“How well you set her up? I’ve never heard such horseshit.”
“Some friend you’ve got here, Scout. Sorry, buddy, we weren’t talking to you.”
“You didn’t doanythingfor her. You ruined—”
Lloyd breezed past Hudson’s rage, like it was nothing more than a troublesome fly he’d batted away. “And in return, I hope you don’t take me starting this new company of mine personally. It’s just business.”
Finally, the carpet ceased to hold my interest. The blank cheerfulness in his eyes cut me to my core. He wasn’t checking in on me. He was bragging. This was his victory lap.
“Just business, like when you fired her and blamed her for damages that weren’t her fault? You’re a real piece of work.”
Lloyd finally snapped; his calculated persona cracked down the middle. “Hey, buddy, I don’t think what I do is any of your concern.”
Hudson’s gaze was devastating steel. His lips curled up tauntingly. “You’re right. You’re no concern of mine.”
The words dripped with unspoken meaning. It was as close toI don’t give a shit about you because you’re fucking beneath me, you insufferable cretinas anything I’d ever heard Hudson say before.
Lloyd picked up on the subtext. He answered by taking a threatening step forward.
Flipping on survival mode, I forced a cheerful, can-do vibe. “Well! We’ve got to run. Lots to set up. So much to do. It was good to see you, Lloyd. Give Jared my best.”
“Who?”
“Jared? The guy who was just standing with you?”
“Oh, him. I’m not sure how long he’ll last, to be frank. I needed his particular…insights…into the current sex toy industry landscape. Now that I have them, I’m afraid he’s outlasting his usefulness. You can have him back, if you want.”
What a fucking asshole.I didn’t like Jared, but I wouldn’t wish working fororbeing fired by Lloyd Exeter on my worst enemy. As far as he was concerned, people were disposable.
Especially once they’d given everything they had to give. Now that Lloyd had Jared’s “insights” into BuzzCorp, he was going to be thrown away like a used napkin.
I knew the feeling.
“I can’t wait to see your presentation. I’m sure it’ll be very…” His eyes traveled up and down my body. Undressing me without lifting a finger. “Stimulating.”
Without another word, he pivoted and returned to hiswaiting gaggle of fawning hangers-on. But before he completely left my earshot, I overheard a strand of conversation with his lackeys. Jared included.
“Oh yeah. She still wants me.”
If I hadn’t forced myself to go numb, I would have cried on the spot.
That was all I would ever be to Lloyd Exeter. A piece of ass to taunt.
Hudson turned on me, fire paling in comparison to the heat of his rage. I distracted myself by starting for Conference Room 58, which was our designated home away from home during the convention. There was so much to do. I didn’t have time for this—not for Lloyd’s prancing smugness, and not for Hudson’s righteous fury.
“What the hell was that?”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t want to butt in like I did with your parents, but Scout…you’reshaking. Why didn’t you stand up to that asshole?”
Was I shaking? I glanced down at my hands.
Shit. Yeah. I was. I’d fought so hard to stay numb that I hadn’t even realized.
“We’re at work,” I reminded him. “I can’t get in fights at work, especially not with our competition. I’m a representative of BuzzCorp. Anything I do would reflect badly on the company. I’m better at being myself, but I can’t be myself at the expense of our launch. Entropy, remember? No chaos. Not this week, at least.”
“Right. Entropy. No chaos. I’ll remember that.”
