Page 21 of Knocked Up By the Silver Fox

I closed my eyes again and felt the couch shake when Rachel got up and walked away. At least she wasn't lecturing me, but the coldness was just as hurtful. I needed good advice, and it seemed like what she just spat at me was all I was going to get. How could I leave Will? But how could I stay at Caldwell Investments if my reputation would get trashed?

14

WILL

"Yeah, I know, Allen, but it doesn't matter." I listened to him tell me how people were gossiping about me and Beth being involved in a fling. When I spoke with him on that call, I'd given most of it away anyway. He knew I was interested in one of my analysts and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out it wasn't Kevin, Laurence, Jill, or Pam. He called me to warn me the board was meeting about it without my knowledge.

"Yes, I understand you're not worried about this, but you should be." His tone was aggressive, demanding even. I chuckled it off because I knew there was nothing to worry about. Beth and I could keep work and our personal relationship separate. We had been for more than a month now, and while at first I had asked her to keep it on the down low, now I was just ready to tell the world. Though, telling Abby was a different story.

"I'm not sure why you're so worked up. I asked you the other day what you thought because I had every intention of telling them. I just have to discuss it with Beth first." Her reputation was my only concern at this point, and even that had been something I'd mulled around for a while. If she worked with meand rose to partner level—at work and personally—why would anyone care? If we were together, she'd have everything she ever wanted and wouldn't need to care if people judged her by how she got to the top.

"Will, she's been seen with Nevil Banks." Allen's words gave me pause for a moment. Beth hadn't told me she spoke with my competitor, but it didn't surprise me. I'd talked her up so well in front of Nevil that he probably hunted her down. "They're afraid she's selling proprietary information. That's what this meeting is about."

"I see," I said, drumming my fingers on the table. The restaurant was full to capacity. I'd gotten the last table available when I booked the restaurant for me and Beth . Abby was out of town shopping with her friend, and I wasn't expecting her until tomorrow. I felt it was the perfect opportunity to have alone time with Beth without the fear of Abby getting jealous again.

"They don't want you to be here in case you can't be impartial." I listened to what Allen had to say and I understood the board's position, but I knew there was nothing for them to worry about. If Beth had ulterior motives, I'd have known. She didn't work her butt off just to climb the ranks and steal my information. She was too pure for that sort of thing.

"Well, you tell the board anything you want about me, and I'll ask Beth directly about the meeting with Nevil. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation." I looked up and saw her approaching. "I have to go, Allen. I'm trusting you." I hung up and stood just as she approached the table and smiled at me as she shrugged out of her coat.

"Hi," she said, placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Well, hello. You look ravishing," I told her, kissing her back. I took her coat and hung it on the back of her chair, then scooted her chair in as she sat down. "Thank you for accepting my invitation.

"It's no problem. I hate Black Friday shopping…How was your Thanksgiving with your daughter?" She sat down and smoothed her black skirt down her thighs. Her red sweater accented the sparkle in her green eyes making them stand out. She was exceptionally gorgeous tonight. Or maybe that was my body telling me I craved her.

"It was really good actually." I sat down and thought of the meal we had. Once Abby got over seeing those panties in my pocket, she calmed down, though that took a few days. We hadn't spoken about it, but she never brought it up again, and since I didn't want to destroy the peace we had, neither did I.

"That's good…Rachel and I just got takeout." She smiled as she snapped her cloth napkin over her lap and smoothed it out. It was good seeing her so relaxed and happy. Her few days off for the holiday were doing her good. I knew she'd been stressed out over work and the way the other analysts were treating her after that audit.

"You seem fresh and happy," I told her, and I draped my own napkin over my lap, then picked up my glass of wine and sipped it. The waiter had already been by to fill our glasses. I placed an order for us to both enjoy steak and vegetables with cheesecake for dessert, hoping to reduce the number of distractions tonight.

"I feel refreshed, but I've been tired a lot." The fatigue I saw around her eyes wasn't extreme, but I noticed it. And when she smiled it didn't reach her eyes, which was also new. But I believed her when she said she was feeling refreshed.

Rather than diving right into the heavy topics, I chose lighter conversation, asking her about her sister and how she was doing. Then we spoke about her Christmas plans and mine. I wished I could take her to Boston with us, but I wasn't sure Abby would like that or even be ready to share me by that time. She was obviously having to adjust to the idea that her fatherwas sexually active at the very least, if not dating someone. We hadn't spoken about it, so I didn't know what she was thinking.

Then our conversation turned toward work and more serious things. I wanted to tell Beth about the board hearing the rumors, but I didn't want to sour her mood. She was so upbeat this evening and not anxious about what people would say about her. That had been a heavy weight on her shoulders every day at work. I just wanted to leave it out of this conversation. So I didn't tell her that Allen knew or that he was meeting with the board as we speak.

There was, however, something I did have to discuss with her, which I also didn't want to bring up. We were having such a good evening; our dinner was almost finished. I was feeling really drawn to her, and I wanted to take her home and pour a glass of wine for each of us, but I promised Allen I'd get to the bottom of this.

"Beth," I said softly. "I need to ask you something, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way."

She looked instantly concerned as she put her fork down on her plate and wiped her mouth. She draped the napkin over her plate and nodded at me.

"Okay, did I do something wrong?" Her eyebrows rose in reluctance and I sighed.

"I don't think so, but I just need to ask you…Have you been meeting with Nevil Banks?" My question seemed to make her wilt like a flower, and I had at least one answer. I hated that she felt like this, shame or fear or whatever it was. It wasn't positive; that was for sure.

"Yes," she said with a nod. "I bumped into him at a restaurant, and he cornered me and spoke with me. Then he randomly showed up at my apartment one day." She met my gaze. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, baby." I reached across the table to take her hand to reassure her I wasn't upset. Never in a million years did I think those meetings were personal, but now my senses were on alert. If she was meeting with him then it was definitely work stuff, and if it was work related, the board's suspicions were warranted. "I just need to know the context of those meetings. That's all."

Beth sighed and squeezed my hand. She looked sad and torn, but she said, "He's headhunting me. He offered me a job at his firm with much higher pay, better benefits, and a way to make my career soar without being afraid that coworkers would call me a whore for having a relationship with you."

The words hit me like a punch in the gut. This was my fault. I had bragged about her so loudly in front of him and everyone else I met, that he probably felt like he had no choice. Private school functions were crucial to my business. I got most of my clientele from them, and I assumed Nevil did too. The competition in this city to be the best investment bank was so high, and he probably wanted to horn in on my success because he thought it all stemmed from Beth.

It was true. A lot of my success did stem from her, and I didn't want to let her go. But that wasn't why it felt like a punch. I saw her expression when she explained how she felt about coworkers and their judgment. She really felt afraid of that, and I didn't blame her. She had everything to lose, while I sat on my throne with nothing to lose except her.

I reached up and cupped her cheek and she leaned forward over the table. "Will, I told him no." Her words were firm, and her gaze was locked on my eyes. "I like the idea of the money. I love the idea of so much paid vacation time. I am thrilled with the thought that my career will go places, and all without the baggage of being the woman who slept her way to the top…"

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