by Lexy Timms
“How is that any of your business?”
After a long pause she sighed. “Maybe that part isn’t my business. But when you told the board you love her...” A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I’ve never known you could be happy. I didn’t know you were capable of such deep feelings.”
“Neither did I,” he admitted in spite of his anger. “I’m just as surprised as you are.”
“So, when you told the board and stormed out, this urge came over me.” Her shoulders sagged. “I wanted you to be happy. And I knew that the only person who makes you that happy is Heather. I figured if I plotted to get you two alone together at the hotel in California you’d have the privacy and the opportunity to tell her how you really feel about her. It was easy to get the receptionist and the manager to switch room numbers and give you the wrong keys. After all the business I’ve sent their way, they owed me big time.”
“You had no right to do that.” When they had ended up in the same room, for a moment he had really thought that fate had brought them together. Then the manager had explained that it had all been a mix-up and he chalked it up to a routine accident. A happy accident. Now it looked like Linda had orchestrated the whole thing. He hated being manipulated and used, especially by someone he respected as much as Linda. Maybe he didn’t trust her the same way he trusted Heather, but Linda had been at Dover even before he had become CEO. He valued her as an employee. And, to be honest, as a friend—or at least an acquaintance.
“I didn’t. I was wrong to go behind your back.” Her eyes locked with his, and suddenly the steely-eyed gaze of the formidable media relations officer was replaced by a look of concern. She looked almost motherly. “I only wanted you to be happy. For years I’ve seen you shut people out. You’ve lived a solitary life for as long as I’ve known you. But ever since Heather first started working here, you seem so much more engaged with the world. More alive. Like you realize that you’re more than just a CEO who cranks out brilliant ideas. You’re not some cold, unfeeling machine, Simon. You’re a human being. With feelings, like everyone else.”
“Why do you care?”
“I guess somewhere along the way I started to see you as the son I never had. I don’t have children. Never wanted any. I’ve got my hands too full with so many nieces and nephews,” she replied. “And I have loved being a mentor to people. Especially to you Simon.”
He was stunned. Speechless. Linda had worked at Dover even before he had first invested in the company, so he supposed he would have grudgingly admitted that he and Linda were on friendly terms. Maybe they were even friends under the right circumstances. But he had never allowed himself to feel anything more than that. Never allowed himself to accept that, no matter how hard he had tried to keep people locked out, they still had a way of getting in. It wasn’t just Heather who had knocked down his defenses. Linda had as well. Even before Heather had come back into his life.
If he was being honest with himself, Linda really had been a mother figure to him all these years, especially since his relationship with his own mother was practically non-existent.
“Linda...” He paused, trying to grapple with the emotions swirling inside him. “I really don’t deserve you, do I?”
“No. You don’t.” She smiled ruefully.
“I suppose you have been like a mother to be all these years,” he said. “But that doesn’t give you the right to meddle in my life the way you did.”
Her smile faded. “It doesn’t. I’m sorry.”
“Good. Glad that’s cleared up.”
“So, did you and Heather at least reconcile?”
“I thought we established that my private life is none of your business,” he said sharply.
“It’s not, but that isn’t going to stop me from asking.”
“Things are complicated between us right now,” he muttered.
Linda’s eyes lit up, unable to hide her excitement. “So, you are back together!”
“No.” He shook his head and held up his hands. “We haven’t had time to talk. I’d rather not be forced into having a serious discussion with Heather in the workplace.”
“Workplace. Right.” Her eyes darted around, like she was trying to avoid his gaze all of a sudden.
Suspicion made him arch an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“The board had an emergency meeting yesterday,” she replied.
“What? When were you going to tell me?” he demanded.
“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?” She blew out an annoyed breath. “The board met because they’re worried about your relationship with Heather. Before you came back earlier today, I thought if you were back with Heather you’d be able to stand up to the board pretty easily. But if things are still rough between you two, I’m not sure how you’re going to weather this.”
“What was the meeting about?” he pressed, unable to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“They don’t like how you left things at the last board meeting,” she said. “Telling them you’re in love with Heather unsettled them. They think having her around is dangerous because they believe she’ll have influence over you. I thought if you got together with her you’d be able to face them, but if not they’re much more likely to try to drive a wedge between you two.”
“Linda, what are you saying?”
“There was talk about coming between you. Breaking you up before things got serious.”
“You mean by firing her?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, more than that. If they fired her, you’d still have feelings for her. They didn’t come up with anything concrete, but the gist of the meeting was that they’re worried. Concerned that Heather will control you, and therefore control how Dover operates. They think her influence over you is a threat to the company.”
He frowned. “So, they want to get rid of me?”
“No, getting rid of you is the last thing they want right now,” she said. “The product roll-out wasn’t as strong as they wanted, but things are picking up because the public still trusts you. For some reason, your commitment to staying out of the spotlight has made them more likely to trust you.”
