Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
ADRIANNA
Two days.
That’s how long I have been living in hell. Elijah hates me, and I have no clue why. I don’t even care anymore. At this point, I want him to fall off a cliff. Maybe have his brakes go out while he’s on a hill. Something dramatic.
Yet instead I’m stuck with him here. Bringing him a coffee every morning at his request that he never drinks.
He dismisses me so easily that it’s starting to piss me off.
He rarely talks to me about work items. Instead, he calls the departments to get the information.
If he would just ask me, he would find that I know everything he needs to.
He’s wasting time and energy because he is being petty.
I hate it, but what can I do?
I’m dreading walking into his office right now.
I just got the flower approval back from the florist for the annual Williamson Foundation Gala.
This year we are supporting domestic violence survivors, so I asked them to come up with some classy flowers in shades of purple. They knocked it out of the park.
Usually I would sign Gloria’s name and call it a day, but I can’t do that anymore. I have to actually speak with the asshole who took over her office.
After delaying as long as I can, I finally get up and knock on his office door.
“Come in.”
I step into his office, the folder with the proposal in my hands. “I need a minute of your time,” I tell him.
“Not now, Ms. Baker,” he grumbles.
“You avoid me enough, Mr. Samson. This is for the gala. It is time sensitive.”
His eyes snap to mine. “You are not handling the gala this year, Ms. Baker. That is the CEO’s job, and as far as I’m aware, that is me.”
“That is you, but the ball is already rolling. This is for the flowers. I need a simple signature.”
His eyes narrow. “Absolutely not. Who has been organizing this? Gloria has been locked up for months now.”
“Trust me, I know. That doesn’t mean this office came to a standstill. Business still needed to run. It’s not like you showed up the day after she went away, reassuring everyone that their jobs were safe. You’re lucky there is still a foundation to be the CEO of.”
He stands, coming around the desk. “You’re saying you held it all together?” He snorts. “Sure. Don’t think I don’t know what you and Gloria were doing here. I have no proof, but once I do, you’ll be out on your ass.”
My heart is pounding in my chest. I can be fired with cause for forging her signature. For basically doing her job for three years. I don’t want to, though. I love my job when there aren’t troublesome CEOs getting in my way.
“Keep dreaming, Elijah. I think that’s what burns your ass most. You hate me for no good reason, yet you are stuck with me because you know I’m an asset to this company.” I step closer to him, getting in his face.
“I know what you are, Adrianna. You’re a snake in the grass.
You feed off the trust of others until you drain them dry.
I have no doubts about that. The question is did you do it alone or did Gloria help?
Maybe there were others. I will find out what you were doing here, and when I do, it won’t be pretty.
You wanted this job? You’ll be blacklisted.
No one in Boston will hire you. Not even to scrape gum off park benches.
Count your days because they are numbered. ”
The pure hate in his tone makes me shiver. He really doesn’t like me at all. I refuse to cower, though. Everyone has a hill they have to die on. This is mine. If I quit now, he wins. Even if it destroys me, I won’t let him take this from me. Not without a fight.
“That might be, but each and every day you will have to deal with me, and that brings me joy because you obviously loathe me so much that it drives your blood pressure up. Maybe I’ll get lucky and you will have a heart attack before my days are up.” I pop the “p” on up, but internally I’m cringing.
This man brings out the worst in me. I have never wished harm on someone the way I do on him. I basically just told him I hope he dies.
His hand comes up, cupping my cheek. “Oh, brave Adrianna. Keep those hopes alive and well. You’ll need them. Now leave the proposal and go get me coffee. You’re dismissed.”
I really, really want to slap his hand away but refrain from doing so. The last thing I need is to get hit with an HR complaint for hitting my boss.
“Yes, sir.” I mock salute as I pull away from his touch.
I really don’t like how he makes me feel so small.
Turning on my heel, I stalk out of his office. I head straight down to the break room. I know if I don’t bring the coffee, he will pitch a fit, and it’s not worth it. Just like I know he only asks me to do it to demean me. He wants to put me in my place.
For now, I concede. He won’t be here forever. I know I have no shot at the position now, but hopefully the next person will be better.
I’m pouring coffee into his cup when I look down at it and wonder. He doesn’t drink it anyway, so he won’t notice, but it brings me a little joy.
Looking around to be sure no one is here, I lean down and spit into the cup. Then I put the dash of cream and two sugars, stirring it up.
As I walk back to his office, I won’t lie. I have a little thrill. Like I’m getting away with something. Even if it’s childish and disgusting.
Knocking on the door, I don’t wait for him to answer. He’s on the phone as he looks up at me. I don’t say a word as I drop his coffee where I always do. It’s always still there when I leave for the day.
Still, I give him a smirk as I set it down, making him look at me weirdly.
He doesn’t say thank you, but I knew he wouldn’t. My hips swing a little more pronounced as I walk out of his office.
The self-satisfied smirk on my face stays for the rest of the day.
ELIJAH
Fuck, that girl infuriates me.
As soon as she steps out, I call Mason.
“What’s up?” he answers.
“How serious would another scandal be? Scale one to ten,” I ask him.
“Probably about a twelve. Sherry would kill you for causing her more headaches. Why? What scandal are you causing? You fucking an employee?”
“God no. I’m not an idiot. I want to fire my assistant,” I tell him.
He snorts. “Okay, then do it. I’m sure you can give her a good severance check to keep her quiet and happy. Offer a letter of recommendation too. That helps.”
I grind my teeth at the thought. She doesn’t deserve any of that.
