Page 84 of Back in Black

Drew snorted. “No way. Because I quit.”

Stunned silence ensued.

Gillian blinked at him in confusion, and she blinked again when he winked at her.

He could hear Fran breathing. Finally, her voice shrill, she said, “You’re bluffing.”

“Nope.”

“I know you, Drew Black. You would be miserable if you retired.”

“Who said anything about retiring?” He gave Gillian a once-over, and she looked so adorable in her uncertainty that he couldn’t wait to finish the call. “Your snit changes nothing for me. I’ll be doing business as usual.”

Gillian didn’t understand—but Fran sure as hell did.

“Oh. My. God.” And then with ripe fury:“You’re going to another organization?”

Satisfied with her reaction, Drew propped a shoulder against the wall and smiled. “Now, Fran, we both know I won’t have to. They’ll be coming to me just as soon as Gillian and I do a press conference explaining that I’m free.”

“You bastard!”

After all of Fran’s plans to make him over, her attitude that she’d found him lacking . . . well, it felt damn good to have the upper hand again.

And he owed Gillian for that.

“Face it, Fran. You hired Gillian because she was the best. You told me so yourself. And with her representing my interests now, I’m going to come out of this smelling like a rose.”

“Gillian agreed to this?”

“You fired her. What do you think?”

As he spoke, Drew took in Gillian’s shock. The color had drained from her face, and her entire posture slumped. He saw it in her eyes—how she would try to defend him—so before she could start bowing and scraping on his behalf, Drew took the phone off loudspeaker and put it back to his ear.

“Have a good life, Frannie.” He heard Fran start to speak, but he shut the phone on her and slipped it back into his pocket.

Had Gillian really thought he’d let her just walk away? That he’d let her be fired while he stood by and did nothing? Like hell.

Right now, she looked wrecked, not at all her usual poised, classy self. But he’d take care of that.

Drew didn’t reach for her. Not yet. He didn’t know what she was thinking, if she blamed their affair for the sudden downturn in every direction. All he knew for a certainty was that they weren’t done. Not by a long shot. “You okay, honey?”

She shook her head. “You . . . you justquit.”

Even now, during the proverbial shit-storm, teasing her appealed to him, so he said, “Damn, but you’re sharp. Nothing gets by you.”

Numbness waned beneath ire. Her impressive chest heaved, drawing his attention. “Are you out of your mind? Youloveyour job!”

Drew shrugged. “Yeah, well, Fran was going to fire me anyway. Not permanently, you know, but long enough to manipulate me or punish me—one of those gamey moves women like to use to make men squirm.” He pushed away from the wall. “But you know I’m not a fan of squirming.”

As if his mood finally penetrated her fog, Gillian took a step back. “Drew . . .”

“Out of bed, that is. In bed . . . honey, you can make me squirm all you want. I’ll look forward to it.”

Her jaw loosened. “For crying out loud, Drew. I can’t believe you’re talking about sex right now!”

“I’m horny,” he said by way of explanation. “How about you?”

She stopped retreating and took a stance. “Drew, this is serious. When the firm finds out about this, they’ll fire me, too. My entire life is crumbling.No oneis going to want to work with me after this.”

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