When I hit the call button, Cole answered right away, saying with a smile in his voice, "Hey you."
I didn't waste any time. "I’m here to talk."
"Here where?"
"In the lobby. And Idon'tmean of your house."
Sounding puzzled now, he asked, "So you're at the office?"
I looked to Gus as I replied, "Well Iwillbe if you tell Gus to let me in."
Thirty seconds later, I was on the elevator heading up to the top floor, where I had every intention of giving Cole Henster a piece of my mind – except it didn't work out that way.
Not exactly.
Chapter 32
Lexie
When I walked into Cole's office, he was standing behind his desk, as if he'd been planning to meet me at the door, but hadn't quite made it.No surprise there, considering that I hadn't wasted any time in getting up here.
When he smiled, I didn't bother smiling back. Instead, I stalked forward like a girl a mission.
Today, he was wearing a dark tailored business suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His tie was dark blue with small white polka dots, and his thick chestnut-colored hair was lush perfection, without a single strand out of place.
In fact, his hair looked so perfect, I fought a sudden crazy urge to dive over the desk and run my fingers through it – not for any sexual reasons, but because he didn't deserve to have hair that perfect. No, he deserved to have messy hair, the kind of hair that strangers would stop and gawk at, wondering if he'd been attacked by pigeons or worse.
His smile faded. "Is something wrong?"
At the foot of his desk, I stopped and crossed my arms. "You might say that."
"So…do you wanna elaborate?"
Did I ever.
The problem was, I didn't know where to begin.Should I tell him flat-out what I'd learned from Harper? Or try to pry a confession out of him?
I was still debating it when he gestured to the nearest visitor's chair. "You wanna sit?"
"No." But then, as if my butt had a mind of its own, it sank down onto the chair anyway, making me look like a total idiot.
Stupid butt.
And now, I was the only one sitting, which meant I had to crane my neck to glare up at my former boss. Still, I managed to give it my best as I said, "Guess whatIlearned today."
He studied my face. "I'm not sure I want to."
The coward.
And yet, even as the thought crossed my mind, I realized that it wasn't quite true. One thing about Cole Henster, he wasn't one to shy away from conflict. Proving my point, he reclaimed his seat – the big leather one – and gave me an expectant look, as if to say,"Go ahead, I'm waiting."
With both of us now sitting, I offered up a stiff smile. "Ilearned– and from a reliable source, too – that you've been giving me a terrible reference."
His gaze didn't waver. "Nope."
I waited for him to elaborate, and when he didn't, I made a sound of frustration. "Is that all you've got say?"
He gave me a penetrating look. "If you want me to say more, I'll be needing a name."
