Page 81 of Jep

“Becoming romantically attached is a normal reaction.”

She gasped. “Romantically attached?”

“You have all this trauma you’re dealing with, and he’s there for you. It even appears to you as if he’s saved your life a couple of times.”

“You’re suggesting— There is nothing going on between Jep and I.”

“I know. But do you want it to?”

“No!” She spun around, walking quickly down the hall. “I can’t believe you think I’m in love with Jep.”

“I have to check. He’s a good agent, but he’s not against using people to reach his goal. If you’re falling for him, it would be easy for him to manipulate that.”

“You think he’s using me now?”

“I think he’s doing what he needs to in order to get the job done.”

“I’m glad to know you have so much faith in the two of us.”

“Em. I’m sorry.”

“I’ve got work to do, if you’ll excuse me.”

She reached the elevator and pressed the button several times. “Come on,” she said under her breath. It was impossible to know how to respond to Pearce’s accusations. She’d had no idea he thought so low of her.

“Em, we have to work together. I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable, but sometimes we have to face hard truths. If you say there’s nothing there, I believe you.”

The elevator door opened. “I hear what you’re saying, but give me some time to cool off, and don’t ride in the elevator with me.”

He lifted his hands in surrender and stepped back. Once the doors closed, she heaved out all her breath. It was a horrifying accusation, but harder given the fact that she was finding it more and more difficult to ignore how she really felt about Jep. And if Pearce was right about her feelings, that was a problem she’d have to face eventually.

Chapter 18

Emery staredat the email that had come through from a friend in another department. She hadn’t breathed when she’d opened it, but now her breath was releasing in a slow, steady stream. Finally, something had gone right.

The only way she had gotten her mind off her sister—and then what Pearce had said—was to throw herself into her work. Not the work assigned to her by Gardener, but her own. The wait for this email had been agonizing. She’d started her search the day before, as soon as she’d returned to her desk. But now it was here.

Her heart knocked against her chest as she reread the message. It was what she’d been hoping for but thought was impossible to find. It had taken calling in all the favors she had to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but it had paid off.

In the midst of all the horrible things that Jade had said, there was one truth that hit home hard. Em had spent so much time making sure everyone else was happy, she’d forgotten who she was. For all the time she’d spent timidly tiptoeing around the office, trying to play by someone else’s rules, it had only taken alife-altering event to push her past her timidity and uncertainty and take control for once. With or without permission.

God, I hope I’m doing the right thing here.

The hard part now was figuring out what her next move would be. She hadn’t seen Jep since the day before and had no idea if he was avoiding her or not. Maybe he was thinking the same thing as Pearce about an attachment she’d made. Her cheeks heated at the thought.

She chewed on her thumbnail, then caught herself and tucked her hands in her lap before clicking on the attachment to watch the footage that had been compiled.

As the clips continued, she stopped once in a while to look around the office. She’d found what the others had not, but what should she do with it now? If she brought it to Lawson, he’d lock her out. Pearce would do the same.

There was still one other option. She hurried to her supervisor’s office and knocked.

“Em, I was hoping you’d stop by,” Gardener said. “I heard what happened, but I didn’t want to hound you about it. I figured you’d be getting enough of that.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to come in?”

“If you don’t mind.”

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