He said, “No. Thanks,” in a clipped way without looking up that made Bailey feel silly for having come over to talk to him. She was about to retreat with a sudden bout of frostbite when Tony came out of Blake’s office.
Aiden said, “Tony.” Tony said, “Aiden,” and instead of sounding like two men’s names the words reverberated as thrust and parry.
Cara said, “You can go in now, Aid,” and that left Bailey standing awkwardly in the corridor with Tony who said, “Got a minute,” and angled his head towards the stairs. She followed Tony down to one of the small meeting rooms, wondering whether it would’ve been smarter to stay out of this. Wondering why she felt suddenly chilled by Aiden’s disregard. Obviously the two of them weren’t best buddies, but he’d been totally lacking in any of the warmth he’d shown initially.
“How well do you know Aiden?” said Tony, when the door to the glass walled meeting room was shut.
Tony didn’t sit, so Bailey stayed on her feet too. “Not well, we’ve only recently met.” Which meant she couldn’t possibly know if Aiden was ignoring her, so she had no right to feel put out. All she knew was today’s Aiden was very different to the one who’d taken her to lunch, saved a man’s life and held her in his arms.
“But you and Blake go way back.”
She said, “Yes,” cautiously, now certain she should’ve kept out of this.
“Then you have to help me. I don’t think Blake understands what Aiden intends to do, and how it’s going to affect staff and clients. I’m worried sick.”
“You need to talk to Blake.”
“I did.” Tony rubbed his knuckles against his bald head. “You must have heard that encounter.”
“Tony, I really think...”
He cut her off. “I don’t like Aiden. I know what he did at CAT Group. It was brutal on the staff. And he’s started with the same behaviour here. You heard about Nigel, sacked on the spot, and no one knows why. Aiden thinks nothing of chucking talented people out on the streets. He’s dictatorial, he’s a cold eyed control freak, he’s a raging bully. Blake might be loud and obnoxious at times, but he’s a fair man, and people respect him. I don’t understand why he’d let Aiden rip this place to shreds.”
“I’m sure Aiden’s not going to do that.”
“I guess you know he’s has a list of people he wants to sack and clients he wants to resign because he thinks they’re unprofitable.”
She didn’t and by the time Tony finished explaining what she’d not learned through the grapevine she was genuinely concerned for Blake.
“Bottom line, Bailey, it’s Aiden or me. I don’t want to threaten Blake unless I have to, that’s why I’ve come to you. If I quit, clients will follow me. I’m hoping that won’t be necessary. I’m hoping you might be able to get through to Blake.”
She had to try. Tony was the most experienced of Heed’s directors and the key contact on three of their major clients. If he resigned and clients left the business to follow him, it would put a huge strain on Heed’s finances.
“I’ll talk to Blake. I can’t promise anything but I’ll talk to him.”
Tony put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You’re a pal, Bailey. Let me know how you go.” He flung the door open and strode purposefully across the office like a conquering hero. Bailey was set to follow him with the same sense of purpose, but less swagger, when Aiden headed her off. He bore down on her, closed the meeting room door, and made her sharply aware of how much bigger than her he was. He towered over her, giving off dark energy.
“What did he want?”
“Pardon?” She heard her voice pitched too high and maiden aunt sharp.
Aiden stood in front of the closed door, and hit her with red hot laser beam eyes. “Jones. What did he want from you?”
This was not the same man who’d sat across the table from her and enchanted her. It wasn’t Bailey who had the evil twin it was Aiden. Did Blake know he could be like this, demanding, aggressive, abusive? Where was the man who’d been calm and collected in the face of death? Whoever this Aiden Riley was, he was black as charcoal and breathing smoke.
“Hey, back off.”
“Bailey. What did Jones say to you?”
“That was a private conversation.”
“No it wasn’t. That was a conversation about this business.” Aiden’s words were pointed, like little daggers in her skin.
“You can’t know that.”
“Unless you and Jones have a private relationship what else could it be?”
