Page 17 of Landry
Kady waited until she had exited the room before closing her eyes briefly. To her frustration, she wasn't given a respite. Phillip came marching in to demand answers.
"I don't understand why you were so unprofessional. If you'd tanked the sale-"
"What?" she demanded, eyes blazing. She was just angry enough to take it out on him. "You would have what? Run for cover as usual? Look, I have a lot of things to do. By not telling me who the new owners are, you've put me in an untenable situation. I have a lot of catching up to do as it is."
"It was none of your business," he told her frostily, his thin lips getting even thinner. "I did what I had to do, and I do not answer to you."
"And now, I don't answer to you, so get the hell out."
He stood there for a minute as if debating whether or not to offer a comeback. Kady stared him down, her expression icy, and had him turning on his heel and walking out. Slumping back in the chair, she pressed her lips together. The headache had taken on added strength.
***
Kyle stared at her in shocked surprise.
"Come again?"
"You heard me," she muttered, accepting the glass of wine he had brought over to her. She had left the office drained and exhausted to come to his place instead of going to hers. She didn't think she could bear the isolation. It would give her too much time to think.
"Your airline was taken over by your ex."
"Yes," she snapped. Taking a sip of the wine, she swallowed gamely past the lump that had lodged itself in her throat. "That's what I said."
"No need to bite my head off." Taking his own glass, he sat across from her. When she called him earlier, he knew from the sound of her voice that something was very wrong.
"I'm sorry." She put the glass down and linked her fingers together on the counter. "I was taken by surprise."
"That's an understatement."
"Yes. I was floored." She unlinked her fingers and spread them. "I didn't see him at first, when I stepped into the conference room. And I have a feeling it was deliberate."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing much." She closed her eyes briefly as she thought back to the scene. "I blew my cool, Kyle. I went off in front of that idiot Phillip and members of the board. Oh, and his assistant as well."
"And?" Kyle persisted when she paused.
"He ordered everyone from the room, and when they left, he apologized."
"For what?"
"For . . . you know." She spread her hands vaguely. "The past."
"Did he explain why?" her brother demanded.
"No. I don't care. I just-" Lifting a hand, she brushed back tendrils of hair that had become loose from the bun she had put it in when she was leaving work. When she considered how she had dressed for the meeting, she wanted to hurl something at someone. That bastard! "I should look for another job."
"Why? I thought you were over him."
"I am. I am," she insisted as he continued to stare at her.
"You admitted that you still care for him, just last week."
"Well, this week, I hate him."
"Hate, as we know, is a close cousin to love," he pointed out reasonably. "And your emotional state says otherwise. Is your job safe?"
She nodded. "Yes. He wants to make changes. The airline has been losing money steadily over the years. If Crenshaw Enterprises hadn't stepped in, they would have gone bankrupt. Damn that moron, Phillip!"
