Page 66 of The Grump I Loathe
“My supervisor.” I nodded.Shit.
“I was very discreet,” he said. “I didn’t disclose who else was involved other than you.”
I was sure Leigh would figure it out on her own. To me, the tension was palpable whenever Connor and I were near each other, but maybe no one else had noticed?
“Upon Leigh’s recommendation,” Darius continued, “no disciplinary action will be taken at this time.”
Wait, for real?I frowned. “But I…The policy?—”
“Yes, well,” he said matter-of-factly, “that policy was drafted by one of the people involved, and while yes, he could wave his hand and make this all magically go away, there is some merit to having it in place because?—”
“—workplace breakups are bad for business,” I finished for him.
He looked at me, and I tried not to cringe. “Exactly. As it stands, Leigh agreed with me that we should go for just a warning this time. Officially, this isn’t going on your record. No one else needs to know that it ever happened. But my recommendation?” Darius said, finally meeting my eyes.
His tone softened. It was almost paternal. “Be careful. You’ve got a great career ahead of you, Eddie. Don’t throw it away for a good time. If something does end up leaking out, you know the axe will fall hardest on you, not Connor. Public perception can be ruthless. It’s up to you to protect yourself.”
“Right, no more closet romps.”
He grimaced.
“Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. This is all very…awkward.” But it was also a bit of good luck. That awkwardness might have just saved my job. Clearly, Connor and I were going to have to be more discreet while we were at the office.
Of course, I had no intention of telling Connor what Darius had seen. He’d chosen to come to me rather than mention it to him, and I wanted to keep it that way. No need to freak Connor out. But Imightmention the presence of the cameras and use that as a reason for us to gooutnext time we wanted to have fun. While I was all for a bit of office frolic, even I drew the line at an audience.
There we go. A little bit of a silver lining.I’d actually love to go out somewhere with Connor instead of always staying in.
I chose to focus on that instead of the echo of Darius’s warning in the back of my mind.A good time.
Was that really all Connor and I were? I didn’t want to believe that, but Darius had worked with Connor for years, and a part of me wondered if this conversation was less about warning me of any improprieties and more about warning me to protect myself.
20
CONNOR
AJuly thunderstorm peppered the windows, lighting up the living room as Grace pulled her headphones off, pausing her video game. “Why are you dressed like that?” she demanded
“Dressed like what?” I fixed the collar of my jacket in the mirror next to the front door. I’d gone for a sportier coat for today’souting. Part of me still shied away from calling it a date, not wanting to admit even to myself that I was breaking my own rules.
It was just dinner. A necessary dinner because in the months Eddie had been working for LockMill, I’d discovered that her diet consisted of eighty percent ramen noodles since she was putting every available penny toward her student loans. If I didn’t get some actual nutrients in her soon, she was going to develop scurvy or something.
Grace eyed me suspiciously. “You look…different. And why’s your hair all fancy?”
“It’s exactly the same as it always is,” I insisted, running my hands through the added gel. I’d chosen the restaurantMana for tonight, not only because it was far enough out of the city to ensure privacy, butbecause of its outstanding fifteen-course tasting menu. The moment I realized Eddie had never been treated to anything like that before, it had become my mission to take her to her first ever Michelin-starred meal.
“Just saying,” Grace said, “you’re looking a little fancy for a work meeting.”
I gave her a flat look. “Save your game and go get your things.”
“Fine. Avoid the question,” she huffed, stalking off upstairs.
I couldn’t help smiling at her antics. If I told her I was going out to dinner with Eddie, she probably wouldn’t bat an eye. Actually, she’d probably want to come. But that was because she thought Eddie was super cool and fun. I didn’t know if she’d still feel like that if she realized Eddie and I were seeing each other—however casually.
I’d promised to talk to Grace before I dropped something serious on her the way Ali had. It didn’t help that Ali getting involved with Sawyer lined up with Ali ignoring Grace more often than not. I wouldn’t want Grace to spend even a minute worrying that someone else would be my priority over her.
Grace thumped back down the stairs with her overnight bag, destined for my mother’s. “Also, are you gonna have work meetings every Saturday now?”
“No,” I promised, feeling a little guilty. “We’ve just got to tweak some things onShadow.”
