Page 101 of Fair Trade
“Doesn’t matter, but do me a favor.” I can feel Nick’s chest vibrating behind me as he speaks. “When speaking to my wife, you can drop the word ‘kid.’ I’ll even give you some options to make it easier. You can call her Mrs. Álvarez-Stonehaven or boss. If not, you can call yourself fired,” he thunders behind me.
Richard’s cheeks turn bright red as he sets his sights on me. “He can’t be serious. I know he’s new to this world, but this is unacceptable.” He looks between the two of us. “I’m afraid you’ve left me no choice. I’ve already thought about bringing up my concerns about you to the board,boss. And I’m sure they’ll consider a vote of no confidence once I tell them you two are running around with no respect for this office. You’ve paraded your ‘girl power’ long enough. Now it’s time to step aside and let the grown-ups get to work and whip this team into shape.”
It feels like a punch to the gut.
My breath stalls, my lungs forgetting how to function for a few seconds before allowing me to suck in a deep breath.
I spent so much time making excuses for Richard. Letting things slide when I usually wouldn’t. Convincing myself that if I made myself seem small and nonthreatening, he would leave me be and learn that I was here to stay.
But now I see that all that really did was make him comfortable enough to believe that he could mess with me.
It was my mistake to allow his behavior to go unchecked.
But it was his to fucking push me this far.
I place my hands on the conference table and lean over slightly, bringing me closer to him. “Tell me, Richard. What is it you’re afraid of?”
He looks around the room, calling upon an invisible entity to appear and back him up. “Afraid? I have no idea what you’re talking about, so you’re going to have to enlighten me.”
I look him up and down, dissecting the man before me as if he’s the dirt under my shoe. “Is it having all your scouting options being passed over time and time again, only to be outshone by people less experienced than you in this industry?”
He scoffs. “Excuse—”
I shake my head. “No, maybe it’s that you only propose players who are the offspring of those golfing buddies you mentioned, and you’re worried I’m going to find out about all the other candidate files you’ve seemed to have lost or buried over the past year.” I tsk, eyeing him up and down. “No, I’m sure it has more to do with your ego. That’s what it all boils down to with men like you, unfortunately.”
“I don’t know what… who told you about that? I mean, wrongly accused me. Because if it was Mark or James, you can’t believe a word they say. They—”
I straighten to my full height, my eyes pinning him to the spot. “No one told me anything. It was a lingering suspicion I’ve dismissed before, but something I’m sure the board would love to hear about.”
“That’s not—you can’t prove—”
“It’s a shame, really. We could have created something really great here with the Monarchs. But your prejudice about my age and gender far superseded any desire to actually work with me toward those goals.”
“Oh, please. It was some light teasing at most. Can your generation not handle that?” I raise a knowing brow, and he notices his misstep. “Again, it’s how I talk. No need to be so sensitive about it.”
I reach back, and my hand latches on to Nick’s thigh, holding him in place and preventing him from leaping over this table andshowing Richard how sensitive he can make him feel in a split second.
I don’t need my guard dog.
Especially since I’m about to do what I should have done long ago.
“Ah, yes. Why don’t you use those amazing speaking skills when you drop your staff badge off at the security desk before you exit the building?”
“And why exactly would I do that?” he sputters.
I allow him to drown in the tense silence long enough to see the sweat bead around his hairline.
I thought he’d get the picture by now. But it looks like I’m going to have to spell it out for him.
“I expect your resignation on my desk by end of day. If not, I’m afraid I’ll have to bring this all the way up to the commissioner’s office. Luckily, Mr. Stonehaven was here as a witness, so the Monarchs’ owner is already apprised of the situation. Now if that’ll be all…” I plaster on the sweetest smile as I nod to the door. “Get fucked.”
He takes a step back, and I swear I hear Nick faintly moaning behind me.
Richard doesn’t spare us another moment. He darts out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
I release a tense breath and turn to find Nick’s smoldering gaze on me.
Uh-oh. I know that look.
