Page 73 of Under the Mistletoe
“Oh, I’ve seen them. It's hard not to when your face is on the front of each one.” He huffs, shaking his head.
“Have you heard of Thrift on Third?” I ask Bentley, just thinking of an idea as the rest of the people around the table chatter.
“Hmmmm, sounds familiar, but I can’t recall.” He frowns, and we both sit forward, talking.
“I may have something for us… Something that might ensure our names are never forgotten.”
Bentley’s eyebrow rises once more. “Well, I’m intrigued.”
“There will be significant investment,” I tell him honestly. “With little return outside of a higher profile. A legacy.”
“I’ve got all the money I need. I have to say, doing a collaboration of some kind with you does appeal to me.”
I smile at that. “Let’s do lunch next week when we’re back. We can talk more then,” I say quickly as the room fills up.
I spot Marcus Jasper walking in. Shoulders back, smirk on his face. Such an arrogant son of a bitch. My former relaxed state is now long gone as my shoulders feel tight just from looking at him.
He’s been around the periphery all week. And while I haven’t had a face-to-face with him yet, seeing him already adds to my stress levels. In fact, this week has felt a little weird. I can’t put my finger on it. Jessica and I are great. We’ve had dinners together, nights alone in bed talking, and waking up wrapped together.
My schedule has been error free. On time. Well organized. Just as it always is.
But she seems to have had trouble almost every day. When we landed, I had a meeting to go straight to, and Jessica checked into the hotel. Except she couldn’t. Her details were not on the booking. The following day, her place setting at the corporate function we attended was not there, the organizers citing a lack of RSVP. The two of us were not seated until very late as the organizers rushed around trying to sort everything out at the last minute.
Then yesterday, the media gathered and chased her out of the car and into the hotel on her way back from a supplier meeting she attended by herself on my behalf. She needed the hotel security to escort her in. The media are usually crazy, but it was almost like they knew her entire schedule. They’ve been chasing her for most of the week.
I have thought about it all week, trying to figure out why her schedule is so interrupted while mine is all aligned, and I keep coming back to one person. Ashley. People think I don’t know what happens in my own business. They assume I am so busy with meetings and contracts that I don’t have my eyes and ears on the ground. But I do and I know Ashley is not the good hire I thought she was. I was waiting until this trip to see exactly how it all went, and unfortunately, Ashley has shown her true colors, and I’m not surprised. I should’ve fired her weeks ago.
I knew back then something was amiss with the media following me. The media pack was bigger than ever, always seeming to know exactly where I was. Ashley knows I despise media and social media in my private life. She also knows my entire schedule and where I will be and when. The only other person to tip them off would be Jessica, and I’m certain it isn’t her.
I look at my watch again. She should be on her way back to me now. I’m about to send a text to make sure when I’m interrupted.
“Are we boring you, Donovan?”
My eyes dart to Marcus Jasper, who sits next to Bentley. The rest of the room gets quiet and everyone looks my way. I tuck my phone away and look at him, wanting to pinch that smirk right off his face.
“Not at all… I’m rather fascinated, learning more about your expansion plans, Marcus. Will you be enlightening us today?” I ask him point-blank, dropping him right in the thick of it as everyone at the table turns to look at him. We all want answers. We all want to know what he’s up to. While we are all competitors, we do all get along extremely well, and even though some things do need to be confidential, Marcus is at the stage now where he needs to give us an update, and we need to see what he has planned. The whispers have been circling for weeks. Everyone’s wondering how he’s going about his business, him not sharing even a snippet.
“Oh, well, I’m thinking I might get myself a hot little business advisor…”
My nostrils flare, and Bentley rubs his eyes as the rest of the men around the table scoff. So fucking unprofessional, I sometimes wonder how he even runs a company. He’s always been an asshole, but he’s deliberately pushing my buttons now. Acting like he is king of this kingdom, which he most certainly is not.
“Let’s move on,” Bentley commands the table, and we get back to discussions about fair trade and collaborations.
As the afternoon progresses, I force myself to look ahead and concentrate—and not to grab my phone, not to look at my watch. She’ll be here. On time. We’re all attending a formal industry function tonight, and she’ll be back soon to get ready. Although it’s been a big day for her, the factory is almost three hours away.
But it’s weird I haven’t heard from her. As we wrap up, I grab my things and attempt to exit quickly, wanting to get to our room to see her.
“In a rush, lover boy?” Marcus questions. As expected, he didn’t provide any update, didn’t participate in any discussion, and didn’t offer us insights about anything. I wonder why he bothered to come at all.
“If you have something to say, you need to just say it,” I tell him, sick of his snide remarks. He clearly has an issue.
“No issue. I’m just wondering what recruitment firm you used to find Jessica. I would like to add someone of her… caliber… to my team. I think I would enjoy having a more… personable office environment…” He steps closer to me, hands in his pockets as the rest of the people start to leave.
“Don’t start,” I warn him, Bentley watching on from afar.
“Do you have a list of girls you ring… who come with special career experience…”
I frown, wondering what the fuck he’s getting at.
