Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
But I’m antsy.
And I know what I’m going to do.
I won’t ask Diana for her car.
But I do know someone I can ask for help.
He’s on his honeymoon, but Jesse, I know, will always take my call.
I dial his number.
It rings several times before Jesse finally answers, his voice breathless. “Dragon?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry to bother you on your honeymoon, Jess.”
“It’s okay. You all right?”
Loaded question if there ever was one. But I can’t go into all of that.
“I am. But I need a favor.”
Chapter Six
Diana
My heart nearly stops.
I’m in the right here. Rod is in the wrong. He’s snooping on my computer.
“What are you doing in here?” I ask politely, though I really want to punch his smug hook nose.
“I’m a part owner of this company,” Rod says, “which means I own this computer, Diana, and everything on it.”
I cross my arms. “You condone spying on your employees?”
My heart is beating so fast. I can’t believe I’m keeping my voice steady. But the thought of my father gives me strength. I’m so glad I just talked to him. Otherwise, I don’t know how I’d be reacting right now.
“Not spying,” he says. “Looking at what is legally my property.”
“And what have you found?”
He draws in a breath, his jaw rigid. “I think you already know that.”
“What if I don’t?”
He turns my screen to face me, and of course, I already know what’s on the screen. My draft email to the client about the mountaintop project.
“So I’ll ask you again,” he says. “Care to explain this?”
“Why should I explain a draft email? It wasn’t sent.”
“But you were thinking about sending it.”
“Do you know that? Are you inside my brain?”
“Why else would you have written it?”
“As a catharsis. I was upset.”
“It’s addressed to the client.”
“Yes, but it was never sent.”
He takes a deep breath, interlocking his fingers. “It’s a shame, Diana. Despite your background, I truly thought you’d be a team player here.”
“I am a team play—” I tilt my head. “What do you mean despite my background?”
He smirks. “It’s common knowledge that the Steels didn’t come into their fortune by sheer luck or sheer business acumen.”
I curl my hands into fists. “Say what you want about me, Rod, but do not attack my family. You don’t know them.”
“Don’t know them? Everyone knows they own the entire Western Slope.”
“They own their property. And they own interest in a lot of outside ventures. That doesn’t mean their gains were made through nefarious means.”
He shakes his head and lets out a low chuckle.
And I really want to punch him this time. Right on that weak jawline.
“Everybody knows about your grandfather, Diana. About his so-called death, twice over. How he got what he wanted through physical force.”
I never knew my grandfather. He died before I was born. But from what I understand, Rod is correct. Bradford Steel faked his death not once but twice. He had his reasons—and I’m sure they made sense to him.
From what I understand, he did everything to protect his mentally ill wife—my grandmother.
And yes, he did it at a cost to his children. Including my father.
Especially my father.
But our business is above board now. My father and uncles have made sure that’s the case.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say. “How dare you defame my family?”
“And how dare you go behind my back and write to one of my clients?”
I hold up a hand. “First of all, the client isn’t yours. The client is the firm’s.”
“Potato po-tah-to,” he says.
“And second, if you’ll notice—again—the email was not sent.”
“But you wrote it on office time.”
“I was here until seven p.m. last night. You owe me some time.”
I regret those words immediately. I know what’s expected of entry-level architects here. Fifty to sixty hours a week at least. Staying on my first day until seven p.m. means nothing to him.
He narrows his eyes. “So you stayed until the early evening. Do you think that impresses me?”
“You were gone by the time I left.”
He shakes his head, chuckling again. “I’m afraid I don’t answer to you, Diana. You answer to me.”
He’s right, of course. And again I’d like to pummel him. If my father and brothers were here, he’d already be a puddle on the ground.
“The email wasn’t sent, Rod. And you had no business snooping on my computer.”
“I have every business. I periodically look through the files of my employees.”
“Do they know that?”
He shrugs nonchalantly. “Some do. Some don’t.”
“Maybe they’d like to know. Does Marcus know?”
“I suggest you leave Marcus out of this.” His gaze darkens. “He would suffer greatly if he lost this job.”
I count to ten silently. Rod is right. Marcus needs this position, but I don’t.
My father told me to make my own decision, to go with my conscience.
My conscience told me to email the client. But it also told me that I didn’t want to make life more difficult for my colleagues. I don’t know Marcus well, but I understand that he needs his job.