Page 37 of Dirty Rival

Or, he’s playing me, and I cannot let myself forget that he has everything to gain, and I have everything to lose.

Chapter seventeen

Carrie

Idraft the staff memo and give Sallie a heads up that it’s going out. I then send a copy to Reid’s email and, in turn, find an email from him in my inbox labeled: Walker contract.

I open the email and there are no words. Nothing. He didn’t type anything at all. It bothers me. I think he knows it will bother me. At that moment, my email pings with a response from Reid on my staff memo that reads: Brutal perfection.

Two words. Good words. I inhale with the compliment, which I find myself far too pleased over. He affects me. What he says, and what he doesn’t say, affects me. He also challenges me and not just as a woman. He challenges me to be the best I can be for this company, I just don’t always like how he does it, but he is pushing me. He is making me reach higher and I’m not beyond admitting this. I wouldn’t think that quota he picked was possible, but now I’m fighting for it.

I close the email and start reading the Walker contract. Once I’m certain I’m up to speed, I end up sidetracked from new money trying to save old money, on the phone dealing with challenges related to a project we’ve recently closed on for a group of investors. My stomach growls and I eat cookies. At some point, Sallie sticks a sandwich in front of me that I didn’t order, but I set aside. I had lunch: her cookies. It’s nearly two when I walk out of my office to find Reid’s assistant now seated outside his door.

I turn to Sallie with a sudden thought, my father’s assistant on my mind. “What about—”

“Resigned,” she says, reading my mind. “She heard about the takeover.”

“Okay well, that’s a solution I guess.”

“You know you never liked her,” Sallie supplies. “And neither did I.”

I don’t deny or confirm her words. “How is Reid’s assistant?”

“Connie’s marvelous. She has a whip she uses on Reid and gets away with it. You’ll love her.”

A whip. I wonder if it’s like my cuffs and before I can stop myself, I glance in Connie’s direction, right about the time she heads to Reid’s office, her blonde hair streaming down her back. She’s pretty, petite, but curvy, in a pink suit. She’s pretty and I hate the pinch I feel in my belly over this. I hate that I wonder if Reid is fucking her. It isn’t my business and yet, isn’t it? I need to know if he’s fucking her, considering he’s fucking me. Or he did. He did. He’s not going to again.

I mentally shake myself. “I’m going to walk to the lobby and talk to security about our new security procedures, which I forwarded to you in an email.”

“I saw,” she says. “You want me to do it?”

“No, I want to make sure they know it’s important enough for me to go down myself, but I better grab my phone.” I enter my office and grab my phone just in time to find my ex-best friend Crystal calling. I hit decline. She’s in Japan with my brother, which wasn’t a big deal since they both worked for the same company here. Except that she knows how he treats me and then started fucking him. She can talk to him. I head for the door and Connie appears in the entryway.

“Hi, Carrie. I’m Connie.”

And prettier up close. Late thirties I think, around Reid’s age. “Hi, Connie.”

“You’re stunning,” she says, shocking me with the compliment “I love it. The next CEO of the company, and you’re young, gorgeous, and in control.”

“Thank you, but Reid is in control.”

Her lips quirk. “Right. Reid is in control.” Her blue eyes dance with mischief and some private secret that I find disconcerting. “I’m running to the DA’s office to grab a file for Reid. Can I get you anything on my way back?”

“That’s very thoughtful, but I’m fine, thank you. I’m headed downstairs. I’ll walk with you.” I motion her forward and we head toward the lobby.

It’s not until we’re in the elevator that I say, “I hope that’s the settlement for the victims of that serial killer you’re picking up.”

Surprise lights her eyes. “You know about Reid’s case.”

“I do,” I say. “But he assures me that fighting for the innocent doesn’t make him a good guy.”

She snorts. “I wonder if he’s trying to convince you or him. Actually, I’m surprised he told you about the case.”

“I just happened to be around at the right time.”

“There’s no such thing with Reid. I’ve been with him for ten years. I know. There is what he lets you see and what he doesn’t let you see.”

I’m reminded of last night, of me accusing him of being an asshole because I see too much, but I set that aside for now. I focus on her. “Are you two—”