The Fixed Trilogy: Forever With You(74)

I took a deep breath and centered myself. “I mean that I think of everyone at The Sky Launch as family. Gwen’s moving her way into that category quite nicely. Even though she’s sometimes blunt and overly anxious to speak her mind.”

Norma chuckled. “That’s Gwen for you.” It was her turn to tilt her head and study me. “I appreciate you getting her the job, by the way. I thanked Hudson, but he says it’s really you who hired her. She needed out of Eighty-Eighth. In many ways, she was as desperate as you say you are now.”

She swept her tongue across her teeth and narrowed her eyes, considering. “And for that reason—because of what you did for Gwen—I’ll share something with you.” She pushed a button on her phone. “Boyd, can you come in here?”

Boyd’s voice filled the room. “Certainly.”

Norma focused her attention on her closed door. I turned in my seat and followed suit, curious and anxious about what her assistant could offer to my situation. Was this who would drag me out of the building?

Boyd rapped on the door and then opened it without waiting for a response. “May I help you?”

Damn, his grin was that of a schoolboy’s, all sweet and contagious.

Norma’s smile almost matched his. Definitely contagious. “Boyd, Ms. Withers wants to know if I’m having an affair with Hudson Pierce.”

Boyd’s mouth dropped open and his eyes flitted from me to Norma to me to Norma. He wiped his hand on his suit pants, suddenly nervous.

“It’s okay, dear. Answer honestly. As honestly as you like.” Her tone suggested an inside secret.

Did Boyd schedule trysts for his boss? I braced myself for his response.

At Norma’s encouragement, he relaxed and met my eyes. “She is not.”

The answer should have been comforting. But I was a cynical girl. “How can you be certain? Are you there when she has her meetings with him?”

“I am not. But I know that she isn’t.” He looked one more time to Norma for permission to continue. Seeming to believe he’d received it, he went on. “She wouldn’t do that to the person she’s involved with.” He moved his focus from me back to Norma. “She’s very loyal.”

“Thank you, Boyd. That’s all.”

He nodded once and left.

The door wasn’t yet shut when I spun back to Norma. “You’re involved with someone?” The blush on her cheekbones said it all. “Oh my god, it’s Boyd!”

Her blush and her smile deepened. Damn, the woman had it bad. “Now do you really think I would fool around with someone else in the office when my lover is right outside my door?”

I was speechless. “Why didn’t Hudson just tell me you were involved?” It would have eased my mind. Of course, affairs could still happen, but her having a boyfriend diminished the likelihood. Especially knowing how gaga he was over Boyd.

At the mention of Hudson,though, Norma’s giddiness evaporated.

“Hudson doesn’t know,” I realized. “Why? Is it a big secret or something?”

“Corporate policy is no dating within the same department. Boyd would be transferred. I don’t want to lose him. He’s worked for me for two years; we’ve been together for half that time. He’s the best assistant I’ve ever had. In more ways than one.”

“And perpetuating the idea that you’re still into Hudson is to throw him off track.” I was slow but catching on. “Gotcha.” The woman wasn’t a bitch—she was simply nervous her secret would be found out.

A wave of guilt rolled over me. “I feel like an idiot. I’m sorry to have assumed. And don’t worry—your secret is safe with me.”

She shrugged. “Thanks. It’s actually fun to tell someone.” Her smile reappeared.

“I’m sure.” The true nature of my relationship with Hudson had started as a secret. I’d been busting to tell someone—anyone—what was really going on. I certainly could relate.

Plus, talking about being in love was one of the highlights of the emotion.

Despite my paranoid nature, Norma convinced me she only had eyes for her assistant. But that didn’t explain all the time she was spending with my boyfriend. “So if there isn’t any romantic interest, why are you with Hudson so much?” I was keen to hear if Norma would say it was a business deal as well, and if so, if she’d expand.

Norma’s forehead furrowed. “He hasn’t told you?”

I shook my head, and she took that in. “Well, maybe I understand.” This seemed to be more for her than myself. To me, she explained, “It’s a very complicated idea he’s working on. He owns stock in a company but wants to purchase enough to have a controlling interest. But he doesn’t want the board members to be aware that he has the controlling interest. So he’s in the process of buying out another company that has enough stock in the first company to equal controlling interest when combined with the shares he already owns. Since he’s doing this all under the radar, we’ve had to be covert about the purchase. It’s all been like a game. Chess moves. We move, they move. I’ve had to research financial laws and tactics I’ve never encountered before. It will be a miracle if it goes through, but I’m beginning to believe in miracles.”

Her eyes lit up as she talked about the deal and I realized it wasn’t Hudson that turned her on as much as it was the work.