“Yes, you might say that,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest. “What’s this about your administrative assistant embezzling money from you?”
Gemma threw her head back, sending hair flying over her shoulders. “You were deliberately eavesdropping on my conversation.”
“You placed the call on speaker and I just happened to arrive while the conversation was going on.”
“Well, you could have let me know you were here.”
“Yes, I could have. Now answer the question about Niecee.”
“No. It’s none of your business,” she snapped.
He strolled into the room toward her. “That’s where you’re wrong. It is my business, on both a business and a personal level.”
A frown deepened her brow. “And how do you figure that?”
He came to a stop in front of her. “First of all, on a business level, before I do business with anyone I expect the company to be financially sound. In other words, Gemma, I figured that you had enough funds in your bank account to cover the initial outlay for this decorating job.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “I didn’t have to worry about that since you gave me such a huge advance.”
“And what if I hadn’t done that? Would you have been able to take the job here?”
Gemma didn’t have to think about the answer to that. “No, but—”
“No, buts, Gemma.” He didn’t say anything for a minute and it seemed as if he was struggling not to smile. That only fueled her anger. What did he find so amusing?
Before she could ask, he spoke. “And it’s personal, Gemma, because it’s you. I don’t like the idea of anyone taking advantage of you. Does Ramsey know?”
Boy, that did it! “I own Designs by Gems—not Ramsey. It’s my business and whatever problems crop up are my problems. I know I made a mistake in hiring Niecee. I see that now and I should have listened to Ramsey and Dillon and done a background check on her, as they suggested. I didn’t and I regret it. But at least I’m—”
“Handling your business.” He glanced at his watch. “Ready to go?” he asked, walking away and heading for the door, turning off the light switch in the process. “There’s a nice restaurant not far from here that I think you’ll like.”
Gemma spun around to face him. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m mad.”
Callum flashed her a smile. “Then get over it.”
Gemma was too undone…and totally confused. “I won’t be getting over it.”
He nodded. “Okay, let’s talk about it then.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to talk about it, because it’s none of your business.”
Callum threw his head back and laughed. “We’re back to that again?”
Gemma glared at him. “We need to get a few things straight, Callum.”
He nodded. “Yes, we do.” He walked back over to her. “I’ve already told you why it’s my business and from a business perspective you see that I’m right, don’t you?”
It took her a full minute, but she finally said, “Yes, all right. I see that. I’ll admit that you are right from a business perspective. That’s not the way I usually operate but…”
“You were robbing Peter to pay Paul, I know. However, I don’t like being Peter or Paul. Now, as far as it being personal, you were right.”
She lifted a brow. “I was?”
“Yes. It was your business and not Ramsey’s concern. I admitted it and told you that you handled it. That was the end of it,” he said.
She gave herself a mental shake, trying to keep up with him. He had scolded her on one hand, but complimented her way of handling things on the other. “So you won’t mention it to Ramsey?”
“No. It’s not my place to do that…unless your life is in danger or something equally as dire, and it’s not.” He looked down at her and smiled. “As I said, from the sound of the conversation you just had with Megan, you handled this matter in an expeditious manner. By all accounts, you will be getting your money back. Kudos for you.”