Chapter 6 #2
Alarm trickles down my spine. “The audit was two years ago?”
She sets the nutcracker down and picks up the big one next to it.
Each wooden figure is painted in different colors and styles, but all of them look ready to go to war.
For some reason, that spoke to me. Reese pulls up the handle on the man she’s holding, then lets its teeth snap together with a loud clack.
“Shit,” a voice behind me says. “That thing could take off a real man’s nuts.”
Reese’s face brightens. “You made it!”
I turn around slowly, and my first thought is nope, her boyfriend isn’t lean or compact in any way. He’s broad and muscular, and he also has a beard now.
“What the...” Wyatt stops in his tracks, clenching and unclenching his hands, before continuing his unhurried stroll to join his girlfriend. “Well, that explains the castration theme.”
His little dig breaks my temporary paralysis.
“Yep, that’s exactly what I was going for.” My smile bares even more teeth than the nutcracker in his girlfriend’s hands. “Feminist rage for the holidays.”
“Actually,” he says, rocking back on his heels, “I’m not sure why you bothered to bring the little men when you’re capable of smashing a man’s nuts all on your own.”
And here comes my temper, riding to the rescue. “If that were true, you’d be even more of a ball-less wonder than you already are.”
Reese’s eyes are darting between the two of us. “Um, do you guys know each oth—”
“No!” I snap, as Wyatt says, “Unfortunately. This is CJ.”
“Wait, this is CJ?” Reese says in confusion.
“Aww, Wyatt, you talk about me!” In the middle of the upheaval happening behind my sternum, I still manage to beam up at him. His discomfort is delicious.
“I really don’t.” He frowns, first at Reese, then at me.
“He doesn’t,” Reese agrees quickly. “And you said your name was Cece.”
“I didn’t, actually.” My mind races as Reese slides her hand over Wyatt’s biceps. “So you got together two years ago, right after I got fired.”
I didn’t mean to say that last part out loud, and the pleasure that blooms on Wyatt’s face makes it so much worse. “Oh, that’s right. You did get fired for writing an audit that recommended cutting our entire division, didn’t you?” He grins. “Sometimes there is justice in the world.”
It hurts that this is the first time I’ve seen anything approaching a smile from him since that night.
“No,” I snap.“I got fired for immediately deleting that audit, which I never should’ve written in the first place. And for loudly objecting when your CEO resurrected it on the shared server to present as my final work product.”
“Oh, CJ,” Reese murmurs in disapproval. “When you told me what you did for a living, I had no idea you were that auditor. How is it that Howard described you? Unprofessional conduct and work beyond the scope of the audit?”
My cheeks burn at the memory. Technically, Howard was right.
I had been unprofessional when I wrote that vindictive second audit recommending Wyatt’s “deadweight” division be cut.
But the instant I submitted it, my temper evaporated and guilt rushed in.
Then after I was fired, I pored over every scrap of information I had about Sounder, plus buckets of outside research, and eventually discovered Howard had manipulated both the data and me.
So I put it all into a third audit documenting much of what Wyatt said that night: The Financial Wellness Division is crucial to Sounder’s bottom line and its blue-collar workforce.
Foolish, heartbroken me printed it out and wrote a tearstained note full of explanations, apologies, and an embarrassing plea for Wyatt to call me.
I left it all with the Sounder receptionist because I was too nervous to face him.
But Wyatt doesn’t seem to know anything about my third audit. And Reese says she’s the one who wrote it.
Suddenly, things get a little clearer.
“So let me get this straight.” I lock eyes with Reese. “While I was getting fired, you were coming up with your genius plan to save the Financial Wellness Division from my evil, manipulative ways.”
“Apparently so,” she says coolly, holding my gaze as she tangles her fingers with Wyatt’s. “What a coincidence.”
“What a coincidence,” I slowly repeat.
Her expression practically dares me to contradict her in front of the man we both know will take her side.
Of course he will. Just look at how he turned on me at the first sign of disagreement.
He showed me exactly who he was that night and every time we’ve bumped into each other since.
Hell, I should be grateful he didn’t get my pathetic note.
“You know what? You two deserve each other. You”— I jab a finger at Reese—“are stuck with this rigid, judgmental asshole taking you on vacations you hate. And you”—I pivot to Wyatt—“are in love with the exact kind of deceitful corporate bitch you think I am.”
I cackle when their expressions contort into identical expressions of shocked outrage and toss the remnants of my decorations into my tote bag.
“I’ll just leave you two to finish up,” I say, faking it until I make it out of there so I can cry my eyes out in private. “Have the best anniversary.”