I guess he was right. Most would have called her beautiful and, well, hot, but she wasn’t my type. A woman with a bit of junk in her trunk, thick thighs, and big tits was what I liked. I didn’t really care about hair color, but red would be my choice if I had to choose.
Nessa Mitcham was not any of those things. She was svelte, tall, and had icy blonde hair.
Mercury’s phone rang. “Yo,” he called after he answered it. He listened for a few seconds, grunted a few times, and then hung up after he said we’ll be there. “Speak of the fucking devil,” he muttered as he tossed his phone on the desk.
I tipped my head to the side. “What? That was Nessa Mitcham?”
He shook his head and curled his lip. “As if that woman would actually take the task of calling me. That was her lackey, Marcus. We just scored an invite to the Mitcham Metals employee appreciation party this Friday.”
“We’re not employees,” I pointed out.
Mercury shrugged. “It seems that the party is going to be more than what they normally do. They’re inviting all of their customers and making it an employee and customer appreciation party.”
“Free booze?” I asked.
Mercury nodded. “Free everything, brother.”
“Count me in.” I could handle being at a party thrown by the Ice Princess if there was free booze. “Hell, you know you can count all of the brothers in, too.”
“Marcus said the whole crew was invited, so that is exactly who they are going to get.”
I stretched my arms over my head. “You think Marcus knows what he’s getting himself into by inviting all of the VII Knights? I mean, you know Samson is coming, right?” I laughed.
Mercury shook his head and smirked. “Hell, no, brother. But he’ll figure it out on Friday.”
*
Chapter Three
Hannah
Beep, beep, it’s party day. Beep, beep, it’s party day.
I blindly reached for my phone and cursed past me for thinking that a customizable alarm clock was a good thing. Normally I just set it with a boring beep to get me out of bed, but last night I thought it would be funny to announce it was party day.
My eyes snapped open, and a huge smile spread across my lips. “It’s party day,” I whispered. Today was the day that Nessa would be officially announced and welcomed as the new president of Mitcham Metals.
My hand landed on my phone as the alarm sounded again.
Today felt like a normal day.
It felt like an exciting day.
I hadn’t had one of those since the day mom and dad had died.
I was genuinely happy for Nessa, and I couldn’t wait to get the day started.
I rolled out of bed with a hitch in my step and started the shower.
Since mom and dad had been gone, the house had become mine.
Nessa had moved out two years prior, but I had still lived here at the time of the crash. I was still in the same room, and I never thought I would move into the master suite that had belonged to my parents.
My room was like a master suite in a normal size house. I had a large room with a walk-in closet and a large bathroom with a shower and a tub. Most people, and myself, would be more than happy with my bedroom.
Mom and dad’s master suite was basically like its own apartment. Maybe someday I would move in there, but for now, it was just a shrine to my parents, who weren’t here anymore.
After a thorough and steaming hot shower, I dressed for a half-day of work. Nessa had given all employees off for the day, but I had a few things I needed to get done before the weekend.
Nessa’s car was in the parking lot when I pulled up. Marcus’ truck was parked next to her and a white car I didn’t know.
I figured I wasn’t the only one who had some work to do before the weekend.
I took the elevator up to my floor and breezed into my office. Once my computer turned on, I started up my work playlist and grabbed the first customer invoice I needed to go over. Five other accountants worked beneath me, and it was one of my duties to go over their work. I was a second set of eyes for all money coming in and out of the company.
The four invoices I needed to go over all came out good. I grabbed two invoices from one of our suppliers and leaned back in my chair as I looked at them.
The price of everything we needed to stay in business seemed to be going up with every order we placed.
Mitcham Metals was sitting pretty when it came to incoming money, but I knew I should always be alert and on my toes with every cent going out. I knew that Nessa was worried about losing some accounts, but I didn’t think there was that much worry. I had seen customers leave, and there were always new ones coming in after them.
I finished going over the last of my paperwork and glanced out my window. Nessa’s car was still there, and so was Marcus’. It was strange that they were both still here. The party was only a few hours away.
I gathered up my purse and keys and took the elevator up two floors to check on Nessa.
As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Nessa’s shrill voice rang through the floor.
“You said this was fine. You said this wasn’t going to change anything!” Nessa screamed.
“I said in the end everything would be fine,” Marcus hollered back. “You’re foolish to think that there weren’t going to be casualties.”
The elevator door started to slide shut, and I stealthily stepped off and over to the side. Nessa’s office was at the end of the hallway in front of me, so I ducked down behind a large plant by her receptionist desk. Her door was open, and I didn’t want either of them to know that I was there. How they didn’t hear the elevator come up was beyond me, but they were pretty wrapped up in a screaming match.
What casualties were Nessa and Marcus talking about?
“I was foolish to listen to you! I should have listened to my head and done things the way my dad did.”
“Your dad?” Marcus laughed. “If your dad were still alive, he would still be running this place into the ground.”
What?
“You don’t know that!” Nessa spat. “Just because sales dipped doesn’t mean anything. He built this company.”
“He may have built it, but that didn’t mean he knew how to run it and make it grow.”
I scowled. Mitcham Metals was the biggest metal fabricator and supplier in a five-state radius. That seemed pretty damn big to me. It wasn’t like Mitcham could supply the whole country or even the world. Mom and dad had built this company with their own hands and had lived a life of luxury. At least in my eyes.
“This isn’t going to work, Marcus.” Nessa's voice was flat and defeated. “Everything needs to go back to how it was. I know you think Mitcham won’t make it, but if that happens, that’s what happens.”
“Go back to how it was?” Marcus laughed. “You are just as stupid as your father. You think you can contact the people I did, and then just tell them never mind? Things are already in motion, and there isn’t anything you can do to stop them, Nessa. The best thing you can do is just let things happen.”
What had Nessa done? Why had Nessa done anything? I saw all of the money coming in and out of Mitcham Metals. We were not at all at risk of going under. We would literally have to stop fabricating and refuse to sell to anyone for months before we would go under.