal, and I’d just nuked for him. Take that asshole.
