Page 67 of Book Club Confidential

She wet her lips and nodded, then sent up a prayer for whatever came next.

Chapter Eighteen

Xavier stood before her, large fingers splayed over narrow hips. His gray tailored suit was wrinkled, and his tie hung askew. His face appeared strained and uncharacteristically gaunt. Also visibly red. “Tessa,” he said, voice low and barely contained. “Are you coming with me?”

He’d turned back for her when she hadn’t followed.

She checked the time once more, feeling the weight of her laptop bag on one shoulder and car keys on her fingertips. It wasn’t quite five. Not officially quitting time, yet she’d been about to board the elevator. So close, she thought. So very close.

Millie’s warning returned to mind, and she decided to improvise, despite her mounting fear and the tension crashing off him in waves.

“I’m running downtown to check on a new client and the campaign I just finished for Olive My Heart.”

Xavier shook his head. “No.”

“No?” Her face contorted, and she worked to smooth her features.

Relax, she commanded internally. You haven’t done anything wrong. He can be upset, and he can direct his frustration at you, but that still doesn’t make anything your fault.

“Not tonight,” he said. “Tonight we have work to do.”

Tessa bit the insides of her cheeks, recalling the shouting he’d done in Peyton’s office. “I’ve just finished up here for the day.”

The muscle in Xavier’s jaw tensed and jumped. “You were assigned to the Lilacs and Lace account.”

“I wasn’t assigned to that account.”

His eyes widened, then narrowed. “We spoke about this,” he said, face reddening further. “In my office. You said you understood. Yet you haven’t done anything to help Peyton all week. I can’t be expected to come in here every day and babysit you. You’re supposed to do your job.”

Tessa guffawed. She definitely hadn’t agreed to help with the L and L account. The opposite, actually. Unless he was rewriting history, in which case he should probably go back and hire someone qualified for Peyton’s current position. “I’ve been busy all week,” she said. “I’m managing a number of fall campaigns for current clients, and I have the new one I told you about. Everything is preliminary for him, and that takes time.”

Xavier pulled his head back as if he’d just recalled the fact she landed a big account. “I told you to send me what you had on that account,” he snapped, doubly irritated. “You didn’t do that either. Why would you directly disobey an order?”

Her mouth opened, and heat coursed through her limbs. “Disobey?”

Since when was this that kind of office?

“You know what I mean,” he said. “You’ve been here long enough to understand how things work. I make the decisions because I’m your boss. I have the final say. Every time. Because this is my company.”

She blanched, horrified at the version of Xavier standing before her. Arrogant and mean. An authoritarian instead of a leader, mentor, or partner with the same goals in mind. “I know all of that,” she said softly. “But you’ve always given us independence and creative freedom. I don’t want to work on the Lilacs and Lace account. I have a full plate already, and for the record, I’m working hard every day for this company. Like I always have.”

“Not like you always have,” he said.

She blinked. “Excuse me?” Was he suggesting she somehow let him down by not working double time every week? By not doing her job plus the work of anyone else who fell behind or messed up? Was he serious?

“The Lilacs and Lace team is meeting to finalize this pitch before we lose it. Peyton tapped you for this project, and that means you’re on it. We’re staying until this is done.” He turned and walked away.

Tessa stared after him, speechless.

“Let’s go!” he barked without looking back. “All hands on deck.”

She looked longingly at the elevator.

The bulk of employees would leave in a matter of minutes. Not long ago, this was her favorite part of the workday, the moment she really dug in. She regularly moved mountains in the silence of the evenings. And when she finally boarded the elevator a few hours later, she left feeling exhausted but proud of all she’d accomplished.

At the moment, however, she only felt defeated.

She’d worked hard the last two weeks to rewire her thoughts. She’d just started to see progress. Now, Xavier wanted to set her back. Demanding she stay.