"Yeah. I guess everyone already knows that I was fired because of you," I said with a sigh.
"Actually, they don't. Besides your supervisor, Julia, and me, no one on your floor is aware of the reason for your absence."
"Absence?"
"Yes."
"Everyone thinks that I'm taking some time off?" I asked in disbelief. "What kind of bullshit is that? Saving your own asses?"
"They were trying to avoid a scandal, Heidi. This could have been damaging to the Wright Construction brand. Far beyond the scope we'd thought about. I, obviously, have been primarily focused on your needs, but I do understand what Jensen and Morgan are dealing with."
"Right. Fire the expendable girl, cover it up so that you don't look bad, and then talk about how it could have hurt you and not her," I spat.
"That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm trying to get you back!" he said. "I already tried to quit, hoping to get you your job back."
My eyes rounded. "You did?"
"Yeah. I went straight to Jensen after you broke up with me. I told him I'd figure out my own shit."
"I didn't know that," I said, my voice small.
"Yeah. But he refused. He said that, even if I quit, it wouldn't guarantee you your job. At least not until they find out who sent the videos and if they were going to issue any more threats. Or at the very least until he could find me another position."
"Wait, threats? You think the videos were a threat?"
"Don't you?" he asked. "And it worked, too."
"You think Miranda was threatening the company?"
"Any threat against a member of the Wright family is a threat against the company. And those videos being leaked strategically show me with an employee. Yeah, that's a threat."
I hadn't thought that far ahead. I had been in my own bubble all week. Dejected and depressed over the loss of my job. I hadn't once thought about this like a pool game. Lining up the balls for three moves from now. Seeing where your opponent would move to get you in the right position. It was strategic. And, if Miranda was playing this game, then it absolutely was more than just getting me out of the way.
"Fuck, she is trying for a bigger game, isn't she?" I whispered. "She wants something more than me out of the way."
Landon nodded. "Yeah, we're waiting for her to show her hand, and Jensen is trying to anticipate it. I'm so sorry that you got caught in her crosshairs."
I glanced over his shoulder and froze. "I think we're about to find out."
"Why do you … " Landon started.
Then, he followed my gaze and found Miranda striding straight toward us.
Thirty-Eight
Landon
Miranda's painted-on cherry-red dress drew eyes from all directions. And it was exactly what she wanted. So, I purposefully looked away from her and searched out Jensen and Morgan in the crowd. They weren't hard to find, standing at the front of the room with a handful of big donors. As if she could sense me watching her, Morgan nudged Jensen, and he frowned in my direction when he realized Miranda was here.
Showtime.
"Don't engage her," I told Heidi. I moved in front of her, so I was shielding her from Miranda.
"Landon, I am not going to sit back and let her assault you. If she's the bitch who made me lose my job, then I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."
Oh, Heidi. God, I love you.
"You'll be giving her what she wants. It'd be better if you let me handle this. She wants to fuck with me anyway. You're just … in her way."
"Fuck that," she muttered.
"I second that, love," I whispered before Miranda came face-to-face with me.
Miranda stopped only a foot from me and smiled, as if she were truly excited to see me. As if the last time we had come face-to-face, I hadn't thrown money at her like a common whore.
"Hello, darling," Miranda said with a seductive smile. "I've missed you."
"Can't say the same," I said.
Her eyes darted behind me to find Heidi standing there. I was sure she was glaring.
Miranda huffed. "I guess Wright has really lowered their standards this year on who they let in to their biggest charity event of the season."
I gave her a pointed look. "It seems so."
"Oh, you're so adorable when you're upset."
"Did you do it, Miranda?"
"Do what, pet? I've done a lot of things," she said with a wink.
"Did you take the videos and send them to the company?"
She batted her eyelashes at me. "What videos?"