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“All the forms look good.” I settle back in my chair across the desk from Mrs. Ratner. Her gaze scans over my face, appraising me in an unnerving sort of way. She makes a “hmmm-hmmm” sound before speaking again. “You’re single, right?”
I show her my left hand and wiggle my fingers. “No ring.” This earns me a slight smile from her.
But am I really single? Would Barclay like the way I answered her question?
“It’s best I explain Hammond Press’ stance on inner office relationships.” Mrs. Ratner drops her voice, conveying the seriousness of her next words. “If you want to date someone here at Hammond, they have to be on the same level as you. Your equal. No one can date another person they have authority over. In other words, stay out of your chain of command. Maybe find a nice guy in accounting. He’ll be on the other side of the company’s organizational chart too. That’d be safe for you.”
She points a long, thin finger at the paper in front of me, her nail landing on accounting. She trails a path up, and I don’t miss the executive at the top of the pile: Barclay Hammond.
“How long has this policy been in place? The no dating a superior one?” I feel nauseous at this point in the conversation, because the rules are clear. I can’t date Barclay—ever. All the roads lead to him.
“The board of directors recently set forth the rules, bringing Hammond up to date with harassment issues in the workplace climate.”
I reach up and touch my lips, remembering Barclay’s kiss goodbye yesterday morning. Would it be my last?
35
Barclay
“Trevor, compile last month’s revenue for all fiction and non-fiction new releases. Have them on my desk by tomorrow at noon,” I order my cousin, giving him a don’t-fuck-with-me stare across the conference table.
Thankfully, the meeting is over, because staying professional is near impossible knowing how Trevor treated Tessa last week. I wanted to reach over the table and punch that smirk off his slimy face. The jerk knows how to get under my skin.
Running late for my next meeting, I leave the room and start walking down the hallway. Trevor catches up with me, but I pretend he doesn’t exist.
“Have you heard about the new junior marketing hire?” he asks, but I keep ignoring him. My jaw tightens when he doesn’t get the message that I have nothing to say.
“She’s a sweet southern belle,” he continues in a teasing tone. I stop at the boardroom door leading to my next meeting, and unfortunately, he does too. “You’ll get to meet her now. She’s just behind that door.”
“What’s your problem, man?” I turn to face him, and a sickening smile spreads across his face.
“I don’t have a problem, but you’re about to.” He cackles like a crazy person, walking away from me without another word. He’s totally lost it this time.
I enter the room and find my marketing director, Reece Young, at the head of the table. “Sorry to be late. Accounting’s conference ran longer than usual. What did I miss?”
“We have some exciting news,” Reece says, standing up and moving around the back of the table. She stops behind the chair of a blonde wearing glasses. Shaking my head, I do a double-take and blink, not understanding what I’m seeing in front of me. “I’d like you to meet Contessa Holly. Our new junior marketing manager.”
Reece smiles brightly, as pleased as punch. Me? I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. And “Contessa?” She looks ghostly pale.
“Tessa?” Her name spills out of my mouth before I can stop it, but deep down, I know it’s her. She’s wearing pink, and a grave expression, feeling the weight of the moment just like me.
“You two know each other?” Reece asks, glancing back and forth between Tessa and me. Her eyes narrow, assessing us, then there’s a flash of curiosity. The tension in the air thickens, pressing against my lungs. I tug at my collar.
How the hell do I answer Reece’s question?
I can’t tell her I stayed the night in Tessa’s room and planned to know her in the biblical sense this evening after dinner. The thought of her lying on my bed, ready and waiting for me to make her mine, helped me push through this morning’s dull meetings. Now, she’s a forbidden fruit I’ll never be able to taste.
“Um, we met at the hotel. In the restaurant.” Tessa saves me with a reply we can work with, hopefully removing any suspicious thought from Reece’s mind. What a fucked-up mess.
“That’s right.” I force a smile, trying to make our meeting seem inconsequential, which is a boldface lie. The second my eyes connected with Tessa’s, my life pivoted into the before and after I found her.
Dammit. We’re royally fucked. The rules are clear. I’m the king of the company. Everyone is off limits to me.
