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  “I’m not angry with Davis. I’m angry with Felicity.”

  “If it’s any comfort, Davis did mention to me last night he’s been looking into jobs again. He doesn’t want to leave Murality before twenty years, but the fact that he mentioned it means he takes this seriously. Especially now, after what happened.” He hesitated. “You do realize he wants nothing to do with Felicity, right?”

  That cold, sick feeling returned to her stomach. Of course she trusted Davis.

  She damn sure didn’t trust Felicity.

  “Yes, I know. That issue is settled. The issue now is she’s trying to use extortion and defamation to ruin me professionally and leverage that against my employer. I’m sure if I got a lawyer and went after her and Murality that it would end up on the front page. Especially when Murality runs ads claiming to be family-friendly and concerned about local businesses and people, and here the daughter of the company’s owner is trying to ruin that.”

  “Probably.” He chuckled. “She’s not going to know what hit her when she walks into that buzzsaw of you. Um, babe, please don’t literally hit her. Do I need to meet you there?”

  “I’m not going to hit her. And no, we’ll deal with it. Davis will be there.”

  “Call me as soon as it’s over and let me know what happened. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  She hung up and stared out the windshield, aware that her boss was glancing over at her.

  “This will be okay,” she told him.

  He didn’t answer.

  She focused on him. “If you’re rethinking this and going to fire me, tell me now, before we get there, so I can adjust my approach to them.”

  “I’m not going to fire you. I…I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before. We sell plants. That’s why I wanted to run a nursery. I grew up in a family who made attacking each other and backstabbing an Olympic sport. I wanted to spend time outdoors doing something that made me happy making other people happy. People don’t come in angry with us. They come in because they’re looking to make things better and prettier. Or they want to learn things.

  “Sure, we’ve had employee issues and the occasional unsatisfied customer, or fighting against Mother Nature with hurricanes or freezes, but…none of this. Except when my cousin nearly ruined us. Then, when you stepped in and fixed what happened, I was horrified we almost lost everything and you’ll never know how grateful I am to you for that.”

  He slowly shook his head. “I’m trying to run through options in my head on how to tell my wife all of this, that’s all. She’s going to be upset for a number of reasons.”

  “Including me?”

  “I’m not going to tell her about…Kirby is his name?”

  “Yes, Kirby.”

  “I’ll tell her that you’re very close to him because of Davis. That’s not a lie, right?”

  She smiled. “Right.”

  “Okay, then. That will help. She’ll be on your side about all of this. My wife isn’t technologically skilled. If the picture is mentioned, I’ll tell her it was faked or something. You can’t help that woman is insane. I’ve never really liked Felicity, but of course I had to be nice to her because we sell their products. It’s one of our core lines. Felicity always puts on a fake front at functions we’ve seen her at. Like she’s money and nothing can touch her, and she’s better than everyone else.”

  “Really?”

  “My family wasn’t rich. I always felt I had to prove myself to my in-laws because they weren’t happy when I married Kelly. They thought I was poor white trash. They were the ones who had money and the ones who gave us a loan to start the business. Well, they’re dead now, and sometimes those feelings come back to haunt me. Felicity has always made me feel like that when I’ve had to deal with her.”

  “I’m sorry. I certainly can sympathize there. I go through the same thing sometimes. Not feeling good enough.”

  They fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive. Melanie had never been to Davis’ office before. They stopped at the guard shack at the plant’s front gate and received visitor passes and instructions on where to go. Apparently, the attorney had forewarned the guard to get them in as quickly as possible, because he was already handing them pre-printed visitor badges with their names on them before they barely finished getting their names out.

  As they started walking toward the building, Mattlin leaned in. “I’m nervous.”

  “Do you trust me, sir?”

  “Of course I do.”

  She smiled at him. “Then please let me take the lead and deal with this. Just nod and agree with me.”

  “Okay.”

  The receptionist at the front door was also expecting them and jumped up to personally escort them upstairs and down a series of hallways to an office.

  “Mr. Newport? They’re here.” She indicated for them to go in.

  The man stood and rounded his desk, shutting the door behind them before shaking hands and handling introductions.

  “Thank you for coming. Mr. Mattlin, I promise you, Murality Phosphate will honor all our contracts with Mattlin Meadows now and in the future.”

  “I think we should get the discount Felicity promised for having to deal with this garbage,” Mel drawled.

  “I will bring that up with Mr. Darby during our meeting.”

  “Where is he? And Davis?”

  “Everyone will be here momentarily. I called them as soon as the front gate told me you’d arrived.”

  They settled into chairs in front of his desk. It looked like a couple of folding chairs had also been brought in, since they didn’t match the two chairs Mel and Mr. Mattlin now occupied and which were pushed off to the side in an unusual way.

  Great. Now I’m Davising.

  When someone knocked on his door, Newport rose and answered it personally, admitting a woman he introduced as Mary Selman, head of HR for Murality. The next knock was James Darby, the CEO. When Mel tried to give up her chair for him and to take one of the folding chairs, he waved her down.

  “Nonsense. Please, it’s fine.”

