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“You slept with him, then?”
That wasn’t right either. She shrugged. “I’d say we were somewhere in between dating and having a causal relationship.”
Shep frowned, chewing. “I don’t follow,” he eventually said.
She hesitated, wondering if she should even bother explaining. She didn’t know Shep at all. Fuck it, she’d already told him everything anyway. At least she could put herself in a better light. She ate another piece of her burger, p
ausing for a time to collect herself. “Because Jake was the CEO of the company, he wanted to be careful of our relationship. He was so careful that I had to sign a nondisclosure agreement saying that I wouldn’t ever disclose we’d been intimate. And yes, I realize that should have raised all the red flags, but it hadn’t.”
“Why?”
“As the CEO of a large company, dating an employee can be complicated,” she explained. “I understood that, and since we weren’t serious, we never dated out in public.”
“Ever?”
“Never. We always had dinner at our homes, or he took me away on a private plane somewhere.”
“Sounds fancy.”
She nodded, sucking the ketchup off her thumb. “It was incredibly fancy.” The sting in her heart reminded her that none of it was real, however. “We were together for a year, and I was happy.”
“Then what went wrong?”
She stared out at the horse, her mind bringing her back to when everything fell apart.
Tears blurred Emma’s vision as the elevator raced up to the top floor. When the doors opened, she strode along the hallway lined with offices, feeling every set of eyes on her in an odd sort of way. Too examining. Too judgmental. When she rounded the corner, she heard Jake’s voice, and she stopped at the harshness in his tone. She needed him to be her hero today. News of Grams’s death had come only minutes ago, and she was on her way to tell Jake that she had to leave for the funeral. But he had trouble on his plate too. They’d been caught kissing in his office, and news of their affair had spread like wildfire through the building. And now office gossip had become whispers that Emma’s promotion fourteen months ago came from screwing the boss.
She stopped just outside his large corner office when she heard, “Be honest with me, Jake, did you give Emma the promotion because you’re fucking her?” She recognized the voice as John, VP of Cadwell Advertising.
“Of course not,” Jake said, a harsh bite to his low voice. “She got the promotion because she’s damn good at her job.”
There was movement in the office, but Emma stood, silently shaking, as John added, “Still, we should transfer her to another location to avoid this getting out there more than it already has. The last thing we want is the board thinking you’re giving your mistresses promotions.”
Mistresses? Emma wrapped her hands around her middle, her stomach churning.
Bile rose in her throat as Jake said, “Do what you have to do.”
Emma knew she should move. Hell, maybe even run away, but she couldn’t. Her heart broke into a thousand pieces right there. She couldn’t find the strength to move, to breathe, to do anything. All Jake had to do was tell John that he cared about her and that she was staying put at Cadwell Advertising and in his life.
Why wasn’t he?
Besides, she’d worked damn hard for the promotion as Executive Creative Director. Transferring her would only prove the gossip right, making everyone believe she screwed her way to the top. All her hard work would forever be tainted.
She blinked to clear the tears, and a solid figure appeared in front of her.
“Oh,” John said, stepping back, his eyes huge, face pale. “Emma. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were there.”
Jake was at the doorway a second later, his brows drawn tightly over his intense brown eyes. His hair perfectly styled, as always; his gorgeous chiseled face marred with a frown; his suit tailored to fit him like a glove. “Emma.” Jake reached out to her, regret in his eyes.
She hated her goddamn tears and stepped back. “Why didn’t you tell him the truth?”
Jake’s jaw muscles clenched, then he sighed, gesturing at John. “Leave us a moment.” John left without objection, and when it was just the two of them, Jake’s voice softened. “This is complicated, Emma. I should have transferred you the moment we started dating. I told you before I wanted to keep this quiet. It’s not quiet anymore.”
“Actually,” she retorted, folding her arms over her chest, “this is all very simple. You need to tell everyone we’re dating so that my reputation isn’t ruined here at work. You also will not transfer me to ensure the gossip doesn’t spread further. Do those two things, and this becomes very uncomplicated.”
Jake shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced down at his fancy, shiny black shoes.
Reality dawned on Emma then like a frigid wave drowning her, leaving her gasping for breath. “You don’t want anyone to know we’re dating?” The words barely made it out of her tight throat.
