Assumed Identity(63)
“I’m sure it was twelve down each side,” she argued in a hushed voice.
“Twenty-four?” He shook his head, gently correcting her. “Your order said twelve.”
No. Robin was certain that Chloe’s ruby-red excess had demanded flowers on each and every pew. She knew she’d been distracted with the assault and subsequent threats, but she’d also been a successful businesswoman for several years now. Success didn’t happen if she made costly mistakes like writing orders incorrectly.
Still, in front of the client wasn’t the place to decide whether she was losing her business acumen—or whether she was losing it, period. Robin inhaled a deep breath and tugged Mark toward the door. “Then come help Leon clean up. The ushers are already out there, ready to seat people.”
One of the attendants in pink stopped them on their way out the door. “Mark, do you have another card?” She hurried after them, waving a business card. “I can share them with my friends.”
Business card?
“May I?” Robin borrowed the woman’s card and read the decorative script. Mark Riggins: Affordable Flowers for Any Occasion. “What is this? This is your own website.”
Mark glanced over his shoulder at the guests in the lobby and tried to push Robin back into the dressing room. “It’s just a mockup of a card I designed.”
Robin planted her feet in the doorway and held her ground. “You’re working for me, but promoting your own business at a Robin’s Nest Floral event? Oh, my God. You never talked to the distributor, did you? Have you been stealing my product and selling it as your own?”
Three pink ladies and a glaring Chloe Vanderham gathered to watch the confrontation.
“You’re overreacting.” Mark pulled his card from Robin’s hand and handed it back to the attendant. “Can we have this discussion in private?”
“How is finding out that you’ve been stealing from me and my shop overreacting?”
With a noisy huff, Mark grabbed Robin’s arm and dragged her into the empty office next door. “You’re making a scene.”
A public argument at an event like this wouldn’t be good for her business, either. Robin shoved her fingers through her hair and paced across the small office to the edge of the desk there. “Please, Mark. We’ve been friends for a long time. Do you deny it?”
He locked the door and followed her to the desk without denying a thing. “It’s not that big a deal. I’ve borrowed a few items from the stockroom. I had some successful events while you were gone with the baby. It’s good publicity for your shop.”
“No, it’s good publicity for your online floral company.”
“Well, clearly I can run the business without you. I’m ready to branch out.”
“But you don’t run the business.” Robin had to put some space between them before she either smacked him or burst into tears at this betrayal. “You’re not responsible for paychecks. You don’t pay the bills. I do.”
She barely heard the soft knock on the door. “Robin?”
“That’s stealing, Mark.” She looked up into those gentle features that had been a part of nearly every working day for almost a decade now. “It hurts me to say this, but I have to fire you.”
He raised his hands in a placating gesture and closed the gap between them. “We can work together. Let me develop an online presence for you.”
“No.” She swatted his hands away when he grasped her shoulders. “How can I trust that you won’t keep cheating me?”
A louder knock shook the door in the frame behind her. “Robin. Is everything all right?”
Jake. Of course, he’d be worried about her being out of his sight. “I’ll be right out.”
Angry color was creeping above the neck of Mark’s bow tie. “Would you keep your voice down? We both have clients here.”
Of all the nerve. Robin pointed two fingers at him. “You owe me at least two thousand dollars. Either you repay every cent or I’m going to press charges.”
Mark snagged her wrist and squeezed it in his grip. “Press charges?”
“I’m giving you the option because of our friendship, but you know I’ll do it.” She tugged against his hold, but he wasn’t letting go. “Do you know how stressed I’ve been with all the crazy stuff happening around me? I trusted that you were taking care of my shop when I couldn’t be there. I thought you had my back.”