A Reclusive Heart
Page 49
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That thought was confirmed by a few gestures and soft chuckles directed her way.
What she wouldn’t give to be able to make a run for it at that moment.
Nick suddenly stopped, causing her to slam into his back, but he barely noticed as he leveled a scowl on the onlookers. “Is there a problem?” he asked in calm tone, but there was no hiding the fury in his tone or his challenging stance as he silently dared anyone to say anything. If she hadn’t been so stressed or worried about Nick at the moment the way they jumped back into whatever it was they had been doing before they spotted her and Nick would have made her smile. As it was it barely took the edge off of her humiliation.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he once again headed down the now thankfully busy hall towards the boardrooms. When he pulled her through the open doorway of the room she recognized as the one they held their morning meeting in she became very nervous. If two minutes of being stared at by her co-workers, the same co-workers she had a legal contract forcing her to face when she was required to come to the office, was unsettling she doubted that an hour or more under the same scrutiny would do anything ease her nerves.
“Dana? What the hell are you doing here?” Nick asked, drawing her attention to the beautiful woman sitting at the large table. She wasn’t too surprised when she spotted Edward Pierce sitting to her right, holding her hand.
Jamie watched as the beautiful woman shrugged. “I decided to attend this meeting since it affects my next book,” Dana explained, sending her a discrete wink that had her chewing her bottom lip nervously as she looked around the room to find a very somber Rick sitting at the table along with several men and women she was pretty sure that she didn’t know, but was pretty sure judging by the looks they were sending Dana and Edward that they were not happy with the power couple’s presence.
“Please have a seat,” Rick said, giving them a forced smile as he gestured for them to sit across from Dana and Edward.
As much as she would love to run away she forced herself to walk the ten feet and sit down. She needed to do this for Nick. She needed to help save his job and do whatever she could to keep him safe. The scent of cheap perfume hit her nose a few seconds before she heard the sounds of heels clipping against the floor. When she looked up she wasn’t too surprised to see Holly, whom she kind of thought had been fired, walk into the room, looking smug.
Jamie watched as the woman walked around the table and took a seat near an older gentleman, who didn’t look pleased with her sitting next to him. Not that she could blame the man. Even from here the perfume was starting to sting her nose and eyes.
“Why don’t we begin?” Nick asked pleasantly as he entwined their fingers and faced off against the men and women that were probably seconds away from firing him.
If, no there weren’t really any ifs, when they fired him she fully planned on walking out with him. The only problem she had would be finding a lawyer good enough to get her out of the iron clad contract that she’d signed. She didn’t like the idea of staying here without Nick. It didn’t feel right that she got to stay while he had to”Miss. Harris, I’m sorry to say this, but you’re fired,” the man in the coal gray suit who was sitting next to Rick said, kind of shocking her.
“You’re letting me out of my contract?” she asked, trying not to sound too eager. If they did, that meant that she could go with Nick. She wasn’t allowed to start up another publishing company, but he would be. She didn’t think that they’d really have any kind of futur,e but she could show her thanks by signing on with him and maybe J.L. Lewis could help him build a lucrative business.
The man shook his head. “No, you’re still contracted through us for J.L.
Lewis, but we’ve decided that as Jamie Harris you will no longer be associated with Rerum Publishing House,” he explained before shifting his eyes to Nick.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Quinn, but I’m afraid you’re fired as well,” he said, surprisingly not sounding very happy about it at all.
Then again from what she saw, Nick was a hard worker. His personal life might have drawn concerns, but his work ethic was irreproachable. He worked hard, put in long hours and wasn’t afraid of doubling his workload to get the job done. Personally she thought they were foolish to let the man go.
“I understand,” was all Nick said.
What the heck? He was just going to sit back and let this happen? This was her fault, not his. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for her and she sure as heck wasn’t about to sit around while they destroyed Nick’s career. She opened her mouth to say, well, she really wasn’t sure what the heck she was going to say when Dana spoke.
“I guess this is where I tell you that I will not be signing my contract to continue with Rerum Publishing,” she said quietly. Rick for some strange reason looked slightly relieved while the rest of them, even Holly, looked panicked.
“Let’s talk about this, Mrs. Pierce,” the man who’d fired them said almost desperately.
Dana simply shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable signing with Rerum Publishing when you’re releasing one of the main reasons that I enjoy working with this company in the first place. Mr. Quinn has always double checked my work for me, helped plan my tours when I decide to take them and if I can’t reach Rick for some reason he’s the person I go to. If I can no longer count on having someone like Mr. Quinn for support then I don’t believe I will continue with Rerum Publishing.”
