“He’s not shit for me,” I said.
I realized I’d spoken out loud. Both women stared at me,but it was Cher who said, with the softest, most empathetic voice I’d ever heard from her, “Oh, Winona. You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?”
Luckily, just then the door behind us swung open with a bang. Sarah looked over our shoulders, her demeanor swiftly shifting. I turned to see Jamie Reilly, her boss, filling the doorframe.
Good. This was a good distraction. We could be here for Sarah, all attention off me.
“I didn’t realize you were in a meeting,” Jamie grumbled.
“It’s our standing meeting,” Cher said, without an ounce of generosity.
I switched gears. I used to like Jamie. Now though, after giving Sarah so much grief? I had no joy for him.
Especially not today.
“Hello, Jamie,” I said curtly.
“Winona. Cher.” His tone was one of irritation. Someone had pissed in his Cheerios this morning, clearly.
But his eyes were on Sarah. “Ms. Cooper—could I have a word, please?”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say Sarah was in trouble.
I looked back at her, sussing out if she needed help. It was my turn to look out for her. But she clasped her hands on the desk, setting her shoulders back. She had this.
“What can I do for you, Jamie?”
“I need to speak to you about your email this morning.”
When Sarah had said things were difficult between her and her boss, I’d wondered at first if she just wasn’t used to Jamie’s quiet demeanor. But from what she reported—and what I was seeing now—if this was how he was all the time with her, she had every right to be upset.
“Can it wait?” she asked crisply. “I’m in the middle of a meeting.”
Cher gave me a raised eyebrow and a smirk, clearly asproud as I was that Sarah was standing up to him. Her only tell was the white of her knuckles as she held onto herself.
“No, it can’t wait,” Jamie said. “And actually, it involves you, Winona.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Me?”
Sarah’s cheeks went pink. “Perhaps we could chat alone first?”
“That’s all right, Sarah.” I said. Unlike Sarah, I didn’t report to Jamie. And I was in a fighting mood. “I’m dying to know what’s got your knickers in a twist, Jamie.”
Jamie’s temple clenched under his salt and pepper hair. He was in his fifties, and was one of those men, Cher said, who was aging like a fine wine. But all I could see was his bad attitude.
“It’s about this collective business,” he said.
“I… I floated the idea of me joining your collective,” Sarah explained to me quickly.
“Well, it’s out of the question,” Jamie said.
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“It’s going to distract Ms. Cooper from this job, and she doesn’t need any more distractions.”
What the hell had gotten into him?
“Now hang on a minute,” I said, standing up. “Joining the board of Heartbreaker Trades, when it starts up, is only going to look good for you, Jamie. Anyway, you’re being awfully paternalistic, aren’t you?” I was pissed, but more than that, I was confused . I’d known Jamie professionally for a long time, and I’d never known him to talk to a woman—hell, anybody—like this.
