Page 300 of Sins & Secrets

“Marriage is not a business deal.”

Wyatt shrugs. “It could be.”

The knock at my office door is discreet and Andrea reveals herself. “Mr. Bradford, I just wanted to let you know the next meeting is seating now.”

“Thank you, Andrea.”

“All right, I’ll get going then.” Wyatt stands to leave. He takes in a deep breath and pushes the contract my way. “While you’re a little puppy dog in love, could you take a look at that and sign it, please?”

Picking up the contract, I tell him, “You got it.” I decide then and there that I’ll sign it tonight.

Andrea watches our exchange from the threshold of the door.

“Give me five, and then can you scan this in for me?”

“Of course,” she says warily and I look up at her.

“Everything all right?”

“Just checking on you. I know things are a bit tense at the moment.”

“It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

She stares back, her glasses slipping slightly from the bridge of her nose and her brow rises just as Wyatt’s did. “Is there something else? Something you want to say?”

She shakes her head softly, the corners of her lips turning down. “No, sir.”

“You can tell me,” I say. “If there’s something on your mind, speak freely.”

“If Ms. Parks asks to meet with you, would you like me to let her up still?”

“Of course,” I’m quick to answer.

“Good, good.” Relief colors her face.

“Why would you ask?”

“She seemed upset yesterday, and so did you this morning. I just … I’m glad to hear that, is all.”

SUZETTE

Guilt and nervousness and gratefulness spin through my mind for the rest of the day at work. All I can do is count down the minutes until 6:00 p.m. when I know Adrian will step into that elevator and I can be raw with him and let everything out. It’s a gray area regarding the boundaries we set, but I have to get it out of me.

It’s a mix of every emotion, so intense I have trouble concentrating on anything at all. My office door stays closed and I ignore every text and email and knock. I rescheduled several meetings and give myself the day to gather my composure.

This is what I wanted.It’s exactly what I was hoping he would tell me was going to happen when I stormed into his office yesterday. Keeping my department whole is security and yet I feel nothing but insecure.

It all feels wrong. Just then my inbox pings with a new email notification and the subject line encompasses exactly what plays on repeat in my mind:If you weren’t sleeping with him, you’d have to fight for your job like the rest of us after the merger.

There’s a sinking feeling in my chest and when I click on the email header, the address is one I don’t recognize. More than likely it’s a throwaway account.

“Fuck you,” I mutter and click delete although I can’t say that they’re wrong.

For the last hour, I do what I can, making plans for reassuring our clients and reaching out to other department heads to ensure we have what we need to continue.

If we don’t, we will. I won’t let us miss a beat. It’s critical for our clients to know we’re stable and there won’t be any delays.

If Adrian is keeping our entire department, I have to make sure we have something to show for it. We have to be the best, now that he’s singled us out.

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