Diamond (Rare Gems Series) by Kathi S. Barton Page B

around pack all the time.”
    “ Why?” Thad and he were walking back to Blair’s truck when he asked him. Thad started to ask him what he meant when he continued. “Why are you telling me this? You could have easily gotten me into trouble with the Board. Are you sucking up? I can tell you now it won’t work. I’ve fired people for that.”
    “ No, I’ve no reason to suck up. I’m going to make my own way here with or without your permission or help. But I’m a rules kind of guy and when I see them being broken by no other fault than because someone didn’t know, I bring it up. What you do or don’t do with the information is entirely up to you.” Thad moved to the other side of the truck, somewhat hurt by Blair’s question. When he was seated inside the monster thing, he buckled in and waited for Blair to get going.
    “ I’m not good at this male bonding thing. I say what I want, not thinking about how my words will affect others. Sapphire has made it her life’s work to point this out to me whenever she can. This, I might add, is hourly. What I should have said was thank you and I’ll make it better. And for the record, I want this thing to work too. I’ve missed your friendship and your sense of humor. You’re not all bad for a human.”
    Thad was shocked. Not pissed, but completely and utterly shocked. Blair had just called him a human like it was something he found under his shoe. Then he winked. Thad looked out the window and tried to wrap his mind around what just happened. He thought that he’d just been forgiven. When he looked at Blair again, he realized something else. He was a human and Blair was not.
    Before he could comment, though he wasn ’t sure what he might have said, Thad’s phone went off. When he heard the tone, his first thoughts were what Morton had done now to piss Jane off, when he remembered that Morton was no longer a problem. He was smiling when he answered.
    “ I’ve found the area for the plastics plant. The bank has a house as well that might go along with it.” Thad started to tell her the rest when she interrupted him.
    “ Ward is here.” His entire body went on red alert. “Not in the building but in the area. He called here about ten minutes ago looking for you and asking if he was able to get back in the building as yet. I started to tell him hell no, but decided I’d ask you about it first. You didn’t take him back did you?”
    “ No. No, I didn’t.” He glanced at Blair and realized that he could hear the conversation and put it on speakerphone. “I’m with Blair in the truck. Tell me what you told Ward.”
    “ Hello, Blair. I told him that I’d have to contact you to see what you’d set up. I was reasonably sure that the only thing you would have set up with the little pisser was him staying the fuck away but…well hell, I needed to hear it from your own lips.” Thad was trying to think what Ward wanted when Blair spoke to Jane.
    “ Does he know where Thad is now?” Jane said not as far as she knew. “Good. I’m not sure what’s going on with this person, but I’m assuming he’s not anyone we want to visit here.”
    “ Ward Galloway is my brother. And if there were a more selfish prick in this world, I’m not sure I’d want to meet him. He took over six million in cash and other things when it was all said and done, and I was only able to get about a quarter of that back.” Thad didn’t want to think about this right now. “If he comes here, trouble will follow. For whatever reason, he’s got it in his head that because I have money he can pretty much spend as much as he wants and I not say a word. I’ve worked very hard for every penny I’ve got and he seemed to think that because he was a Galloway, he should have all I had too.”
    “ What would you like me to do? Take care of him and put him beside our good friend Morton? I can do that.” Thad started to scream at her no when she laughed. “I’m kidding, boss. Don’t get