Chapter 5 Angel
Rereading the termination of contract between me and my former client, I felt my blood boil again. That smug, arrogant bastard had invoked clause forty-one of my contract with my client and emailed it to Clark’s lawyers and copied me in.
He copied me in. No discussion. No forewarning. Nothing.
Clark had received the call as I drove him home, and I hadn’t known anything.
Then, when we got to his house, Charlie fucking Woodcott was having sex with Sasha in the freaking living room.
Clark had simply stood there until his wife saw him, and then he had turned to me, and with a look of complete betrayal, he had simply walked out, while Sasha screamed at Charlie for setting her up, and Charlie merely laughed at her.
I had no idea where Clark was, and technically, it was no longer my business, but unlike the man who owned this agency, I had a heart.
It had been an absolute shitshow of a day, and then the complete asshole had carried on with his phone call as he watched me get closer and closer to losing my temper, while wearing that ever-present smirk.
I needed to quit.
But I refused to leave.
Seriously, I needed to get another job. I couldn’t go on like this.
But that would mean the bastard won, and I refused to let him win.
He made me miserable.
But . . . I loved my job.
Groaning, I dropped my head into my hands as I rested my elbows on my desk.
The gnawing in my gut about Clark was too much. I needed to find him. Pushing myself off my seat, I grabbed my purse and my tablet and headed for the elevators. I’d try the clubs I knew he drank at, and if the worst came to the worst, I would phone his coach.
“Where are you going?” The smooth silkiness of his voice made my hands fist at my sides.
“Out.” I refused to look at him as he stood behind me.
“He got picked up,” Onyx told me.
Could I trust him? No. Turning, I forced myself to look at him. He was so relaxed, one hand in his pants pocket, his black shirt accentuating his healthy tan. “By who? The police?”
“Charlie.”
He had absolutely no respect for anyone. “You sent Charlie to pick up the guy who just caught him screwing his wife?”
Onyx shrugged. “Not the first time Clark’s caught his wife in a compromising position, won’t be the last.”
“You’re a heartless bastard.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s not something to be proud of,” I snapped at him. “How could you do this? You terminated without even talking to me about it.”
“When it comes to the reputation of this agency, I will do whatever it takes.” His eyes were cold as he looked at me.
“It’s common decency to tell me first. It’s called respect.”
His smirk got bigger. “Ah, I see, but since I don’t respect you, then are you really that surprised? I mean, honey, I didn’t even respect you in the morning six years ago, you think that’s changed?”
Bastard.
Looking past him, I saw that the office was silent. The few other staff members were frozen on the spot, either because they were too busy listening or scared to draw attention to themselves.
“Do you want me to quit?” I asked him quietly.
The smirk turned into a grin, and I knew he was laughing at me. “So dramatic,” he mocked me, and then he simply walked back into his office, closing the door behind him.
I faced my colleagues and saw the mix of sympathy and amusement as they regarded me. Considering my options, I turned around and pressed for the elevator again.
Clark was with Charlie? I may not be his agent anymore, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be his friend.
Getting into the car, I realized my hands were shaking with adrenaline at the way Onyx spoke to me.
Grabbing my tablet and making sure the doors were locked, I opened Onyx’s calendar.
Neither he nor his PA knew that I knew his password for his email.
I was sure he had a meeting today, and I saw it was with the UK firm that wanted one of Onyx’s youngest signings as their representative for their brand.
I also saw that he had to postpone it, and I knew it was because of Clark, and that made me feel good for Clark.
Quickly, I opened the folder for legal and found the contract intended for his client.
Smiling when I saw Onyx had highlighted several parts of it with annotations to legal that he wanted changed, I was feeling reckless.
I understood his requirements, but desperate times meant desperate measures, and he had pushed me too far this week.
I wasn’t to blame for him missing his meeting. If he weren’t such a control freak, he would have let me handle my client as I saw fit. Biting my lip, I felt a flurry of butterflies swooping around my tummy as I considered my next move.
He took my client from me today. He took Trent Hudson, a potential client, from me.
Our rivalry was real.
Our hatred was real.
Business wasn’t personal.
As I dialed the number of the UK brand, I fought my smile. When it came to Onyx Santo, business was very fucking personal.
One phone call later, I made a call in to Trevon Kent, and when I got his voicemail, I left a message to return my call.
I knew I would get his father calling me back, and, rightly or wrongly, Trevon’s father was all about the money he could get for his son.
Confident that Trevon’s dad would be very receptive to my proposal, I set out to look for Clark.
Clark had been my client for a while. I knew his patterns, and with that knowledge, I headed to the golf club that he favored in Belle Meade. The staff knew me, and one of them pointed me to the outside bar before I even asked.
Slightly surprised to see Charlie sitting at a table, separate from Clark, I wondered at the fact that he was still there, causing me to hesitate. Charlie saw me before Clark did, and he gave me a small wave as he sipped his beer.
Another Devil.
I met Charlie the same night that I met Onyx, only I never knew their names or their faces that night. However, I soon knew who they were after Onyx played me for a fool.
Approaching Clark, I pulled out the barstool beside him and ordered a sparkling water.
“Hey, boss lady,” Clark greeted me as he drank his whisky.
“Not sure you can still call me that,” I reminded him gently.
“Can’t believe you ditched me.”
Saying nothing, I smiled my thanks to the bartender as I took a drink of my water and thought of the best way to approach this. “I didn’t know.”
Clark huffed, but he didn’t argue. “He never liked me,” he said after a while.
“Know the feeling,” I quipped back lightly.
