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“He doesn’t have to make it clear,” I replied. “It’s already obvious.”
“And how long will it remain that way?” she asked.
That was the one question I didn’t have a good answer for.
As the week went on, I could tell all the fooling around was good for both Jude and Owen. Both of them were tense at work as they prepared for the arrival of the big Italian investor. It was good to help themblow offsome steam after work, and yes, I made that exact pun to Owen one evening after the two of us shared a bottle of wine and kissed and licked and sucked to our hearts’ content.
The night before the big visit, I crashed at my own place. The two billionaire owners of Advanced Crypto Solutions were working together late into the night, so for once there was no time for fooling around. I went home, piddled around with some more work, and then tried to go to sleep. I was a bundle of nervous energy too. If the investment deal fell through…
Sleep eluded me for a long time, and when I eventually did fall asleep, it was restless and fitful. I kept waking up in a start, afraid that I had missed my alarm. It reminded me of the dreams I used to have during finals week at school, when I thought I had slept through my exams.
As I walked through the entrance to our office the next morning, I had already guzzled half my coffee. I had dressed a little nicer for the occasion; a pencil skirt and a nice blouse. Not to mention I actually took the time to straighten my hair. It was a reminder that I was glad I worked in a place that was normally casual. The other reminder was the heels on my feet. After walking from the CalTrain station to the office, I wanted to chuck the heels into the bay.
“Morning,” I said to Melinda. “You’re here early.”
“Prepping for the meeting with Mr. Rossi,” she replied without looking up from her stack of papers. “And some other annoying paperwork that needed completing.”
“What kind of paperwork?” I asked.
She flourished a piece of paper off the stack and slid it across the front desk at me. I bent down to look at it.
A relationship disclosure form.
“Oh, Jude had me fill this out in my office a week ago,” I said. “I thought he gave it back to you.”
Melinda stared at me patiently. Waiting. There was an interesting expression deep in her eyes, so I took another look at the form. My breath caught when I read the second line:
…disclosing the relationship between Amber Moltisanti and Owen March.
“No judgment here,” she said, holding out a hand like she was calming a wild dog. “I’m just here to protect the company. I’m going to make Owen sign a copy too. And yes, I will keep this hidden from everyone involved. Jude will not learn about this, and Owen will not learn about Jude.”
I numbly signed the form. It contained all the same provisions as the first one I had signed. Agreeing that the relationship is consensual. Agreement not to make any displays of affection on company property, or in front of other employees at work events that took place outside the office. Distantly, I wondered how Melinda had found out. She had some voodoo magic when it came to sniffing out these kinds of things.
I also wondered why she was okay with keeping it all a secret, and why she didn’t seem judgmental about it. If I were in her shoes, Idefinitelywould have judged someone for getting hired and then immediately sleeping with both bosses within the first two weeks.
“Good!” she said when I was done signing, whisking the document away into a drawer. “Now we can focus on the matter at hand. The investor’s arrival. Oh, one more thing!” She grabbed a square box off the desk and thrust it at me. “This arrived for you yesterday.”
“Oh, yay!” I said, seizing on my excitement because it was better than the embarrassment of the previous situation. “I was waiting for this.”
I dug my fingernails into the tape and ripped the top open. “What is it?” Melinda asked.
“A microphone. A dynamic vocal microphone.”
She gave me a puzzled look. “Are you becoming one of those videogame streamers I’m always hearing about?”
I laughed. “Actually, when I was a girl I wanted to be a Twitch streamer. But no. This is for a personal project.”
I carried the box under my arm as I went upstairs. Jude was in his office, but the door was closed and his headphones were on. I gave him a smile, then went into my own office.
Melinda had emailed everyone the itinerary for the day. The investor—Mr. Rossi—was arriving with his people at eleven. They would be given a tour of the building and meet all the employees at ACS. The afternoon was reserved for contract discussion and signing, after which Mr. Rossi would take Owen and Jude out to dinner in the city.
I was glad the dinner was only for the big-wigs. The last thing I wanted was to have to fake-smile and fake-laugh with some stuffy old investor through a long dinner. I would rather be sitting at home in my sweatpants, relaxing.
I put my head down and tried to get some work done, but when Owen showed up to work, I did a double-take. He was wearing navy slacks and a crisp white button-down. His shoes were fine-polished brown leather, matching the belt around his waist. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, but his tie was green and set off his eyes.
“Woah, momma,” I said when he paused in my doorway. “Pulling out the big guns for the investor, huh?”
“What can I say? It’s a big day. Just making sure I dress for the occasion.” He looked me up and down and smiled. “I’m not the only one. You look good enough toeat, kid.”
