Anger had me standing as one of Xadrian’s flunkies snuck inside the room, and I wasn’t the only person glaring. He had some nerve staying when the rest of his friends had left the way they did and caused so much trouble on the way out. Heshouldbe scared.
The man plucked at the collar of his white polo. He wasn’t a bad-looking guy, probably about thirty, with straw-yellow hair and wide hazel eyes. He wasn’t very big and a strong breeze could toss him on his ass. I found it amusing that he’d chosen to dress the way Xadrian always seemed to enforce while coming to what? Beg for his job?
“Sirs,” he said, glancing between me and Wick, but I gestured at Wick, and he fixed his gaze on my boyfriend, which I didn’t necessarily like better. “My name is Wade Lee Sawyer. I know you hired me, but I’ve been pretty quiet in the last two years. I was—”
“On Xadrian’s team. We know,” Wick snapped.
“Should we clear out the room?” I asked, glancing at Wick with concern.
He snorted. “No. Are you quitting, too?”
Wade Lee rubbed a hand along his arm and his gaze slid to the floor. “No, I hope not. Xadrian made my life hell. I don’t think he was a homophobe.” Wade Lee stumbled over the word. “He just hated everyone who stood in his way, and he used anything he could to make other people upset with them. He wasn’t very nice.” Wade Lee glanced up and seemed to be imploring Wick to take pity on him, and I was so hopping pissed off over what had happened this morning I didn’t want Wick to have mercy.
“Why didn’t you report any offensive behavior to me?” Wick asked, and I could hear the exasperation creeping into his tone, which meant he might be softening toward the plight of little Wade Lee.
Wade Lee shrugged and studied his toes. “He was a very powerful presence here in the office.”
Glaring around the room, my attention landed on Albion, who was ignoring all of us. I nudged Wick with my elbow and nodded in Albion’s direction, and thankfully Wick saw the track my thoughts were chugging along without me opening my mouth.
“Albion,” Wick barked.
He straightened like someone had jammed a hot poker against his ass. “Yes, sir?”
“I’m giving you Wade Lee. His life is in your hands. Put him on your team wherever you see fit—make him fetch coffee and staple documents if that’s what you need. One slipup, one misstep, and you’re gone,” Wick said, leaning forward with narrowed eyes.
Wade Lee gasped. “I need this job!”
Albion winced as he stood and stretched his arms over his head, wandering closer to Wade Lee with a scowl on his face. “Can we have him sign a contract stating all his communications and work must go through me before anyone else sees them?” He stared between me and Wick. “Otherwise I’m not comfortable with it. I can’t have him trashing my reputation.”
Wade Lee huffed and crossed his arms, but he didn’t seem brave enough to say anything about Albion’s proposal, which was in line with his behavior to date. “Won’t that make my job harder?” he finally asked, so quiet the words were nearly a whisper.
“So what?” I asked.
Wick grinned. “I like it. Bedford, can you help us? Let’s say Wade Lee here has to pay a penalty of some sort for any violation as well. What could it be?”
Bedford hummed and stroked his beard. “Could be a financial penalty. You could take him down to minimum wage for a couple of months for violations, if he agrees to it beforehand. That’s legal. He can stay and deal with it or quit. That’s assuming you don’t simply fire him.” Bedford cut a look at Wade Lee out of the corner of his eye, obviously enjoying being devious.
“Okay,” Wade Lee murmured.
Less than ten minutes later Albion returned from the printer with the freshly typed contract, and we all stared at Wick as he scrawled his signature on it. Wade Lee painstakingly inked his name on the dotted line with a shaking hand.
Albion snorted, and the spirit of the moment must’ve overtaken him because he winked at Wick from behind Wade Lee, then leaned forward to say directly into his ear, “I own you now.”
Wade Lee jumped and spun to face him, and Albion took a step back, grinning.
“Go home for the day,” Wick said, waving a hand at the door. “Come back tomorrow morning and report to Albion. You’ll be working in his office from now on. Do not contact Xadrian.”
Wade Lee nodded and slunk out, and I held in a snort until he was gone.
Wick picked up his phone and dragged the list of contact numbers toward himself, dropping down into his chair with a smile.
About an hour later I was feeling exhausted with all the talking and took Wick’s hand the second he was between calls. He allowed me to lead him out into my office without question. Shelby laughed at something Bedford said to her in a snide tone, and we both glanced in that direction.
Running my hands along Wick’s shoulders, I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, and we lingered over it for a while. “I’m so proud of you for finally taking control of this situation.”
His eyes widened and he shrugged, glancing back toward his office. “If it wasn’t for you and all our colleagues—”
“They’re your friends,” I said, shaking him around a little.
