“Thank you, and please get yourself something on me.”
He grinned and nodded. There, that should get him away from Celestine.
About an hour later the time was creeping toward seven o’clock at night and I would be a horrible boss if I kept Maurice any longer, so I finished off the last of my coffee, sadly stared at the empty pastry box with only a sprinkle of powdered sugar left on the bottom, and then got my ass in gear. I turned off the lamp on my antique oak desk, an heirloom that had served five generations of Guidrys and was rumored to be made from the driftwood of a pirate ship. The room was dim, although not dark, and I stared at the painting of a Spanish brig,El Cazador, that took up half the wall on my right. There were days I wished I could leave it all behind and go treasure hunting. I made my way to the door and opened it.
Celestine was just coming in the outer door, and I couldn’t say why, but it irritated me to no end. Why wasn’t he gone? He pointed at Maurice, who glanced up at him with a tense expression I’d never seen.
“There he is, Mr. Large and In Charge. Are you coming out with us tonight? I could really use your help.”
A frown settled on Maurice’s pink lips as he shook his head and ran a hand over his stylish brown stubble. His gaze dropped to the desktop. I could tell with one look Maurice wasn’t pleased about whatever plans had been made.
And that fucking greeting was too much.
It had me wanting to wring Celestine’s neck. Large and in charge? I’d spent most of my teen years as the guy getting those types of things thrown in my face, and I’d always smiled and laughed about it, but each time it had happened it made me want to punch someone. Anger bubbled in my gut and I cleared my throat.
Maurice stood and handed me a manila folder, which I took on autopilot. “Sir, here is the information about the work sites. I—”
“One moment,” I snapped.
Maurice’s eyes widened and he nodded, dropping down into his chair again.
“Mr. Celestine, a word?” I gestured at my office and stomped back inside. When Celestine was in the room, I slammed the door closed.
He let out a little “Eep!” he quickly stifled.
“Go apologize to my assistant.”
“Uh... why?” Celestine backed away a few steps, which was smart of him.
“He was upset by your name-calling, or did you miss that?”
I could see Celestine well enough to watch confusion pass across his face. “He was?”
“Apologize. Now. I also don’t want to see you hanging around in his office during the day anymore.”
He nodded as if his head was on a spring. “Yes, sir.”
“Go!”
He opened the door and slunk out, and I went back to my desk and tossed the folder on top while flopping into my chair. I turned the damned lamp back on, then rubbed my face. Men like Celestine drove me up a wall. Attractive and without a problem in the world, they swanned through life careless and carefree.
A short while later Maurice came in, and I stood quickly at the first glimpse of the red tint that had taken over his face, his shoulders so stiff they could support a whole house. He always looked like a sturdy man, but this was the first time I’d considered he might be someone who could be dangerous in a fight.
“If Celestine didn’t apologize, he’s fired. Did he tell you he was sorry?”
“Why did you do that?” Maurice’s tone was harsh and deep, sending a shiver through me.
“With Celestine? He was rude!”
“He’s a dipshit.” The crass word from Maurice’s mouth stunned me into silence. “But now he’s going to act weird and be on edge. That wasn’t helpful. He didn’t mean anything by it.”
Like hell he didn’t.“You clearly weren’t enjoying it. I was trying to help.” Irritation blazed to life in my gut. “I wanted you to feel comfortable in your own office.”
He hooked his thumbs under his suspenders and shook his head as he stared at the floor. “Bullies only get worse when you confront them, not better. Life isn’t a Hallmark Channel movie where you tell people to act right and they do, and then everyone hugs and they’re all friends.”
“I thought you implied Mr. Celestine was an idiot, not a bully? Has he done other things?”
The flush on Maurice’s face deepened and he puffed out his cheeks.
