Page 28 of Dirty Rival
“Reid,” I say softly, skipping all the games.
He knows what I want immediately. “It’s a testament to my confidence in you,” he promises. “Don’t read more into it. I say what I mean. I do what I say.”
“But the board doesn’t believe in me.”
“They will,” he says.
“That’s a no. They do not.”
“Did you find the card inside the envelope?”
“I didn’t see it. Hold on.” I dig for it and find his business card. I flip it over to find the words: Call-in number, stockholders’ meeting, nine am. “You’re letting me listen in on the meeting in real time?”
“Yes. I am. It won’t be easy to hear what is said about your father.”
“I’m not in denial over my father,” I say. “I can handle it.” I soften my voice. “Thank you, Reid.”
He’s silent several beats and I almost think he’s hung up when he speaks. “The case I’m managing, with the murder victims’ families. The brother of one of the victims attacked my client’s wife. He was under mental evaluation. We were supposed to be told before he was released. We weren’t, and he went after her again.”
“Oh God. Is she okay?”
“Yes, but I’m going to need to deal with this after the stockholders’ meeting tomorrow.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Take a piece of the DA’s ass. I think he did this on purpose, just to show us who has control, and it backfired when the guy came back at my client.”
“But you’re not a good guy taking care of people who need you for free, right?” I tease.
His response is hard and fast. “No, Carrie. I am not a good guy. Don’t forget that either.” He hangs up. It’s a real Reid move. I get it. He doesn’t want a thank you and me looking beneath his skin. He doesn’t even care about me and his brother. He just doesn’t want me distracted. In fact, his need to own me and my focus is probably why he gave me that money. Now I don’t have to worry about finding another job, in case this one ends. In other words, this is his way of reminding me that he might want to fuck me, he might need me for financial reasons, but he doesn’t really like me, and he doesn’t even want me to like him.
I wake up the next morning in a ball of nerves over the stockholders’ meeting. I run five miles in the park and still manage to be at work an hour before the rest of the staff and dressed in a red power statement suit dress. I even have time to pick up scones and set one on Sallie’s desk with a note on the bag that reads: Now you have to make me some of your butterscotch cookies, because I love those cookies and because she loves that I love them. By eight-forty, I’m well caffeinated and nervous about the stockholders’ meeting.
Sallie buzzes my office. “Connie is on the line. She’s Reid’s secretary. And FYI, she is setup with security clearance.”
“Great, thanks.”
The line buzzes and I answer. “Hi, Connie.”
“Hi, Carrie. Looking forward to meeting you soon.”
“I thought you were coming here today?”
“Reid meant after the stockholders’ meeting, which we’re hosting, which I know because I have learned to decode his meanings over the past ten years. So that most likely means tomorrow. Aside from that, I just wanted to tell you that if you have any trouble dialing into the meeting, call me. Sallie has all my contact numbers.”
“Oh. Great. Thank you.”
“Thank you. There is a novel combination of words. Perhaps together we can teach them to Reid. No. Never mind. We’ll just get drunk together at some point.” Reid’s voice sounds in the background. “Speaking of the beast. Gotta go. Bye, Carrie.” She hangs up.
I like her. I like her a lot. Sallie pokes her head in the door, giving me a thumbs-up that means she likes her, too. And she’s been with cranky, mean Reid for ten years? I shove aside that thought for later reference and ten minutes later I dial into the meeting, though no one in the room knows who is on the closed line.
Reid calls the meeting to order and he cuts right to the chase. “As you all know at this point, I’m now partnering with Carrie West to reach our profit projections.”
Partnering.
It’s not a word I expect him to use.
There are several questions about me that follow and Reid shuts them down. “I don’t waste my time or money, or yours. Carrie is not her father. She was against the bad decisions that were made, which are documented in each case. She’s CEO material: smart, sharp, embraced by the staff and the backbone of the profits for the corporation. I expect to recommend a power shift from me to her in the next thirty days.”