“Nobody likes a corporate hack.” Hiding the satisfaction from his voice was impossible, so he didn’t bother. He hadn’t shunned the media to score points with the public, but the one thing he knew about corporate politics was that at the end of the day people liked authenticity. That was probably why the public was still on his side.
“Yes, well, the corporate hacks control Dover’s board,” she reminded him. “You might not like them, but you need them to keep the company going. Just like they need you. Which is why the board doesn’t want to get rid of you. On the contrary, they think you’re too valuable to lose. Your ideas are too good and the public trusts you too much. A temporary suspension is one thing, but they don’t want to lose you permanently. They want to keep you on while they find a way to stop you from caring about Heather.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
“Which is what they’re afraid of,” she said.
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked. “If anyone on the board finds out that you spilled the beans to me, they’re liable to try to make work a nightmare for you. I’d step in to prevent that, of course, but they’d do some damage in the meantime.”
“I’m telling you because you’re my friend,” she said earnestly. “And because the board deciding to run your love life after years of leeching off your hard work without so much as a thank-you pissed me off royally.”
He gave her a grim stare. Telling the board about his feelings for Heather had felt damn good in the moment, but the revelation might have put her in danger. There was no way of knowing exactly what the board was planning without more information. Information he was unlikely to get on his own. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but if they call another secret meeting could you tell me what they say?”
She nodded. “Of course. I’m loyal to you, Simon.
”
“I know.” He reached over and patted her shoulder awkwardly. “I couldn’t have survived all these years without you. Thank you, Linda.”
She flashed him a smile. “Does this thank-you extend to me trying to get you and Heather back together?”
“Hell no.” He turned from her and started walking back to her office.
“So, what are you going to tell her?” Linda asked.
Not the truth. At least not all of it, and not yet. If the board was plotting against him to hurt Heather in some way, there was no way she could protect herself. She might have insisted that he stop helping with the investigation into clearing her name, but Heather didn’t have the same kind of power that he did. It was his job to protect her, even from her own stubbornness.
He’d let her work on clearing her name with Linda’s help. The rest he’d do in the shadows and pass it off as Linda’s work. But he’d deal with the board his way. Without telling Heather about it. Because, if he told her, she’d beg him to back off, and that was absolutely not an option. His love for her was already putting her in danger. That was why protecting her was his responsibility no matter what.
Simon sauntered over to Linda’s office door, squaring his shoulders as he prepared himself to talk to Heather. Whatever he was going to tell her now was going to leave out a hell of a lot. He couldn’t tell her he loved her, and because of that he couldn’t tell her that the board was plotting against her. One led to the other, and until he came clean about his feelings he’d have to keep secrets from her. It hurt his heart to have to keep so much hidden from the woman that he loved but focusing on his feelings rather than her safety was selfish.
“Well?” Linda prompted.
He placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to open the door and tell Heather what she needed to hear. “I’ll think of something.”
Chapter 13
Her heart raced as he stepped back into Linda’s office. She frowned as she watched him intently.
The expression on his face was hard to read, but that didn’t stop her anxiety. Simon and Linda had been gone for what felt like forever. What could they possibly have been talking about? Was it about the board? Their mistrust of her?
Heather bit her lip. “Where’s Linda?”
“She had something to attend to,” he replied.
“What did she think you had told me?” she asked. “It sounded really important.”
He jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, his brow furrowing. “It’s good news, actually.”
She wished that his reassurance could have slowed her pounding heart, but it didn’t. If anything, all this secrecy and obfuscation only helped to fry her nerves. “Really? You didn’t sound like you wanted Linda to tell me what it was.”
“That’s because I thought it was best that I tell you,” he said slowly.
For some strange reason, she got the distinct sense that Simon was stalling for time. But why would that be? He obviously wanted to tell her whatever it was, now that he was back in the room.
“So, tell me,” she said.
“Well...” He took a deep breath. “The photo.”
She blinked in confusion. “What?”
“You remember the photo that was taken of us at our high school reunion?” he asked.
“Yes, I remember.” Her face heated at the delicious memory of their passionate kiss. Simon’s old friend, Neil Bernard, had snapped photos of them kissing at the reunion. So far, the photo hadn’t surfaced in the media, but it still held power over her. That photo getting out would just give her ex-husband more ammunition to use against her in the custody battle for her son.
“Dover’s legal team has managed to keep it out of the press,” he said. “We don’t know how long that will last, but for the time being it won’t see the light of day.”
“Even if we don’t know how long it will be out of the press that’s still good news, right?”
He nodded. “Yes, it’s good news. It means we’ll have a better chance at keeping it out of the press permanently.”
