Page 42 of Sensual Games

Ivy. This was going to fucking destroy her, to stand back and watch her friends being laid off with no warning. “How am I going to tell them?” I whispered, dread filling me along with a lot of guilt.

“How will you tell them… or how will you tell her?”

There was a healthy dose of suspicion in his voice, but I dismissed it. I had bigger things to worry about than his suspicious nature. What, was it that unthinkable, caring about a colleague? “I’m sure Ivy will be upset if that’s who you mean.”

“Upset to lose her job? I’m sure she will be.”

There had been times in my life when I would have sworn my brain rebooted like a computer. When I heard something so shocking, I couldn’t react or even absorb it at first—most recently when Colton announced Rose’s pregnancy at their engagement party. That was a real brain reboot moment.

It was nothing compared to this, almost choking on my spit as I turned back toward Dad. He had the audacity to blink at me, blank-faced. “What?” he asked. “Obviously, she would have to go. She taught you a great deal, and she will be rewarded for it, trust me, especially because she made it possible for you to take control of your team. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.”

It was all wrong, but things were always going to be this way. I let myself forget, was all. Or maybe I wanted to forget. In the end, it didn’t matter. I was in much too deep for this to only be a matter of business.

How could I tell him? Desperation started bubbling in my chest. “We can’t keep her on?” I asked, rubbing my sweaty palms against my thighs. “She has such a good way with people, and everyone on the team respects her.”

“Are you looking for an assistant?” he asked, tipping his head to the side. “Because you will need one now that you’re stepping fully into your position.”

“Dad, how can we ask a former vice president to work as an assistant?”

I knew I was in trouble when he set his coffee aside and folded his hands on the table. “Why don’t we get down to business?” he suggested. “I’m through fucking around with you. I know where you were last night. I know who you were with last night. And there will never be a better time to get that girl out of this company because she is not the sort of girl you need to become involved with.”

For the second time in minutes, I had another brain cataclysm. Normally, I would have broken my back to hide my shock and dismay. There wasn’t much I hated more than letting him know he got to me.

There was no pretending now, with the edges of my vision going red. “You would go that far to meddle in my life?”

“You think I wouldn’t have you followed after your performance lately? Thumbing your nose at me, embarrassing your mother, giving our friends a reason to gossip. Do you know me at all, Lucian?”

I couldn’t make sense of anything he was saying, thanks to the screaming in my head. “You followed me?”

He had to scoff, the bastard. “I had you followed. At my age, I don’t have the stamina to keep up with you. I know you were out. I know who you were out with, and it’s not happening. She’s taught you what you needed to learn, and it’s time for her to go along with the others we don’t need.” And that was it. The great Connor Diamond had made up his mind. To hell with the rest of us.

“How can you do this?” I asked in disbelief.

“How can I make decisions for the best outcome of my company?”

My teeth gritted, I growled, “How can you treat people like they don’t matter?”

“Oh, don’t give me that.” He waved a dismissive hand, scoffing. “You’re only saying this to go against me.”

“You would think that because you think everything I do revolves around you and our family name. Ivy cannot afford to lose this job. I am not letting her go.” Was I only talking about the job? I couldn’t tell. Did it matter?

He leaned back in the chair, head cocked to the side. “Are you listening to yourself? Do you know how this sounds?”

With my teeth bared in a snarl, I didn’t care to hide anymore. I grunted out, “I. Am not. Letting her go.”

“Then you will find a job elsewhere because we do not need her.”

Was it his choice of words or the cold way he delivered them? Regardless, a switch flipped in my head. That was all it took for everything to change. “You know what? That’s a great idea.” I stood, buttoning my jacket. “Thank you.”

“What? What’s a great idea?”

“A new job. Because I want nothing to do with this one.”

He clicked his tongue like he was disappointed. “All right, enough bullshit. You don’t want me to call your bluff, son.”

“Frankly, I wish you would. If Ivy goes, so do I. She is the only reason I’ve been able to do a damn thing. And as for her ‘not being the right kind of woman,’” I continued, making air quotes with my fingers. “You couldn’t be more wrong. At your age, shouldn’t you know there’s more to a person than the family they were born into? Or how much money is in their trust fund? Are you that shallow?”

The funny thing was, it hadn’t been that long ago since I felt that way—considering myself better than the people working for me or laughing off the idea of sharing a hotel room with one of them, never imagining what their lives were like outside the office. Not until Ivy had opened my eyes and revealed the sort of bossand manI wanted to be.

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