I took out my notepad. “In fact, I’m making a hate list about him right now. Number one…”
My friends waited expectantly.
“Uh, things I hate about Beck. The way his hair is slightly messy in the morning. He wore black socks with a charcoal-gray suit. Umm…”
“Girl!” Holly shook her head. “You have it bad for him.”
“Oh my god! What have I done?” I banged my head on the table then raised a hand. “Pasta bartender, can you give me another round of the mac ‘n’ cheese? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s been a bad week.”
49
Beck
Iwasn’t in a great mood that Monday morning. I’d stopped by the office after leaving Svensson Investment where I had to listen to Greg give a two-hour presentation on his great plan to best Belle.
Owen grabbed me as soon as I walked into my office. Tess wasn’t there. I glared at her desk. I suddenly needed her around me.
“You just missed her,” Owen said, following my gaze. “She was heading to the elevator.”
Dammit. The last place I wanted to be right now was the office. I had wanted a repeat of Friday night over the weekend, but Tess had rebuffed me, saying she was busy.
“I need to talk to you.” Owen shut the door. “Dude, what the hell is your brother doing with my sister?”
I leaned against my desk. “Look, Owen, I’m sorry. I can’t control Greg. He’s obsessed.”
“What’s he planning?” Owen tilted his head slightly.
“I don’t know,” I lied. Owen was my friend, but Greg was my brother. Svenssons stuck together. Also, Owen might get mad at me, but Greg would skin me alive.
Owen scowled.
“He’s not going to hurt her,” I assured Owen, “if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Owen tipped back his head and laughed. “I was more concerned for Greg. My sister raised me. When I got a B in math one time because I was cocky and wasn’t doing my homework, she glued all of my stuff to the ceiling. Including the chair. I had to live like that for a month and spent my weekends carefully using solvent to clean all the adhesive off. Greg’s going to be the one to get raked over the coals.”
“Greg is evil,” I argued.
“Yeah, but Belle is mean. Which is worse.” He smirked. “I’m selling tickets to the fireworks.”
As if.
“I just thought I’d warn you,” he said over his shoulder as he left.
Owen seemed to have an outsized opinion of Belle. It was understandable. She was his older sister. But Greg’s plan was already in motion, and it was foolproof.
There was a knock on the door. Cressida poked her head in.
“Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about a problem employee,” she said.
I did not want to deal with her. “Can you talk to Walker? He’s the COO.”
“It’s about Tess, so I thought I should come to you first since she is your assistant,” Cressida said coyly.
I was immediately on guard. “What about her?”
Cressida set a binder labeled Employee Handbook on my desk and opened it to a page entitled “Workplace Relationships.”
“It’s against the employee code for a superior to conduct a relationship with their employee,” Cressida said. “It is a legal issue, and it is my duty as HR to tell you to stop.”
