“Yes, I am fucking serious right now and I would recommend that you watch your tone,Mr. Chambers.”
“Did you honestly just pull the boss card on me?” Irritation punching at my gut.
Her mouth flattens. “Well, Iamyour boss.”
“You’re also my fucking girlfriend,” I hiss, spinning and kicking out at the stupid white armchair without any arms. The thing is too big to fall over but I manage to shove it a few feet.
“Go,” she says, her finger pointing to the door.
“What?”
“Go. Get out. Go home. Get a hot dog or buy a motorcycle for all I care but you will not come back here for the rest of the day. If anyone asks, I’ll say you’re running errands for me butyou.” She pokes me in the chest. “Need to cool off.”
I pant, my chest pushing against her finger. Her amber eyes are stubborn and angry.
“Fine.” I shake my head. “Remind me never to come to your rescue again.” I stalk to the door.
“That’s the thing, Wesley,” she says to my back. “I never asked you to.”
The hurt contorts my face and I turn away before she can see it. Shoving a few client files into my messenger bag, I grab my coat, pulling it on as I march down the hall. I stalk into the elevator, leaning into the corner of the car as the doors start to close. A hand shoots through the slim opening and Richard steps in.
I pull my glasses down, rubbing the bridge of my nose, cleaning the lenses with the end of my tie. He is the very last person I want to see right now. My mouth feels, uncharacteristically, like it will get away from me with him in this elevator. Normally, I can’t ever figure out the right thing to say. But right now, I knowexactlywhat I want to say to him and it will most likely lead to my termination.
“Wes.” He slaps my back. “How’s it going, son?”
My smile might crack my face in half. “Great, sir.”
He frowns. “You know me better than that, Wesley. Call me Dick.”
I suppress a shudder. “Great. Thanks.”
“Everything okay?” he asks, studying my slouched posture. “Emily said it looked like you had a run-in with my intern, Mark.”
Taking a deep breath, I stand a little taller, straightening my tie. I open my mouth to tell him exactly what Mark said, to tell him exactly what kind of man he’s chosen to mentor. But the look on Corrine’s face when I said I wanted to report Mark stops me. I hate what people say about her, but I would hate betraying her trust more. And besides, it’s her story to tell, isn’t it?
“Emily must have misinterpreted,” I tell him. “I was just hanging out with the boys.” Those words, lumping me in with guys like Mark and Chris, taste like ash in my mouth.
“Oh, good.” Richard leans back against the railing. “I’ve been meaning to tell you how happy it makes me to see you and Ms. Blunt getting along. I know that she can be a little...difficult at times.” He smiles and it’s too big for his face, exaggerated like one of those dramatic masks from an ancient Greek play.
“But you know, I’ve noticed a real difference in her these last few weeks. She seems to smile more. And she has such a beautiful smile.”
I have to turn away from him. If I can’t plug my ears against the patronizing tone in his voice, I have to at least look at anything but the superiority on his face. Of courseIthink Corrine has a beautiful smile but the fact that her boss is even commenting to me about it makes my skin crawl. I am supremely confident none of my coworkers or supervisors has ever commented on my smile.
“Yeah, well, she’s taught me a lot,” I say. “She is the hardest-working person I’ve ever met. She has more integrity than anyone at Hill City.”
“Good, good,” he says, as we reach the ground floor. He’s completely missed my jab.
“Wesley,” he calls as I head for the doors.
I turn around, trying my best to look the opposite of impatient.
“If you ever need any extra mentorship, though, I can help.”
It’s laughable, how standing in that same elevator at the beginning of this internship, I would have jumped at the chance to be mentored by the CEO of Hill City Marketing & PR. To learn from him, to get the chance to hear him tell more stories about my mom—and even my dad. But the veneer that used to coat Richard Skyler has tarnished. I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to polish it back to that high shine.
“I’m sorry, sir,” I say and watch his face fall a little bit. I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly cruel person but in this moment I don’t mind seeing his disappointment.
“I’ve got all the mentor I need.”
