All That He Wants(10)
Connor winked at me. “She’s over by the elevators. You want me to go over and let you talk to her?”
“…yyyyyyes. Yes, why don’t you do that,” Klaus agreed. The relief in his voice was palpable.
He obviously didn’t want me to hear his utter humiliation over the last couple of minutes.
If he only knew…
“Okay, hold on,” Connor agreed, then held up a finger shhhh! to his lips as he grinned like a madman.
Stanley was looking at me like, Too late. Here comes Jaws.
Connor waited about ten seconds, said, “Here she is,” and then handed the phone over to me.
“Lily?”
“Uh, hi, Kl – Mr. Zimmerman,” I quickly adjusted.
Damn it, I almost gave it all away!
Klaus didn’t notice, thank God. He was a little preoccupied.
“Thanks for NOTHING, Lily. Now this little – ”
“Still on speakerphone, Klaus,” Connor called out helpfully.
I would have laughed if I weren’t so horrified at my situation.
There was a brief pause.
“…ah, situation is a bit more pressing than I originally thought,” Klaus course-corrected. “I need you to take the gentleman back to the office and show him whatever he needs.”
“Uh… anything?”
“Well, I don’t know about ‘anything’ – ”
“‘How high,’ Klaus. I’m not hearing ‘how high’ yet,” Connor spoke up, then choked back his laughter.#p#分页标题#e#
Exasperated, Klaus snapped, “There are too many confidential files, too many sensitive – ”
“We can call Dave again,” Connor offered. “Or… you can come in and get the files for me yourself.”
There was a long pause on the other end. Klaus was obviously thinking about his options: avoid a potential reaming from Westerholtz, or perform a little CYA.
“The CEO has instructed me to give Mr. Brooks whatever help he requires, Lily,” he finally said. “So do whatever he asks.”
“Anything?” Connor asked.
“Anything.” I could almost hear Klaus’s teeth gritting together as he said it.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Have a nice – ”
“Is that all, Connor?” Klaus cut me off.
I wanted to throw the phone across the room. I might have, too, if it were mine.
“No, it’s not,” Connor said, crossing his arms. “That was very rude what you just did to Lily.”
I looked up in shock.
Stanley shook his head like, Here comes Jaws again.
“W– what?” Klaus asked, equally astounded.
“Apologize to her,” Connor demanded.
“That’s really not necessary,” I said in a squeaky little voice.
“Yes. It IS,” Connor insisted. “Klaus?”
“This is ridiculous – I’m not – ”
“Are you always that rude to everyone, Klaus, or just to the people you can get away with it? Employees, waiters, people you can abuse your power over?”
“I’m not going to take this from – ”
“I think I might call Dave back,” Connor mused. “I know he’s very nice to his personal secretary Amanda. I think he’d be interested to know how you kiss up and kick down.”
I was about to faint.
My very limited life at Everton Consulting was flashing before my eyes.
Stanley looked like he was watching a train wreck he was powerless to stop.
There was a loooooong pause on the phone.
“…sorry,” Klaus mumbled, the way a stylish woman ‘of a certain age’ might say her age in a crowded doctor’s office.
“What was that? Couldn’t hear you!” Connor shouted.
“Sorry, Lily,” Klaus seethed. “Is that all, Misssster Brooksss?”
“It’ll do, I suppose. Have a good night, Klaus!” Connor called out, then reached over, took the phone away from me, and hung up the call.
10
I must have been staring at him like he’d grown an extra head, because Connor gave me a mystified expression.
“…what?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? What the hell was that?!” I fumed.
“My only entertainment on a boring Friday night,” he grinned, then turned around and stuck out his arm. “Stan, a pleasure. Good to meet you.”
Stanley just nodded his head in stunned silence as he shook hands.
“Shall we?” Connor asked me as he gestured to the elevators with one hand and put the other on the small of my back.
Oh.
My.
God.
Just that firm pressure there – the warmth of his hand, of his very large hand pressed in the curve of my back – sent a pleasurable jolt of electricity up and down my spine.