“Mrs. Pierce, any of our agents can do that for you. They’d be more than happy to help you with any problems that you have,” a middle aged woman with graying chestnut hair that was pulled back into a painful look bun explained imploringly.
“Although I have the utmost respect for your employees, none of them are as dedicated as Mr. Quinn.”
“Our hands are tied on this matter, Mrs. Pierce. Not only did Mr. Quinn have an inappropriate relationship with his client and employee, but he also put Rerum into a very unpleasant situation by canceling dozens of interviews and personal appearances. That’s not something that we can simply-“
Edward Pierce cut the man off. “I’ve known Mr. Quinn for several years now and I’ve never known him to act inappropriately with clients or employees for that matter, which is pretty impressive given his personal reputation. I can understand that you’re not thrilled with the situation, but from what I saw on the video this is not a simple fling nor did either one intend on making their situation public. It appears to me that two people very much in love had a very personal moment stolen from them and exploited,” he said before throwing her a wink that had the blush that she was pretty sure was going to reduce her to ashes intensifying.
She felt her eyes widen and a whimper work its way up her throat at the realization that Edward Pierce and no doubt Dana Pierce, judging by the soft blush painting the woman’s cheeks, had watched her have sex. Oh god……
Everyone in this room had watched the video but her, she realized with horror. When the detective played the video she’d been too mortified with him in the room to look up. Of course she could have watched it from any number of sites on the internet, but she hadn’t exactly been in a rush to see any negative comments like, “Fat ass” or “How could he sleep with her?” which she was sure were all over the web by now. Maybe she should watch the video so that she at least knew how horrible it was.
“With all due respect, Mr. Pierce, but this doesn’t concern you or your wife,” a man said with a crisp voice that was as hard as ice, but instead of finding out who’d spoken she kept her eyes on the table, too humiliated to do anything else. “If you would like to arrange a meeting to discuss your contract we’d be happy to accommodate you, but for right now I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to-“
“I’m afraid it does concern us if you ever expect my wife to do any promotions for the books that you currently have her contracted for. If memory serves me correctly she has the right to refuse any promotional event that makes her uncomfortable and I have to be honest,” Edward said, drawing her attention against her will. She looked up to find the man leaning back in his chair, looking comfortable as he addressed the men and women who were visibly panicking.
What she wouldn’t give to be able to make a run for it at that moment.
Nick suddenly stopped, causing her to slam into his back, but he barely noticed as he leveled a scowl on the onlookers. “Is there a problem?” he asked in calm tone, but there was no hiding the fury in his tone or his challenging stance as he silently dared anyone to say anything. If she hadn’t been so stressed or worried about Nick at the moment the way they jumped back into whatever it was they had been doing before they spotted her and Nick would have made her smile. As it was it barely took the edge off of her humiliation.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he once again headed down the now thankfully busy hall towards the boardrooms. When he pulled her through the open doorway of the room she recognized as the one they held their morning meeting in she became very nervous. If two minutes of being stared at by her co-workers, the same co-workers she had a legal contract forcing her to face when she was required to come to the office, was unsettling she doubted that an hour or more under the same scrutiny would do anything ease her nerves.
“Dana? What the hell are you doing here?” Nick asked, drawing her attention to the beautiful woman sitting at the large table. She wasn’t too surprised when she spotted Edward Pierce sitting to her right, holding her hand.
Jamie watched as the beautiful woman shrugged. “I decided to attend this meeting since it affects my next book,” Dana explained, sending her a discrete wink that had her chewing her bottom lip nervously as she looked around the room to find a very somber Rick sitting at the table along with several men and women she was pretty sure that she didn’t know, but was pretty sure judging by the looks they were sending Dana and Edward that they were not happy with the power couple’s presence.
“Please have a seat,” Rick said, giving them a forced smile as he gestured for them to sit across from Dana and Edward.
As much as she would love to run away she forced herself to walk the ten feet and sit down. She needed to do this for Nick. She needed to help save his job and do whatever she could to keep him safe. The scent of cheap perfume hit her nose a few seconds before she heard the sounds of heels clipping against the floor. When she looked up she wasn’t too surprised to see Holly, whom she kind of thought had been fired, walk into the room, looking smug.
Jamie watched as the woman walked around the table and took a seat near an older gentleman, who didn’t look pleased with her sitting next to him. Not that she could blame the man. Even from here the perfume was starting to sting her nose and eyes.
“Why don’t we begin?” Nick asked pleasantly as he entwined their fingers and faced off against the men and women that were probably seconds away from firing him.