  Then Davis arrived, looking extremely confused. When he saw Mel sitting there, he frowned. “What is going on?”

  She patted the folding chair next to her. “Sit down, Davis. You’ll see.” It was a calculated decision on her part to catch him off-guard like this, but she knew if she’d told him everything over the phone there was a chance Davis’ “Dom mode” might have kicked in. She’d rather risk him having a meltdown with her about this over him having a meltdown that cost him his job, all because he wanted to be protective of her.

  Mel launched into the story, only handing it over to Mr. Mattlin to give the exact details of his encounter with Felicity that morning. The attorney took notes the entire time and looked like a man in desperate need of an antacid or ulcer meds. Mary Selman also took notes and while she wore a practiced, calm mask, Mel could tell from the way her lips were pinched together, her jaw tight, that she was not happy, either.

  To his credit, James Darby immediately settled Mel’s mind. “Son of a bit-gun!” he exclaimed, catching himself mid-swear. Then he turned to Mattlin. “I am so sorry. Of course Murality will not pull our products or end our relationship with Mattlin Meadows. I’ll personally talk to our wholesale division and give you an extra two-percent discount across the board on all of our products.”

  Mattlin let out a sigh. “Thank you very much. That isn’t necessary, we just—”

  “We’ll take it,” Mel said. “Now. What are you going to do about your batshit crazy daughter?”

  Darby blew out a breath and looked at the attorney. “Is she here?”

  He nodded. “She’s in her office. I told her I had some papers I needed her to look over later today, and not to leave until after that.”

  “She doesn’t know about this, does she?” Darby asked.

  “No, sir. She thinks it’s new wholesale contracts.”

  During all of this, Davis ha
dn’t spoken or contributed to the conversation. He stared at his hands and Mel fought the urge to reach over and touch him. She didn’t, because she knew it would only make him more nervous and distract him.

  Darby focused on her. “Ms. Hill, what are you looking for, personally?”

  “Well, since demanding her head on a pike isn’t a legal option, I’ll settle for her employment being terminated, right now in front of us, and a stern warning issued to her that if she tries to interfere with any businesses who do business with Murality, that the company will take legal action against her.

  “Also, I want her informed that Murality will finance any legal battle that Mattlin Meadows or I personally might have to fight against her later if she tries any other bullshit. Add to that Davis, myself, and Davis’ brother won’t hesitate to file restraining orders against her if she tries anything else, all on Murality’s tab.

  “That’s letting her off easy, and you damn well know it. Those terms are not negotiable. Right now, I’m sure your attorney will agree with me that Mattlin Meadows and I have actionable cases against her and against Murality just from this, and that’s negative press no one in the phosphate industry wants right now, especially Murality.”

  She didn’t honestly know if they had valid cases or not, but when she looked at Newport, he nodded to Darby.

  The older man mulled it over. “Okay. Agreed on all terms.” He pointed at the phone on the attorney’s desk. “Get her in here.”

  Newport did, but making sure a guy from security was called in first. The guard would be escorting her off the premises as soon as her termination was issued.

  Seeing the woman in person twisted Mel’s gut into a knot, but she maintained a calm facade and settled for visualizing repeatedly punching her in the face.

  “What’s going on?” Felicity looked around, but Mel sensed her already trying to figure out how to spin this to her advantage, unable to process she wouldn’t be able to come out on top.

  Darby spoke. “Felicity, you have crossed a line. Multiple lines, but this is the final one. I hoped demoting you would send a message, but apparently it didn’t. I’m terminating your employment immediately.”

  She stared at him. “What? You can’t be serious.”

  “I am. Also, going and lying and threatening one of our customers over a personal grudge? Stalking an employee and…peeping? That’s low even by your questionable standards.”

  “You have no proof of any of this.”

  Newport spoke up. “The chip on your company parking pass recorded you leaving early Wednesday afternoon and coming in much later than usual yesterday. Why did you leave early, and why were you late to work?”

  “I—” Her mouth snapped shut as she stared at Mel. Her eyes narrowed in anger. “You’re going to be sorry you crossed me, lady.”

  “No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Darby said. He repeated to Felicity all of the terms Mel had demanded and added one of his own. “If I hear so much as a rumor of you badmouthing Murality to anyone, or badmouthing Davis or Ms. Hill or anyone else regarding this, Murality will sue you.”

  “I’m sure one of the other phosphate companies will be happy to take me on.”

  Newport snorted. “Felicity, I have a signed employment contract from you with a non-compete clause in it. You’ll have to wait five years before you can work for any of our direct competitors within a hundred-mile radius. Otherwise, Murality can sue you. And we will sue you.”

  Now her face turned red. “What? I didn’t sign that!”

  Newport already had her file on his desk. He opened it and withdrew a form. “Yes, you did. It was detailed in a separate form from the main employment contract, and you signed both it and the contract.”

  She didn’t have a response for that.

  Darby walked over to her and unclipped her security badge from her blouse. “Phone.”

  “What?”

  “That cell phone is provided to you by Murality. Hand it over.”

  She glared at him but reached into her pocket and gave it to him.

