“Okay, I’m about to tell you guys something I really shouldn’t. Me and Domin–Mr. Lockwood–have sort of started seeing a little bit of each other after work, but you can’t tellanyone.”
“I fucking knew it!” Elizabeth jumped, fist pumped, and then leaned back with her knees bent like she was firing two finger pistols into the sky in an Old Western town. She was in juicy gossip bliss.
Polly was standing closest to her and she took a few cautious step backwards, probably wisely. If Elizabeth got any more excited she might put someone’s eyes out with those finger guns.
Farhad sighed and walked over, handing Elizabeth a twenty dollar bill.
“Thank you, thank you,” Elizabeth said.
“You guysbeton this?” I asked.
“Of course we did.”
“I didn’t,” Polly said.
“You specifically said you weren’t going to bet because you didn’t have any cash on you. Don’t play little miss innocent now.”
Polly’s cheeks went red.
“But don’t turn this around on us!” Elizabeth approached, jabbing her finger at me. “You’re the one who was sneaking around with intimiate knowledge about Mr. Lockwood’s cock, body hair situation, and sexual preferences. And youdareto keep that from us?”
I was trying not to smile because I wasn’t completely sure Elizabeth was kidding, but my expression cracked into amusement. “I still don’t plan to talk about any of that. I’m only telling you about this at all because I think his dad knows. I think that’s what Gregor is here to do–to check on Dominic and look for reasons to… I don’t know.”
“Gregor is the one who put him here in the first place,” Polly said. “Why would he look for reasons to sabotage Dominic?”
“Because Dominic said there’s this weird power struggle between them. His dad has never wanted to admit he’ll be replaced some day. He just wants Dominic to be beneath him for eternity or something. So if Dominic comes in here and proves he can actually succeed, it’ll be impossible for Gregor to keep thinking Dominic needs him.”
“Well,” Farhad said. “To be fair, I think getting handed a company to run qualifies as getting more than a little help from dear old daddy.”
“Yeah, sure, but I don’t think either of them are worried about that part. Gregor just doesn’t think Dominic can do what he does, or he doesn’t want to believe he can. So he gave him our magazine, which he probably thought had so little potential that Dominic was doomed to fail. At best, he’d just eek out a little more profit, butThe Squawkerwas always going to be some local magazine earning pennies compared to his other companies.”
“So he shows up now because he’s worried Dominic is actually going to prove him wrong?” Farhad said. His arms were crossed and he looked thoughtful. “You’re thinking he’s going to try to sabotage him now?”
“Yes. And when he called me in there just now, he made it obvious to all of us that he knew we were together. He basically threatened to fire me to lure Dominic into defending me.”
“Are you asking us to band together to help stop Mr. Lockwood’s dad from screwing him over?” Elizabeth asked.
“I didn’t think I was asking you guys anything,” I said. “I’m just thinking out loud.”
“I’m in!” Elizabeth said. “And when we successfully stop his evil dad from ruining his budding business, he can reward Tristan with his selection of a woman from the office. Obviously, he’ll choose me because I’ll make sure to flash a little cleavage his way between now and the rescue.”
“Elizabeth,” I said. “No offense, but you’re like an A cup. And probabloy not even a capital A. How are you going to show cleavage?”
“Some guys are into that, asshole.” Elizabeth put both hands to her chest and adjusted… what she had. “I’m just saying I’ll make sure Tristan knows I’m ready, willing, wet, and–”
Farhad raised both hands, as if trying to shield himself from Elizabeth. “Gah. Can someone get her to stop?”
Polly slipped behind Elizabeth and put a hand over her mouth before Elizabeth could say more. Instead of fighting, Elizabeth just folded her arms and waited, mouth still covered.
“I guess we should all just be aware and keep an eye out, okay?” I said. “I don’t know what Gregor is planning to do, but we’ve had enough changes in leadership around here. I also don’t want to see our magazine torpedoed into the ground over some grudge match between Dominic and his dad.”
“And you want Dominic to keep tapping that well of yours with his girthy… bucket,” Elizabeth said. “Lost the metaphor a little there, but you get the point.”
“This isn’t about the two of us. We don’t even know what we’re calling it. It’s just casual, so my main concern is the magazine.”
“Right,” Farhad said, voice laced with sarcasm. “The magazine.”
Polly pulled down the blinds at the window and sucked in a sharp breath. “Uh. Looks like we should get out there. Gregor is announcing something.”