“You get shit for this?”
“Nah, I am sorry to lose you though.” And I was. I wasn’t sorry to lose the drama.
“If I divorce her, will it make a difference?”
Taking another drink, I thought about it. “Do you want to divorce her?” I asked him carefully.
“Yes. Today I do.”
“Today? What about tomorrow?” I probed.
“Is he still here?” Clark changed the subject, and that was a good enough answer for me.
“He is,” I told him as I looked over my shoulder at Charlie, who was leaning back in his seat on his phone as he watched us.
“You still care enough to get me out of jail twice today?” Clark asked as he stood.
Realization dawned on me as he moved past me and approached Charlie. He wasn’t drowning his sorrows; he was waiting for me so he could fight Charlie, hoping I would talk the cops out of pressing charges.
“Clark, no!”
It was too late. He practically jumped over the table, but Charlie was ready for him, and the two of them were soon punching the shit out of each other.
As the club descended into madness, I sat back down and watched as staff ran to break them up. My phone alerted me to a text, and looking down, I read it.
Prick: When Charlie’s done, tell him he owes me a thousand
I shouldn’t respond. I knew better.
Me: A thousand?
Prick: Dollars.
Prick: He bet me you wouldn’t show up.
Me: Are you serious?
Prick: I never joke about money
Me: You bet on me?
Prick: Wouldn’t be the first time.
Hot white rage ran through my veins as I looked up to see Charlie restrain Clark, grinning like the asshole he was as the other man struggled against him.
It was always a game to Onyx. Disgusted with them and myself, I left the golf club before I could pick up a 9-iron and head back to the office with it. On the way out, I passed Officer Baldwin, and when he raised an eyebrow, I merely pointed over my shoulder.
“They’re both back there,” I told him.
“No argument?” he asked me with a grin.
“For them? Nope, all yours.”
Checking the time, I decided that was enough for one day and headed home. A nice bath, a chilled beer, and my favorite playlist were calling. All the other shit could wait until tomorrow.
* * *
The advantage of Mr. Evil Incarnate stealing my client was that he was out of the office while I stole his client’s sponsorship deal from him.
The bonus was that Neil was also out of the office, and as I spent the morning in legal with them, I was on point to ensure no one blabbed to the Devil himself about my epic steal before he could stop it.
He once mocked me that my client hadn’t been mine until they signed the contract.
As I watched the printer produce the signed document, I felt gleeful.
Heading back to my office, I paused when I saw the leather chair I’d gotten for him being carried out of his office. Had he finally caved? Could this really be my lucky day? Was he admitting defeat?
“What’s happening?” I asked my PA as I approached her.
“Liz came back late last night for a file, and she took her new puppy,” Sally told me as she glanced at me. “Poor thing’s terrified he’ll fire her.”
“The puppy peed on his chair?” I asked her incredulously. Sally nodded, and I burst out laughing. “What a truly wonderful day.”
Back at my desk, I scanned the sports news, seeing Clark’s arrest hit the headlines.
Saints Sports Management was not mentioned, and I knew another of Onyx’s friends was to thank for that, another Devil.
I wanted to be an anonymous source, but despite my rivalry with Onyx, this was still my place of work, and we really were an agency of integrity.
Well, some of us.
Reflecting on my morning coup, I grinned. Most of the time, we had integrity.
My day passed quickly, and it really was remarkable how much more at ease I was without him three offices down from me. Sally said goodnight to me later that evening, reminding me not to stay too late, and I waved her away.
Engrossed in a contract renewal, I was slowly aware that I wasn’t alone.
Looking up, I jumped when I saw Onyx leaning against my office door.
I hadn’t heard my door opening or known how long he had been there.
He was wearing dark pants, a black shirt with a blue tie, and his hair was swept off his forehead.
He looked good, which pissed me off that I noticed, and I kept my face blank as his dark eyes watched me impassively.
“Creepy.” Leaning back in my chair, I waited, my earlier feeling of levity gone.
“Busy?” he asked me casually as he straightened and crossed his arms.
“Yes.”
He said nothing else as he continued to hold my stare.
“Do you want something?” I asked him as I winced internally at the bite in my tone.
Onyx’s lips pressed together as he seemed to think about it, and then his knowing smirk was back in place. “Nah.”
Turning, he left my doorway, and when I heard the elevator ping, I knew he was gone.
Slumping in my seat, I let out a low laugh. Looks like he knew what I’d done, and he was not happy at all.
Good.
I hope he hated how it felt as much as I did when he did it to me. Biting my lip, I worked another half hour and then packed up my stuff for the night and headed to the underground parking.
As I approached my car, my steps slowed, and I looked around hesitantly.
The parking area was well lit, and I knew there were cameras everywhere, but still, I felt a chill as I saw the debris scattered around my car.
We were just entering spring, so there was no reason the parking area would have dead leaves in it.
It was also underground and well-maintained.
At the driver’s door, I looked down at the brown and fragile leaves. Again, I looked around, and then as I put my stuff in the car, I stooped to inspect the fallen leaves.
Not leaves, I realized as I crouched down.
Petals.
There were dead flower petals scattered around my car, not enough to look placed there, but enough to make me notice because I’d been sent dead flowers.
Hurriedly, I got into my car and locked the doors as I once again checked the parking lot for any . . . I caught sight of a torn trash bag sitting in the corner with the others, waiting to be collected.
I snorted out loud as I shook my head at my own foolishness. This was a secure underground parking garage, and I’d watched too many true crime dramas. It was some dead petals from a torn trash bag. There was absolutely nothing to worry about.