they swallowed.
“Mr.—”
“What do you want?” Schmidt barked. They jumped, almost dropping the file. What the hell was with his aggressive tone?
This wasn’t the personality of the man who’d laughed through our interview. The look of disgust on his face as he faced the employee made my hands curl into fists. No one deserved to be talked to that way.
“I, um, Mr. Peters asked me to bring these files to you right away, sir.”
They walked over to the desk on wobbly legs and placed the file on the cluttered desk.
“I told you not to disturb me!” Schmidt scowled, his face gone red. He was practically foaming at the mouth.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Their voice trembled, and no doubt the strain of the encounter caused their voice to crack. “It’s just that Mr. Peters—”
“Why are you still here?” he snapped at them. “And the next time you can’t follow instructions, you may just be sent to collect your last pay check.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
They stumbled from the room and pulled the door shut softly behind them. Fury blazed inside my chest at the way Schmidt had spoken to his employee. My teeth clenched with the need to shove his apparent discrimination up his ass.
“Fucking unbelievable, isn’t it?” Schmidt waved a hand in the direction of the door, completely mistaking the reason I was so upset. “But don’t you worry about coming to work for us because of that. I’m making sure that he’s on his way out by the end of the week.”
“On what grounds?”
I had to pry my jaws apart to speak, willing to give him the opportunity to redeem himself. Maybe the worker was simply bad at their job, and Schmidt’s attitude had nothing to do with their presentation.
“Who cares as long as his queer ass is out of here.” He hit the desk with his hand. “That reminds me, I’m curious why you aren’t seeking a job at Moore Financing?”
“Why should I?”
He gave a bark of laughter. “I like you, August. I have a feeling you’ll do well right here at AIM. Moore Financing? They’re a cesspool if you ask me.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Now don’t get me wrong, they’ve made some good business decisions over the years, but it’s all a matter of time before that empire falls.”
“From what I hear, they’ve turned quite the profit despite the fall in the economy.”
“Just luck. That Charles would no longer know a good business investment if he was sitting on it. It’s common knowledge he’s only still a part of that company because he and his son have the majority of the shares. A little rumor is that some investors are backing out since the son upped and married some old gold digger.” He laughed again, this time louder. “You dodged a bullet there, son. AIM is more suitable for a man like you.”
I’d heard enough. I rose to my feet, shaking with rage and barely holding back from physically slapping that smirk off his face. I couldn’t remember a time when I felt so violent toward a person.
“First of all, don’t call me son,” I spat at him, the venom in my voice shocking the hell out of him.
“What?” His face froze between disbelief and a half laugh.
“I’m pretty sure Declan Moore, but more so my father, wouldn’t be pleased with you labeling Owen Moore as a gold digger.”
“Your father?”
“Yes, the men you’ve just insulted are all a part of my family.” I stalked over to his desk and claimed my portfolio. “Listen here, Schmidt, I wouldn’t work for you if you were the goddamn last option in Cincy. Just a tip that you probably will want to think carefully about what you say to a complete stranger, you narrow-minded prick. And I hope that one day that employee will sue your ass for the way you treat them.”
“Now wait just one damn minute!” Schmidt struggled to his feet. “I don’t give a damn if you’re related to the Moores. You don’t come into my office and speak to me this way. I’ll have you blackballed from getting a job fitting your qualifications in this city.”
“I’d like to see you try,” I challenged.
“You think I can’t do it?” He laughed, his face contorted into an ugly sneer. “Sure, everyone makes nice with Declan Moore, but I can tell you several businesses are waiting for his father to run them into the ground so they can thrive. You think they all aren’t looking for the chance to rip that company