Page 10 of Brutal Heir

“Addler,” she replies in a tone that’s only missing ayou assholeat the end of his name. Now I’m reconsidering; this has to beone hellof a story. Why didn’t she tell me something was up? “I didn’t realize he stepped out.” I glance from one to another and still unsure of how to proceed.

“You lost Bill?” he says, distracting me from my speculation.

“I…uh...” I swallow hard, clenching my fingers against my palm. Heat rushes across my face.

“He had an emergency,” Elena explains, drawing his attention back to her.

Tension’s in the air. Whatever is between them is beyond me. “I’ll leave you two, then.” I turn on my heel and head back to my office. It’s not until I’m safely behind my desk that I can actually take a breath.

Despite a few unexpected visitors, I make it through to the end of the day.

“He bought the company,” Elena says from the door.

I stop, mid-keystroke. “What?” Although I’d been expecting to hear about the company finding a buyer, her statement still catches me by surprise.

“Addler de Marco bought the construction division.”

“I see.”

She looks exhausted. I can’t say I blame her since she spent all day with Mr. de Marco. “Bill got a call about it before he had to leave. We’re getting a visit on Monday for the official announcement.”

I nod, a little numb. Where will we be at this time on Monday? Bill and Elena will probably still have a job. Which reminds me… “What happened to Bill? Is everything okay?” It’s not like him to disappear in the middle of the day without telling anyone.

“Isabela.”

The single word says more than anyone would be preparedfor. His wife has been on a waiting list for a kidney. “How bad?”

“He didn’t say,” she replies quietly.

I flop back in my chair, wrung out. That’s it. I’m taking the weekend off and heading to Laredo. Since most people are gone, I should be able to handle anything over the phone. After the week I’ve had, I can use a break.

Chapter 5

Ezequiel

I’m coming off the highway when my cell phone rings. Annoyed, I pull my phone from the cup holder to find Addler’s name flashing across the screen. What’s this all about? He’s been at the office since he got in from Houston yesterday. Curious, I press the button, answering the call.

“Yeah,” I say in greeting.

“I’m going to send you an inventory list,” Addler replies, sounding distracted.

“An inventory list?” I repeat. Did he mean to call someone else? He was heading in the direction of the Kelly office this morning. Maybe he got my number confused with Bill’s.

“Grab the security lead and check out the locations listed so we can account for everything,” he continues.

Okay, so he did mean to talk to me. Guess things aren’t going good at that new business he bought.

If he wants me to make this run with Mike, Kelly Oil & Gas’s security manager, he’s shit out of luck. Mike went on vacation and decided not to come back. While I haven’t heard the reason, I figure he got another job offer and took it. “The guy left a couple of weeks back.”

“So, who’s in charge of security?” he asks, frustration in his voice.

Pressure builds up in my chest as the answer runs through my mind.Sage.I take my foot off the gas pedal.

No, don’t tell me he’s gonna go there. As it is, I spent too long thinking about how the color rushed back to her face. How she stood there, chest rising as she pressed her lips together tight. That woman claims too much of my damn time. And it pisses me off that she can do it without even trying.

I swallow hard and try to buy some time. “Bill said they were looking.”

Maybe he’ll drop it there. Because, I don’t think Bill or Kelly Oil & Gas have been looking too hard. The company knew they were about to sell. I bet they figured they could leave the hiring to the new owner. That way, they’d have one less problem to deal with. Since the new owner is Addler, that may have just become my problem.

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