I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t know what you want me to do about it?”
“I want you to get your brothers on board to vote for someone who is not Greg and not one of your brothers so that he can just manipulate them,” Belle replied.
“I’m not going to do that.”
“In exchange,” she added, “I’ll get you a certain painting that I had to comfort your crying girlfriend about earlier this evening.”
I froze. “The real, actual one?”
She nodded.
“How?”
“I have my ways.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why should I believe you?”
“Because unlike you and your brothers, I’m not a lying sack of shit,” she said sharply.
“Fair enough.”
“I’ll have the painting by the HOA meeting. You just need to do your part.”
I frowned. “But the painting was part of an important deal.”
“Yes, I’m sure it was part of some deal. I’m assuming it has to do with that clusterfuck in the tabloids?” Belle said with a sniff. “You all terribly mishandled that, by the way. It was amateur hour over at Svensson Investment. I was embarrassed for you. Don’t worry. It won’t impact your sisters. They’re my kindred spirits.”
They smiled at her happily.
“You all should order the fries,” Belle told them. “They’re amazing.”
I felt elated through dinner, dreaming about how Tess was going to react when I showed up with her painting and a big apology. I should probably bring her flowers, too, maybe jewelry as well, to seal the deal. This was going to work out!
The HOA meeting couldn’t come soon enough.
But as I lay in bed that night, missing her, I remembered that the next morning I was going to have to see Tess at work.
Fuck, how is that going to go down?
Maybe I would have her transferred. I knew I was still supposed to fire her but no way could I do that now, not after giving away her special painting.
I arrivedat work as early as possible so I could avoid having to walk past her desk to my office.
Tess, thankfully, wasn’t there.
I was debating whether or not to text her to tell her to take the next few days off when Owen and Walker came into my office. They were both grim faced.
“What happened?” I asked, standing up.
Owen crossed his arms then uncrossed them.
Walker shifted his weight on his feet.
“Beck,” Owen said gruffly. “You’re my friend and cofounder, and you’re normally a rational human being so I’m just going to come out and say it. Tess needs to go. She needs to go today.”
“Where?”
“You need to fire her,” Walker said. “It was all over the tabloids yesterday; people are talking.”
