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“Is there a problem?” I ask.
“That’s an understatement.” Blair closes the door with a laugh that cuts off sharply as her face crumples. She looks a hot second away from bursting into tears.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Jesus, is she crying?I’ve never seen her so emotional. Hell, some of my guys shed tears every time the Dow breaks a record, but I can’t recall spotting a single crack in Blair’s friendly, all-business facade.
Handing over my box of tissues as Blair settles into the chair in front of my desk, I ask, “Are you all right?”
“No. Not really.” She blots her nose, then takes a shuddering breath. “I hate this, Jack. I debated all morning about whether to say anything at all. I’m sure it was a misunderstanding, but… Oh, man, this is so hard!”
“It’s okay, Blair. Take a deep breath, then tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s just the more I think about it…” Her throat works as she shakes her head. “I know I can’t stay silent.”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure we can figure it out.” My mind is rapid-firing excuses—I’ve got Eric on research duty; he signed an NDA; I’m thinking of making some structural changes and asked him to pull performance files…
“The thing is,” Blair says, “I really don’t want to involve legal. I came to you first because I know you’re a man of integrity, and if there were ever anything…untowardgoing on, you would know how to handle it.”
I sit back in my chair, thrown. “Untoward? About Eric?”
“I was as surprised as you are, believe me.” She holds my gaze, shredding the tissue in her hands. “But truly, Jack, I’m hoping we can handle this quietly. As much as he hurt me, I don’t want to make trouble.”
“Wait. Erichurtyou?” The room is spinning as I try to keep up with Blair’s story. None of this makes any sense. Could she be mistaking someone else for Eric?
“He…” Blair touches the ragged tissue to her nose again. “Last night, I came back to finish up some work, and he was… He was waiting for me in my office.”
My jaw clenches tight. “All right. And what happened then?”
She meets my eyes across the desk, tears streaming down her cheeks. I ball my hands into fists, trying my damn hardest to brace myself for whatever bomb she’s about to drop.
“He asked me to shut the door. I was a little thrown, but I wasn’t reallyalarmed, so I did it. I assumed he had an HR issue to address—we’d been talking about some of the gaps in his qualifications, so I thought maybe he wanted to revisit that.”
“But that’s not what happened.”
“No, he… I…” She clears her throat, then smooths her skirt, her eyes still glassy with emotion.
I don’t know whether to comfort her, to call someone else in here, or to call Eric to come explain this away, because Eric isEllieand Ellie wouldneverdo anything to upset anyone like this. She’s passionate, not cruel, for God’s sake…
I’m at a loss for actionable steps, but I know without a doubt that whatever comes out of Blair’s mouth next is going to be a serious fucking blow. I can sense it, like the crackle of electricity in the air before a storm, or the hum of energy on the trading floor in the moments before the opening bell.
“Eric…exposed himself to me, Jack.”
“Exposed what?” I blurt out.
The mustache glue? The elastic bandages holding the curves in place? Her whole undercover story and the borderline questionable lengths she’s gone to in order to get her scoop?
What on earth could Ellie have done?
Lowering her gaze, Blair drops the final bombshell. “His penis, Jack. He exposed his penis.”
CHAPTER 18
Ellie
Day 17 Fri 8/17
The text comes through a little after six—but I’m so far down the email rabbit hole of Blair’s DOJ convos, I don’t realize something’s off until I rip my gaze away from the screen long enough to read—Leave quietly and meet me at the Hideaway in thirty minutes. Make sure no one sees you walking out. Especially Blair. But if you do run into her, don’t say anything. Not a word.
