AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Yes. My last day is on Friday and Sarah starts back on Monday." I'm sad to leave but there's a part of me that is relieved that I’ll go back to my own life and I won't have to keep lying. It's more exhausting than I thought it would be. The only downside is Jace.
"The article comes out on Friday as well," I tell him. I hadn't told Chris about my meeting with Ivy and I do now.
"Jeez, Livia, your life is like a soap opera. Are you sure you want to do that?"
"I have to. She was so kind to me, and she deserves to know why. It's the least I can do. I don't want her to think that I used her or that I was dishonest."
"Isn't Jace the one you should be worrying about the most?" Chris says.
"I am. But anything I tell him right now will lead to him hating me. I want to postpone that for as long as possible.”
Chris nods. “This is tough. I wish I hadn’t encouraged you to have an affair with Jace. I should have known you’d fall for him.”
"He proposed," I tell Chris.
Chris's mouth drops open. If this whole thing wasn't so distressing for me, I'd have laughed.
"Are you serious? He fell in love with you. What did you say?”
“I said yes.”
“Oh, my God." Chris just stared at me, speechless.
"You don't think there's a chance that Jace will understand that this was work and I couldn't tell him that I was undercover?"
"Would you understand?" Chris says quietly.
I shake my head. I'm being naive even by asking that question. I was investigating his beloved clinic. That is something that he will never forgive.
Chris and I stay for another ten minutes, then I have to return to the office. I walk him to the exit, we hug, and I go back to my desk.
Jace's door is open and I peer in. He's not there. I go back to work, updating his schedule and answering calls as they come in though they've reduced considerably from the previous week. As Jace had predicted, the media did discover which clinic it was. It turned out to be the Maritim Fertility Clinic and I feel sorry for them for the backlash they're receiving.
Jace returns to the office a few minutes later. I'm engrossed in my work and I only notice him when he's standing a few feet from my desk.
"How was your coffee with Chris?" Jace asks.
"It was fine. He came to say goodbye," I tell him.
"I saw you just before you left. I was having coffee with Dylan," Jace says.
For some reason, my heart beats faster, even though I've not done anything wrong.
"You two looked very intense," Jace says.
I let out a laugh. "Our conversations often turn out that way," I tell him in what I hope is a casual voice.
"Where's your ring?" Jace asks.
He's only just noticing that I haven't worn it all day. "It's in my purse. I'm not quite ready to show it off to everyone. Not while I'm still working here. It'll be weird."
He nods in understanding and relief surges through me. I turn my attention back to work and Jace gets the message and goes to his office. I call him an hour later to remind him of a meeting he has in the conference room with HR. He leaves shortly after.
I leave at half past twelve for my meeting with Ivy. I opt to take an Uber rather than my car and in ten minutes, I'm downtown at a small deli that Ivy suggested. She's already there and I'm delighted and petrified in equal measure.
"Hi," she says, standing up to hug me.
I hug her back and can't help but think whether she'll ever want to talk to me after this. "Hi," I say as I sit down. "Thanks for agreeing to meet with me."
