Billionaire's Contract Engagement (Kings of the Boardroom #3)(48)

“At me?”

Elle shook her head. “I don’t know, to be honest. I doubt it. He’s not the type to get angry before he hears your side. Besides, you got the account. It shouldn’t matter to him how you did it.”

“That’s true, I guess. It only matters tome .”

“I’m sorry, Celia. Really sorry.”

Celia put her hands over her face. “I was stupid, Elle. I was stupid, and now I have to pay the price.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat had Celia looking up toward the door. Brock stood there, an indecipherable expression on his face.

“Elle,” he said. “Would you leave me and Celia for a moment?”

“Of course,” Elle murmured as she hurried away.

Tears burned Celia’s eyes. She was holding on by a sheer thread.

“Want to talk?” Brock asked.

It was that question that did it for Celia. If he’d been angry or if he’d been indifferent, she could have handled it, but the simply worded request broke her down.

Her shoulders shook, and she lowered her head as a sob welled from her throat. It appalled her that she’d cry in front of her boss. But there was no holding back the release of the crushing pressure that had been building over the course of the last few weeks.

Brock didn’t say or do anything. He just stood there while she gathered herself together again. When she looked up, he sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk and waited for her to speak.

“It’s not how it looks,” she said as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

He glanced at the spread out paper on her desk. “Well, it looks like you were wearing his ring, but you’re not now.”

With a sigh, she explained the whole sorry tale about her trip to Catalina with Evan and how she hadn’t

felt like she could refuse when he was short on time and ready to move on his campaign.

She left out the mushy details she’d shared with Elle. Brock was, after all, A. her boss and B. a man. He didn’t need to know that she’d stupidly fallen in love with a man she’d be working with for a long time to come. It made things entirely too messy. What if they broke up? Would Evan feel weird about continuing the relationship with Maddox or would he take his business elsewhere?

There were a million reasons why she should have never ever gotten involved with Evan, and yet, she hadn’t heeded any of the warning signs.

“I overheard what Elle said about how it shouldn’t matter to me how you got the account. I won’t lie. It doesn’t. Furthermore, it’s none of my business unless you broke the law or did something to damage the reputation of Maddox. I don’t think this qualifies. My concern is for you. I know how devastated you were by what happened in New York.

“I meant what I said when I told you that you had my support. That hasn’t changed. I’ll make sure to put an end to any speculation going on in the office, but I can’t control what people think or say outside the work area. I don’t imagine this is going to be easy for you to deal with in the next little while, but Maddox Communications stands behind you.”

“Thank you, Brock,” she said in a shaky voice. “That means a lot to me.”

“Any idea who would have done this?” Brock asked.

She frowned and stared down at the pictures. Then she looked back up at Brock.

“These pictures were on my company computer. Evan’s mom sent them here. They’ve only been here. I don’t imagine Evan’s ex has any love for me, but she and Mitchell left immediately on their honeymoon.

They haven’t even seen the photos yet. So other than me, and maybe Evan if his mom showed them to him, the only other person who’s seen them is his mom. These weren’t taken by the professional photographer. Evan’s mom shot these with her digital camera, and I don’t believe for a minute she’d go to these lengths to discredit me. She was too damn excited over our supposed engagement.”

Brock swore long and hard. “Are you sure this is the only place you had them?”

Celia stared back at him. “You don’t think…surely not. No one here would do something like that.”

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” he snapped.

He rose and stalked to the door. Then he paused and turned back for a moment. “Don’t let this get you down, Celia. I have a feeling that whoever did this intended just that. You did a damn good job on this account. No one can take that away from you unless you let them.”

Then he was gone, leaving Celia sitting there like a deflated balloon.

She was supposed to meet Evan in just a few hours. Their evening was already planned, complete with the sleepover at his hotel and his driver taking her to work in the morning. She’d already had reservations about it all, but now the idea made the knot in her stomach grow even larger.

Who the hell had released those pictures? It made her furious. Why would anyone even care or go to such lengths to discredit her?

She wouldn’t put it past Athos Koteas. He’d made it a point to tar Maddox Communications any way possible, but how would he have gotten his hands on those pictures?

The idea that one of her coworkers was responsible made her want to puke. She couldn’t believe it and work here another minute. She had to push that possibility out of her mind or go insane.

How sick was it that she didn’t even want to venture out of her office now? She couldn’t face everyone knowing that they’d seen that damn article.