The Tycoon's Secret Affair (The Anetakis Tycoons #3)(7)

“My apologies. There is something I must attend to at once. You can see Margery in her office, and she’ll get you…set up.”

Jewel nodded as he strode out the door. As soon as the door shut, all her breath left her in a whoosh that left her sagging. Of all the rotten luck. And to think she’d hoped they’d run into each other again so they could have a repeat performance.

On wobbly knees she went to find Margery and then prayed that she’d get through the next four weeks without losing her composure.

Piers got out of the helicopter and strode toward the car waiting to pick him up. As they drove toward the airport where his private jet awaited, he snapped open his phone and placed the call that he’d been deliberating over since he left his office.

His human resources manager for the island hotel picked up on the second ring.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Anetakis?” he asked once Piers had identified himself.

“Jewel Henley,” he bit out.

“Your new assistant?”

“Get rid of her.”

“Pardon? Is there a problem?”

“Just get rid of her. I want her gone by the time I return.” He took a deep breath. “Transfer her, promote her or pay her for the entirety of her contract, but get rid of her. She can’t work under me. I have a strict policy about personal involvement with my employees, and let’s just say she and I have history.”

He waited for a moment and when he didn’t hear anything, he said, “hello?” He cursed. The connection had been cut. Oh well, he didn’t require a response. He just wanted action.

Even if he hadn’t already been extremely distrustful of situations that seemed too coincidental, his brother’s assistant had sold valuable company plans to their competitor. After that debacle, they’d all assumed very strict requirements for the people working closest to them. They could ill afford another Roslyn.

Still, his chest tightened as the car stopped outside his plane, and he got out to board. He wasn’t so much in denial that he could refute that the night had been more than just a casual one-night stand. Which was all the more reason to cut ties now. He wouldn’t give up any power, no matter how subtle, to a woman ever again.

Jewel sat in Margery’s chair behind her desk filling out a mountain of paperwork while Margery puttered around in the background making phone calls and grumbling at the printer when it didn’t spit out the appropriate documents.

She’d spent the morning on pins and needles, waiting for Piers to return so they could at least try and air things out and get it behind them. The old saying about an elephant in the room was appropriate, only Jewel felt like there was an entire herd.

At lunch, she went down to the small café and nibbled on a sandwich while watching the seagulls dive-bomb tourists who had bread to feed them. If Margery let her on the company computer this afternoon, she’d e-mail Kirk and let him know she’d arrived on the island and would be staying a few weeks.

He was her only friend, but they rarely saw each other. He was forever taking assignments to far-flung places, and she was equally determined to travel her own way. It amused her that they were essentially lost souls who wandered from place to place. Neither had a home, and maybe that was why they understood each other.

An occasional e-mail, sometimes a phone call, and every once in a while they crossed paths on their travels. Those were good times. It was nice to connect to another person even if it was only for a few hours. He was as close to a brother or family member as she’d ever imagined having.

After finishing her sandwich, she tossed the wrapper and walked back to the employee elevator. Would Piers be back? A flutter abounded in her stomach, but she swallowed back her nervousness and forged ahead. It wouldn’t do to let him know she was put off by their unintentional relationship. If he could be cool about it then so could she.

When she walked back into Margery’s office, Margery looked up, a grim expression on her face. “Mr. Patterson wants to see you immediately.”

Jewel’s brow crinkled. Maybe it was more personnel stuff to sign. Lord knows she’d had enough paperwork this morning to choke a horse. With a resigned sigh, she turned and left Margery’s office and went several doors down to the human resource manager’s cubicle.

He looked up when she tapped on the frame of his open door.

“Miss Henley, come in. Have a seat please.”

She settled down in front of him and waited expectantly. He cleared his throat and tugged at his collar in an uncomfortable motion. Then he leveled a stare at her.

“When you hired on, it was with the condition that it was a temporary position. You were to be Mr. Anetakis’s assistant for the duration of his stay here.”

“Yes.” They’d been through all of this and she was impatient to get on with it.

“I’m sorry to say that he no longer requires an assistant. He’s had a change of plans. As such, your services are no longer required.”

She stared, stunned, for a long moment. “Excuse me?”

“Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”

She stood, her legs trembling, her fingers curled into tight fists. “That bastard. What a complete and utter bastard!”

“Security will escort you to your room and wait while you collect your things,” he continued as if she hadn’t let loose with her tirade.