Bailey stepped back, putting physical distance between herself and Aiden. “I beg your pardon.” She thought he might step forward and braced for the assault of his closeness, something two days ago she’d felt guilty about wanting, and now felt repelled by. He didn’t move.
He didn’t have to, he was already intimidation made man.
He dropped his tone till it was low and deadly, pure articulated menace. “Don’t play fucking games with me, Bailey. Tell me what that was about.”
Bailey could feel nervous tickles running along her spine, shooting up her neck and lifting the little hairs there. Yesterday she’d have called the feeling desire, now she knew it was the sudden flare of fear.
“Step away from the door, Aiden.”
He didn’t move. He stood there and stared her down. He showed everything the water-cooler gossip and Tony said about him to be true. And to think she’d had a wild notion he was in sad and in pain. He was the cause of pain.
“Step away from the door.”
Abruptly he moved, hand to the handle. He swung the door open and stepped aside to allow her through with an exaggerated sweep of his arm, as if to usher her out, as if they’d enjoyed a delightful chat, exchanging witty pleasantries, instead of a bout of brinksmanship that left Bailey feeling shaky.
Head high, but eyes averted she moved past him. Half a dozen long strides up the corridor and a flight of stairs and she would be clear of him, safe from him. She’d wait till her heart stopped racing and she’d talk to Blake. Then she’d tuck her head down, keep to the second floor and get her job done. And stay well away from Aiden.
If she’d once been star struck by him, she was now hit hard by how unfortunate it was they’d had to meet at all.
She made for the stairs and he was behind her. She couldn’t exactly tell him not to follow her. But his office was downstairs, so this was almost the equivalent to stalking her. In the foyer she turned to face him. “Whatever you’ve got to say, you might as well say it here.” Here, where Evan was a witness, where she couldn’t feel threatened by his physical presence or his intensity.
He strode past her and two-at-a-timed the stairs. Halfway up he turned. “Come on. Let’s have Uncle Blake referee shall we?” And didn’t that sting. His patronising tone, plus the supercilious look on his face. She had half a mind to deny that’s where she was going. She could walk straight past Blake’s door and go to her own office and make him look stupid. Still, despite knowing it was juvenile, she wanted to race him up the stairs and get to Blake before he did. This was one reason to be thankful for the penguin. She wasn’t racing anywhere, she’d keep her dignity.
At least till halfway up. He’d waited for her. When she drew level he said, “If you tell me what Jones said, we’re done with this.” He used his hands to indicate the two of them, the stairs, the race to the top.
She said, “We’re certainly done,” stepping past him. She was done with Aiden. Annoyed with herself for being taken in by him, and disappointed with Blake for his misplaced faith. She heard Aiden exhale, and a few beats later he started up after her.
Blake was about to pick up the phone, his hand hovering over the receiver when she walked into his office. He said, “What?” sounding suspicious, then, “Can it wait?” then seeing Aiden come in behind her, “I guess not.” When neither of them spoke he said, “If this is charades we’re going to be here all day.”
“Bailey, you were going to tell Blake about your discussion
with Jones,” said Aiden. He’d closed the door and was leaning against the far wall.
She swivelled to look at him. “Funny. I don’t follow instructions from you.”
“Wow, ringside seats,” said Blake and Aiden laughed. Bailey saw red. What did she hope to achieve here? How was she supposed to tell Blake about how Aiden was an intimidating bully creating problems all over the office with Aiden in the room?
She pointed at Aiden. “You don’t need to be here. This is a private conversation between Blake and me.”
“I wish that was true. We both need to know what just happened with Jones,” Aiden said.
“What he said, Bails,” said Blake, but at least he sounded sympathetic. “Sit and tell us, don’t worry about Aid. He can take it, whatever it is.”
She stayed standing. Once she sat, she’d be the smallest person in the room and against these two, small wasn’t going to cut it. “I’d prefer to talk to you alone.”
“I’m only going to have to tell Aid anyway, cough it up. How bad can it be?”
