Chapter 17
FAITH
On Saturday morning, I crawled out of bed at noon.
After a huge glass of water and two headache tablets, I made a coffee.
Amy walked in while I sat cradling my mug on the couch, my legs stretched in front of me as I leaned in the corner between the arm and cushioned chair back, attempting to shake off the aftereffects of last night—both alcoholic and bossholic.
Amy, dressed for a run in the cold, sat on the armchair next to my end of the couch. “Looks like you had a good night.” She grinned. “I got your text saying it was a coworker’s birthday. I’m so glad you’re fitting in so well.”
I rubbed at my aching temples. “There’s something I haven’t told you.” I looked at her, doing my best not to cringe.
She frowned. “What do you mean?” Her mouth dropped open. “Ooh, did you get some last night?”
“What? No!”
“Well, it’s been a while. That’s all. So, spill.” She leaned back in the chair, obviously not in a hurry to exercise, which was a shame because I’d have to tell her everything right now.
“I’ve been moved out of marketing. For the past week, I’ve been PAing for Mr. Hottie McBosshole.”
She turned her head to the side just so she could side-eye me. “Say what now?”
I sighed and stared at the window, rain splatting against the glass.
What a shit day for a run. Also a shit day for spilling my secrets.
Any day would be, really, but I was desperate.
I needed advice from a sane mind. She was the only one I had who fit that description—I didn’t even fit that description, especially not the way I was right now.
Totally confused, hungover, and scared of losing my job but also wanting to do the right thing.
Did Curtis need to be stopped, or did those trying to stop him need to be stopped?
God, please let me escape my brain. If only I could leave my body for a day and take a break.
“Are you still there? Earth to Faith. Hello?” Amy leaned forward and waved her hand in front of my face.
“Argh, sorry. Okay, so you have to promise not to repeat this to anyone. This is lawyer/client privilege.”
She laughed. “No, it’s not, but I won’t say anything. You know I’m a vault.”
“I signed an NDA.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’re about to risk being sued.”
It was my turn to laugh. “I have nothing for them to take. Unless they want my mom. Wouldn’t that be awesome. I’d go breaking NDAs every day if it meant someone would take her away.”
She chuckled. “As funny as that is, are you sure you want to tell me?”
“Yes. I’m in way too deep, and I’m pretty much screwed right now, and not in the good way.
But in a Mark kind of way, where your life turns to shit, and you never even had an orgasm to show for it.
” Why did he live in my head rent free? Every bad experience had a thought of him attached.
The healing process really should be quicker. It was rather inconvenient.
“Come on, then. Tell me everything. I got you. Also, do I need a body bag and a shovel? We could drive to Florida where the ground isn’t so frozen.”
I grinned. “You really are the best friend a girl could have. I’ll pay for the gas.”
“You’re on.”
I took a deep breath. I hated breaking a promise, which signing an NDA was, but they all had people to talk to—it was a no-brainer that Stephanie and Knight Senior had consulted with lawyers, the other directors, and each other before they roped me into this. I was in this alone.
And so was Curtis. Which was the first time I thought of it that way. If he was innocent of any wrongdoing, he was floating around the blackness of space just as I was. Okay, so he might be guilty, but still, I had to consider all options.
“Okay. Here goes.” I told her about my lack of choice in taking the new position and what they expected me to do.
I also explained that someone was sabotaging the company, and that Stephanie had hinted Curtis might be in on it.
I told her Curtis had also been accused of creepy behavior by a prospective client via social media and a former employee.
She pursed her lips, thinking. “Right, okay.” Her lawyer mind processed for another minute. “Has he ever done anything creepy toward you?”
“No. He’s just been cranky the whole time. I think he hates me… well, I did until last night.”
Her eyes widened. “What happened last night?”
“A guy tried to buy me a drink and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
He grabbed me, and before I could decide how to handle it, there was Curtis, throwing a punch.
After that, chaos broke out, and we bolted.
Jack and Curtis gave me a lift home, at which point Curtis was…
.” Sexy, intense, giving me mixed signals?
“Kinder than before. The point is, I have to figure out whether what I’m pretty sure Stephanie hinted at about Curtis is true or if it’s someone else, and if so, whom.
If I don’t have any information, I doubt his aunt and father will believe me if I tell them he’s innocent…
or guilty.” I couldn’t ignore the fact that I really had no idea—it could go either way.
“And if we don’t get the answers, I’ll be out of a job. ”
“Who’s the client accusing him?”
“I don’t know. A young singer.”
“How did everyone find out?”
“There were a couple of rumors on social media, but I didn’t check it out thoroughly.”
“Hmm….” She lifted her legs and sat cross-legged, as if she was on the floor. “Which accounts did they lose?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think you should start with those and find out who nabbed them. Chances are, if there’s only one company benefitting from Knight’s losses, they have something to do with it.
And we need to do a deep dive on those rumors.
” She stood. “I’m going for my run. I’ll grab us some munchies on the way back, and then we’re going to investigate.
I won’t let you lose your job, and I agree that you need to find the truth one way or the other. ”
The mild feeling of panic itching under my skin dissipated. I hadn’t realized how stressful carrying this all by myself was. It was so much better to have someone to bounce the scenario off and to remind me that we could figure it out. “Thank you. You really are the best.”
She grinned. “I know.”
I stood and gave her a hug. “If you go past Freddie’s, can you get me a large chocolate donut with sprinkles?”
“Does Mark have a small penis?” She raised her hand, held her forefinger and thumb an inch apart, and squinted at it, then grinned. “Of course I can.”