Page 19 of The Boss

“I heard that Flora was talking to Ashlee about…” His voice trailed off. When I didn’t fill the silence, he continued, “about you, Mr. Lexington. She was talking about you dating and…all that. Then you came in and yelled at them both.”

Accurate so far.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“I heard she was suspended for two weeks without pay.”

Not-so-accurate. “Who told you that?”

“Um, I think Clara. She and Flora were interns together. She’s a receptionist in the lobby.”

Shit. If Flora had a friend in the lobby spreading rumors, they could reach much further than if she was isolated in a particular department. But, that also supported my suspicions that the origin of the rumors Ashlee was worried about was the same person who’d been spreading gossip in the first place.

“What else have you heard?”

I watched as he shifted in his seat. Damn, he was twitchy.

“I heard that the other girl, Ashlee, she didn’t get in trouble even though she was doing the same thing as Flora.”

“That’s what you heard? That Ashlee was saying the same things as Flora?”

Myron nodded emphatically, relief on his face. “I’m not saying anything to anyone about what I heard. You have to believe me, Mr. Lexington. Just cuz I heard it doesn’t mean I’m saying it to other people.”

I held up my hand, silencing him. “I believe you. I just need to know what people are saying. Have you heard anything about why Ashlee wasn’t suspended?”

“I-I…Mr. Lexington, I really don’t want to say.”

I leaned forward. “You don’t want to say because the rumors are that either I requested or Ashlee offered sexual favors in exchange for not being suspended.” The quick glance he shot at me told me the answer, but I still wanted him to say it so it was clear I wasn’t making an assumption. “You won’t get in trouble for telling me the truth. I don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Yes,” he mumbled.

“I’m going to need you to speak up, Myron.”

Clearly uncomfortable, the man cleared his throat. “Yes, Mr. Lexington, that’s what the rumors are. That Ashlee…” His face flooded with color. “That she did…you know.”

“Did you hear this rumor from a lot of different places, or only one or two?”

He thought for a moment before answering, which I appreciated despite how impatient I was.

“I heard it a few places,” he said, “but everyone I heard talking about it is from the same group of friends.”

Now we were getting somewhere.

“Would these happen to be friends of Flora’s?” I asked.

As a kid, I’d had a time where I’d seriously thought about going into law, but I’d definitely learned since that I never could’ve stayed within all of those laws. Like how, if this had been some sort of trial, I’d have been accused of leading the witness. I’d suspected Flora of being the source of the gossip and everything I was hearing from Myron supported that. I wouldn’t need anything else.

“They are,” Myron said. “And…” His face took on a pained expression as he twisted his fingers together.

“Go on,” I said.

“They’ve been talking bad about Ashlee on other stuff. About how it took Flora so long to work up to assistant but didn’t take Ashlee as long.”

A flare of anger sparked in me. No one in my company received undeserved promotions. Not only was it an insult to Ashlee, but it was an insult to me and the business I’d built. It even gave me pause about taking Ashlee this weekend, but I knew if I did that after inquiring about these rumors, it would look suspicious either way. Best to take care of things this way.

“All right,” I said as I stood. I held out a hand to Myron. “Thank you for talking to me.”

He shook my hand, his eyes darting everywhere, and the moment I released him, he hurried away without a look back. I crossed to the door and closed it even though I planned to leave in a bit. I needed a few minutes to calm myself down.

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