Alright, they asked for it. “Tony thinks he,” she didn’t want to say Aiden’s name, “is a ruthless bastard and said it’s him or Aiden.”
“Tony threatened to quit?” asked Blake. He didn’t sound in the least bit concerned or surprised.
“And take clients with him.”
“Got it. Is that all?”
“Isn’t that enough? It’s a huge problem given the percentage of revenue he brings in.”
Blake was looking across her head at Aiden. She couldn’t work out why he didn’t appear worried. “Wouldn’t there be a way to work with Tony? It’s incredibly destabilising.”
“We’ve got this, Bailey. No need for you to worry.”
“What? How can I not worry? Tony asked me to intercede on his behalf because he doesn’t want to make this into a crisis.”
“I hear you. Aid’s got this.”
“He hasn’t got this. He’s the one at fault here. If he wanted this place soaked in fear he couldn’t have done a better job of it. Especially sacking Nigel, with no warning and no explanation.”
“Bails, much as I love you, back off. Trust us on the Nigel thing, ok. All of this is Aiden’s issue not yours.”
Blake stood up. It was a ‘this meeting is over’ move. He was dismissing her. Bailey felt anger with an infusion of humiliation colour her cheeks. That’s what she got for trying to help out, for trying to save Blake from a financial crisis. She got put back in her box, ganged up on. She got shut down.
This is why she’d known coming to work with Blake again was a bad idea. He still saw her as the junior player, the support person, she’d once been. He was never going to recognise her as a colleague and allow her to contribute as an equal. She’d always be his subordinate, and now he was hiring his own friends, that was more apparent. She had a choice. She could quit, right now, tell Blake where he could shove it and never have to see Aiden again, or she could tuck her head down, do the work, take the money and run.
Her self-respect said quit. Right now. Do it and walk away. See Blake a couple of times a year, then less frequently, then drift apart, and close that chapter of her life. Her wallet, her mortgage and her car loan told her self-respect to get in line.
“Fine. It’s all yours. I tried.”
“Tell Jones, he can talk to me about his issues,” said Aiden, pushing off the wall and opening the door for her.
“Like that’s going to happen,” she snapped. “Tell him yourself.”
“You know he’s using you to get to Blake.”
“I know he’s concerned about a business he helped Blake build over the last five years, that you appear to be tearing apart in two days.”
That stopped Aiden. No clever comeback, no slagging off Tony, no defending himself. She looked back at Blake. Did he really want this kind of strife impacting Heed? It could be so easily avoided. He was still standing, watching her and Aiden.
Blake said, “Let me know when you’ve finished with the market rate salary reviews, Bails,” and she knew changing the topic was as close to an apology as she was ever going to get from him.
23: Entranced
She was still limping. That’s what Aiden noticed as Bailey swept out the door, high colour in her cheeks, the limp, how shut down she looked and how much she was appalled by him.
“Fuck that was awkward.” Blake threw himself back into his chair, making it bounce on its expensive mechanics.
Awkward was one way to put it. Aiden closed the door and came to sit across from Blake. “We could’ve handled that better. I could’ve handled it better. I was all over her about Jones. I can’t believe he tried to use her like that. Why can’t we tell Bailey what’s going on, why Nigel had to go, or at least why we need Jones out?”
“I don’t want to breech the confidentiality agreement on the Nigel thing. And because it’s better kept between the two of us, and besides, Bailey doesn’t need to be involved.”
“But she is. And she’d add value, she’s smart, she’s intuitive, she has a good handle on this place.”
“She’s got you all wrong.”
Aiden sighed. “That’s my fault, and Jones’. Ask any of them out there and they’ll tell you I’m a ruthless bastard who’s going to trash his best friend’s business. That’s what she would think.”
“But this is how you wanted to do this.”
“I’m not complaining. It’s painful, but it’s quick. But I don’t understand why you don’t want to bring Bailey in on this. She’d be an asset.”
