Page 95 of Work with Me

“You may not realize this”—his eyes were like ice chips—“but this isn’t Jackson’s first…office indiscretion. And it likely won’t be his last.”

Wow. My eyes bulged, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d rolled out of their sockets and onto the industrial carpet. I guess you had to have balls of steel and icewater in your veins to grow a company from your dorm room to a multinational juggernaut.

“Jackson has returned to headquarters. I’d advise you to forget about whatever happened here in Austin. Since you confessed to reciprocating his…advances, I don’t think Synergy owes you anything further. In the future, Ms. Weber, think carefully before you get involved with your clients’ personnel. Not everyone will be as understanding as I am.”

He turned on the heel of his Italian loafer. He had one hand on the door handle when I said, in a voice as sweet as Esmy’s tea, “I don’t think I have much use for your understanding, Mr. Fallon.”

He froze and turned. His wide eyes told me not a lot of people spoke to him the way I had.

“Jackson Jones is an excellent programmer and an underutilized asset to this company. Someday he’s going to figure out exactly how much he’s worth and how little you deserve not only his partnership but also his friendship.” I propped my hands on my hips and stared up at him, pretending I was six-foot-something and could actually look down my nose at him.

He glared at me for ten of my racing heartbeats. Then he yanked open the door and stormed out, leaving me gasping in his wake.

“Fuck you, Cooper Fallon,” I muttered. It made me feel a little better. I’d done all I could: I’d stood up for the man who’d stood up for me. Who’d lied to protect me.

But I hadn’t asked him to do that. I’d asked him to stay. And he hadn’t.

Grinding my teeth, I glared at the phone on the conference table. I wanted to call him. Yell at him. But he wouldn’t answer. He hadn’t answered any of my calls. Maybe he was depressed. Or angry.

My hands shook. Well, fuck him. I was angry, too. Mostly at Cooper and his high-handed assholery. But also with Jackson. Who was he to decide what was best for me, to take the fall himself for something I’d wholeheartedly agreed to? And then to run away without a word, like a ghosting douchebag?

Just like my dad. Like Noah’s dad. Taking the easy way out when life got hard.

Guess what? There was nothing easy about my life. And there was no room in it for someone who couldn’t be bothered to stay.

32

JACKSON

“It looks good.”Cooper set the tablet on my desk and leaned back in my guest chair.

“You think it’ll work?” I leaned my elbows on the desk.

“Are you asking if I think it’s a viable plan for a foundation, or…”

“Yes.” I didn’t want to hear hisor.“Will it achieve my goals of helping neurodivergent kids?”

“I think so. It’s a lot of cash. You’ll need someone to step up and manage it.”

“I’ve got more cash than I could ever spend. But who can I get to manage it?”

He shrugged. “You could hire a search firm. They’d find you someone qualified.”

“I need someone I can trust. Do you think…” My mouth dried up before I could say her name.

“She’s a programmer, not a nonprofit executive director.”

“She’s a great manager. She can do anything she wants to.”

His eyebrows bunched together. “Are you doing this to help kids or to get Alicia back?” His lips twisted when he said her name. He was on board with the foundation, less so with Alicia, even though he’d told me she’d told him the truth at the launch party. Which was weird because my two favorite Type-As should’ve gotten along great.

“I’m doing it to help kids.” Though if I impressed Alicia, that’d be good, too.

“Then get yourself a qualified director.”

I sighed and glanced toward the window at the rain pouring down and obscuring the building across the street. It hardly ever rained when I was in Austin. I wished I were there right then, breathing the same clean, dry air as she was.

Soon.

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