Legacy by M.A. Foster

_____________________________

Katie

The following week, I’m back in the office. It’s Wednesday morning, and I’ve just sat down and opened my laptop to check my emails when my cell rings. I check the screen to see it’s Vanessa calling. I tap the green Answer button and bring the phone to my ear. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she whispers into the phone.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because I’m in the locker room. Are you at the office?”

“Yeah, why?” I ask skeptically.

“Listen, something is up with your bosses.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dylan called Liam last night. I was half asleep, but I overheard Van Doren and your name. I asked Liam about it this morning while I was getting ready for work. He said Dylan told him he had a meeting with Tom and Marvin Van Doren and Peter yesterday afternoon.”

“For what?”

“Liam said Dylan is making some changes at Mac’s. He met with your bosses because he wanted to hire you for the project. Marvin told him you weren’t available.”

I scoff. “I don’t know why he would say that. I have absolutely nothing going on right now.”

“I don’t know, Katie, but I have a gut feeling this has to do with Peter the Prick. He made that shitty comment to you that night at Abyss. You said he was in London. Maybe he saw you with Dylan.”

“He did,” I breathe. Just then, Tom appears in my doorway. “Hey, Tom just walked into my office. Can I call you back?”

“Oh shit. Good luck.”

“Hey, Tom.” I wave him in as I set my phone down on my desk.

“Good morning, Kate.” Tom nods as he moves farther into my office. Trailing behind him are Marvin and Lori from HR. My stomach dips.

Holy shit. I’m getting fired.

“What’s going on?”

Stopping just a few feet from my desk, Tom shoves his hands into his pockets and lowers his head as Marvin steps forward, taking the lead. The tension between the two brothers is thick.

“Miss Bennett,” Marvin starts, “it has been brought to my attention that there’s been some inappropriate behavior between you and our clients.”

My eyes widen at his blunt accusation. “Excuse me—”

“As you know, any form of relationship outside of business with a client or potential client is against company policy and grounds for immediate dismissal.”

“Mr. Van Doren, with all due respect to you and your company, I find your approach offensive.”

He raises his brows. “I beg your pardon.”

I gesture to Lori, then lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. “You came in here to fire me over a rumor from a jealous employee without any questioning whatsoever. Who are these so-called clients I’ve supposedly been inappropriate with?”

Marvin clears his throat. “Mr. Cooper Sullivan, Mr. Steven Thomas—”

I straighten in my chair. “Hold up. I have never been anything but professional with Cooper Sullivan. Same goes for Steven Thomas. I lived in his hotel for over three months. Of course we were friendly, as I was with the rest of the staff. There was never anything inappropriate between us. As a matter of fact, Mr. Thomas got engaged over the holidays. I met his fiancée. Nice young woman. Again, these accusations are based on speculation by a jealous employee.”

“What about Dylan Mackenzie?”

I quirk a brow. “Is he a client?”

“No, but—”

“Then it’s none of your business.”

“It is when he comes to us with a big project and requests you.”

Sighing, I rub a finger over my brow. “I don’t know anything about his business. His uncle is dating my best friend.”

“Is this the same friend who left with Cooper the night of the Abyss opening? The same friend who Cooper was also with in London?”

I frown. “No.”

Marvin nods. “Do you understand how this looks to your coworkers? To me? You may not be romantically involved with Cooper Sullivan, but your friend is. You may not be romantically involved with Mr. Mackenzie, but your other friend is somehow connected to him. It looks bad on your part and reflects poorly on my business. I have no choice but to let you go.”

We hold each other’s stare briefly before he turns and marches out of my office.

Without a word, Tom trails behind his asshole brother, and I’m in shock. I can’t believe he didn’t even fight for me.

Lori rattles off a bunch of bullshit about a noncompete and final paperwork, and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.

I wait for her to exit my office before spinning around to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking downtown and sinking down in my chair, feeling defeated. I blow out a breath. “Motherfucker.”

A throat clears behind me, and I quickly spin around to find Tom standing just a few feet from my desk.

I open my mouth to apologize, but he holds up a hand to stop me. A hint of a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. “I’m sorry about this, Kate. I know it looks like I wasn’t fighting for you, but Marvin and I have been going at it all morning. He’s an asshole who only cares about appearances. Peter went over my head because he knew I would dismiss his bullshit theories.”

“I could fight this.”

“You could,” he drawls, nodding slowly.

“I should’ve expected Peter would pull something like this after the backhanded compliment at Abyss.”

