One Weekend with the Billionaire novel Chapter 11

Springer followed Jeff and Julia Thompson home last night to report on how he was treating his wife. I had him hang around outside of their apartment. He could hear Jeff screaming at her for quite some time in his drunken slur, and he thought he heard him strike her as well. When I sent him back this morning to collect Jeff, it was mostly because I wanted to see if there was evidence of that strike. In the car on the way to work, Springer calls me and tells me he has seen a red mark across Julia’s cheek.

I am furious.

Waiting in my office, I tell Cindy not to let anyone in to see me. I wanted to speak to Thompson first thing in the morning, but even though I have sent a car to bring him to work so that he doesn’t have to fool with public transportation, he is running behind.

Pacing back and forth in front of my desk, I try to get a hold of myself. I have practiced what I intend to say to him several times, but I am still worried about how it may come out. Thompson is an asshole, and there is a good chance he will say or do something while he is in my office that makes me want to punch him in the throat, something I cannot do if I want to have the upper hand in our negotiations, which I must have.

A buzzer sounds from my desk, and I know it is Cindy. She wouldn’t be bothering me if it wasn’t important, so I step over and press a button. "Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but Maximillian French has the information you asked for him to find."

"Already?" I ask. That was quick. I only gave the assignment to Max about fifteen minutes ago. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if Thompson were on time.

"Yes, sir."

"Send him in, please, Cindy," I say, having a feeling that the information he is going to present to me will to make me even angrier.

Max is about ten years older than me and works in the IT department. He is as trustworthy and reliable a man as I’ve ever known. He comes in with a file in his hands, as I expect.