Page 84 of Captivated By You

“Big business has its brutal side, and I’m not beyond vigorously defending my company in whatever way I need to, but when it comes to the ethics and values of the people who work for me, I refuse to compromise.”

She touched her head to mine. “You’re a good man, Asher Kingcaid.”

“Were you really planning to tell me about Simon and what he did?”

“Yes. I had every intention to. But I was looking for the right time. Obviously, I didn’t know he worked for Kingcaid, but I would have told you as a way of explaining my reluctance to start a relationship with you. My best friend nagged me about it regularly.” She rubbed her hands together in glee. “ShehatesSimon with a passion. She is going to lose her shit when I tell her about today.”

“I must meet this best friend one day.”

“Prepare yourself. She’s even more blunt than me.”

“Impossible.”

She grinned. “She lives in New York, so I’m not sure when I’ll see her next. But I know she can’t wait to meet you.”

“I travel to New York regularly, both for work and to see Penn. Next time I go, would you like to come?”

“That would be great. Oh, maybe we could double-date?” She pulled a face. “Although, Gia is in love with Christian Bale, so maybe not.”

“The actor?”

She nodded, and I laughed.

“In that case, I’m sure Penn would be an immense disappointment.”

“So what happens now?”

“First, I take you to lunch, and then I’ll drop you at your parents’ house and go deal with my little managerial issue.”

She grimaced. “Better you than me.”

I bounced my legs. “Baby, I live for this shit.”

Chapter24

Asher

This firing business is becoming a habit.

I wasted no time.Marching directly to Simon’s office, I didn’t even knock, pushing on the door so hard it bounced off the wall. Simon scrambled to his feet, his hands twitching by his sides.

“Asher. Come in.”

Jesus. This fucker was something else. Trying to make out like he was in control.

“It’s ‘Mr. Kingcaid’ to you.” I jabbed a finger at his chair. “Sit down.”

He opened his mouth to speak.

“And shut up.”

He squared his shoulders and retook his seat. I leaned my fingertips on his desk, using my height and position to convey in no uncertain terms to this bastard that his life was about to turn into a dumpster fire.

“As you will know from the employee handbook that was delivered alongside your contract when you started working for Kingcaid, a moral code and high ethics drive our expectations of our employees. Aligned with that is the annual objectives handed out to every manager, giving clear guidance, goals, and key performance indicators that demonstrate the level of performance we expect.”

He blinked rapidly, his mouth gaping at my opening gambit. He’d probably expected me to launch into talking about Kiana. But this wasn’t about her, not directly, anyway. Similarly to the issue with Forster, Kiana’s experience had opened my eyes to the kinds of people I had working for my company, and I wouldn’t have it. My father had entrusted this organization to me, had instilled values in me from childhood, and I wouldnotlet him down.

“You have failed on your performance objectives in several key areas, and despite the support I afforded you, the changes that need to happen have fallen by the wayside, and this hotel is now in the bottom quartile of all hotels in the group. This is something I take extremely seriously.”

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