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“Then talk to him. Don’t leave anything unsaid. If he truly cares, he’ll listen.”
He’s right. There is so much I want to say to Clay and Eden. And sitting here with my anger won’t do any good.
And if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. Part of growing up is getting my heart broken. Should it come down to that, I’ll survive.
Rule #45: Come clean.
Clay
On Monday morning, at exactly nine a.m., I march into the office. Jade is sitting at the front desk, and she glances up at me cautiously as I enter. Her lips part like she wants to speak, but I don’t give her a chance.
I have to do something first.
Instead of going left to my office, I turn right. My heart picks up speed as I reach Will’s office, pushing the door open and staring at him behind his desk.
I’mnota coward, I tell myself.
“I need to speak to you,” I say in a low command.
His eyes lift to mine, and then I notice they slip past me for a brief second as if he’s looking at where his daughter is stationed at the front desk.
“Come in, Clay,” he says without any warmth in his voice.
I don’t deserve warmth at the moment. This won’t be comfortable, but I still need to do it.
I close the door behind me before waltzing right up to his desk. I don’t sit.
“I’m in love with your daughter.”
Letting out a secret is like jumping off a cliff. There is no going back. I can’t climb up out of these lies I’ve been telling. So I just have to deal with the free fall.
Will takes a deep breath before he stands. His thick arms cross in front of his body. I’m struck with discomfort. This is my boss. We are not friends or family. We have a strictly professional relationship and I just admitted to having very personal feelings about his daughter. “Go on.”
“Jade and I have been dating secretly for six months, and it was wrong of me to lie to you. Wrong to you and wrong to her. She deserves better than that. So I’m apologizing now. I’m sorry. But I do love her. I love her more than anything. I’ve never met someone so strong and kind, and honestly, I probably don’t deserve her, but I have to at least admit how much I care about her. She makes me unbelievably happy.”
Will doesn’t move, glaring at me with a furrowed brow, and I wait for him to blow up. Any moment now, he’s going to tell me I’ve lost my job and my career in the industry altogether.
“Sit down, Bradley.”
I take the chair across from his desk and wait. “I know she’s your daughter. IknowI crossed a line, and that was incredibly inappropriate of me. And I understand if you have to fire me—”
“Will you shut the fuck up?” he says, and my mouth closes immediately. “Jade already told me,” he says with a hard expression. “Honestly, I figured it out a long time ago.”
“You did?” I ask in shock.
“I didn’t want to believe it. But I had a suspicion.”
“Why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you fire me?”
“Because you’re a good investor, Bradley. And deep down—against my better judgment—I know you’re a good guy. And there are far worse men my daughter could get tangled up with.”
“Will, I—”
He holds up a hand to stop me.
“Don’t thank me. I wanted to throw you off the side of my boat, but Jade wouldn’t let me.”
“I appreciate that,” I reply, adjusting the tight collar of my shirt around my neck.
