Page 129 of His Secret

“He’s not here,” Lucy says from behind me. “Just left a little bit ago.”

“Oh. Okay,” I say. “I’ll just send him an email.”

Behind my desk, I pull out my phone again.

Hey. I want to talk to you. Are you coming back to the office today?

I wait ten minutes before I start focusing on work. I go the rest of the work day without a reply and without seeing him again.

In my car, before I head home, I try again.

Matías. What’s going on?

A few minutes later, my phone vibrates. I’m already driving, but I chance a glance at it anyway.

I’m guessing your father didn’t tell you.

My heart plummets. What did my dad do?

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

MATÍAS

Ten minutes later,there’s a knock on my door. When I open it up, I’m met with the concerned face of Adrian.

“What did he do? What happened?”

“Do you want to come in?”

He strides through, going into the living room where he stands, waiting for me.

“What’s going on?”

I sigh, take a sip of the drink in my hand, and then go sit on the couch. “Your father came to visit me this morning. In my office. He told me he knew what we were doing. He said he could go to my boss and get me fired for inappropriate conduct. He said I was taking advantage of you.”

“What the—” He runs his hands through his hair, staring at me in disbelief.

“He then said that if I cared about you, I’d leave you alone until you came to a decision about what you wanted your future to look like.”

“This has nothing to do with him!” he shouts. “And you’re taking advantage of me? How?”

“Adrian,” I tell him calmly. “Come sit.”

I put my glass on the table and shift to face him as he drops to the cushion next to me.

“Please don’t tell me he’s scared you with his threats.”

“He’s right. It is inappropriate. I could get in trouble if anyone were to find out. We would have to disclose our relationship to HR, and even then, I don’t know how everyone would feel.”

“But he?—”

I cut him off by lifting my hand. “Besides that, I understand the other part of what he was saying.”

“Youunderstandhim?”

“Hold on,” I say in a gentle tone. “He definitely seems angry. I don’t think we ever expected he’d be happy about this, but based on what he said, it seems like you two had a discussion.”

“Well, yeah. Even today at lunch, he was saying these confusing things. I don’t know if he’s on my side or not. He knows, Matías. I never confessed to having an affair with you, but he knows. He’s also aware that I don’t want to stay with Charlotte. He tells me he won’t tell anyone. He says I need to be sure.”

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