Turning his glare from Mo to the rest of us, he pauses, then says, “It has been brought to my attention that there’s a great deal of dysfunction in your department. Dysfunction that’s having a direct impact on Morgan Financial Holdings.”
What the hell is he talking about? I look to my left and catch Clive in my peripheral vision. He’s smiling.
He’s theonlyone smiling.
“I’ve hired a consultant to come in to do an audit of Marketing. Clive Burgess will be the liaison between that firm and myself.”
Okay. Now it all makes sense.Special projects liaison.That’s Clive’s new title. Clive’s the go-between for this consultant and Graham.
I glance at Clive again. He’s now leaning forward with his back straight and his head turning and nodding to his coworkers in the room like he’s just won first prize. In what contest, I don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d say Clive wins the prize for the head furthest up Graham’s ass.
No contest.
My question is, how long has the weasel been working on this thing? He’s certainly been secretive about all of it. And what kind of bullshit did he spew to our leader to make this happen?
I don’t have the answers to any of those questions, but I’m going to find out. It’s time for some of my own secret meetings.
I search the room for the head of marketing, Sam Ford. When I spot him, he’s already looking at me, brow arched. As subtle as possible, I hold my hand up in with my thumb and first finger in the “call me” sign. His nod is so subtle, you’d have to be looking for it to see it.
With that done, I turn back to the front of the room, where Graham has picked up his thick folder. I take a longer look at it and realize it’s one of Clive’s. At least it looks like one of his. Clive loves the color green. I swear the man wears something green every day. And that folder, it looks exactly like the green ones he has me order for him, except he doesn’t call them green. No, they’rechartreuseto him.
I stare at the folder again. It’s got to be an inch thick. And what do you suppose he’s got in there? It’s not rocket science to see that little traitor has been keeping a file on me—maybe on all of us. And God only knows what’s in it.
“Let me introduce you to the woman who’ll be spearheading the audit, Alison Kirby.”
You could hear a damn pin drop as we watch someone stand up from somewhere in the first row. When she turns and gives us all a small wave, my heart starts pounding in my chest. She’s gorgeous. Dark hair, red lips, porcelain skin. And curves. My God, the curves—all obvious in her tight pencil skirt. Her blouse is white, and she’s got on a matching jacket. Her shoes are obscured by seats, but I’d guess they’re black and shiny.
That’s not the only thing I know about this woman. I know she’s got a lethal elbow and an even more destructive foot, because she’s the woman from yesterday. The one I tried to save.
My heart stops beating for just a second because the sense of doom is overwhelming. The woman, this Alison Kirby, the one who beat the shit out of me, now has control over my future, over my career.
Then it dawns on me.
I’m screwed.
I know she’s talking up there, but I can’t hear anything. There’s a weird buzzing sound in my ears. So I do what everyone else is doing: I pretend to listen. When she’s done, I watch her pick up the chartreuse folder and leave.
Graham claps his hands together loudly, which breaks me out of my spell. “That’s it. Alison will be stopping in to introduce herself to you all later today. She’ll set up individual meetings with support staff first, then management after that.”
The room is so quiet it’s giving me the creeps.
“Got it?”
A few murmurs in the room, and then Graham is out of there.
Standing, I search the space for Sam. As I’m about to make my way over, I’m stopped by one of the other marketing managers, Brendan Lang. “Wasn’t that one ofyourfolders?”
“My folder?” I shake my head. “No. Clive always uses the green ones.”
He looks to my left, then back to me. “So, Clive is the snake?”
I shrug because I don’t know. “Can’t say.” But I’m damn well going to find out.
“Can’t orwon’t?”
The guy thinks I’m behind all of this? Ha! That’s funny. He’ll get it when I’m the first one this Alison woman fires.
“Can’t. I’m just as surprised by this as you are.” I move to step around him, but I pause and lean back. “Watch your back. I have no idea what’s in that folder, but my guess is someone’s been gathering up information for a while.”
