Page 7 of Sensual Games

“Lucian. Let’s get one thing straight.” I knew what I was in for when he used those words. He pushed what was left of his breakfast aside, staring at me the way he used to when I would say or do something to irritate him enough to pay attention to something other than this fucking company. “You’re a person with many talents. And you know that over the years, I’ve been disappointed when you haven’t used them the way you should. You insult yourself more than you insult me when you ask a question like that. It’s childish, beneath you.”

“But having her looking over my shoulder isn’t supposed to insult me? Explain that, Dad, because I’m at a loss.”

“I know you aren’t demanding I explain a damn thing to you. Is this or is it not still my company?” He rose, glaring at me the way he had countless times before. “And like it or not, son, you don’t have the experience to take a position like this and run with it. Being skilled at using social media for your own personal purposes is not the same as running the digital media division, but I know you can work your way into it. I’m sure you can. It will take time, and you will need guidance.”

He shook his head and clicked his tongue, looking as disappointed as he ever had. “There I was, thinking you would understand that without having it spoon-fed to you. For someone who’s usually quick on the uptake, you are an expert at playing dumb when you feel like it.”

My resentment followed his disdain the way lightning followed thunder. “Sure, accuse me of playing dumb. That’s definitely going to make all of this work so much better.” I jerked a thumb toward the closed door. “The girl said it herself on Monday. She barely had a chance to make a difference at Jones Media before the buyout. How do you know she has the first idea what she’s doing?”

“She may not have been able to turn things around for them, but analytics don’t lie. There was a more than three hundred percent improvement in ad revenue month over month in the first quarter of this year. Sadly, it was a little too late. The girl knows what she’s doing.”

He went to his desk, talking as he walked. “If I remember correctly, she double majored in journalism and digital marketing at Brown on a scholarship, then spent three years managing social media for a handful of small businesses while publishing editorial content to Medium before she took the job with Jones Media.”

He pulled a file folder from the deep bottom drawer of his desk and opened it, flipping through then continuing, “She started as a basic advice columnist while working her way up to junior editor over two years. She then pivoted to digital media and did her darndest to convince the owners to move away from print.”

Did he expect applause? Was I supposed to be impressed? Okay so maybe I was, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “Good for her,” I replied, shrugging.

“Goddammit.” He closed the folder before closing his eyes and leaning back in his leather chair. “Put your ego aside and learn something. That’s all I ask.”

“And all I ask for is a little confidence. Is that too much?” I stood and tossed my napkin onto my half-empty plate. “Are you sure she understands her place in the hierarchy? Or does she think she’s here to steal my job?”

He shrugged, the lines at the corners of his eyes deepening when he frowned. “Why don’t you see to it she doesn’t get the wrong idea? If the position seems vulnerable, easy to steal from under you, that sounds like ayouproblem. Right?”

The miserable old prick. “I hear you.” And did I ever.

“Now go out there and learn something,” he concluded, waving a hand toward the door. “Prep for your meeting with the team next week. How are you going to bring everybody together? How will you fill any perceived weaknesses with the strengths of our newcomers?”

His questions didn’t piss me off. It was the fact that I hadn’t considered them before now. Since I had nothing to say, I decided it was smartest to get the fuck out and put together the answers.

Though I’d be damned if I asked Ivy for help. It would be a cold day in hell when I asked her for anything that didn’t involve her mouth wrapped around my cock. Since the chances of that happening again were slim to none, thanks to our professional relationship, there was nothing she could do for me but serve as a reminder of how useless my father thought I was.

4

IVY

“So what do we think after our first week?” I looked around the table, taking in the sight of my old coworkers from Jones Media. While we had crossed paths throughout the week, this was the first time we were able to sit down and catch up without any longtime Diamond employees listening in. It wasn’t that I was worried about the wrong people overhearing and retaliating but more like nobody felt comfortable opening up and sharing in our new place of business.

But a restaurant offsite? That was a totally different story. All bets were off. Laney Foster, my work bestie, shrugged as she reached for a slice of pizza from the pies sitting in the center of the table. “I mean, it’s been fine. One company is the same as another.”

“That’s not true,” Chuck Moran countered. He was around fifty, on the verge of becoming a grandfather in the next couple of months. He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his necktie while wearing a sour expression. “Things aren’t the same. I thought the whole point of having lunch together was to feel like we could be honest.”

“I was being honest,” Laney snapped. The small diamond stud in her nose sparkled when her nostrils flared. “But I’m trying to look at the bright side too. Being negative isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

“I’m a little worried.” Barbara Ross was closing in on retirement age, though I understood too well that certain concepts didn’t always apply to everybody equally, like being able to retire just because a certain number of birthdays have been crossed off on the calendar. She couldn’t afford it yet and didn’t know if she would ever be able to. “I’m at least ten years older than almost everybody else in the company.”

“Not true,” I pointed out as gently as I could. “I mean, look at Mr. Diamond. He’s around your age, right?” Sometimes, it was a little awkward trying to bolster a woman so much older than me, but I had learned over time how to ignore that. It seemed like they had too. Leadership didn’t have an age limit.

She gave me one of her wry grins, but it was short-lived. “You know what I mean. The CEO doesn’t count.”

“What happens when they decide we’re too old to fit in?” Chuck asked as he looked around the table. “Upper management can afford to be middle-aged or older. People like us? We’re expendable.”

“That’s age-based discrimination, and it’s illegal,” Molly Kramer countered, sitting up a little straighter. “Besides, if we do good work, that’s all that matters.” Chuck’s snort and Barbara’s eye roll told me what they thought about her trying to look at the positive side of things.

I wished there was something I could say to make things better. The fact was, they had a point. It was one thing for everybody to work together at Jones Media, where the whole concept of everybody being a family and working together was more than simple lip service. After a week with the Diamonds and their extensive staff, I had yet to get a feel for who was safe and who wasn’t.

Nobody had to explain it for me to understand. There were bound to be redundancies. Overlaps. Like the overlap between Lucian and me. Did he honestly think his father would choose me over him? Was that where his shitty attitude and dirty looks were coming from? Already, he had pushed me to my limit, and we hadn’t come to the official end of the week yet.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m not rich enough to work there,” Molly confessed, blushing as she looked around the table. “Does that sound bad?”

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