By the time we pulled up to the Hayes International building, Harper had fully transitioned into her operations-overlord mode.
“Sam, you go first,” she instructed, already tapping something into her phone. “Elevator bank C, use service one. Theo, you follow in 2 minutes. You’ll take the main entrance.” Theo raised a brow. “You’ve timed our entrances?”
She didn’t even blink. “Down to the second. We’re not running a rom-com, we’re running a billion-dollar company.” I hid my grin behind the rim of the coffee she’d handed me earlier. “Got it,” I said, stepping out into the chaos of the Manhattan sidewalk. “Right elevator, and no eye contact.”
“Exactly.” Harper gave me a once-over. “And for what it’s worth, you look like power today.” I turned back with a wink. “That’s because I slept with it.” She snorted, but didn’t disagree.
I walked into the sleek marble and glass oasis that was the executive floor, just in time to receive a calendar notification from Harper.
9:45 – Meeting with Cameron (PR + IB Strategy Oversight Transition) 11:30 – HR: Relationship Disclosure Documentation Review
Oh, good, my sex life has an itinerary now.
As I turned toward the hallway that led to Cameron’s office, I passed Naomi by the espresso machine. She glanced up from her cup, gave me a look, then raised her brow. “You look... refreshed.”
“Must be the new salary that’s making me feel fancier,” I quipped. She didn’t respond, but the knowing smirk was all the commentary I needed. I slipped into the meeting room just as Cameron walked in, clean-cut, sharp, and already mid-sentence with someone on his AirPods. He waved, finished his call, then looked at me with a warm smile. “Samantha,” he said, gesturing for me to sit. “Excited to finally work more closely.”
“Same here,” I said, settling in. “Though I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to be reassigned so early into the game.” Cameron chuckled. “It’s not personal. HR just likes a clear structure. And Harper likes preventing lawsuits.”
“Both valid priorities.” We exchanged a few updates about the role, his expectations, how I’d be looped into international partnerships and media relations from a strategic lens, and I realized something strange. I didn’t hate it. The job, I mean. The responsibility. The sense of purpose. Maybe Rose was right. Maybe I did owe myself this. As the meeting wrapped, Harper appeared in the doorway with a new folder. “HR is ready for you.”
Cameron shot me a look. “Good luck, time to make things legal.”
I stood. “Wait, legal? As in paperwork? With the legal department?” I turned and, of course, Naomi was standing just outside the glass wall. Shit. Shit. Shit. “Naomi,” I said, voice light. “Fancy seeing you here.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You’re formalizing a relationship with the CEO of Hayes International?” I shrugged one shoulder, trying to play it off. “There’s a form. Harper insisted.” Naomi stepped closer. “Samantha, I’m Head of Legal. And not once did this come across my desk.”
“Well, maybe because it wasn’t a legal,legalthing yet,” I said quickly. “More like… HR technicalities. Like a boundary form. Or a ‘please don’t fire each other mid-orgasm’ kind of agreement.” Cameron covered a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Naomi’s eyes narrowed. “This is what happens when you let inexperienced rich girls into boardrooms.”
My mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?” She sighed, already annoyed that she let that one slip. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then how did you mean it?” Harper appeared again, folder in hand like a rescue mission in four-inch heels.
“Oh, good, everyone’s here. Naomi, I looped you into the doc for final review an hour ago. Check your email. And let’s not derail this with sibling drama. I have actual fires to put out.” Naomi didn’t move, just sipped her espresso and stared at me as if it was myfault she hated me. “See you at the next family dinner,” I said with a too-sweet smile, brushing past her and taking the folder from Harper like it was a shield.
Harper handed me a pen. “Sign here. Here. And here.” I glanced back at Naomi, who was now muttering something to Cameron. Then I looked down at the dotted lines. What’s one more scandal in a house built on them? I signed.
My phone buzzed as I stepped into the elevator. I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Yes, Max?”
“Good morning to you, too, Samantha,” my dad said, his voice smooth but clipped. “Do you have a moment to talk privately?” The elevator doors closed. “I’m literally in an elevator, so sure, why not?”
“You’ve signed an HR agreement?” Of course, he knew. Nothing stayed quiet in this building for more than ten seconds. “I did,” I said. “Because Harper handed it to me this morning, and because it’s apparently a condition of sleeping with someone in this place.” There was a pause.
“So you are sleeping with him, then.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “Are you seriously calling me to ask about my sex life?”
“I’m calling to ask if your choices are going to jeopardize the company I built. The legacy I’m trusting you to help lead. Because sleeping around with the new CEO while being new in the company isn’t exactly a way of showing respect, Samantha Nicole Hayes.”
“Okay, wow.” I shifted my weight, voice flat. “This is wildly inappropriate, even for you.”
“Samantha—”
“No, Max. I’m not having this conversation. You don’t get to have an opinion or judge me for what I do outside working hours, especially when you’re the one who hired him. And, might I add, failed to mention that detail until I was already in too deep.”
“This isn’t about judgment?—”
“Oh, really? Because it sounds a lot like judgment from the man who has had more affairs than you can count, and who, by the way,marriedone of his mistresses, who was his PR director at the time.” Silence.
I exhaled slowly. “I’m doing the job you asked me to do. I’m keeping it professional where it counts. If you have a problem with that, you can talk to HR. Since apparently that’s where we air out our dirty laundry now.”
