Twas The Knight Before Christmas (Something Great Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

it was, Max was aware of it too, I was sure of it. We always told each other everything. Maybe it was something that had just come up recently. And what was it about? If it was about Knight Fashion, wouldn’t Matthew have talked to me about it? If it was personal, Becky would have told me. But since Matthew was speaking to Thomas, I knew it was a legal matter.
    The first time I’d met Thomas was when Crystal wanted to sue Max. He had to get me involved when she wanted to accuse him of forceful play and was going to announce it to the world. Some people were desperate and would do crazy things. I was all too glad to have that settled quickly. I was just hopeful that whatever was going on now would be resolved quickly. Matthew looked too distraught and I hated to see him like this, not only because he was my brother-in-law, but for Becky as well. And whatever happened to them affected us. They were our family.
    “Hey, Matthew.” I leaned slightly over his desk to give us some privacy. “Is everything okay?”
    Matthew peered up, looking dazed. He must have been deep in thought. “Huh? Hey, Jenna. Are you trying to sneak up on your boss?” His tone was a bit more playful than ten minutes ago, but his shoulders seemed tense.
    “Actually, I’m the boss, so yes, I’m sneaking up on my second in command,” I smirked. “But seriously, is everything all right?”
    He scrubbed his hand down his face with a sigh. I could feel so much stress and tension in that sigh. “One of the models is suing us,” he finally whispered.
    “What? Which one?” My tone went up a pitch and then I tried to calm my pounding heart. I frowned and pulled up a chair. “When did this happen?” I lowered my voice to match his. The last thing we needed was everyone on our team stressed. It really wasn’t their concern anyway.
    “Yesterday. And it’s”—he pulled out a photo— “Victor Cummings. Do you remember him?”
    I nodded, recalling how unprofessional he was. It was too bad we’d had to fire him. He was very good looking. Matthew had a keen eye for models, but Mrs. Ward, the human resources manager, did the actual hiring and firing. “I remember you told me about him.”
    “He told his lawyer that we had no grounds for firing him.” Matthew’s nostrils flared up and down while he tightened his jaw. “Does he think we’re stupid? I have logged all the times he was late and the times he didn’t show up to work at all. I have all the records of complaints by his coworkers. That asshole doesn’t know who he’s messing with. I’m going to bring him down so hard, he won’t know who ass whipped him.” Matthew puffed out air. He looked like he needed to vent.
    “Ass whipped.” I laughed. “Does he know you have all these records against him?”
    Matthew leaned back into his chair with a smug expression on his face. The chair slightly rocked back and forth. “He will tomorrow. Let’s see if he tries to challenge that. If he does, he’s not the only idiot, so is his lawyer.”
    “I have to agree with you, but—”
    “It doesn’t matter. I know we’ll win the case. It’s more time with the lawyer and less time with the family. Victor doesn’t have a family so he doesn’t give a fuck. It’s almost Christmas.” He leaned closer. “I think his lawyer wants us to pay him off. Who wants to deal with this kind of shit right before Christmas, right?” He paused. “I’m not going to give them the satisfaction. Sure, Max and I can afford to pay him off, but it’s a matter of integrity. I don’t want other models we fire to follow his lead. It’s the reason why we don’t give full-term contracts to models. It’s based on projects. Anyway, Jenna, I don’t want to hold you up. Aren’t you having lunch with Max?”
    I nodded. “Yeah.”
    “Well, if I keep you any longer, he’ll be—”
    “At the door waiting,” a deep, sexy voice said.
    I turned to see Max leaning against the door with his hands tucked into his