Page 32 of His Fractured Girl

A sexy smirk forms on his lips and my toes curl right up in my shoes.

“I didn’t think it was a bad idea, Mrs. Hunt.” He pulls me into his arms. “In fact, as I recall, you seem to have gotten aone hundred on that assignment.” I laugh. After I completed Mr. Maxwell’s extra credit, I did. “But I still stand by my opinion. I would never buy those.”

“Why not? They’re so pretty.” I shrug out of his arms and pick up a six-pack, taking a closer look at the packaging, reading the ingredients. “They’re better for you too. These aren’t going to burn the insides of your kidneys out.”

“I’m not going to serve frilly looking froufrou drinks to a bunch of football players, babe. Besides, I bet they taste like flowers.”

I think he’s wrong. I bet they taste amazing. Just like the real thing, but cleaner. I place the pack into the cart and reach for another flavor.

“Are you seriously getting them?”

“I think the wives will like them. Besides, these are better for the baby than that battery acid.”

He looks down at my small bump and smiles. “Okay. Whatever my pretty girl wants, she can have.”

I put one of each flavor into the cart and we keep strolling down the aisle, finishing up the rest of the shopping for the barbecue. It’s our turn to host the team and their wives today, so we need to be well stocked. Those guys can seriously pack down the food.

As soon as we get home, it’s time to prep. There’s a knock on the door, followed by Presley’s voice. “Hey, guys! All clear?”

I giggle at her remark. She thinks Travis and I go at it like rabbits. To her credit, she’s not wrong. But Travis is outside grilling up all the meat, while I get everything else ready.

“You’re safe!” I tease. “Come on in!”

“Where do you want these?” She holds out the trays of treats. I swear the baby kicks in delight, starving for some sugar. I need to crack open a soda, so I don’t dive into the sweets before the guests arrive.

“Just put them over there.” I point to the side counter. I go to grab one of the light pink cans and a glass of ice while she sets them down.

“Okay, so spill.” She turns, taking off her purse and making herself at home. “I’m dying to know what you wanted to tell me. Did you guys find out the sex of the baby? I hope you’re having a little girl like us so we can have playdates and tea parties and dress them like twins.”

I shake my head. “We’ve decided to wait to find out. But if we have a little boy, then we’ll just have to hope they become best friends like you and Kyler, and one day fall madly in love with each other.

“I like that idea even better.” She’s smiles. “Okay, so what’s the news then?”

I didn’t tell her what happened the other day because I needed to see her reaction in person.

“You know how I told you we’re trying to hire a new manager to run the marketing team. Well, you’re never going to believe who came in for the job.” Even I can’t get over the coincidence and how small of world we truly live in. “Remember Sarah Jeffers?”

Her eyes get big. “No Way!”

“Yep. As soon as I saw her, I told my VP I’d handle the interview myself.” Usually, I’m not called in until the final round, once my team has narrowed down the candidates, but I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time on this one.

“Oh my God! So, what did you do? And what did she do when she saw you?”

She was definitely shocked. Her eyes grew big and her cheeks turned bright red. Her friendly smile turned right down into a scowl, looking exactly like she did back in school. And the funny thing is, it didn’t trigger me. I didn’t feel a sliver of the fear orpain. In fact, I was happy she was there. It reminded me that I still had some unfinished business to take care of.

“She walked into my office and told me that she thought it was best for someone else to handle her interview since we knew each other. She didn’t want there to be any ‘bias’ with the decision.” What she really wanted was to ensure I didn’t ruin her chance of getting the job. Little did she know, I own the company. The girl should’ve done her research first.

“God, she’s so ignorant. So, what did you tell her?”

“I told her that there was no way I’d have someone like her working for my company. And she pretty much went pale. It looked like she was going to piss herself over the fact that I owned the place.”

“Oh, to be a fly on that wall.” Presley shakes her head.

Itwasrather satisfying.

“She stomped out, telling me that she was going to get a job with my biggest rival and steal all of our clients.” I smile at her idiocy. She has no clue the power I have. “I told her ‘good luck,’ then I made a few calls as soon as she left. She’ll be hard pressed to find a job in the industry now. No one wants someone like that representing their clients.”

Sarah should’ve thought about the consequences of her actions, but she never thought they’d come back to bite her in the butt. But she just got served her sentence. And I was the lucky one who got to deliver it.

---