Page 66 of Mr. Perfect

She laughs at that and I start to relax too.

“I don’t get Brutus. Do I do something to lead him on? Why was he acting that way with me?”

And get stressed again. That fucker. What the hell is he up to?

“I mean,” Ellie continues, “why call us all the way out here? Did he really think I’d trade my body for an interview?”

“Probably,” I admit. “That’s the kind of guy he is. We’re never having that guy on our networks. And it’s good that Senior is coming today. We can discuss what a monumental mistake it was to try to reschedule him as well.”

“Don’t tell him about me, Mac. Please.” Ellie’s eyes plead with me.

“Why not? I bet Brutus does this to everyone. People need to know what a dick he is.”

“I’m sure everyone knows what a dick he is. I certainly figured it out early.” She smiles. “Maybe the reason he’s never being interviewed is because people just can’t stand talking to him?”

“Yeah, you could be right.” We brace ourselves for takeoff, and when we’re finally in the air and on our way home, we chat about other things. Regular things. Her book and when she might publish it. She’s not sure. She’s still hoping to sell it to a publisher instead of publishing it herself.

She talks about Ming and I even tell her a few things about Nolan. His club, his meeting with Andrew and the virtual reality thing. And by the time we make it back to the Stonewall hangar, we’re feeling a little better. Things might not be so bad.

That feeling lasts until we get off the plane and Ellie’s friend Ming is waiting for us just inside the hangar, hands on hips and looking like she wants to kill me.

Chapter Twenty-Six - Ellie

“Oh, shit,” I say.

Ming is running up to me waving her arms around. “Don’t go in there! Don’t go—”

“I already know,” I say, putting up a hand. “We know.”

“Shit! What the hell happened?”

“Ellen Abraham,” I say.

“That fucking cunt.” Mac laughs, but Ming shoots him a warning look and he stops. “Why would she do that?”

“She saw us that day I went down the slide.”

“Well,” Ming says, hands on hips as she stares up at Mac, “I hope you’re happy. My girl’s reputation is now tainted because of you! What are you going to do about this?”

“Ellen has been fired,” Mac says. “We’re pressing charges.”

“You better be, mister. That’s all I have to say. She needs to go to jail for this!”

“Ellie,” Mac says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t want to rush you, but we really have to go.”

“Mr. Stonewall is waiting to talk to us over at the Atrium,” I tell Ming.

“Shit,” Ming says. “He better not blame you or I will have to have a talk with that man. I’ll sic Adeline on him!” I let out a small laugh but then Ming gets serious as she pulls me into a hug. “I’m sorry, Ells. Really. This sucks.”

“Thanks,” I say. “I’ll be OK. I’m quitting anyway. It could be worse, right?”

Ming nods, pouting her bottom lip in sympathy. “Right. Call me later and let me know how it goes.”

There’s a car waiting for us, so Mac and I get in, silent all the way over to the Atrium building. As soon as we walk through the doors the place goes quiet. I look at my feet as we walk over the elevators and when we get in, all the talking starts up again. “Well, that was fun,” I say.

Mac says nothing. Great.

We exit the elevator and I can already hear Stonewall Senior yelling inside Mac’s office even with the door closed. Stephanie isn’t here, so there’s no one hanging out by our offices, thank God. But my heart starts thumping wildly as soon as Mac opens the door and waves me forward.