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“You invited her?”
Grayson’s growl was rough, but not in a good way. When I turned to look at him, he was seething, his hands clenched into fists at his side. I hesitated, my eyes shifting between them.
“I– Y-yes... Sh-She was so upset about not being able to speak with you. I thought–”
Grayson bared his teeth, speaking through a clenched jaw. “No, you didn’t. If you had been thinking, you would have asked my opinion on the matter. My family matters are none of your business.”
His words sliced through me like a knife to the gut and I took a few steps back automatically. In all the time I’d worked with him, Grayson had never been so harsh with me. Even on his worst days, when he was struggling to cope with the workload, he was always patient and kind.
Miss Laurent scoffed. “Don’t be so cruel, Grayson. She was being thoughtful. You should take a lesson from her–”
Grayson shot her a dirty look. “You are the last person I’d ever take advice from. You need to leave. Now.”
She pouted again, crossing her arms. “Don’t be that way, Grayson. I know we’ve had our differences, but–”
“But nothing. You’re only here for money. You can either leave or I’ll have you escorted out. Last warning.”
She lifted her chin, and the same stubbornness I’d seen on Grayson’s face flashed across her expression. They stared each other down until Grayson pulled out his phone to call security. She stomped her foot once before storming off towards the exit.
Once she was out of sight, I hesitantly stepped toward Grayson. “I-I’m sorry… I had no idea who she was. She said she was an investor and–”
“She’s a liar. And you shouldn’t have invited her.”
I dropped my gaze to the plate in my hand, nodding quickly. “I get that, and I’m sorry–”
“Sorry changes nothing!” he barked. His sharp tone made me jump and irritation flashed across his face before he turned away from me. “I have more work to do. Enjoy the party.”
“But… I’m supposed to help…” I murmured, too ashamed to truly speak up.
“You’ve done enough.”
Without another look in my direction, he stormed off and disappeared into the crowd. I stood there, frozen, for who knows how long, fighting back tears. I never meant to upset him. I was only trying to help.
“That looked rough.”
My spine stiffened, and I sucked in a breath, turning around to face Alan. He sounded sincere, but there was a sneer on his face as he leaned against a nearby table. His eyes dragged over my outfit before he huffed out a laugh.
“Didn’t realize they made dresses like that for women like you.”
Women like me. It hurt more than I wanted to admit. With Grayson’s furious dismissal still fresh, Alan’s words cut through all the positive thoughts I had when I showed up here tonight. I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat, ignoring him as I put the plate on the nearest table. He wandered closer, keeping his voice low.
“I heard a rumor about you. Something about the exec's secretary sleeping with three different dudes. That true?”
Ice flooded my veins, and I straightened, my eyes darting around the room. I hadn’t seen it before, maybe blissfully ignoring it, but now that I was paying attention, I saw the judgmental looks people kept shooting at me, a couple leaning to whisper and point. Alan moved to stand beside me, chuckling to himself.
“I thought for sure they were just rumors. No way three guys would actually want to fuck someone as boring as you. But then the CSO decided to screw with me. It screamed jealous boyfriend. And I had to know. So I went down to HR during lunch and checked your file. Imagine my surprise that there were three relationship contracts with your name on it.”
My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t draw in a deep breath. I could only stare out at the crowd, a low buzzing in my ears.
“How’d you do it? I mean, I’ve been in bed with you. The whole sweet innocent shtick is boring as hell. Was it pity? They felt bad for the pathetic secretary, so they decided to throw her a bone?” He laughed to himself. “Or were you willing to do some really kinky shit to climb the ladder? Gang bangs, butt stuff, that kind of thing. I bet it was that, right? You were always suggesting weird shit when we were together. Maybe that’s why you could never get off like a normal person. Only the weird shit works for freaks like you.”
I didn’t respond to him. I couldn’t force words past my throat. If it bothered him, he didn’t let on, leaning against the table with his back to the crowd, his focus entirely on me.
“Bet you’re seriously regretting sticking around now. I mean, after all that, you’re probably looking at a demotion. Maybe even getting fired. Everyone knows the CEO’s mom is a piece of work. Hell, even I know that, and I barely know the guy. You’re his secretary and you invited the bitch? That’s fucked up.”
I winced. I hadn’t known that. I still had no idea why. And it hurt that my ex knew more about my boyfriend’s family life than I did. If I could even still call Grayson my boyfriend. After the way he looked at me…
“If I were you, I’d be hightailing it out of here. I wouldn’t want to stick around for more fallout.”
