“Dom doesn’t make messes,” Marcus said, grinning as he squeezed my arm. “He just imposes his will on the world and sometimes the people in his way get a little dusted up. But that’s why he’s lucky to have such a diplomatic best friend.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Except I wish you hadn’t been so diplomatic. I really wanted one of them to start swinging.”
“Your boss is just kidding,” Marcus said, leaning past me to address the four employees all sitting in a row at the bar. “He’s a professional who doesn’t start bar fights for fun.”
I made a point of getting to know my staff, so I knew all of them well enough by now. Pollie was one I hired recently. She was young, ambitious, and talented. Elizabeth’s writing was genuinely funny, and I made a mental note to try to keep her around once I read a few pieces she worked on. She was in her early twenties, lived in a shitty part of the city, and didn’t seem to be in a relationship.
Farhad was in his thirties. I’d read his work, too, which was why I moved him to politics. I needed to see if he could adapt. His piece on fashion and trends had been well written and showed an understanding of the market, but the content was a waste of his abilities. If he could learn to adapt and learn under Kirk–the poly sci major I hired–then he could stick around too.
And of course I knew Darcy. She was the beautiful little thorn in my side. The worst thing about her was that she’d grabbed my attention so fully that first day and then mostly made good on her promise. She had been a model employee. She worked her ass off and was clearly one of the best all-around writers atThe Squawker.Her pieces all had a voice that was just the right blend of chatty and approachable without leaving professionalism behind. It was a unique blend that she wove well. I couldn’t help but admire her eye for stories, too. Whether she was writing about some obscure and ignored charity or a gossip piece, she knew how to find an angle that captivated.
I didn’twantto admire Darcy. I wanted to fire her. She was too damn attractive. Too damn distracting.
“Well,” Darcy said. “Are you proud of yourself, Mr. Lockwood?”
Her friends at the bar all seemed to shrink back. Normal people didn’t like making eye contact with me, let alone taunting me. Of course, Darcy wasn’t normal. That was half of the problem.
“He had it coming,” I said.
Allie stepped forward, extending her hand. “I’m sorry about him. He’s your boss, right? I’m Allie Fitzroy, Marcus’ sister.”
Darcy’s eyes shifted between us in a way that made me realize she assumed we were together. Was that a spark of jealousy?No.She acted like I didn’t exist ever since our first few confrontations.
Darcy caught my eye. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?”
Everyone else had been starting to mingle, but the tone of her voice caused a hiccup in conversation. I sensed several pairs of eyes on us.
Apparently, I was allergic to common sense because I shook my head. It felt like she was challenging me, and I wanted to remind her she wasn’t in charge. “No,” I said. “If you have something to say, you can say it here.” Call it payback for when she refused to speak with me in private on her first full day. I’d wanted to try to dissolve some of the tension before things got out of hand, but she stubbornly refused to let me get her alone, and now here we were.
The entire group was waiting, eager to hear whatever it was she wanted to say.
Darcy folded her arms. “Alright. I was going to tell you it would be nice if you made up your mind. Either fire me, chase me off, or stop trying to play hero for me. So which is it, do you want me gone, or are you trying to protect me, Mr. Lockwood?”
“I’m notlookingto fire anyone,” I said. It was a bold-faced lie, of course, but I couldn’t openly admit I was hoping to prune most of the existing staff in front of Pollie, Farhad, and Elizabeth. “Any capable employees will find they’re more than secure in their jobs atThe Squawker.”
“And what would you call me, Mr. Lockwood?”
Obnoxiously attractive. A pain in my ass.Her eyes were big and accusatory with just the faintest flicker of flirtation. I knew we were being watched, but I could only see her. I only saw that heart-shaped face and that short sexy hair of hers that was growing more my type by the day.
“Insubordinate,” I gritted.
The corner of her mouth twitched upwards. “Is that a fireable offense?”
“We’ll see.”
“You know what I think?” she asked. She draped her arm over the back of the barstool and tilted her head. “I think you are full of shit. Youwishyou could fire me, but you realize you shouldn’t.”
“I think you overestimate yourself.”
Marcus cleared his throat. “Boys and girls,” he said, moving to step between us. “I think this is going nowhere good. Maybe we should all go to our table in the corner and get some appetizers. I think it might be physically impossible to be mad while eating appetizers.”
“Let him finish,” Darcy said, never taking her eyes from me.
The air between us might as well have been charged with electricity. I could feel the hairs on my arms starting to stand and an excited chill running up my spine. What the hell was this effect she had on me? Even while crossing me and testing my last nerve, it was like my body was priming itself for a night of mind-blowing sex.
“You think you can’t be replaced. I think you’re wrong,” I said.
“Yeah?” she asked. “I think I’ve got my finger on the pulse of this magazine in a way you clearly don’t. Hell, I bet I could even make an interview withyousell.”