Page 180 of Say My Name

His eyes open again. “You were sleeping together.”

“Yes.”

“You promised me four years ago that hiring Elena wouldn’t become complicated. You said you understood the boundaries.”

“I crossed them.”

“All of them.”

“Yes.”

He waits for an excuse. I don’t give him one.

“Did you use your position?” he asks.

“No.” I hold his gaze through the screen. “Her job was never conditional on the agreement or our relationship. The independent safeguards remain in place. But I was still her CEO, and I chose to become involved with her. I’m responsible for that.”

“You should have told me.”

“I should have.”

“You both shut me out.”

“Yes.”

His palm strikes the island. “Stop agreeing with me like that fixes anything.” The accusation hits its mark.

“It doesn’t.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose. “What happened between you?”

She planned a future where we raised the child from separate homes. “I couldn’t stay in a relationship she treated as something temporary.”

“So you left.”

“I ended the agreement and told her I couldn’t continue under those terms.”

“Did you tell her you loved her?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“She couldn’t tell me she was willing to build a life with me.”

Cliff looks away.

I let him take that in before I continue.

“The acquisition she mentioned last week is Weller Strategic Holdings.”

His attention snaps back to me. “Daniel Weller?”

“Yes.”

“Elena knew?”

“Not until Thursday’s identity-release call. He appeared on the screen, addressed her personally, and forced her to handle that history in front of the acquisition team.”