But I sat there on his couch questioning whether I wanted that Pulitzer as much as I once had. My heart ached, not because my dreams weren’t realized yet but because I wanted Parker to recognize that I had feelings. Every waking second for the past three weeks, I’d been thinking of him. I was there, in LA, standing outside theGlobal Gazettebuilding, but he was the thing on my mind. He was what I wanted, not a job.
The realization brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t want to move to LA. I wanted to be in his arms, and now I feared it was over, and my consolation prize of an amazing job wasn’t even something I wanted anymore.
24
PARKER
Iwatched as the ominous-looking men in brown suits strolled across the newsroom. I knew their type. Both of them were too clean cut and put together to be simple businessmen. They had a cocky aura about them, the way they walked with squared shoulders, half-smirks on their faces. I turned to look one of them square in the eyes as he approached, carrying a brown envelope. Work went on as normal, unfazed by the interruption.
“Mr. Parker Danvers?” the man with the envelope asked.
“That’s me.” A few eyes turned my direction. I knew exactly what this was before he handed me the envelope and introduced himself.
“My name is Jason Strut, attorney for Gretchen Kilpatrick and Jack Williams. You’ve been served.” As the brown envelope hit my hand, a scowl crossed my face. The gentlemen didn’t stick around to see my reaction. They turned and marched back across the newsroom, as cocky and confident as they had strutted in.
“What was that?” Maria leaned in and whispered in my ear. I glanced at her, glowering, and ignored her question.
Tearing the envelope open, I scanned the newsroom and saw Jack standing in the corner near his cubicle, arms folded over his chest. He had a smug look that I wanted to slap right off his face. He probably knew this was coming today and took delight in it. I slid the papers out of the envelope and read the letterhead,Beacon and Associates. Gretchen didn’t mess around.
I felt something brush over my arm and turned to see Maria standing on her tiptoes trying to read over my shoulder. “Get back to work,” I snapped, then I stormed off to my office and slammed the door. The minute I sat down, I dialed Jack’s extension and said, “Get in my office now.” There was no response from his end of the line, but I knew he’d come. He couldn’t resist the confrontation.
I pored over the papers, reading carefully the accusations againstTheVineand me personally for wrongful termination, hostile work environment, and a few other bogus claims. They wanted half a million dollars in damages for pain and suffering. It was ridiculous. I was fuming. The day hadn’t begun that great as it were, and I was already on edge. I’d taken the entire week off due to Haley’s fear of people thinking we were gone together, and with it being Friday afternoon, I had a lot to catch up on here in the office. I didn’t need this today.
The door squeaked open and then shut, and I sensed Jack standing over me. He hovered silently as I read the remaining few pages. I knew all eyes would be on my office, and even though they wouldn’t be able to hear what I was saying, they would see how red my face got as I was screaming. I didn’t want to blow my lid, but if any situation called for it, this one did. Gretchen wasn’t the only one who named me in this suit. Williams was an active employee and had the balls to sue me.
My eyes slowly rose up to meet his face, stoic but stern. Rage coursed through my veins, bubbling and boiling. I felt my blood pressure rising as I tried to control the violent urges I had toscream and curse. I laid the papers down and cleared my throat. I had to take two deep breaths to calm myself, but the stupid smirk on Jack’s face was a fan across the flames I’d just tried to douse.
“You needed to see me?” he said with a sarcastic tone.
“What is the meaning of this?” My controlled burn was dangerously close to going out of control.
“What does it look like? It’s a lawsuit.”
“Wrongful termination? I can see how Gretchen might have gotten that, but a hostile workplace?” Even as I said the words, I realized I was walking on thin ice. My temper got out of control even on the best days, and here I was, ready to dig myself a grave if I let it happen again.
“Yeah, well, if we didn’t feel like you micromanaged us and were hostile or violent at times…” Jack’s words hung in the air, a death sentence to my rage.
I instantly calmed. I pushed the fury down as deep as I could bury it and stood calmly. Jack took a step backward, eyes widening as he watched me. He was probably expecting me to explode, blow my top or something, but instead I clenched my jaw, breathed through my nose, and stared him down. A duel of the fittest, we squared off, me on my side of the desk, Jack closer to the door.
“You realize that Gretchen wasn’t just fired for her fraternization with you. If that were the only reason, you’d have both been terminated.” His gaze hardened as I continued. “She revealed confidential sources to you. She laced her articles with incorrect assumptions without proof to back it up?—”
“So Lauren did that too. You didn’t fire her.”
Jack’s interruption was uncalled for. “Enough!” I snapped, but instantly caught myself. “You don’t know all the reasons she was fired, and you jump on the bandwagon of this lawsuit for the simple fact that you don’t like me. Well, guess what? I’mnot playing your game. List whoever you want on this suit as a plaintiff. They’ll all be fired. And walk the line, or you're going to be the first one.”
“You are a real piece of?—”
“Get out of my office and get back to work now.” I pointed at the door, and he bit his tongue, leaving obediently, though he slammed the door as he did.
Before I had even sat back down, I had Tom on the intercom, calling him to my office. I had seen him watching as the suits walked in and noticed his eyes on me as I tore a piece off Jack. When Tom walked in, I sensed an edge about his demeanor. Normally the one to kowtow to me, he seemed more determined. He didn’t sit down, didn’t unbutton the jacket of his suit. He grasped his wrists and rested his hands at his waist.
“We need to call the lawyer.” I sat and pushed the paperwork and brown envelope across my desk, then rubbed my forehead.
“We knew this was a possibility, given the rumors.” His stoic posture wasn’t the least bit comforting. “David and I tried to warn you, Parker.”
“Warn me?” All the fury I had contained up until this point wanted to bubble out.
“Yes. You understand the rumors going around about you and Haley. You can’t say you’ve been ignorant of them. You either need to clarify that it is not a personal relationship and then actually follow through with that, or you need to announce it.”
