“Dex said it was. But he remembers you.”
“Now I’m embarrassed. Did we hook up? Not gonna lie, I was a little wild when I was a bartender.”
“It wasn’t then. He said it was after.” Pryce’s pale eyes gleamed, and his wolfish smile set Mason on high alert.
“After?” he repeated, trying to remain calm. He saw now how he’d fallen right into Pryce’s trap of camaraderie. The man had never wanted to be his friend.
“Yes. When you worked for Warren Colchester as hispersonalassistant.”
Now he remembered and he wanted to throw up. “Oh. Well, I’ve got to go. Jude wanted me to type up notes for the meeting and get them to him as soon as we finished.”
Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his laptop and ran out of Pryce’s office, not stopping until he entered his own and shut the door behind him. His heart pounded, and he couldn’t catch his breath.
Goddamn it.More than anything, Mason wanted to throw the computer atsomething, but instead he sat behind his desk, shaking. “What the hell is he planning?” He should’ve known the turnaround in Pryce’s behavior was a farce.
What could he do? Frantic, he drummed his fingers and thought. When his gaze fell upon the sticky note with Deirdre’s number, he immediately called her. As Jude’s former assistant, she’d know what to do.
“Mason?”
“Yeah, hi. How’re you doing?”
“Feeling like a slug and wishing I could get out of this bed, but coming along. How’reyoudoing? Tell me everything.”
“Busy. I’m working on some campaigns and loving it.”
“And you and Jude are getting on well?”
Oh, you could say that.
“Very well. I’ve also been working with Pryce on several campaigns.”
“Oh?”
Hearing the curiosity in her voice, he decided to go for it. “I remembered our talk about him. Can I ask you a few questions?”
“Of course. I’ll answer them as best I can.”
Mason chewed his lower lip. He didn’t really know Deirdre, but from that one conversation they’d had, she seemed to be the person who could quell his fears. “Do you think I can trust him? He’s been making snide comments, and I don’t know if I’m being overly sensitive.”
“I don’t like him. I hate to say that, but since you’re already sensing something…let me just say, trust your gut.”
He rested his head in his hand. “What if I’ve made a mistake? I can’t let Jude find out.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. If this affects the business, he has to know. What’s going on?”
“No. It’s not like that. It’s something embarrassing from my past that I haven’t told Jude about, and now it’s popping up again, thanks to Pryce.”
“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and you don’t have to tell me, but Jude isn’t interested in your personal life. He’s all about the business. Whatever it is, tell him, and then Pryce can’t have anything to hold over your head.”
Maybe she was right. Before coming back from abroad, he hadn’t spoken to Jude, aside from a hello or good-bye, for years. He wasn’t the same kid slinging cocktails or the man following Warren Colchester around. He’d grown and changed, and Jude would see that. Hehadseen it since they’d begun working together.
He hoped.
“Thanks, Deirdre. You’re right. I guess I freaked out, the way Pryce sprang it on me, and with Doug away, I don’t have anyone to talk to. I’ll handle it.”
“Good. And I hope Doug is having a great time. Jude is doing okay with Ilana being away?”
“Yeah, he’s—he’s good.”
