“I’m just saying…” he mumbles, glancing at Luce for help.
Luce folds her arms.You’re on your own.
Just what kind of assholes work in her company? She should fire him right now. I would, if any of my people dared to disrespect me.
“How about this?” I say, looking down at the man. “Shut your mouth unless you know what you’re talking about. Defamation lawsuits are expensive to defend. And I’d love nothing more than to make you an example.”
He jumps. “But I wasn’t talking about you! I was talking about her!”
“You implied I hit her.”
“I just meant whatever you did is her fault.”
Somebody take away his shovel. Luce puts a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. “You want to repeat that to my attorney?” I say.
His jaw hangs loose. I wait a beat so Luce can have her say. But she merely shakes her head.
I put a hand on her elbow. “Let’s go.”
Bianca stands up behind her desk. I gesture for her to sit down and follow Luce into the meeting room. We’re the only ones in the huge space with a long table and numerous chairs.
“Who was that?” I demand as she settles down at the head of the table. I take the seat to her left.
“Our CFO.” She doesn’t quite meet my eyes.
“And you let him talk to you like that?”
She sighs, tapping the edge of the table. “He and I have some history.”
“History?”
Chapter 29
Lucienne
At Sebastian’s tone, I realize “history” isn’t quite the right word. But—too late now.Stupid Darren.Why couldn’t he have just looked up from his phone, said, “Good morning,” and walked away?
“We were engaged,” I say finally. “Obviously, it didn’t work out.”
“You were engaged to a man who can’t bother to treat you with respect?”
He’s right about Darren’s attitude toward me. And I should’ve done something about it sooner, before it came back to haunt me.
But I don’t want to get into the embarrassing details of my ill-fated engagement to Darren and my grandfather’s and Roderick’s reaction to the way it ended. “It’s complicated.”Let’s not talk about it.
“How many men did you try to marry?”
Is he judging me?My hackles rise. “I don’t know why that’s relevant.”
“Are there more in the building?” He looks around like he’s ready to confront every man in the right age bracket. Then he waves his hand dismissively. “Never mind. Fire him.”
“What?”
“Fire. Him.” He pulls a finger across his neck.
“I can’t do that without just cause.” My response is swift and automatic. “It’s going to look like I’m being vindictive over an engagement that went bad.”
“He’s being insubordinate, talking to you like that. You’re entitled to get rid of him for creating a hostile work environment. This is your kingdom, Luce. Defend it.”
