Page 38 of The Relationship Clause

I swallow. Can she see how much she’s getting to me? Is she enjoying it? Because I’m kind of enjoying it.

She leans down as if she’s about to whisper a secret, and I can’t help leaning toward her. It’s that mystery book thing again. I’m on the verge of a paragraph ending on a cliffhanger. All I need to do is turn the page. One more little page, and I’ll have it. The information I crave.

“What question is that?”

Junie blushes and suddenly looks shy, like maybe she won’t go through with asking her question. I can’t have that. Not after all this tormenting.

“Go ahead and ask,” I say. “I still might choose not to answer.”

Her blue eyes caress my face. “Do you even like coffee? Or is it possible that maybe you were coming into Pete’s every day to see me?”

Here it is. The chance to come clean. To tell her I’ve been attracted to her since day one.

But then my office door swings open, and the last person I expected to see is standing there: my dad.

CHAPTER 12

OWEN

Kill. Me. Now.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” My dad saunters into the room, a knowing look in his eye as Junie jumps off my desk, color flooding her cheeks.

I’m suddenly aware of how this looks. Me, with my secretary, alone in my office after everyone else has gone home. I’m also very aware of how this scene would have played out if Dad hadn’t popped in. How close I’d come to…

No. I can’t even think it. I don’t know what I’d almost come close to doing, but I can’t put a name to it or it will start to take over my brain, and I really need my brain working at full capacity.

I have to come up with an excuse. Some explanation. Office relationships are a huge no-no with my dad. Even before he found out about Mom’s affair with a colleague, Dad always drilled this into my head. Business relationships stay professional. Period. It’s one of the biggest reasons I included the relationship clause in Junie’s contract, for her good as well as mine.

Dad smiles wide, eyes on Junie, and reaches his hand out. “Hi there. Frederick Ferguson, but you can call me Fred. Owen, I had no idea you were dating anyone. At least, I assume she’s your girlfriend,” he says, giving me a pointed look.

Here’s the thing: Dad isn’t a saint. As soon as he found out about Mom’s affair, he went out and found his own much younger mid-life crisis, but she wasn’t a business associate. I don’t go out of my way to impress him any more than I do Mom, but growing up, he was still the parent I went to. Mom was hard. Dad was…maybe not soft, but more friendly than Mom was. He’s a salesman. He’s supposed to be friendly on the outside.

The only good family memories of my childhood involve Kiera, and the second-best involve my dad. I can’t bear the thought of him knowing Junie is my secretary. It would infuriate him to no end, and suddenly, I’d be as much a disappointment to him as Mom was.

But I also can’t lie to him. Not about this. Not when it involves Junie in this way. Pretending she was a secretary with Mom was one thing, but this? This would make me an even more despicable human being than I already am.

The choice in front of me is impossible. I’m stuck. Frozen. For the space of three whole seconds, it’s like I’ve glitched.

But then I feel Junie’s arm wrap around my waist under my jacket, and oh, wow, that feels good.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Ferguson. I’m Junie.” She offers a smile and her other hand which Dad takes.

“Junie,” Dad repeats. “You are as sunny and warm as your name suggests.”

“Actually, my full name is Juniper, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless, Mr. Ferguson.”

Juniper. Her full name rolls around my thoughts like a breath of fresh air through the mountains. Did I know her full name before this moment? Probably not, or I wouldn’t be reacting like this.

“Well, Juniper, you can call me Fred. Mr. Ferguson was my father.”

“Okay, Fred, you can call me Junie. Juniper is the name of a tree.”

She winks at him, and just like that, she’s got my dad wrapped around her little finger. I can see it in his eyes. The way he’s looking at her, you’d think she told him she’s pregnant with his grandbaby. How does she do that? How does she manage to charm every single male she meets with a smile and a few words?

Junie pinches my side lightly, and I jump, realizing they’re both looking at me.

“I don’t think he heard you.” She’s holding back laughter.

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