  He looked at the security officer. “Escort her to her office. Allow her to take only her purse, keys, and any personal devices. Nothing else. Any other personal items, I’ll box up myself and deliver them.”

  “Mom’s going to be pissed at you when I tell her this.”

  “Your mother wants to yank your hair out at the roots. I already warned her you were probably getting fired today, and why, and she is not happy with you. Especially when I told her I’d already given you a second chance earlier in the week instead of firing you.”

  That was the shocker, apparently. “What?”

  “Yeah. So don’t even bother whining to her. You’re done. And if you want to use Murality as a business reference, then you’d better keep your mouth shut for once.”

  “Daddy, I—”

  He held up a hand. “Don’t embarrass yourself. You’ve already humiliated me. Just get out of here.”

  After shooting a glare at Mel, Felicity walked out, the security guard following her and shutting the door behind him.

  Darby blew out a breath and sank into one of the chairs before meeting Mel’s gaze. “Well?”

  She slowly nodded. “I’m sorry, Mr. Darby, but it had to be done. It’s nothing personal, it’s business. I have to look out for the best interest of Mattlin Meadows. We’ve worked hard to build it up and we’ve been cheerleaders of Murality’s products.”

  “I know.” He removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. “Davis, you’ve been awfully quiet, even for you. Please, say something.”

  He didn’t look up. While she was dying to wrap her arms around him and hold him, she knew that wasn’t what he wanted or needed right now. “Thank you for dealing with this, Mr. Darby,” he quietly said. “I’m sorry I caused all of this.”

  “Let’s get something straight, Davis,” Darby said. “You didn’t cause this. My crazy daughter caused this. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I never should have gotten involved with her. I didn’t anticipate there would be any repercussions from it.”

  “Again, Davis, you’re not in the wrong here. I sincerely hope this doesn’t make you want to terminate your employment here. We need you.”

  Mel didn’t interrupt, even though she wanted to press for a raise or extra benefits or something on his behalf.

  He was an adult and had been working there for decades.

  He could do this.

  “I just want to do my job,” he said, reaching for Mel’s hand and holding on tightly.

  She wouldn’t let go.

  Then Davis spoke again. “I do have a request.”

  Darby nodded. “Yes?”

  “Could Murality please make more of an effort to exceed FDEP’s requirements on reclamation efforts? And maybe set aside some funds for public projects?”

  He studied Davis. “Such as?”

  Davis finally looked up. “There are several public parks integral to the local watershed. Like Myakka River State Park, as well as parks along the Peace River. Could Murality help with that? Wouldn’t it be a tax benefit or something?”

  Darby looked at Newport. “Well?”

  “I’ll research it, sir. You were saying at the last quarterly meeting you wouldn’t mind doing more of that to help our public image.”

  “Okay, then. Davis, can you please present your recommendations to him in writing so he can research it?”

  Davis nodded.

  “Is there anything else we need to deal with?” Darby asked the room.

  “Yes,” Mel said when it looked like Mattlin was about to say no. “I’d like that extra wholesale discount agreement in writing, please.”

  Darby smiled. “You sure you don’t want a job? We just had an opening come up.”

  Mattlin laughed. “Please don’t hire her away from us. I’m sure you could pay her a lot more, but we really need her. She’s the backbone of our operations.”

  She knew she was appreciated, but to
hear Mattlin say it like that truly warmed her. “Thanks, Mr. Darby, but Mattlin Meadows is my home.”

  “Can’t blame a guy for trying. I learned a long time ago I hire good people and they make my job easier.” He sighed. “I wish I’d listened to my own advice regarding my daughter.”

  Chapter Twenty

  It was nearly five o’clock when the meeting ended. Security notified Darby that Felicity had been escorted off the premises.

  As they all stood and filed out of the office, Mel pulled Mattlin aside in the corridor. “I’ve got my keys. I’ll stop by later tonight and get my car. I want to ride back with Davis.”

  “I understand.” He hugged her. “Thank you for this.”

  “I’m sorry my personal life dragged you and the business into this.”

  He smiled and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Well, I won’t complain that we now have a better deal with them.” He stepped back and shrugged. “If my wife ever hears something and tries to complain, she won’t be able to argue against that fact. It’s the literal bottom line. I’ll have your back, I promise.”

  “Thanks.”

  Davis had already walked away and she needed Newport to point her toward his office. When she got there, the door was closed but even without the nameplate on the door, she would have known it was his.

  The huge sign about videotaping gave it away.

  She knocked.

  “Yes?”

  “Davis, can I come in?”

  “Yes.”

  She walked in and closed the door behind her. “I’m sorry, Davis.”

  He was standing by his desk and looking…morose, if she had to guess. “Why are you apologizing?”

  “Because I’m sure this was very upsetting to you.”

  * * * *

  Upsetting wasn’t exactly the word Davis would use. It partially described the emotions swirling through him. Dark reds and browns and blacks and ugly jagged shards of greys.

  “Why couldn’t Felicity accept the terms she’d agreed to when we started seeing each other?”

  Mel walked over to him but didn’t touch him. “Some people don’t react rationally when their pride takes a hit.”