Chapter 34 #2
“Sweetheart.” She blinks vacant eyes. “Monroe,” I try again.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but it doesn’t sound like Paige was ever your friend, and as far as your brother goes, he sounds like he only cares about himself.
Riley getting married is disconcerting, but we’ll look into it.
Do not allow them into your head. They don’t deserve you, Sav, so don’t allow them space in your precious heart either. ”
She nods. Words are easy, but I know firsthand how hard it can be to lose family.
“I just…I always held out hope that Paige cut me off because her family demanded it. This proves…it proves that she never even tried to stand up for me. I— She’s probably made me the villain in her story, and everyone believes it.”
I hate that she’s right. I hate that they’ve done this to her over and over again.
I’ll find a way to make them pay for the pain they continue to cause what’s mine.
“But you’re not the villain, and you’re no one’s scapegoat. You’re the hero in this story, and in our story, they’re only a footnote in our lives if you allow them to be.”
“I’ve always loved them.” The sadness in her tone shreds my lungs to bits.
“And because you’re all things good—stubborn, but good—you probably always will.
It’s up to you if you allow them to use your love against you though.
If I get a vote, I say you shelve them and cling to the family who loves you for you.
Because we know how amazing you are, Sav. And we’ll always fight for you too.”
She surges forward, nearly knocking me on my ass as she wraps her arms around my shoulders.
I hug her back as we tumble to the floor, and I squeeze her tight. I don’t think either of us has had enough affection in our lives, and I’ll be the one to change that for us both.
“Immediate paid leave message is sent.”
Roman sits beside me, making notes of his own. “Good. We’ll start sweeps of the executive offices as soon as the last person has left the building.”
“No one is going to believe that a brand-new building is having a plumbing emergency,” I say. I wouldn’t believe it.
“It doesn’t matter what they think, but no one will question free vacation time, trust me. Especially not PTO. You should also know because of who you are, we’re keeping my internal team very small.”
I open my mouth to argue because I was hoping for a goddamn army, but he holds up a hand to stop me.
“Small but mighty, my friend.” My shoulders tense.
I appear to be collecting friends like Pops these days.
“We pulled the best from each division to be here—you’re our top priority—but you also require privacy, so we’re taking that very seriously.
We’ll begin in your office and work our way out.
The entire building will be scoped out in twenty-four hours.
If anyone is transmitting information from here, we’ll know it. ”
I lean back in my chair and focus on my lucky coin. I’ve studied every inch of this thing for years, but now I see it with new eyes. The sage and violet sticking out of a vase. The Latin word, Domus, etched into the placard—home, unity.
But it’s the tiny little bug that always reminded me of a storm cloud—all this time, I thought that the storm represented me. Once again, Ace was ten steps ahead. It’s a lightning bug, a firefly, and it represents Savvy.
I don’t believe he thought we’d be where we are today, but I do think he had every intention of helping his three boys find their home here. Savvy, like me, needed a family to call home.
Ace was a sneaky shit, and his reach extends far beyond the grave.
“We have teams in place for Madi and Elle. Clover’s team is having trouble with someone named Chief, who appears to be under the impression that he’s running the operation.”
My chuckle has him lifting his head from his computer screen. “Word of advice, work with Chief, not against him, and things will go a lot smoother.”
Roman’s expression remains impassive. He’s got one hell of a poker face. “I appreciate the feedback, but I can’t have anyone interfering. Not when she’s already had a threat made against her.”
I hold up my hands in surrender. “Your call. But good luck getting rid of him.”
Roman pecks away at his computer with his pointer fingers.
“We have a new team leader coming in for Clover’s team.
He’s finishing up another job but…” There’s a catch, a slight hitch in his tone that wasn’t there before.
“He’s our cousin. He won’t have any trouble handling an old man.
He’s our chief strategist—this company was actually his brainchild. ”
“Chief will meet Chief,” I chuckle. “I’d pay good money to be a fly on that wall.”
“Yes.” Roman clears his throat. “We should talk about that—”
A knock at the door has me dropping the coin in my pocket, then looking up.
Quinn stands at the threshold, and the temperature in the room drops by twenty degrees.
Everyone here knows she might be the traitor—the person actively trying to hurt my family.
By her rigid posture and watery eyes, I’d say even she is aware of what will happen next.
“Yes, Quinn?”
Carla’s voice from HR rings in my mind about lawsuits and firing anyone too quickly, so I keep my tone even, dead.
“Mr. Reyes, I know you believe it’s possible that I’ve turned on you.”
Well, I wasn’t expecting her to come right out with it. Roman sits up straighter next to me with renewed interest.
