Page 60 of In Love and War
“Fine,” I said, and his face immediately lit up. “But this is another one we take to the grave. Not a soul, Kai.”
He nodded, fully aware of the exact incidents I was referring to.
“I slept with Zac,” I confessed with a sigh.
“Youwhat!”he yelled in shock, his jaw dropping and his eyes widening. The facial transformation would have been comical if I wasn’t in the middle of an internal crisis over the whole thing. “Holy shit, are you serious?When?”
“Like two nights ago, after the big presentation.” I still couldn’t believe it myself.
“How?Also, where? Also, who instigated it? Also,how?” I could see him trying to make sense of the whole thing, and I didn’t blame him. I’d had nothing nice to say about Zac over the course of the last seven years on account of the fact that I’d despised the guy.
“He instigated it,” I said, “in his hotel room. How I got there is a bit of a long story, and I’m not sure I’m ready to get into the details, so please don’t ask.”
“Okay, well… what does it mean? Are youseeinghim now or…?”
“No, nothing’s changed. It was just sex,” I said firmly, more to myself than him at this point. “Really,reallygood sex.”
“Wait a minute, doesn’t your dad have some crazy strict rule against managers sleeping with their staff? Didn’t that one lady get fired for it a couple of years ago?”
“Yes,it’s a liability thing. I think he’s scared of getting sued. Which is exactly why no one else can know. To the grave, Kai,” I reiterated.
“Okay, so you have no feelings for him? None whatsoever?”
“No, of course not. It’s Zac,” I said, my voice flat.
“Are you going to hook up again, or was it just a onetime thing?” he asked as he narrowed his eyes and analyzed my face.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really had a chance to fully digest it. But it’s probably best for it to have been a onetime thing,” I said, again more to myself than anything else.
“Okay, so then… don’t you think it’s kind of perfect?”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Well, the goal is to get him out, isn’t it? Here’s your perfect opportunity. He made a move on you, anemployee. He kind of handed it over to you on a silver platter,” he said. “Unless you’ve changed your mind…”
“Are you seriously suggesting I rat him out and have him fired for this?Kai!” I smacked him lightly on the arm.
“Well, why the hell not? He fucked up, and you want him gone. I don’t see what the problem is. This is stillZacwe’re talking about, right? Normal human decency rules don’t apply to him.”
“But I don’t want to get there likethis.This feels like… cheating or like breaking the rules or something. I wouldn’t feel good about it.” I shifted uncomfortably on the floor.
“Mills, seriously you should at least think about it. The guy’s a prick.Hehad no problem firing you. Are you sure he’d be as considerate and keephismouth shut if the tables were turned?”
I was a little stunned by the question. If you had asked me the same thing a few weeks ago, I would have confidently said no, he wouldn’t keep it a secret for me. Now, though, I wasn’t so sure.
“Yeah, um, I’m not sure. I’ll think about it,” I said, mostly because any other answer would have required further explanation that I didn’t want to give.
But there was nothing to think about. There was no way I would screw him over like that.
19
“Hello, Milly! My goodness, you look absolutelygorgeous,my darling! Thatdress! Yellow is definitely your color.” My aunt Geneviève was the first to notice Kai and me as we walked into my father’s large garden, where his annual charity brunch had already accumulated over a hundred guests from the looks of it.
“So nice to see you, Aunt Gene,” I said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. “And thank you very much. It’s been sitting in my closet for a while; I’ve been looking for an excuse to wear it.”
“It’s absolutely fabulous, dear. Monica needs to see it. Where did that girl go?” She began looking around for her daughter.
I could feel Kai’s eyes roll to the back of his head beside me. He couldn’t stand Monica. She’d had a massive crush on him in high school and had tried relentlessly (and failed) to get to him through me. Problem was that she didn’t give up even after he publicly came out.
