Page 96 of Positively Pricked
Okay, now I was really confused. "Why would I callyou?"
He looked back to me and said, "Because I don't give a flying fuck about causing a scene."
In spite of everything, I almost laughed, because it was so terribly true, as I'd seen way too often.
Zane said, "You think I'm kidding?"
"No," I said. "I think it's pretty obvious."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you create more scenes than anyone I know."
"Do I?"
"Definitely. Almost everywhere you go, there's a scene."
"Maybe," he admitted. "But not by me."
I gave it some thought. In a weird, twisted way, I knew what he meant. He might curse. He might break deals and tear up contracts. He might even insult whoever he was talking to. But it was never Zane who lost his cool.
It was always the other guy.
Even today.
And yet, for a moment there, I hadn't been so sure.
It made me wonder what else was going on. Normally, I spent a lot of time with him, but this morning, he'd been holed up in his office, doing who-knows-what.
I just had to ask, "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah," he said. "Some bearded fucker was harassing my—" Abruptly, his words cut off, as if he wasn't quite sure what to call me.
Beyond curious, I waited, wondering what he'd say.
Finally, he said, "Employee."
I wasn't sure why, but the word felt oddly unsatisfying.
As a nervous reflex, I tried to make a joke of it. "What? You forgot my job title?"
His gaze met mine, and he was quiet for a long moment before saying, "Something like that."
Slowly, it was dawning on me that I hadn't been fired, and the way it looked, I wasn't going to be. One thing about Zane, he didn't beat around the bush.
No. If he planned on firing me, he'd have told me right away, and maybe added a nice "fuck off" to seal the deal.
That was, after all, his style.
And yet, as long as I'd known him, I'd never seen him curse out an employee, not even me.
That reminded me of something. "Carla's not in trouble, is she? Because I wasn't kidding. She had nothing to do with it."
"You think I don't know that?"
"No." I hesitated. "Or yes. I don't know. I'm just saying, I don't want to cause her any problems."
His jaw tightened. "If you wanna worry, worry about yourself."
