Sugar Daddies (29 page)

She smirked a vile smirk at me. “Of course, the fact that he’s already with someone probably wouldn’t stop you. Like mother like daughter, after all. Adultery probably runs in your skanky DNA.”

“Or yours,” I said. “Probably yours, too, since it’s your lovely
daddy
who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”

“Your mum chased him, your mum made him do it.”

“You can shut your mouth about my mother,” I snapped, and I meant it. My blood was boiling, pulse racing.

“My mum says your mum was nothing but a gold-digging slut. A cheap-rate whore.”

“Your mum is a bitter, twisted bitch if she thinks that. My mum wasn’t even twenty years old. Younger than we are now, just think about that.”

“Old enough to know better.”

“Young enough to be taken advantage of by a seedy, arrogant, disgusting old prick.”

“A prick who’s paying you money to be here! So shut your nasty little mouth!”

“I fucking won’t!” I snapped. “I don’t even want to be here, you can stick your nasty little fucking family up your spoiled little asshole, Verity. You’re all fucked up. All of you.”

I made to storm out, but the bitch lost it. She grabbed my hair with her talons and pulled my bun loose, dragging me back across the toilets, and she screamed and hissed and spewed venom while I wrestled against her grip. I wasn’t going to hit her, that’s not my style, but the bitch was a psycho, slapping my head and tugging at my hair, and one of her little bitch slaps landed on my cheek and her stupid fake nails scratched me. And that was it.

I launched myself backwards until I slammed her into the wall, and it winded her. She dropped her grip and I spun in a flash and pinned the stupid cow by her shoulders while she spluttered.

“Listen up, bitch,” I hissed. “I’ll give you that one for free, but if you ever, ever touch me again, you’re not going to get a hall pass. I’m not ten years old anymore, and I’m not taking your spoiled little rich girl shit. Understand?”

She didn’t answer, and I didn’t really need her to. She was still catching her breath, eyes wild and spiteful.

I shoved her again for good measure and then I let her go.

I had work to do, and the job satisfaction of wiping the floor with her bitchy, self-entitled little ass would be a sweet balm for my bitter soul.

Two empty seats as the afternoon resumed, and the sight made me a little uneasy. I looked at my watch and was contemplating sending a search party to the toilets when Katie made her way across the room.

She looked like shit, scraping back hair that was clearly dishevelled and twisting it back up into a bun only to find her hair tie was missing. She checked her wrists for another, and I saw her curse under her breath. She abandoned her efforts and let her hair fall free, and someone had clearly had a go at it. It didn’t take a genius to work out who that someone was.

I didn’t see the scratch on her face until she took her seat, and the sight of it knocked me for six.

Verity appeared just a moment later, and I shot her a look that could sour milk. She walked with the same Verity swagger, but her eyes were dark and wired. Unlike Katie, she still looked immaculate, her hair still hanging in a perfect plait, her makeup pristine without so much as a smudge.

“Prepare some notes,” I said to the group, deviating entirely from my plan for the afternoon. “Upselling opportunities — list any you can think of. See what ways you can envision maximising value on an introductory call.”

I waited until the thrum of activity was in sway before I approached Katie. She turned away from me and pressed her palm to her cheek, as though that would cover anything.

“What happened?” I whispered.

“Nothing,” she said, and her smile was big and fake.

“Bullshit,” I hissed. “Did she hit you?”

“You don’t sound all that surprised at the prospect,” she said. And I wasn’t. I’d known Verity long enough to know she was a tantrum-thrower. A little madam who lashed out when she didn’t get her own way. Katie sighed. “I’m fine,” she said. “Don’t make a scene.”

But it was too late for that, I was already headed for Verity’s desk. I grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her to her feet and was already frogmarching her out of the room by the time I beckoned Katie to follow. She shook her head, but I continued regardless, relieved when she shrugged and followed in our wake.

I led Verity into one of the meeting rooms and virtually forced her into a seat.

“You’re out,” I said. “Dismissed.”

She shot me a look full of hate. “What? Why?!”

Katie opened the door and I pointed straight to her face. “How about assault?”

Verity laughed. “It was an accident, I slipped. Didn’t I, Katie?”

Katie’s eyes were like fire and her jaw was gritted. “Something like that.”

“You’re out,” I repeated. “You can get your things and leave. Now.”

