Page 32 of It Starts With A No

Seth hadn’t been keen on doing that televised interview. He never bothered with such fluff. He always thought his work should be all the proof shareholders needed. But the board had pushed for it, and he’d hoped his giving in on the interview would lead to a smoother process of buying out the robotics arm of Movement.

Now, he was glad he did it.

The man squared his broad shoulders and stepped forward, extending his hand. “Neil Lennic.”

Neil was a big man. He was tall, and his well-tailored suit hid his extra padding of fat well. For a man of this size to be leaning threateningly toward a woman was despicable, and for him to be spewing those words to someone who was probably young enough to be his daughter was disgusting.

And he thought Seth would take his hand?

Instead, with his eyes on Neil, Seth reached into his pocket and took out a blue jewelry box. “Is that how you should talk to your CEO?” He strode over and put the box down in front of Clary.

Would this be counted as bribery?

Seth wasn’t exactly trying to bribe Clary. He just felt he owed it to her. He was the reason she lost her ring.

“You’re the fiancé?”

“I don’t like to answer personal questions at work.” He glanced over at Clary as he said that, and she dipped her chin down to—futilely—hide her smile. “Are you done speaking with Neil?”

“Yes,” she said, and her gaze darted over to Neil. “But the case isn’t over.”

Neil stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle the problem.”

“No. You do not go near anyone involved in this matter. You do not ask questions.” Clary glared at Neil. “I will deal with it.”

Neil’s eyes twitched. “Just because the girl put up a—”

“She’s a woman, and she’s a member of my staff,” Clary said. “I’m extremely interested in what she has to say.”

Neil looked from Clary to Seth. His gaze paused on him, as if he was gauging if Seth would be an ally or an enemy.

“Do you have a moment?” Seth asked Clary.

“Yes, as soon as Neil gets out of my office.” Clary deliberately shifted her gaze toward the door.

Her assistant, who was still standing at the threshold of the room, pulled her gaze from the blue box Seth had placed on the desk. Her eyes darted to Seth, and she quickly stepped away from the door frame as Neil got closer.

Just before he got to the door, Neil paused and peered back over his shoulder.

At first, Seth thought the man was glancing at him, but he was wrong.

Neil wasn’t looking at him. He was scanning the room.

Seth did the same. What was Neil looking at? The watches? Men’s—so not Clary’s. Then it wouldn’t matter if Neil threw a tantrum and started smashing things.

Except Seth had plenty of things to do and wasn’t interested in wasting his time. “Was Clary not clear?”

Poking his tongue into his cheek, Neil strode out.

“Tamara, please remove the paper,” Clary said. “And close the door.”

Her assistant, who was staring at the jewelry box again, jerked her chin up. She blinked once, her eyes wide.

“The paper.” Clary pointed at the small wad of paper stuck under the door that was keeping it from fully closing.

Tamara nodded and kicked the paper aside before closing the door.

The digital lock beeped as the lock moved into place.

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