“Random.”
The phone rang again. I grabbed it and answered it.
“Good afternoon, you have reached Artemis Investment Company, and we do not do business with lying cheaters.”
“You should be happy I’m giving you the time of day,” Chad blustered on the other end of the line. “I could go down to any other big investment firm.”
“Then why don’t you do that,” I cut in. “Because we serve a very select clientele, and unfortunately, you don’t make the cut.”
“Look, princess—” Chad began.
“And this is why we’re not taking you on as a client. We are not princesses. We are queens, and since you cannot treat us with the respect we deserve, you can be thrown in the moat. And,” I added, “if you keep contacting this number, I’m telling your wife about your affair.”
“That’s not—” he sputtered. “She’s just a cousin.”
“No one believes that, and I’m sure your wife won’t either.” I hit the red call-end button.
“Sorry,” I said, handing Belle the phone back. “Just couldn’t help myself. He and I have a history.”
“Apparently.”
The intercom system chimed that another person was waiting in the lobby.
“Since our next appointment is here, let’s cut to the chase,” Dana said. “The jobs are yours if you want them.”
“Whoo! I’m not unemployed anymore!” I whooped, high-fiving Maeve. Then I coughed. “Sorry, that was very unprofessional. Usually I have it a bit more together.”
“Since you’re here and want the job, do you want to sit in on our next meeting so you can start to get a feel for how we operate?”
“Of course,” Maeve said.
“I’ll grab coffee and tea,” I offered, jumping up to go to the little kitchenette.
I almost dropped the tray when I walked into the small conference room.
“Annie? Enola?”
“We’re here because of our company,” Enola explained. “We’re looking for investors and partners.”
“And we’re looking to expand into the tech sector,” Dana said. “I’m excited to hear your pitch, girls.”
“Did you already present to your brothers?” I asked them.
“I think they just think our app is a joke,” Annie said, frowning. “But as you can see…” Enola pulled up the presentation. “We already have a huge amount of growth. A number of small businesses signed onto the recipe app, we’re in talks with major food brands, and of course, we have my sisters as employees.”
“And yet again, Greg’s loss is my gain,” Belle said happily.
69
Beck
Owen was waiting for me when the elevator opened at the Quantum Cyber offices.
“It’s a Friday miracle. Mark Holbrook and Finn are here. They want to give us the cyber security contract,” he said, practically dragging me through the office to where Walker was entertaining the two men with pictures of the cake I had designed.
“He drew it with a crayon!” Walker said with a laugh, slapping his leg. “It looks so bad!”
“Walker,” I barked.
