“I’m firing you,” I repeated. For the first time since Kai caught me and River together, I felt calm and clearheaded. “We’ll send over your files by end of week.”
Roger narrowed his eyes at me, and I saw the fury of a spoiled child, told that he couldn’t have what he wants. “You’ve lost it, Leo. I’ll ruin you in this town. Don’t you know that?”
I laughed. “Try me.” I knew Roger’s reputation, and I knew my reputation. It might turn into a war, but I knew the firm would survive and probably come out stronger on the other side.
He pinched his mouth tight, then turned to storm out. Before he left, I called after him. “Hey, Roger?”
He turned. “What,” he growled.
“Make sure you relocate the foundation, too. If you don’t, I’ll release the photos.”
His eyes got wide. I didn’t have to say what photos. The humiliating snapshots from his frat initiation had haunted him for years.
“Fuck you,” he grunted, then stormed away.
I turned and finally poured myself a bourbon. My hand was shaking, and worry about the firm’s finances was starting to grip me, but I felt exhilarated, too.
I’d just fired Roger Hanks.
I threw back the drink, winced from the bite of it, and realized the other part.
I’d just fired Roger Hanks without consulting my business partner.
Knowing that I’d be extra screwed if I waited even a minute longer, I rushed across the office. Luckily, Kai was sitting behind his desk, quietly typing, and I pushed right in without knocking.
He sighed. “Leo, I—”
“I just fired Roger Hank.”
He stared at me. “What?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Some women were coming forward with accusations against him, and he wanted me to kill the story, and there was this whole thing with the movie theater…” I trailed off, unable to explain. “Sorry?”
Kai stood up and pushed his chair back. “Seriously, Leo, I can’t handle this right now.”
“He’s a prick,” I said quickly. “And it just happened.”
Kai grabbed his wallet from his desk drawer. “Yeah, he’s a prick. I’ve been telling you that for years. You’re the one who hired him anyway.” He picked up his phone, then stormed past me.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you. You just decided to fire our biggest client. I need to redo our finances for the next few months and figure out if we can still afford our overhead.” He paused in the doorway and gave me a look like I was the most disappointing failure he’d ever seen. Whatever elation I had from firing Roger, it all crashed into my gut like a boulder. “I guess I’ll go clean up another one of your messes, on top of everything else. Later, Leo.”
I stood in his empty office and felt very, very alone. Just the day before, everything had seemed like it was going so well, like I had worked my whole life out.
But I was just fooling myself. Kai was right. I’d made a huge mess of it all, and unless I learned how to fix it soon, I was going to lose things that were much more important than a fancy account.
Chapter Twenty-Six
River
For a couple of days,I basically just hid in my room. Kai and I talked briefly a few times, but he always got frustrated and stomped off. I knew he was stopping himself from saying something he’d regret, which I appreciated, but it still hurt.
After dinner, I sat in the middle of my bed and opened my laptop. I had ten or so different studio apartments pulled up, and I was trying to decide what my price range was.
I was being realistic. That was the whole point of moving back in the first place. I was going to put my head on straight, figure my life out, and stop dragging my heart through the gutter.
And being realistic meant admitting to myself that things at home and at work had turned into a big mess, and they didn’t seem to be getting better anytime soon. The time to move was yesterday, and maybe once I was out of the condo, Kai and Leo would have the space to make up and act like best friends again.
