hit him in the center of his chest. “What the hell was that for?”
“Because you’re insufferable. Why don’t you want to tell me about…Shea. That’s his name, right?”
“Yes. His name is Shea. We met on the retreat. And he’s gone back to Texas, where he lives. Case closed.” He clicked on a chart and began to read.
So not case closed, when his body was open and empty.
He could feel Maria staring at him. And because he knew she was too damn smart, he ignored her.
“You know, by saying ‘case closed,’ you make it mean the exact opposite.”
He didn’t respond and chose to click on a chart and enlarge it.
“I spoke to Oliver this morning. He said Shea was great with Stacey. And you. He hasn’t seen you this happy in years.”
His hand tightened over the mouse. “Yes, he was, and I was happy to hang out with my friends.”
And for the first time since he walked through the door that morning, something went right, and his phone buzzed.
“Sterling is here. He’d like to talk to you.”
A knot twisted his insides. “Did he say what about?”
“Surely you jest. You think he’s going to tell me?”
Jake grimaced. “Yeah. Stupid to ask. Send him in, please.”
Dick Sterling didn’t believe in speaking to secretaries and other staff he considered lower than him on the food chain.
He glared at Maria. “Sterling is on his way in. Please stay. The thought of being in an enclosed space with him makes me want to heave.”
“Fine, but we’re not finished.”
Sterling entered the room without knocking, and his thin lips tightened when his gaze settled on Maria.
“Why is she here? I need to speak to you.”
“She has a name. It’s Ms. Walker. And I’m here because Jake, my boss, asked me to stay.”
Jake didn’t bother to hide his smile—Maria had balls of steel. “What is it that you needed to speak to me about?”
“I have a problem.”
Besides being a giant pain in the ass? Jake wanted to ask. “I’m listening.”
Sterling’s gaze continued to dart to Maria, who sat with a Cheshire cat smile.
“Very well. I need to fire one of my new hires. She’s been a terrible worker, and no matter what I’ve done, she hasn’t improved, so I’ve decided to terminate her.”
“You’ve terminated people before, Sterling. Why is this special? We have a process. We’ll follow it. As long as you’ve been documenting her poor work performance all along, it should be fine.”
“I have. Make sure you do it as quickly as possible.” Sweat broke out on his brow, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Is there something else going on I should know about?” Years of training gave Jake the ability to read between the lines of what some people didn’t tell him.
“No. Of course not. As I said, just make sure she’s terminated.”
“And I repeat. If your documentation is in order, it won’t be a problem.”
“I want her out of here by Friday.”
“Send me the file, and I’ll look it over.”
Sterling braced his hands on the desk and leaned over Jake, his voice low and furious. “You don’t want to fuck with me, Axelrod. Don’t think I didn’t hear about you prancing around here last week with another man. Do your job.”
Inside, Jake shook with rage, but on the outside, he maintained a calm demeanor. “I always do. And if you leave now, I can continue.”
Shooting him a death glare, Sterling slammed out of his office.
“Damn,” he said, slumping in his chair. “Happy Monday.”
Maria frowned. “Rebecca Johnson. I’ll bet that’s who he’s talking about.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve heard whispers. They’ve been working late together. He’s been heard raising his voice to her.”
“Something tells me this isn’t as cut-and-dried as we think. I’ll pull her file and see what’s been going on. I’m going to want to know when she was trained last and when Sterling was as well.”
“I’ll see if I can find out anything from her coworkers.” Maria rose from her chair. “I have a meeting, and you need to get back to whatever horror show I spied on your screen.”
“I’ll be taking a week off, beginning August first. Letting you know now, in case you need to make your own vacation plans.”
She paused in the doorway. “Oh? And where are you going?”
God, he knew he was going to regret this. “Texas. I’m taking Stacey to the dude ranch.”
To her credit, Maria didn’t give him shit. “Oh, nice. I bet she’ll love all the animals. I’ll see you at three for the weekly.” She shut the door