Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(59)

He gave a curt nod. "Exactly."

“What about this threat about the hostile takeover?" I wasn’t interested in being linked with mobsters or shady deals, either.

He gave me a hard look. "Are you suggesting I’d let them do it? It would solve the problem of my being your boss."

I shook my head vehemently. "No. Not at all. I don't want you to sell your company, and especially not to a bunch of mobsters, if that’s what they are."

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Yep, that's what they are.”

We sat in silence, the weight of our predicament hanging heavily over us both.

He tilted his head toward me. "What if there is another alternative? Is being your boss a dealbreaker?"

I sucked in a breath and stared at him. He was asking me if I was willing to risk my work reputation to be with him. Inside my chest, my heart did a tug-of-war. My reputation, my integrity, meant something. But I yearned to be with this man. I couldn’t find an answer.

"Your hesitation is the answer." He stood up, rolling his shoulders like he was letting the tension go . . . letting me go.

I opened my mouth to say something, although I didn’t know what was going to come out, when the phone rang on his desk.

He looked at me, and in his expression, I saw a man who was also at a loss for what to say. Finally, he said, "I need to take this. And I'm sure you need to get back to work."

I stood up, straightening my clothes again. "Yes, of course." We stared at each other for a long moment, but still, neither of us could find words. Finally, I turned away and headed out of his office.

I didn't get very far when Catherine stepped into my path. "I know what's going on. Whatever you're trying to get from Reed, it's not going to work."

I stared at her, noting the fierceness in her eyes. I began to wonder if she was more than a gatekeeper and instead had a strange obsession with Reed. Maybe she was in love with him.

"I don't want anything from Reed." That wasn't exactly true, I realized as I said the words. I wanted his heart. I wanted his soul. And based on what Catherine said, it looked like maybe the secret was out. The man who'd stopped me yesterday clearly knew what I’d been doing with Reed. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew at work. It looked like maybe they already did if Catherine was confronting me and my team was questioning me. If that was the case, the effort to save my reputation was moot. The question now was, did I continue to prove them right by being with Reed?

Catherine's eyes flashed with a wild heat that had me stepping back. "You back off from Reed, or you're not going to like what happens next."

“Are you threatening me?" I couldn't decide if the answer was yes, did that mean my life was in danger, or just that work was going to become an unpleasant place to be?

"I'm not kidding, Analyn. Reed is off-limits. If you're smart, you won't test me on this." She brushed past me, heading toward Reed's office. I wanted to run over and press my ear to the door and eavesdrop, but I reminded myself that I was a better person.

I made my way back toward the marketing department, but the closer I got, the slower I walked. If Catherine knew about me and Reed, as well as the stranger on the street, my staff had to know. How could I face them?

"They can all go fuck off." Reed’s words came back to me.

I liked the people I worked with, so I didn't plan on telling them to fuck off. But neither was I going to let their opinion of me scare me away. This was when I needed to be brave. I needed to have the courage I was lamenting I didn't have earlier. But I did have courage because I'd finally told Betts the truth, and I'd confronted Reed. And while I couldn't say my courage paid off for the positive, at least I didn't have the weight hanging over me anymore.

I walked into the department making a beeline to my office, but Clive stood at his door and called me over.

I took a breath to prepare myself for whatever he might say to me.

"Is everything all right?" I asked as I followed him into his office.

"Well, that's what I wanted to ask you, Analyn." He shut the door behind me. "Have a seat."

I sat in the chair by his desk as he rounded it and sat in his chair. "You’ve been distant lately. You’ve been doing your work, but me and your team have the feeling that you want to be left alone. I believe one of your team members mentioned there were some issues going on with your roommate, and we all thought that might be it. But then I realized that you had your first performance review, and I’m concerned that perhaps something in that report might have upset you."

You think? I worked to keep my face impassive. "There were some things for me to think about, for sure."

He nodded. "The thing is, I suspect that Mr. Hampton misread our comments. Or more accurately, I think Catherine misinterpreted what we reported to her."

"Catherine?"

He nodded. “Generally, Catherine talks to us all, and I talk to your team as well. Then I create a written report. My written work goes to Catherine, and she puts it all together into a single report for Reed to review. After I put two and two together that perhaps your behavior was related to the report, I went to talk to Reed. He seemed to believe things that we did not mean.”

So, what did they mean?