“Not yet.” He sticks out his hand and grabs mine in one of those too-tight power shakes that Harlow refers to as a Penis Pump. “Dane Wabash,” he says in a voice that’s salesman smooth.
Well, hell. Dorothy’s son-in-law in the flesh. This can’t be good. “Grant Bowman.”
“Grant! Great to meet you!” He’s mid-thirties, but something about him is both old and simultaneously infantile. An aging mama’s boy who learned to emulate Dad but never actually grew into a man. He releases my hand and takes in the lobby with an expansive stretch of the arm. “Just here to check the place out.”
“Check the place out.” I give him exactly the amount of inflection he deserves. Which is zilch.
What I really want is to watch Rae’s face when she takes her first sip, but this guy’s in my damn way.
When I step to the side for a clearer sight line, he follows. “You know.” He leans in to meet my eyes, man-to-man. He’s an inch or so taller than I am and is working very hard to use that to his advantage. “Gotta make sure everything’s running smooth.” His expression sharpens. “I’m concerned.”
“Concerned? I don’t understand.” To my disappointment, Rae sets her coffee on the desk before asking, “Are you hoping to… work here?”
“That’s cute,” he tells her, giving me a side-eye that’s as patronizing as a nudge with an eye roll. “I might.”
What the hell is he doing here? This feels like a whole lot more than a random visit.
“Right. See, the thing is, I do the hiring, and we don’t have anyone coming in today; nor are there any open positions currently, so…”
“Sorry, hon. My bad.” He still doesn’t look at her. If I didn’t already dislike the man on principle—for Dorothy’s sake—I’d hate him now. First, he makes me miss the first latte sip, and now he’s disrespecting Rae. My hands clench into fists.
“Dotty didn’t mention me?” Dane Wabashtsks, shaking his head and baring his teeth, which I think is meant to look contrite. “Yeah. Granny’s forgetting things now.” Anothertsk,andthe guy’s grating on my nerves so hard it takes a concerted effort to unclench my jaw. He leans in close. “See, Dotty’s been goin’ downhill, real fast. Age. You know? Rachel’s concerned.”
“I don’t understand,” Rae says.
I, however, see exactly what’s going on. And I don’t like it one bit.
“In a couple of weeks, hon, I’ll be your new boss,” Wabash faux-whispers, allaw shucksandlook at how modest I am.
Holy shit. He’s just declared war on Dorothy. As easy as that. And now we’re down to sixteen days to shore up this company’s defenses before what’s looking like an all-out assault.
“New boss?” Rae looks from me to him and back. “I don’t understand what’s—”
“The company’s in trouble. Did you know that?”
“What? I don’t even—”
“Probably above your pay grade.”
I’m a second away from grabbing the asshole by the collar and lugging him out when Rae, tight-lipped, steps between us and asks, “Is Dorothy expecting you?”
“It’s all good.” He winks at her and looks around, clapping his hands a couple of times like he’s just rarin’ to get started. “I’ll just show myself around and—”
“Have a seat,” I interrupt. There is absolutely no way this man is getting unfettered access to the offices. None. “I’ll let Dorothy know you’re here.”
“Perfect. Lead the way.”
Rae widens her eyes at me. “Maybe I should go see if Dorothy’s available. You can hang out with Mr. Wabash.”
“Oh. Hey. Before you go…” As Rae attempts to head off, he reaches out and grabs her arm.
Rae jerks to a stop.
Every muscle in my body tenses up.
She looks down at his hand. Her mouth opens and closes.
“How ’bout that coffee, hon?” the man says.