“I hinted that this might not be the place for her, and she practically threatened me with a scandal. I can’t trust her with anything. It’s costing us money to keep her here, yet I’m stuck because I don’t want her to spew some bullshit about us,” I huff.
I hear a knock, then the door opens. I watch her walk across the office with a little smirk on her face. I’d like to wipe that smirk away.
“Well, what do you have her doing?” he asks.
“Yes, the third quarter. I need the numbers,” I say, as she sets down the coffee.
She looks like she’s up to something. I half expect her to spill it on me, but she doesn’t. She just turns and marches out of my office, her hips swaying as she does.
She might be public enemy number one, but damn, does she have curves.
“I assume the subject is within hearing distance.”
I wait until the door clicks closed to answer him.
“Yes. To answer your question, I have her getting me coffee, filing, and answering emails. Stupid menial shit. The only things I can trust her with. I’m not sure I should even trust her with that.
The look on her face just now tells me that I probably won’t like whatever she put in my coffee. Laxatives probably.”
“You don’t even like coffee,” Mason says.
“No shit. It’s something for her to do, though. Plus I like how it pisses her off when I ask her. I’m hoping she quits on her own.”
“Even if she quits, it doesn’t mean she can’t cause issues,” he reminds me.
I sigh. “I know, but you could let a guy dream.”
“Where are you at with the side project?” he asks, referring to finding out if anyone was skimming off the business.
“So far, one year back, and I don’t see anything. I’ll find it, though.”
“Do you think that maybe there is nothing to find? My mother is a psychopath, but do you really think she was stealing from the foundation?”
“I found some questionable deposits into her accounts when I was auditing them. They had to come from somewhere, and this is the likely source.”
After she was placed in the mental hospital, Mason took over her estate and asked me to take a look around her financials. The woman liked to spend money, and it seems she was supplementing it with something else. I think it’s the foundation, but Mason isn’t convinced.
“Fine, you keep searching, but are you sure Adrianna is in on it? I’ve seen her a couple of times. She doesn’t seem like the type.”
“I’m sure, just like Prince Hans wasn’t evil either, right?” I counter.
He groans. “You need to stop watching Frozen with Ari.”
“Never. It’s her favorite. I even agreed to go as Kristoff with her for Halloween. She wants to be Anna.”
“Who is going to be Elsa?” he asks.
“Chloe. Brantley is going to be Hans. Max will be Olaf,” I tell him.
“When was anyone going to tell me about this? Maybe I wanted to dress up with her.”
“Oh, she wants you to be Sven.”
“What about Liv?”
“Well, when we asked her, she said her mom could be an extension of her, so I guess Anna too. I don’t know, man. I don’t make the rules. Ari does.”
“This is ridiculous. I can’t believe I was left out of the planning. I don’t want to be a reindeer.”
“Ask nicely, and I’ll get you a bright red nose so you can double as Rudolph,” I joke.
“Fuck you. Handle your own problems,” he grumbles.
I sober back up, remembering why I called. “I forgot about the charity gala. I need to change it up. We can’t have it like we did before. Not with a new leader.”
“Assign it to some employee. That isn’t your forever home, man. You’re going to come over here with me as soon as you find what you are looking for. I already have some great candidates picked out. The only holdup is you.”
He’s right. While I took the interim thing for him, I also decided I wanted to snoop. So even if I don’t want to be here, I need to be. At least for now. It’s why I keep pushing off the interviews. I know something sketchy is going on. I just need to find out what.
Another knock on my door has me groaning. “I got to go. My next meeting is here. I’ll figure the gala out with all the rest of this shit.”
“Don’t work too hard.”
We hang up as the cause of all my headaches pops her pretty little head in.
“Mr. Lind is here for your meeting.”
“Send him in then,” I tell her.
She rolls her eyes, making me want to spank her ass for the insolence, but I can’t. Not that I am unable. I don’t really want to. Not with her. I can’t stand her.
Yet the thought remains in my head as Mr. Lind, CFO of The Williamson Foundation, comes in.
“Nice to see you, Eli,” he says, reaching across my desk to shake my hand.
I stand, shaking his. “Likewise, Bill. Have a seat.”
As he does, I measure up the man. He’s sweating, which is gross. It’s not overly hot in here, but he is a bigger man. I don’t understand people who don’t take care of themselves, but to each their own.
“You’ve been CFO here for thirteen years. How has everything been?” I ask.
“Good. Nothing to report. As I told Mason, I had no idea how bad Gloria had gotten. Had I known, I would have called him.”
I know that’s what he told him, but I wanted to hear it for myself.
“Nothing in the finances that would raise questions?”
“Why would you ask that?” he asks.
“You are the leader of the finances. I’m asking all the leaders if they noticed anything in their areas. Before I pass the baton on, I want a well-oiled machine,” I tell him.
He buys the lie, nodding. “Makes sense. Finances have been normal. Nothing questionable.”
“Good. I want the last quarter’s finances before you approve and send them through.”
“Of course. Anything else?”
“Yeah, what do you think of Ms. Baker?” I ask on impulse.
He scrunches his nose up. “She was Gloria’s pet bitch. She is always all up in everyone’s business. Women like her should remember that they are an assistant. She seemed to use Gloria as her power to make everyone else do her bidding.”
Interesting. I file that away for later.
“Thank you for that insight. You may go now.”
He nods, standing from my desk. I ignore him, going back to my email as he leaves the office.
Bill doesn’t know it, but I’ve caught him in my web now too.
If there were any discrepancies, he should have caught them. So now do I not only have to find them, but I also have to find out if Bill is a willing partner or a lazy CFO.
I have my work cut out for me.