Servicing the Target (Masters of the Shadowlands #10)(97)

Besides…confessing to Z that she’d managed to get knocked up? Talk about the walk of shame.

Half smiling, she strolled into the room. Panels divided the perimeter of the room into cubicles, all open to the conference area in the center.

In one corner, Aaron was at his desk, typing a report.

Her cousin Robert stood in Anne’s cubicle. He dropped a paper on her desk and spotted her. “Why if it isn’t Mz. Desmarais.”

She should have stayed in bed today. “Robert. Did you have something for me?”

His smirk gave her a bad feeling. “Left you an update.”

An update on what? Anne set her folder down. The paper Robert had brought was her list of agents for the team tonight. Under the team leader designation, her name had been crossed off and Robert’s substituted.

In fact, she wasn’t on the list at all.

The anger that flared across her nerves was out of proportion to the problem. Just hormones. I can deal. She throttled her temper back and kept her voice even. “Robert, that’s not funny.”

His smile grew. “I didn’t make the changes. Uncle Matt did. He said you can have today off and then work the desk on Monday.”

Desk time meant answering calls, visiting the jail, taking down information from felons, and skip tracing. It was the same scut labor she’d done in her college days when she’d worked part time here.

Maybe she could stand to do the desk, but what about her team? Robert was incompetent enough as a team member. Having him in charge would be a disaster.

“That’s my team,” she said evenly. “I built it.”

“Actually, they work for my father and Matt, not you. And they’d rather be led by someone else. Not a f*cking—”

“Robert,” Aaron snapped. “Watch your mouth.”

Anne looked across the room. “What do the others think about this?”

“People are f*cking pissed.” Aaron’s jaw was tight. “Nobody asked our preferences. But, as he pointed out, Russell and Matt own the company. The rest of us take orders.”

So, Robert had gotten his way.

Anne forced her fingers open. Stay calm. Her first reaction was to tell him and the uncles to shove their job where the sun didn’t shine. But she had more control than that. And it was stupid to walk out of a job before finding another—if that’s what she decided to do. Although just the thought of having to search for a new position right now was disheartening.

Think of that later. Of more concern was her team. The rodent was liable to get one of her people killed.

“I’ll talk with Matt and Russell,” she told Aaron.

“They’re not here.” Robert grinned widely and winced before continuing. “Besides, they—”

“What happened to your face?” she interrupted. A scrape marked his jaw, one lip was swollen and split, and his right eye was partially black.

He took a step back, eyed her, then puffed up like a toad. “None of your f*cking business, bitch. Or maybe it is, considering the kind of *s who show up at the office looking for you.”

“Ben was here?” If Robert had bad-mouthed her, the guard dog wouldn’t think twice about backhanding him.

He flushed. “Yeah. Ben.”

Had he targeted her tiger with his filthy insults?

He’d better not have. Anger surged higher. What had he said to her man? If he’d made Ben feel bad, she’d… “At least I associate with men and not dickless wonders like you.”

When Robert’s hands closed into fists, she smiled and crooked her fingers in a come-here-boy gesture.

He stopped.

Right. The rodent didn’t fight, just manipulated people. With a sniff of disgust, she picked up her folder with the extra research she’d put in.

“Aaron, I’ll leave Matt a message that I’ll talk with him on Monday.” She gave him a serious look. “You all be careful. It’s dangerous having an unreliable team member.”

Ignoring the sputter from Robert, Aaron dipped his head. “I hear you.”





Chapter Twenty-Five



Saturday night, Anne sat at her parents’ overcrowded table, trying to act festive and worrying about what would happen later when she met Ben at the Shadowlands.

Would he listen to her? Want to try again?

Breathe.

Unfortunately, the inhalation carried the fishy smell of red snapper—her father’s favorite dish—and her stomach turned over.

Wonderful. She took a careful sip of Sprite and fought for calm under the barrage of piercingly loud voices around the table.

Since this was her father’s birthday dinner, her uncles and their families were present. When they’d arrived, she’d greeted them with a cool politeness. Uncle Matt had looked guilty and still couldn’t meet her gaze. Naturally, Uncle Russell and Robert acted as if nothing was wrong,

But she was all for a detente with the relatives tonight since her emotions were already on a rollercoaster ride.

Every time she thought about Ben, she wanted to cry.

Every time she looked at her uncles, she wanted to throw something at them. And subscribe them to Ms. Magazine.

Every time Robert leered at her breasts, she wanted to beat him into a gory heap.

And that just wasn’t worth it…because the smell of the blood would probably make her throw up.