Page 6 of Fiona and the Fixer

“I think you mean a hand job,” I countered.

A vein throbbed in his temple. “You’re fired.”

I shook my head. I’d grown up with a ruthless father. Learned at a very early age to have thick skin. That being yelled at was survivable. I also learned to stand up for myself. He taught it to me himself. Beat it into me. He hadn’t expected me to stand up to him though. It took years, but I had, and he was spending the rest of his life remembering that. So if I could handle Vincent Genovese, Trotter was a piece of cake. He didn’t scare me at all.

“No, I’m not,” I countered. “You’d have an HR case on your hands, and it’d be me against you and I would win.”

“I’m your superior,” he sputtered. “They won’t listen to a woman like–”

I held up my hand. “Does your wife know you’ve got a daddy kink?”

His lips snapped shut.

“Here’s what you’re going to do, Dan. Remove me from the case. Put Neidermeyer as lead.”

I took a step toward his desk and dropped my thick file on it.

He was quiet for a moment, perhaps afraid to speak. His gaze shifted from the file to me and back a few times. “You’ve been fighting me hard on him on the case. Why are you giving up now?”

I looked at him like he was a four-year-old.

“I’m not giving up. I’m letting Neidermeyer take the fall instead of me.”

“We’re not–”

“You are.”

He visibly swallowed. “Why would I take him down?”

I ticked the reasons off with my fingers. “Because he’s an idiot. A bad agent. Horrible record. No one would put it past him to do something shitty like a plant. Probably already has.” I let that sink in because it was probably true, and Trotter probably knew about it. “You want someone to take the fall so you can meet your quota? It’s not going to be me and everything I know.”

Now he looked wary when he asked, “That’s it?”

“I’m going on medical leave. Indeterminate time.” I hadn’t considered it before right now, but I needed to get the hell out of here. As far from these two and their mess as possible. I had no friends in this building. While peoplepitched in to get me a floral arrangement when I was in the hospital, that was as far as the kindness went. This break would give me the free time I needed to meet Hannah Highcliff.

“You want to go on unpaid leave?”

I shook my head. “Hell, no. Full pay.” Like he’d had Daddy Brian earlier, I had my boss by the balls. “You’ll give it to me because I’m sure you’re going to sweep this office for bugs and not find any. You’re going to always wonder how I know about you, Neidermeyer, and the gun plant. About you and Brian in IT. Because if I know that, what else do I know?” I crossed my arms to ensure I didn’t touch anything and arched a brow. “Hmm?”

I didn’t know anything else, but he didn’t need to know that.

He was breathing hard. If a glare could kill, I’d be dead. I’d faced death recently and this was nothing.

“It’s time for a transfer, Trotter,” I added. “Be gone by the time I’m back. I’ll give you, oh, two or three months.”

I had no idea what I was going to do with that much time off, but I didn’t want to be here. I wanted clear separation from me and the case that was going to go south. Neidermeyer was going down and I wasn’t letting his overweight body take me with him.

Trotter stayed quiet. Considered. He was an idiot, but he wasn’t stupid.

“Fine.”

“I have this bargain we just made recorded, too.”

I didn’t, but he didn’t know that.

He fumed. “Bitch. I hope your brain tumor comes back.”

I laughed. “That all you got?”

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