She crosses the room, removes a single piece of paper from her file folder, and places it on the conference room table between us. “This is my resignation letter.”
Convenient.
“I’ve worked for you since you were in college. I’ve worked nights, weekends, and most holidays. I’ve never complained, and I’ve always been on your side.”
“You’ve been an exemplary employee,” I agree.
“When Braxton ran off and left you to run Omni-Reyes after Ace died, I was by your side. When Braxton dragged you here, even though you hated it, I was by your side. I took on the job as your confidant, your adviser, and your friend when no one else would.” Her voice is like steel, but her gaze is watery, and I’m still not convinced she’s who we’re looking for.
“I spoke up about Ms. Monroe because I believed we had built a level of professionalism where my opinion was valued. I was mistaken. However, I will not have my integrity called into question this way.”
“No one has made any accusations—”
“Don’t insult my intelligence. In lieu of my two weeks’ notice, I offer you this.” She slides an entire folder across the table to me. “I hired Ms. Richardson because she’s the best at what she does and has been for nearly a decade. Her references were excellent—her track record speaks for itself.”
I open the folder while she’s speaking, and my leg starts bouncing as I slide it over to Roman.
“I based my opinions of Ms. Monroe on information Ms. Richardson had given me. But then I witnessed the golf tournament.”
Roman flips over grainy photos of my PR guru sitting in a parked car with Riley, their heads together in what appears to be a heated argument.
“Those were taken two days ago in the parking lot. You’d given me a migraine, Mr. Reyes, and I was lying down in my car during my lunch break. I’ll provide a doctor’s note should you need one.”
“You took these photos?” Roman asks.
“I happened to sit up just as she got into the car. I was unsure of what was happening, but she appeared nervous, so.” She shrugs.
“What can I say, you’ve made me paranoid, so I took a photo.
Now, having confirmed the other party in those photos, I had HR send me her background check again.
I’ve included it in the back of that folder. ”
Anything I say right now could land me in hot water, so I need to choose my words carefully. Roman doesn’t have the same approach.
“Some could find the timing of this—” he says.
“Suspicious, yes, I’m aware.” I’ve never heard Quinn so cold.
“Trust me, had I known I’d be in a position of having to defend myself, I would have started compiling alibis long ago.
” She drops another folder onto the table.
“Luckily for me, I care about my honor more than this job, and when pushed into a corner, I’m a scrappy bitch. ”
Using one red painted nail, she slides the final folder to me. “People should never underestimate a woman who has fought hard for the career she earned.”
This folder contains screenshots of social media posts ranging in date from ten to fifteen years ago—all of them are of a younger Kristen at various events, and they’re all with the Ashfords and the DeVanes, but she has a different last name in all of them—back then she went by Kristen Crawly.
“She’s connected to them,” I mutter. “But how?”
“That’s beyond my pay grade, Mr. Reyes. Luckily you have the big fancy IT team to figure it out for you.”
Fuck. I think I owe Quinn an apology.
Roman scribbles something and slides it over to me. He’s written: Are you sure she’s innocent?
Am I?
Braxton and Savvy don’t think so, but I know Quinn better than anyone, and I don’t think I’m wrong. If it ends up biting me in the ass, I’ll take the blame then.
“Quinn,” I say, standing.
“Unless you’re going to tell me about my severance package, I don’t need to hear anything else,” she says.
I nod, and she sighs heavily.
“Can I be honest with you?” she asks.
“Please.”
“I hate it here in Georgia. You’re an asshole.
Completely unbearable to work for, and I’m tired.
When you sent out the notice about shutting down the office, I realized I haven’t taken a vacation in the entire time I’ve worked for you.
That’s over ten years, Mr. Reyes. Ten. Years.
And while you compensate more than fairly, this whole fiasco was a wakeup call for me.
I want a life, and I can’t have that working for a man who’s married to his job because my job is you.
So please just give me a big fat check and call it a day. ”
She spins on her pointy heel, then pauses at the door. “For what it’s worth, I think Ms. Monroe will be good for you, and I hope that information on Ms. Richardson gives you what you need to get this company in order. Ace was a good man, and he’d be proud of how you guys are running it today.”
Quinn’s gone before I can formulate a response.
“Well, if she is innocent, seems like this will be best for everyone,” Roman says. “I have my team mining the internet for the connection between Kristen and Riley. We’ll have it soon.”
I drop back into my chair. “I’m a shitty boss.”
“Sounds like it.” Roman cracks a smile, and I don’t feel like pummeling him.
Perhaps that’s called growth.