Page 36 of Office Affairs

This was the first time I’d seen her in almost a week, and the visceral gut punch of her presence left me breathless. A look at Russell and Garrett proved I wasn’t the only one struggling. Russell shifted on the floor and eased himself up onto the couch where he leaned into the cushions and spread a folder across his lap. He stared at the papers, then at Sabrina with a look of such deep longing that it made my own heart ache.

We were all royally fucked over this woman.

“So, what can I do? Do you want me to draft a response to the email?” She stood and paced. “Anything we say is going to be speculated over. Some will believe us if we refute the claim, others will say you’re trying to save face. There’s really no straightforward way to prove our innocence.”

“Especially since we all are, in fact, fucking.” Garrett’s coarse response jolted through me. “It’s not why you got the job, but it’s pretty fucking obvious that we want you.” He motioned around the room. “Anyone who saw us right now wouldn’t have the slightest doubt.”

“He’s right.” Russell snapped the folder shut. “We need to do better when we’re in the office. Hell, this is the first time we’ve seen Sabrina all week and we’re panting after her like a bunch of horny dogs.”

“So get your shit together,” Sabrina snapped. “You’re all successful businessmen. You know how to keep your cock in your pants. Do better. I know I’m hot as fuck and we have amazing sex that I think about at least a hundred times a day, but our priority is fixing this. Not making it worse.” She jammed her finger into my desk. “I’m not going to be labeled like this. I’ve lived with enough labels in my life. I won’t take this one too.”

That shut us the fuck up. She was right. This was about more than her reputation with the company, it was the reputation that could follow her for the rest of her life.

“Should we address the email publicly within the business?” I aimed the question at Russell. He was the most level-headed and I trusted him to give me an answer based on more than our heightened emotions.

19

SABRINA

I can’t remember a time when I had ever been this shocked and angry. It tore through me in waves that made me want to scream and cry and destroy something all at the same time. Who the fuck was this person who thought they could ruin my life like this?

Russell, Chase, and Garrett all continued to flip through files. They were taking this seriously and I fell in love with them a little bit for that. But this was also a distraction from the theft. Could they afford to take their focus away from that for me? I started to ask but stopped. Garrett knew that I knew about the tech theft, but did the others?

“I think responding is a bad idea,” Russell answered Chase’s question after several minutes of silence. “Any reaction is going to be taken as a guilty response. If we stay silent, we might be able to prove the accusation is so ridiculous we can’t even be bothered.” The heat in his eyes when he looked at me said he was bothered alright.

“I’m concerned about the intent behind the email.” I paced to the windows and looked out over the city while I gathered my thoughts. Looking at them distracted me, and after my little outburst, I needed to keep my head clear. “The intent is more harmful than the actual words. They’re out to debase me and why I’m here, and to make Chase look incompetent. Why would they want that? What’s the point?”

I couldn’t explain why, but the threat felt bigger than their need to expose me as a woman who uses sex to get what she wants. I needed this job too much to let a little public exposure and embarrassment get in my way.

Bailey had officially kicked me out of the apartment, a full week ahead of schedule. It was why I’d missed even more work as I packed up and moved into the little house Russell offered me. I still felt bad about that, but I’d had no choice but to accept after Bailey’s little stunt. The bitch met me at the door the morning after I talked to Russell. She had a locksmith with her and express instructions to get my shit out by the end of the week. Dad once again ignored all my calls and his secretary refused to put me through to his office phone. I’d argued and almost even resorted to begging. Almost. The snide look on Bailey’s face kept my pride intact and I packed up and moved.

I met Russell’s gaze in the window. He’d agreed not to tell the others about the house. It wasn’t that I wanted to keep things a secret from them. But I needed space to figure things out. And they’d ask a shit ton of questions I was not ready to answer.

“The point is Chase,” Garrett spoke up from behind me. “Either way, this makes Chase look bad. He’s either a creep for having sex with you, or he’s incompetent.”

He shrugged when I spun and glared at him. “What the hell, Garrett?”

“You asked.” He tossed the papers he’d been holding aside and braced his elbows on the chair arms. Tapping his fingers on his lips, he continued. “Think about this objectively from a completely brutal standpoint. You’re half his age, Sabrina. He’s your boss. Both of those are career killers, but since he’s the CEO, it has the potential to be ignored. To anyone on the outside looking in, you’re a victim.”

“That’s bullshit,” the words burst out of me, hot and angry.

“We know that.” Russell held up a hand, the silent worry in his features asking for calm. “Garrett has a point. To the casual observer, it looks like Chase is taking advantage of his position.”

I spluttered but he made too much sense for my anger to continue. “So we should respond to the email.”

“We can’t explain without giving ourselves away,” Garrett insisted. “Even if you stood in front of the entire staff and said it was all a lie, no one would believe you. They’d say you were coerced.”

“We’re not making a statement about the email. We’re blocking the sender and shutting down their ability to create new accounts or to send more emails. Then we’re going to beef up the software so that it tracks every email that is created from, sent to, or sent from, any computer within this building.”

“It won’t stop them from hacking from the outside and bypassing the system,” Russell spoke with a low growl in his tone that showed the first real hints of anger. “I can create a block that prevents emails from all outside systems, but it will take time.”

“Do it. But no response.” Chase picked up another file and flipped through the pages. “That’s a distraction we can’t afford.”

“What does that mean?” I tried to stop myself, but the question popped out. “I’m a distraction?” A bolt of anger shot through me. Was that all they thought about me?

“Yes.” They answered simultaneously.

Chase stood and crossed to me. “Not the way you’re thinking. You can stop frowning at me.” A tiny smile cracked one side of his mouth upward.

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