A smile flickered at the edges of Jude’s lips. “That’s what I wanted to hear. I was waiting for the spark and fire I thought you had but haven’t seen lately. I know you have it in you to do the job—I hired you, after all. But unless and until you showed me you were willing to fight and stand up for yourself, why should I do it for you?” The faint smile vanished. “And you don’t get to waltz in here with an ‘I’m sorry’ and think everything’s going to be fine.”
“Oh. Okay. I thought—”
“You’re not here to think right now. Only to listen. And I’m telling you, Mason is way more forgiving than I. So while I’m not firing you now, you’re on probation. The trust I once had in you to perform your job is gone. I’ll need you to run your work through me before you speak to the clients.” He paused. “Any more fuckups like this will get your ass tossed, no questions asked.”
Pryce’s jaw hardened. “I’m sorry, Jude. For everything, especially doing this while we’re all struggling with what happened to Doug. It took a kick in my ass to see what I was doing wrong, and if you fire me…I’ll have no one to blame but myself. But I would never take credit for anyone else’s ideas, and I wouldn’t hold someone back because I was jealous you might think their suggestions were better than mine. Mason’s idea for the candy account was excellent, and we presented it to the client. I have my own ideas as well. We work well together, and I hope to have the chance to work together to try and rebuild trust.”
Jude listened, never taking his eyes off Pryce, and Mason found himself holding his breath, waiting for his response. When Jude shifted his attention to him, Mason blinked and waited.
“What do you have to say? You’re the one he wronged.”
Mason chose his words carefully. “I think we were all wronged. Me, because of what Pryce did with Hollister. But I’m also thinking Pryce was used as well. Hollister never liked me—he thought he was better than me. So when he saw the chance to stick a knife in my back, he jumped at it by manipulating Pryce. And Pryce was more than willing to fall into his trap.”
Jude’s smile gleamed. “It didn’t take you long to figure these things out. Business dealings can be dirty as hell. I’ve always tried to remain above it, but Hollister will regret what he’s done, once I whisper in enough ears not to trust his word. He won’t find it easy to get another job.” His gaze touched on Pryce. “I expect no excuses and nothing but your best.”
Shoulders slumped, Pryce ran his hands over his face. “Thank you. I promise you’ll have nothing but one hundred and ten percent from me every day.”
Jude motioned to the door. “Can we get to work now? I need a full report on Never Too Sweet.”
Pryce peered over his shoulder, and Mason tipped his head toward Jude. “I’ll be there in a sec.”
“Okay. I’ll get started.” He left, and Mason shut the door behind him.
“Did you tell him we were together?” Jude circled around his desk. Mason suspected he had no idea the annoyed glower on his face was a turn-on. “Oh God, I’m almost afraid to hear what you said.”
“I told him I was in love with you, you idiot.”
Pink-faced, Jude bit his lip. “Oh.”
Mason grabbed him around the neck and planted a kiss on his lips. “I know we have to come up with rules for office PDA, but don’t worry that I’m going to be coming in here for some afternoon delight. I know that’s not the way we operate.”
Surprising him, Jude kissed him back. “Sometimes rules are made to be broken.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hope and happiness blazed from Mason’s eyes. “Yeah. Okay. Now stop keeping me from getting my work done. I have a meeting to get to.”
“Then you’d better go, or you might get written up for fucking around.”
“That comes later,” Mason said with a saucy wink, and after swooping in for another quick kiss, he left the office.
Jude returned to his desk and picked up his phone, staring at it for a moment before placing the call. “Hi.” Speaking to Ilana was like a balm to his churning insides.
“Jude. What took you so long? I thought about calling but wasn’t sure when you’d be alone to talk.”
“I’m not really sure what to say. First of all, how’s Doug? That’s most important.”
“He’s been better, but it’s only been a little while since he woke up. We…uh…haven’t had a chance to talk, really. I don’t want to overwhelm him.”
Jude didn’t like the sound of her voice but didn’t want to press her.
“I’m sure it can wait another day. And you’re right. Doug takes responsibility for everything on his shoulders.”
“Like someone else I know?” Her quiet voice cut right through him.
“We love you. He’ll be all right, and so will you.”
“I know. And let’s talk about another important development. You and Mason.”
