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“Well, this one is,” I say. After spending the better part of three weeks between Ellie’s thighs, or anticipating thenexttime I’d be between her thighs, or dreaming about thelasttime I’d been between her thighs, I’m pretty fucking certain “Eric Webb” is biologically incapable of exposing a dick to Blair or anyone else.
Not that I’m suicidal enough to share that tidbit with Ryan.
“I don’t have time for this,” Ryan continues. “Rictor and I arethisclose to locking down the Ian Fox account, and word is he’s got a couple of other guys from the team interested in what we have to say.”
“I know it’s bad timing—”
“Bad timing? No. Bad timing is when you come home a day early for spring break and walk in on your Dad banging his girlfriend on your favorite Star Wars sheets.”
“Dude.” I crack a smile, despite my dour mood. Ryan’s crazy. I love him like a brother, but hell, that boy needs some serious help. “Have you ever considered therapy? Just throwing it out there.”
“This isn’t funny, dickhead. A lawsuit will bring our whole operation down. And if she brings this to the media? It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. We’ll be crucified.”
He’s got me there. But of course, I know it won’t go that far.
Everything in me is screaming to tell him the truth—all of it. Ellie’s his sister, I’m his best friend and business partner, we all want what’s best for S&H.
And we all want what’s best for Ellie.
He’ll understand, right? Eventually?
I take a breath, open my mouth to confess. But…
No. I can’t do that to Ellie. I promised I’d keep this secret. Telling Ryan now would mean betraying the woman I love, and I can’t do that. Not even to save my own ass from Ryan’s wrath—or the media’s.
“I’m handling it,” I say. “Focus on the Portland office stuff, and by the time you’re back on the East Coast, this mess will be a distant memory.”
I hang up with Ryan, my gut tied in knots. Blair’s email trigger-finger seems to have calmed down for the moment, but there’s a new one from a member of my senior legal staff.
To:Jack_Holt
From: Macy_Parkridge
Subject: Harassment allegations
Jack—
Blair Keneally has looped me in on the situation with Eric Webb. My understanding is that she is not interested in pursuing legal action at this time, however, we are taking her accusations seriously and have assured her that we will investigate and come to a resolution as quickly as possible. To that end, I would like to meet with Eric Webb’s immediate team, as well as any assistants or other support staff he may have worked with during his tenure. I’ve asked Hannah to schedule a mandatory meeting with those individuals, including yourself, for 9:00 AM tomorrow. We’ll do a quick general debrief with the group, then arrange to interview them one-on-one. If you’d like to discuss further, please contact me no later than 3:00 PM today.
—Macy
This is bad.Reallybad.
My job is on the line, my reputation, my relationship with Ryan and every last one of my employees—hell, I could lose everything I’ve dreamed about and worked hard for since Ryan and I started this place with no more than our MBAs, a little start-up capital, and two big hard-ons for finance.
For so long, it’s been the most important thing in my life.
Most people would say I’m crazy to risk it all for a woman.
But Ellie Seyfried has changed everything for me.She’swhat’s most important now. I don’t care how fast it happened, or what Ryan thinks about it, or what kind of stunts Blair is ready to pull.
Losing Ellie is simply not an option.
But we’ve only got one choice right now. I just have to make her see that, too.
I pick up the phone and dial Ellie’s cell.
She sends me straight to voice mail.
