Page 26 of The Merger
“It doesn’t matter if we know the truth. A rumor like this, for a woman, could end my career. Maybe this was a mistake. I should have known Fitz was up to something when he suggested I take this job.”
I winced and looked away from her.
“This wasn’t his idea, was it?”
“I told him I needed help. I was prepared to ask for you, or list requirements that would match your resume. But—”
“He recommended me before you had to do that, right?” she guessed.
I nodded. There wasn’t much else to say. Here I was trying to tell her that she made it on her own, but I manipulated this particular situation to get close to her.
“That scheming old man,” she hissed.
My brow furrowed. “I’m not following. Look, I know that this doesn’t look good. I meant what I said. You do deserve to be here. I might have been prepared to ask for you, but he suggested it before I did.”
She snorted a short laugh. “Of course he did because he’s got an obsession with matchmaking. I don’t know when he looked into my background, but I’m sure he was just waiting for the moment he could arrange things to get us together. I swear he’s sappier than a Hallmark movie.”
“There is one way we can help you save face,” I began.
Her eyebrow curved up as she waited for me to explain.
I took a deep breath. “We let them know we’re married.”
“How does that keep them from thinking I only got where I’m at because of nepotism?”
“I guess it won’t, but at least you won’t be accused of sleeping with the boss just to get a job.” I scrubbed my hand down my face. “I don’t want to give up on us because of what a bunch of people I don’t even care about are going to say. I only care what you think.”
She exhaled. “This is way too much thinking before I’ve had coffee.”
* * *
Work buried both of us for several hours after we arrived. Sabrina had to head down to Human Resources to help vet most of the executives and hopefully uncover any lingering members of Maxwell Easton’s inner circle. Judging by the recent bouts of insubordination, there had to be a few remaining.
I managed to corner Sabrina before lunch. I grabbed her elbow and steered her toward the elevators. “Let’s go finish our discussion from this morning.”
I’d already heard the gossip, and unfortunately, I knew she was dead on about what the talk around the office would be. So far I’d heard she threw herself at me at her interview and she was a sex worker I’d picked up at the hotel bar.
The door slid open and I pulled her inside after me. She tried to resist me, but I didn’t let her. “This is only going to make it worse.”
“Have they been giving you a hard time?” I asked, knowing by her demeanor they had been.
She nodded, a slight jerk of her head. “Yeah. The entire time I was in HR, I could tell there was something the hiring manager wanted to speak to me about. It wasn’t until I went to the bathroom that I overheard a few of the secretaries gossiping in front of the mirrors.”
There was something off about how fast this rumor had spread. For it to be all over the building before lunch was over meant there had to be someone stoking the flames. The office only saw us together yesterday, and there wasn’t anything remotely familiar or romantic about it. Even us coming into the office together this morning shouldn't be enough to make the office buzz.
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you this morning. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe you earlier, I just thought we’d have time to talk about how to proceed.”
“What do we do now?” she asked. She gnawed on her lower lip, a tiny crease forming between her eyes.
The elevator opened up to the garage. I took her hand and pulled her out to head to my car. She smiled slightly as I opened the door to my Honda.
I scrubbed my hand through my hair, suddenly feeling inadequate. My brother always drove sleek sports cars. “What?”
Sabrina placed her hand on my chest, right over the uneven beating of my heart. “I like the idea that you aren’t flashy about your success.”
I barked out a dark sounding chuckle. “I did have a sports car for a while. It was a lease and didn’t suit me. This is reliable, and I don’t feel like I’m pretending to be someone I’m not. I’m hardly a success. I bounce from place to place saving other people’s businesses. I’ve built nothing for myself. I’m thirty-six with no family, no kids, and no roots.”
Sabrina slid past me into the car. I forced myself out of my stunned stupor and went around to the driver’s seat. Starting the car I looked over at her. “But I want roots with you. Does that scare you?”