“Adam.” The voice was closer now. His footsteps echoed across the polished cement floor of the warehouse. Everyone who was crowded around me looked up at Jordan, wrapped up in his own thundercloud, headed my way.
“—emerging requirements have shifted,” I continued. “That means tighter deadlines.” They answered with groans all around. “I’m sorry, guys, but—”
Jordan was now standing on the outer rim of the group, hands on his hips, scowling. “I need to talk to you for a minute.”
“As soon as I’m done here,” I replied flatly.
His jaw worked, but he said nothing. Good. The leadership team was taking notes, and the few members of the art department—my cousin among them—were whispering to each other. I ignored Jordan’s obvious posturing and continued with the scrum, taking my time.
I never even so much as glanced Jordan’s way. Once I’d finished and dismissed them, Jordan proceeded to chase people away with a curt “Excuse us, please.”
The group broke off into small clusters that either returned to their desks or hovered around the edges of the big warehouse, out of earshot, in order to discuss how to form up and work the problem. Jordan pulled out his phone, which he promptly shoved in my face. It showed the same attachment the entire board had received in the email not even half an hour before.
“Susan sent me this agenda for tonight’s BOD meeting, and it says you’re bringing a ‘guest’ by the name of J.B. Kensington. For real?”
I nodded. “That’s correct.”
He glanced around us to make sure others weren’t close enough to overhear. I leaned back on my stool, arms folded across my chest, completely unconcerned about the storm I saw about to break on my long-suffering CFO’s head.
He tucked the phone into a front pocket. “A fucking shark lawyer, Adam? Have you completely lost your mind?”
I narrowed my eyes, but otherwise did not move as I stared him down. “And what the hell did you expect? The board calls an unannounced meeting on me to discuss this—matter. You cornered me. How did you think I’d react?”
“That’s the problem. You’re reacting instead of acting. Look,” he said between his teeth, “you need to knock it off. Believe me, I’ve already been doing the research on your behalf. If the board gets agitated, they will press this issue. You’re playing a dangerous game.”
My arms tensed where they were folded across my chest. “I know all about games. This isn’t a game.”
“It’s bullshit posturing, and you’re above it—or you usually are. Lawyering up for a board meeting is over the top.” The expression on his face was a cross between disgust and exasperation. It only angered me more. Heat burned under my collar. “You remember that warning I gave you about your stubbornness? Well, it’s rearing its ugly head now. And things don’t appear optimistic.”
“Is that a threat?” I stood up, suddenly agitated with him looming over me while I was sitting down, and, yeah, taken with the need to intimidate him. Would have worked better if we weren’t almost exactly the same height.
My movements must have been more sudden than I’d planned, because several of the people still standing around jerked their heads in our direction. When I stared at them, they discreetly glanced away.
Jordan was shaking his head in disbelief. “Don’t do that. I’m not here to threaten you. I told you, I’ve got your back…”
My fists flexed at my sides, and I forced myself to relax them. “Those are nice words to say, but you don’t.”
“It’s business, Adam. That’s my job—to protect your business interests.”
“And your own.”
He blinked. “To protect this company’s business interests.”
“My company’s business interests.”
His jaw set. “I think the board of directors would disagree with calling it that.”
“Fuck the board of directors. Yet another thing that you’ve talked me into that I now regret.”
He seemed to fight wanting to roll his eyes. “I’m going to ignore that.”
I raised my brow, shifting my posture. It was ridiculous, but I could feel my chest puffing out. Jordan’s eyes narrowed, taking in my body language. I knew he was carefully assessing it. He bit his bottom lip and cast a quick glance up into my face.
“If you did have my back, I wouldn’t be fighting with those assholes about my private married life and personal finances that are none of their goddamn business. My company. My life. Get the fuck out of it!” By this time, I was shouting.
Jordan’s eyes cut to mine. “You’re unbelievable.”
“A friend would have used his influence with the board to put a stop to this,” I said. “Instead, you’ve put your own personal feelings ahead of doing what is right and throwing your friend under a bus.”
He held his hands out, palms up. “Who’s throwing who under a bus? Christ Almighty, Adam.” He gestured stiffly with his right hand. “Pull your head out of your ass.”
That heat from under my collar exploded like a supernova. In a flash, I was in his face, grasping his shirt. “My head isn’t up my ass, fuck you very much.”
And there we were in that warehouse, our faces inches from each other and a whole lot of testosterone in the air. My blood gushed in my veins, heart hammering. And I was this close to swinging on Jordan. My best friend.
That was when I sensed the presence of a third person. Hands on each of us, pushing us away from each other. Someone, luckily, as big as we both were. My cousin, speaking as a voice of reason.
“Back off each other. Now,” Liam ordered in his typical monotone, a surprisingly authoritative ring to it. The tension washed from my body as if a spell had been broken.
I released Jordan’s shirt immediately and stepped away. When I finally became aware again of our surroundings, the few people who were left in the warehouse all seemed to be hightailing it out of there as fast as they could. Soon, the entire place was empty except for the three of us.
Jordan was flushed, breathing hard with a WTF expression on his face. Honestly, if I could see myself in the mirror, I’d probably see that same look reflected back at me. Jesus. What the hell was wrong with me?
Liam had moved between the two of us. “If you two really want to handle this the old-fashioned way, then take up swords and don armor. We’ll hold a duel at the European martial arts studio. But you definitely shouldn’t be challenging each other in front of employees.”