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Not now, however. And the look in his eyes wasn’t wild, crazy, animal rage. No—it was tightly focused pissed-offness, like someone had said the wrong damn thing, and it was time to teach them a lesson in manners.
“Mr. Maddox,” said Mr. Stump, suddenly looking a little nervous. “All going well with your time at the Circus Maximus?”
“It was,” he said. “Until I happened to walk by your office and hear you talking to one of your employees in a way I can only describe as ‘really, really fucking disrespectful’.”
He put extra emphasis on the word “fucking,” making it clear he was pretty damn PO’d.
Was really butting in on my behalf?
“Mr. Maddox,” said Stump. “I don’t mean to be rude, but this is a private matter between me and my employee. I’d be happy to discuss—”
“Now it’s a matter between me and you,” he said, cutting him off. “Because I’m not about to stand here while you talk to her like this.”
Stump’s professional cool was fading by the second. “What difference does it make to you? You of all people should know first-hand what kind of employee she is.”
”She’s a damn good one,” said Sean. “And you’re lucky to have her. Most bosses would kill to have someone like her, and you’re treating her like total shit. Hell, she’d have a good mind to tell you to fuck off right now.”
I felt good. Part of me hated to admit it, but I did. I normally didn’t have a problem sticking up for myself, but being in the hot seat like I was then had me frazzled. But the moment Sean stepped in, the second I knew he had my back, I felt like a woman who was ten feet tall.
“Yeah! And maybe I will!”
Stump’s eyebrows rose. “Is that right?” It was almost as if he was goading me.
I could picture in my mind a real, literal, point of no return. Or a line drawn in the middle of a field with a big sign that read “the line—cross at your own damn peril.”
And I don’t know if it was Sean having my back or me finally having hit my limit, but I was more than ready to not only cross that line but to do a little victory dance over it as I did.
“It is,” I said, leveling my gaze at him and making it nice and steely. “Fuck you.”
He narrowed his eyes into hard little slits. “What was that?” he asked. “And think very carefully before you say what you say next.”
Line, meet Shania.
“Fuck you.”
He let out a hard chortle that seemed both shocked and dismissive all at once. “You’re…really going with that, huh?”
“I sure as hell am.” I glanced back over my shoulder at Sean and was pleased to see a small smile on his face, one that seemed to say “there you go.”
I got up. “You can take this job, Stump—and shove it.”
OK, not the most clever line in the world. But it was all pretty much gravy after the “fuck you.”
Stump let out a laugh. “Good luck out there, kid. You’re gonna need it.”
And with that I stormed out, blowing past Sean and rushing down the hall. I heard the door shut, and soon Sean was at my side.
“Holy shit. You really did that.”
I didn’t say anything. At that moment all I wanted was to be as far from as possible that cheesy take on Roman opulence. Or whatever the hell it was supposed to be.
As soon as I was out the door and the fresh air hit me, I fell into a weird, dreamlike daze. “Holy shit,” I said, repeating Sean’s words from a moment before. “Holy shit.”
Sean stepped around me where I stood, that impressed expression still on his face.
“Damn, Shania. That was…fucking awesome.”
But I kept staring ahead, my eyes vaguely on his chest. Not the worst thing to be staring at when in such a state, not going to lie.
“Don’t you…,” I said, my voice sounding far away. “Don’t you have a spa day to get to?”
He laughed. “Bigger things at hand right now. The mani-pedi can wait.”
“Mani-pedis are part of the Emperor Package. And if you’re in the mood to treat yourself like a real aristocrat, I can’t recommend a better value for your dinaris.”
“Uh, you OK there?” asked Sean, waving his hand in front of my face.
I wanted to say I was, but I had just unthinkingly rattled off a sales pitch I’d said probably hundreds of times before. Not the best sign of mental stability in the world.
“Shania. Give me something to work with here.”
His voice snapped me out of it.
“Oh,” I said. “OK. I mean, I’m OK.”
“No entirely convinced. But good to hear.” He put his hand on my shoulder, his touch sending waves of calm through my body. “Don’t mean to put pressure on you, but we should probably get moving.”