“Neil must be hopping mad,” she said. “He was so determined to make money off of it.”
“He got paid to keep it out of the media,” Simon explained. “It’s not as much as he’d make if the photo got published, but he should be grateful he’s getting paid to not do something.”
“Do you know how long this will last?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Right now, it looks like they’re going week to week. It’s a hard battle, so Neil’s editor is still fighting us. We just have to let Dover’s legal team do their job.”
“Okay. No breathing a sigh of relief just yet. Got it.”
“It’s still good news,” he pointed out.
“Yes, it is. But when did you find out?” she asked. “If Linda thought you had told me, you must have found out a while ago.”
He paused, letting his gaze land on hers. “I found out from the board just before we flew out to California.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“Honestly, I got so caught up in the chaos of our trip that I forgot to tell you,” he said.
A nagging feeling was suddenly making her restless. It wasn’t like him to just forget to tell her something that important. “Did you refuse to tell me on purpose?” she demanded. “We weren’t on the best of terms before we went down to California. Did you keep it to yourself because you were still angry at me?”
“No. Of course not,” he responded. “I’d never do anything like that, Heather. You know that I value professionalism above everything. I would never deliberately keep information like that from you out of anger.”
Guilt started to overtake her suspicion. She’d practically accused him of deliberately trying to hide the truth from her. Simon would never undermine her like that. Ever. She knew that he was honorable. Knew he had too much integrity to ever try to keep the truth from her. So, why did it still feel like he was keeping things from her? Keeping a secret he refused to reveal to her?
Now she was fighting her conflicting emotions, caught between suspicion that he was keeping a secret from her and guilt that she was willing to believe the worst of him. It wasn’t fair to believe he was lying to her. Especially not after she had been so hurt over him accusing her of hacking into his security system. If she expected Simon to trust her, she had to trust him. To do otherwise would be hypocritical.
Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling. Linda had seemed way too eager for this to just be about an incriminating photo. “I know you’d never deliberately keep anything from me,” she said gently. “But Linda reacted so strangely earlier. As if what you had to tell me was some kind of secret.”
“Well, it was a secret,” he said. “Remember, we had to keep the truth about that photo under wraps. Very few people know about it, and we’ve made sure the public thinks we’ve ended our relationship.”
“So, why did she force us into the same room then?” Heather pressed. “If us being together would arouse suspicion, wouldn’t it make sense for us to have separate rooms?”
“I think Linda was testing us,” he said quickly. “To see if we were staying true to our word.”
She lowered her eyes, now embarrassed because after getting into bed with him during their trip, they had most definitely not kept their word. “We ended up reconciling in California. So, we failed her test.”
“Well, she knows that,” he said.
“Is she going to tell the board?” she asked.
“No. She’s assured me that she won’t,” he said.
“So, why test us?” She frowned, still not satisfied with Simon’s explanations.
“I think she wanted to know for herself,” he said. “She’s very worried about her position at Dover. Linda worries that our relationship has caused issues with the company which could lead to layoffs.”
“Oh, no.” Guilt made her stomach tighten. “No wonders she seemed so secretive. She feels embarrassed about having to make sure he
r job is secure. I feel so responsible.”
He sank into the chair beside her and reached for her hand. “Heather, don’t blame yourself. We’ve all made our share of mistakes.”
“I know, but my mistakes can ruin so many people’s lives,” she said. “I put Dover in jeopardy and I still have to worry about keeping custody of Finn. Everything is such a mess.”
Simon released her hand to cup her chin, forcing her to meet his determined gaze. “We’re going to get through this. I know you don’t want me to help you with your investigation, but I can still be here for you. I can still support you.”
“What does that mean? For us?”
“We do have to talk,” he said. “But I don’t want to put any pressure on you. You’ve got so much stuff to deal with, and I refuse to add more to your plate.”
She leaned against his hand, loving the way it felt to be touched so tenderly. After everything she had put him through, Simon still insisted on being here for her. Her heart warmed, and she promised herself that no matter what happened she’d always be grateful for his support. “I don’t want you to think that I’m not interested in taking the next step in our relationship.”
“So, you’re interested?”
“Yes,” she said. “More than anything.”
His mouth turned up into a dazzling smile that sent a thrill through her. “Okay. We don’t have to make any decisions right now, and I’m ready to take things as slowly as you’d like. Just tell me we have a chance.”
Heather returned his smile, her heart suddenly lighter than it had been in weeks. Knowing he was still interested in her was the most wonderful feeling, and she never wanted this dream to end. “We do.”
“I KNOW YOU SAID YOU don’t want my help, but I can’t let you pass this opportunity by.”
She held her cell phone against her ear as she opened the oven door to check on the chocolate chip cookies she was baking. “Simon, if this is a ploy to take over the investigation, I’m going to be very upset.”