His brows lift, his curiosity is piqued. “What did he say?”

“Something about now that I have Cooper Sullivan’s attention, I should expect more work. Tom, I would never get involved with a client.”

“I know.” Tom nods. “Whatever you decide to do, I’ll have your back, but for now, Marvin has the upper hand. Peter is on my shit list, and mark my words, his days are numbered. About the noncompete….” He looks over his shoulder, then back to me. “Check the dates.” He winks before heading toward the door, stopping at the threshold. “After all you’ve been through, I know how important this job is to you. Take this as a sign that you’re meant for bigger and better things. You deserve them. You’ll have my letter of recommendation in your email by the end of the day.”

“Thank you, Tom.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “For everything,” I add with a shaky breath. “I was in a really bad place in my life, and if you hadn’t taken a chance on me, I don’t know where I’d be today.”

He drops his gaze and clears his throat before meeting my eyes. “Let’s have lunch sometime, or dinner. Beverly is very fond of you. I can assure you she’ll be quite upset when she hears about this.”

“I’d love for us to keep in touch.”

He sticks his head out into the hallway, then turns back to me. “By the way, Dylan Mackenzie didn’t hire us.”

My brows pinch. “He didn’t?”

A smile tugs at his lips. “I don’t think we had what he was looking for.”

* * *

The door swings open, revealing a fresh-faced Gabbi dressed in an oversized sweater, leggings, and fuzzy socks. Her caramel-colored hair is twisted into a messy bun on top of her head.

She blinks in surprise, then looks down at her watch. “It’s the middle of the day.”

“I got fired,” I say as I brush past her and head for the kitchen.

“What the fuck?” she shrieks, slamming the door before joining me in the kitchen. “Why?”

“Give me a minute.” I lift a bottle of wine from the bag.

“I’ll get the glasses,” she offers, moving over to the cabinet and pulling down two wineglasses. “Between you and Vanessa, I’m either going to become a certified therapist or an alcoholic.”

I snort a laugh as she opens a drawer and plucks out a corkscrew, then passes it to me. I pour us both a glass and hand one to her before following her into the living room. Kicking off my shoes, I curl up on her sofa, tucking my legs under me before telling her everything, starting with the phone call from Vanessa this morning.

“Basically, I’m whoring out my friends and myself for business.”

“Shit, Katie.” Her expression turns apologetic. “I’m sorry if I made it worse.”

I shake my head. “It’s not your fault. Peter was jealous and looking for a reason to throw me to the wolves. I had a bad feeling something was going to happen when he saw me on the elevator with Dylan. I didn’t know Dylan was going to try to hire me a week later. Do you know anything about a remodel at Mac’s?”

“I don’t. Vanessa would most likely know, though. Did you tell her?”

“I texted her when I got home. She called me on her lunch break and invited me over for tacos tonight.”

“That explains her random ‘tacos tonight at my house’ text.” She grins. “What are you going to do? Are you going to fight it?”

Because I worked from home a lot, I didn’t have much in my office. A picture of me and my friends on my desk. My favorite pen, gum, a ponytail holder, and a bunch of randomness from my desk drawer. I was able to fit it all inside my bag, which saved me the embarrassing “I’ve been fired” walk of shame.

I went straight home, texted Vanessa, stripped off my clothes, put on some music, and sat in my jacuzzi pool to clear my head.

When Vanessa called me on her lunch break, I filled her in and asked her not to tell Liam. He would tell Dylan, and I didn’t want him to think he was responsible for me losing my job.

Afterward, I went into my home office and pulled out a copy of the noncompete agreement with Van Doren Designs. Then I laughed my ass off when I saw it had expired a week before I left for London. Lori from HR had dropped the ball, which is why she was adamant about me stopping by her office to sign some paperwork. She was trying to cover her ass. Ha. Tom really did have my back.

“If I fight and win, then I’d have to deal with Peter every day.” I curl my lip in disgust. “I’m going to freelance. I have enough to get by until I can get my name out there.”

“I think that’s a great idea. I’m sure you can use Cooper Sullivan as a reference. He seems to love your work, and I’m sure he would be happy to give you a recommendation.”

“True. I could probably count on Hazel, too. I’ll reach out to them both next week.” I finish off my wine. “Which do you like better? KB Designs, Kate Bennett Designs, or Bennett Designs?”

“Hmm.” Gabbi twists her lips to the side. “I’m torn between the last two. I think you should get Vanessa and Kennedy’s opinion and then pick.”