Page 43 of Lesbian CEO
“Fill me in.”
“Um, the reporter from the event on Saturday night wrote a piece about the two feuding companies. He thinks he’s gotten to the bottom of the person who started the rumor.”
“Has he?”
“You should read the article.”
“Patrick, just tell me.”
“No.” He shakes his head and hands me a piece of paper.
“Did you print out the article? You could have just pointed me to the website. A tree had to die for this Patrick.”
“Just read it,” he says.
Then he’s gone, and I’m alone.
LOCAL BUSINESS HAS BONE TO PICK WITH CORPORATION
The title is terrible. I hope Brett knows he did a bad job with it. I reach for my coffee and sip it as I start to read, but the more I read, the less coffee I drink. I find myself riveted by the story and I realize that I’m going to need to call Toni.
No, I’m going to need to call Piper.
WHEN Jessica Mortimer took over Northington Tech, she was an obvious choice. Smart, determined, and experienced, Mortimer served as the Vice President of the company until the previous owner, Ashley Smith, retired. The company was sold to Mortimer in a private deal, but Mortimer wasn’t satisfied with just one company.
She wanted more.
I pause, looking up from the paper. My mouth feels dry. I can’t help it, though. I keep reading.
Mortimer, ever the savvy business guru, decided to go after a small fish: West Mountain Software and Security. We’ve all heard the story before: big corporation destroys local mom-and-pop shops. It happens all of the time. This time, though, things were different.
Owner Toni Ventris received a heads-up about the fact that Mortimer wanted to destroy – or buy – her company, and she decided to take matters into her own hands. With the help of her accountant, Mark Thomas, and his girlfriend, Kendall McCarter, Ventris hatched a plan to make herself look weak: and Mortimer look to be a monster.
I drop the paper.
No.
This can’t be true.
It really, really can’t be.
There it is, though: pictures of Kennedy and Mark standing in front of Toni’s building on the day he was hired. There are pictures of Mark and Toni at office events and holiday parties. There’s even a picture of Kennedy at the animal shelter’s adoption event.
My ex-girlfriend got together with my other ex-girlfriend and pulled the rug out from beneath me.
And I never even saw it coming.