If, no there weren’t really any ifs, when they fired him she fully planned on walking out with him. The only problem she had would be finding a lawyer good enough to get her out of the iron clad contract that she’d signed. She didn’t like the idea of staying here without Nick. It didn’t feel right that she got to stay while he had to”Miss. Harris, I’m sorry to say this, but you’re fired,” the man in the coal gray suit who was sitting next to Rick said, kind of shocking her.
“You’re letting me out of my contract?” she asked, trying not to sound too eager. If they did, that meant that she could go with Nick. She wasn’t allowed to start up another publishing company, but he would be. She didn’t think that they’d really have any kind of futur,e but she could show her thanks by signing on with him and maybe J.L. Lewis could help him build a lucrative business.
The man shook his head. “No, you’re still contracted through us for J.L.
Lewis, but we’ve decided that as Jamie Harris you will no longer be associated with Rerum Publishing House,” he explained before shifting his eyes to Nick.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Quinn, but I’m afraid you’re fired as well,” he said, surprisingly not sounding very happy about it at all.
Then again from what she saw, Nick was a hard worker. His personal life might have drawn concerns, but his work ethic was irreproachable. He worked hard, put in long hours and wasn’t afraid of doubling his workload to get the job done. Personally she thought they were foolish to let the man go.
“I understand,” was all Nick said.
What the heck? He was just going to sit back and let this happen? This was her fault, not his. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for her and she sure as heck wasn’t about to sit around while they destroyed Nick’s career. She opened her mouth to say, well, she really wasn’t sure what the heck she was going to say when Dana spoke.
“I guess this is where I tell you that I will not be signing my contract to continue with Rerum Publishing,” she said quietly. Rick for some strange reason looked slightly relieved while the rest of them, even Holly, looked panicked.
“Let’s talk about this, Mrs. Pierce,” the man who’d fired them said almost desperately.
Dana simply shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable signing with Rerum Publishing when you’re releasing one of the main reasons that I enjoy working with this company in the first place. Mr. Quinn has always double checked my work for me, helped plan my tours when I decide to take them and if I can’t reach Rick for some reason he’s the person I go to. If I can no longer count on having someone like Mr. Quinn for support then I don’t believe I will continue with Rerum Publishing.”
“Mrs. Pierce, any of our agents can do that for you. They’d be more than happy to help you with any problems that you have,” a middle aged woman with graying chestnut hair that was pulled back into a painful look bun explained imploringly.
“Although I have the utmost respect for your employees, none of them are as dedicated as Mr. Quinn.”
“Our hands are tied on this matter, Mrs. Pierce. Not only did Mr. Quinn have an inappropriate relationship with his client and employee, but he also put Rerum into a very unpleasant situation by canceling dozens of interviews and personal appearances. That’s not something that we can simply-“
Edward Pierce cut the man off. “I’ve known Mr. Quinn for several years now and I’ve never known him to act inappropriately with clients or employees for that matter, which is pretty impressive given his personal reputation. I can understand that you’re not thrilled with the situation, but from what I saw on the video this is not a simple fling nor did either one intend on making their situation public. It appears to me that two people very much in love had a very personal moment stolen from them and exploited,” he said before throwing her a wink that had the blush that she was pretty sure was going to reduce her to ashes intensifying.
She felt her eyes widen and a whimper work its way up her throat at the realization that Edward Pierce and no doubt Dana Pierce, judging by the soft blush painting the woman’s cheeks, had watched her have sex. Oh god……
Everyone in this room had watched the video but her, she realized with horror. When the detective played the video she’d been too mortified with him in the room to look up. Of course she could have watched it from any number of sites on the internet, but she hadn’t exactly been in a rush to see any negative comments like, “Fat ass” or “How could he sleep with her?” which she was sure were all over the web by now. Maybe she should watch the video so that she at least knew how horrible it was.
“With all due respect, Mr. Pierce, but this doesn’t concern you or your wife,” a man said with a crisp voice that was as hard as ice, but instead of finding out who’d spoken she kept her eyes on the table, too humiliated to do anything else. “If you would like to arrange a meeting to discuss your contract we’d be happy to accommodate you, but for right now I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to-“
“I’m afraid it does concern us if you ever expect my wife to do any promotions for the books that you currently have her contracted for. If memory serves me correctly she has the right to refuse any promotional event that makes her uncomfortable and I have to be honest,” Edward said, drawing her attention against her will. She looked up to find the man leaning back in his chair, looking comfortable as he addressed the men and women who were visibly panicking.
