84. Chapter Eighty-Four
Chapter Eighty-Four
Kat
Ididn’t get even a moment of peace before a call from Basti came through. I fuck you buttoned him so fast, and it felt oddly vindictive. A small smile found its way onto my face, even as the tears still flowed.
He called again.
And again.
And again.
And finally, a text.
B: Answer your bloody FUCKING phone, Katherine.
Ooh, shit. Fine. It couldn’t be worse than the call with Andrew.
“Hello?” I said hesitantly. I really didn’t want to be Basti-ed right now. His dry wisdom was not needed.
I’d never seen myself clearer.
“Get your ass back here,” he said without saying hello. I snorted. Yeah FUCKING right.
“In what fucking world,” I said dryly. It wasn’t even a question.
“The one where you need to finish integrating this software and updating this code so that the people you love are safe on the track,” he said, drier than me. I should’ve known better than try to out-dry the master. I was shaking my head, but I knew he couldn’t see me. Duh.
“Allen is coming out, and no matter what you say, Corning has kind of pulled rank on you, Basti,” I said, a bit of humor in my voice that I didn’t actually feel. I was feeling rather hollow, currently.
“Corning has seen the light,” he said cryptically. Very illuminating. Thanks so much, Basti. I snorted again. This whole conversation was unbelievable. Like the literal meaning of the word. I couldn’t believe his words.
“Yeah, right. Don’t try to trick me out there so y’all can hold me captive ‘til he kicks me out again,” I retorted, my accent coming through because I just didn’t care anymore. It didn’t matter, anymore.
“He has actually changed his mind, Kat. He’s putting out a press conference with a full apology shortly,” he said seriously. But why?
“It’s better this way, even if he changed his mind,” I admitted softly. It was. I could see, now, that no one would benefit from me going back.
“Not to mention, I can’t exactly do that work when I no longer have any affiliation with the company doing the integration,” I stated, pulling CEO Kat out to help me one last time. I needed her.
“Well, first off, Katherine, don’t you pull that corporate shite on me.
Secondly, I think you’ll find that no paperwork has been signed making those changes you allude to,” he started in his lecture voice.
I’d avoided Henry’s lecture but no one could ever dodge Basti’s. And Bex still hadn’t signed. Bitch.
“Third, I heard a little rumor that a mass walkout of your entire C suite, ALL of your heads of departments, and a significant amount of other workers, including a security guard who seems rather fond of you, would happen if you stepped down. Seems you may have a destabilized company on your hands if the paperwork DOES get signed,” he continued, sounding smug. Those MOTHERFUCKERS.
Goddamn George.
“And lastly, unfortunately for your little kamikaze plan here, Corning won’t keep the contract unless YOU come back,” he stated, saving the best—worst—for last. He sounded REALLY smug now. Ass. Way to bury the goddamn lede.
And Corning. What in the actual fuck? Did the man have multiple personalities? I’d thought they’d proven that false. Maybe an evil twin?
A… nice… twin?
“You’re shitting me,” I said, completely deadpan. My tears had dried up in my shock. Everyone was fucking ruining EVERYTHING. I needed those contracts saved because I needed those jobs rescued, and to do that I needed to step down. And NOT have a fucking mutiny on my hands.
But.
It sounded like Blackstone was not only keeping the contract, but aiming to keep me as well.
And putting out a statement of support, likely saying the rumors were fully unfounded if I had to guess. Talk about bad publicity if it got out he’d ‘changed his mind’ like this.
And if he would only keep the contract if I came back…
Fuck.
I had to go back.
I couldn’t go back. But I had to. I would just need to actually keep my distance this time. From Henry. From everyone, honestly. It was too easy to fall into all of it if I let any of it in. And nothing had changed.
I still poisoned everything and everyone I touched.
But they needed this software.
Henry needed this software.
Basti hadn’t responded, simply waiting me out instead.
“Fine,” I finally said bitterly.
“Good, you have a flight waiting for you at the Savannah airport in two days. Enjoy your time with your dad, Kat,” he said, a much softer tone I’d never heard before coming through. Odd.
“I expect you back at work the day you get back. You’re behind,” he said crisply.
There was the asshole we all knew and loved.