“You’re the asset. Bailey is a great girl, but she’s not going to add any value here. I’ve already got her doing what she does best, the detailed stuff.”
“I think you’re wrong about her.”
“You’ve known her two minutes and she hates your guts.”
Aiden laughed. “Yeah, you’re right.” Between them they’d made Bailey feel like she was interfering and out of line, and he’d personally made her feel insecure. He’d come on way too strong. Because the moment he’d seen Jones with his hand on her shoulder, whispering his lies in her ear he’d lost it.
“I’m not happy I handled it poorly with her. I think I shouted at her. I should never have followed her up here. He had his hands on her and I...” It should be his hands on Bailey, not anyone else’s. It was wrong but that’s what was in his head, that’s what’d gotten him all revved up. “Anyway, my bad.”
Blake was looking at him strangely, probably wondering if this going off half-cocked was going to be a continuing problem, wondering if he’d made a mistake.
“Bailey can look after herself. She’s tough. She doesn’t need you going all alpha-male on her. What’s more important is we know where Tony’s head is at. How’s it going shoring up his clients?”
“Two meetings this afternoon, and one tomorrow morning, all outside the office. By the time he finds out and makes his move I should’ve secured them. And you?”
“I see the bank again tomorrow.”
“I’m going to need six weeks before we think of pitching anything new. Six weeks from the day Tony exits. That’s how long I think it will take to settle everyone down, get things back on an even keel, and pull the knives out of my back.”
“Quicker would be better.” At least Blake wasn’t treating him like he was a bull in a china shop. He wasn’t scared to keep the pressure up.
“Don’t push your luck.”
“What’s the next move with Kathryn?”
“She wants to stay with us, but she doesn’t want anyone to know Nigel attacked her. She’s taking a few days off, at least till the bruising goes down.”
“She’s being very brave. Does makes it tricky. We have to live with the fact you do look like a bastard on a wild rampage, Aid.”
“Trickier for Kathryn. And we need to support her whatever way we can.”
“God, yes. What about Tony?”
“Once he knew I was on to him about the way he’s been running things: ste
aling ideas, the bullying, the lack of inclusiveness, particularly with the female staff—he knew he’d have to either change the way he worked or get out. Once he works out neither of us are backing down I think his pride will see him walking out the door.”
“And if not? If he wants to stay and fight?”
“Then we bring out the big guns. I took another look at the project log book last night. I can’t prove it but I think he’s been skimming jobs from our art department and giving them to his wife’s firm.”
Blake flung himself against the seat back. “Fuck, why didn’t you tell me? That’s a sackable offence.”
“I can’t prove it. I’m fairly certain it’s happening. Roberta says jobs she expects to come through to her guys in graphics mysteriously vanish from time to time. Tony always says the client changed their mind, but Roberta has seen campaigns in the market we were supposed to have done and didn’t.”
“Which means someone else has. Bastard. I knew he was crooked in some way. I couldn’t work it out. It was in the detail, not my forte. Remind me again why we don’t sack him and I don’t sue the bastard while I’m at it.”
“No hard proof. It’s better he quits. Then he has no come back on us. If we sack him or move too hard against him, he could try an action against us based on his value to the business. Either way he can hurt us in the market, but he might be less inclined to be vindictive if he goes with his dignity intact.”
“This is why I need you.”
“Bailey could have told you all that, if you’d have clued her in.”
“Not about the missing jobs. Anyway don’t worry about Bailey. You’ve got enough to worry about. This place, post Tony Jones, happy and humming. And ready to take on the biggest advertising buyers in the country.”
●
Studies have proven it’s not possible to know you’re being stared at by someone you can’t see. There’s no such sixth sense; no infallible eyes in the back of the head warning system. He’d seen the studies parodied with the staring being done very obviously by men wearing gorilla suits or doing a mad dance directly behind the still oblivious subject. But bugger the proof, Aiden knew he was being watched as he walked back to his office. Though he couldn’t spot the eyes, he could feel the niggling skin crawl that went with being closely observed.
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