“You can’t fire me!” she snapped, and then she laughed. “This is
my
dad’s business! It’s
mine
! Or it
will
be!”

“Not yet, it isn’t,” I said. “It’s my call, and your father’s.”

“He’d never fire me!”

I picked up the telephone extension on the desk in front of me. “Let’s see, shall we?”

I pressed for David’s extension, but Verity reached out and pressed call cancel. “This is stupid! It was a stupid accident.”

“I’ve seen plenty of your accidents over the years, Verity, but not on my watch. I want you gone.”

Her mouth flapped like a fish. “But you can’t! I’m not leaving!”

I went to grab hold of her again, but Katie reached for my arm. Her touch was light and delicate and stilled me instantly.

“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t make a martyr out of the little bitch. I can handle her.”

“She’s out,” I said. “She assaulted you, on work premises, on
my
watch.”

“Yeah,” she replied. “And I slammed her into the wall and now we’ve got each other’s measure.
I can handle her,” she said. “She doesn’t need to leave, and I don’t want her to, not when I’m about to outperform her spoiled little ass.”

“Outperform me?!” Verity sneered. “As fucking if.”

I looked at Katie and the scratch on her pretty skin gave me the rage, deep inside. I was all set to ignore her and throw Verity out regardless, but I noticed the fire in her eyes. There it was. Resolve, and hunger and drive. The drive to win.

And she could win this.

It would be blissfully fucking sweet to see her win this.

“I mean it,” she said. “We’re cool now, we’ve clocked each other’s form.”

I glared at Verity as though I could burn her alive. “If this
ever
happens again. Ever. If I hear so much as a peep of any kind of incitement, or abuse, or physical violence, you’ll be out on your ear and straight into a fucking police car, understand me? I don’t care who your fucking father is.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she said, and I could have slapped the bitch.

I leaned over the table, until we were eye to eye. Her brows flew high and her composed facade broke down enough that I could see right through her, and all I saw was a jealous, vindictive, spiteful little cow.

“I’m disgusted by you,” I said. “And I will be telling your father. I’ll be telling him exactly what a nasty, violent little cow you are.”

“Tell him!” she said. “I don’t care!” But she did care, it was written all over her face.

“I should take this further,” I said to Katie. “You should report this.” But she was already shaking her head.

“It’s a scratch,” she said. “Bad aim, that’s all.” Her eyes pleaded me. “Let us go back to work, where it matters.”

“This matters,” I insisted. “This matters a lot.”

“Let me do this,” she said. “Please, Carl. Just leave it be.”

And Verity saw the familiarity between us. Her mouth twisted into a sneer and she glared daggers at me.

I was glad she saw it.

I was proud she saw it.

I wanted to show the bitch a whole lot more.

I weighed up the situation. I weighed up Katie’s injury and her composure. I weighed up how adamant she was that she wanted to take Verity on. I weighed up how I’d keep an eye on the situation, every single word that spewed from Verity’s mouth. How I’d tell David all about it and make damn sure it wouldn’t ever happen again.

I weighed up how steely my little blue-eyes was becoming and how confident she was, how sure.

And I noticed the feelings rising up in me. The venom and the anger. The impotence I felt at failing her, at not keeping her safe.

I wanted to keep her safe.

But I wanted to see her fly, too. I wanted to see her take on the nasty little cow and win.

“This isn’t over,” I said to Verity. “Not by a long fucking shot, madam.” She stared, mute. “Get back to your desk,” I said. “I’ll deal with you later.”

She didn’t need telling twice, and Katie breathed out a sigh of relief when she was gone.

“Thank you,” she said. “For not firing her.”

“I should have fired her,” I snapped. “I still should. She should be gone.”

Katie smiled. “I’m used to it, seriously, it’s just a scratch.”

I took her chin in my fingers, angled her face so I could see. I ran a thumb over the cut, and it was just a scratch, hardly a break of the skin. “I hate this,” I said. “I hate that this happened on my watch.”

“In the ladies’ toilet,” she said. “What were you supposed to do? Armed guard me?” She sighed. “I’m used to Verity bitch face, I can handle her shit.”

“I don’t want you to handle her shit,” I said, and the words tumbled out. “I want to keep you safe.”

Her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed. “Thanks… but, I, um… I’m tough. I’m alright…” She reached out and touched my arm. “I’m good, Carl, really. It was nothing.”

But it was something.

It was something to
me
.

She
was something to me.