by Lauren Wood
I looked up at Caroline and didn’t know where she was going with this. When someone said such a thing to me though, I didn’t think that it was going to be a good thing.
“What?”
“Promise you won’t be mad at me. Just remember that I am just the messenger.”
I told her that I wouldn’t get mad at her, but I really wanted to know what the problem was that made her approach me in such a way. It couldn’t be that bad, could it?
“What?”
“I just heard from the rumor mill that you are going to be called in front of the board about your conduct.”
I chuckled a little bit and relaxed slightly. There were a lot of things that the board wanted to talk to me about, but they never had enough proof to get anything done. They had ideas of what I was and wasn’t doing, but it was all rumors and conjuncture.
“Why didn’t you say so Caroline? You had me really worried for a minute there.”
She didn’t seem to get why I was so relaxed and she finally asked me what I was grinning like an idiot about. I tried to explain to her that everything was going to be okay, but Caroline didn’t share my relief at all.
“It is about you and Claire. I have a feeling that you are going to want to watch yourself on this one. There have been several inquiries made to some of the other staff. I am not saying that anyone is going to say anything, we all love you here, but if you have something that is going on, it needs to stop right now and we are going to have to hope that something is not able to be proven.”
I felt like this was coming out of nowhere. I had come to work today expecting just another day. I hadn’t expected to hear all of this and even though Caroline was just the messenger, I could see why she wanted assurances before she said anything. I was angry with her, even though I knew she had nothing to do with it. I was pissed off and I wanted to take it out on someone. The fact that it was about Claire and most likely true made it one hundred times worse.
“Thank you Caroline. Was there anything else?”
She was looking at me as if I was going to lose it any minute. I wanted to, if that was not clear, but I was going to hold it together. I had a feeling that the peace in my life wasn’t going to last long, but I hadn’t thought that it would have anything to do with Claire. I hadn’t even secured her in the way that I wanted and now I had to answer to whatever it was they had heard. The board was the bane of my existence half of the time and I had a feeling that this was going to be one of those times. Something bad was going to happen, I just had a feeling.
I sat and stewed until the appointment. It could have been many things that was a matter. Namely, it could be that I had given her too big of clients too early on. She had proven to be a damn good consultant though. Maybe it was the fraud she had uncovered with the last few companies we had done. It could have been a lot of things, but I never expected it to be about us.
***
“I am sorry Sir, can you please repeat yourself for the record?”
I looked to the older woman that I couldn’t remember her name. I had hired on all of these people in one way or another, how strange to be in front of them now as if they were my firing squad.
“I do not understand the question.”
“We have reason to believe that you have become romantically involved with one of your employees. I have given you the name and the times in which this was supposed to have occurred. We would like you to confirm or deny these allegations for the record.”
I felt like I was in court and I really didn’t know what to say. I would at first glance say no. I certainly hadn’t gotten her in bed and to me that was a romantic involvement. This kissing and light petting that we were doing was not. It was on its way there, but not yet. I was still trying to get it to be something else. What business did they have knowing my personal life anyways? As far as I was concerned, it was none of their business.
“I don’t see how this is relevant to anything that has to do with the company.”
“We are here to make sure of the stockholder’s interest and the viability of the company.”
I just shook my head and smiled. “I am the company. It is my name on the checks that you pick up every week. It is my name on all of the dividend checks that they all spend at the end of each quarter. So I will ask again how what I do on my free time has anything to do with my company?”
I told myself that I had to keep my cool, but the more I explained and the more I really thought about it, the more upset I became. They were treating me as if I was some sullen child that didn’t know any better. I knew exactly what was going on and I didn’t like it. I was not going to let these people dictate what I did and didn’t do. They were here because I hired them. I wished then that I hadn’t gone public with the company. Then I would not have these henchmen to answer to.
“You can see that since you are an integral part of the company, your actions can have dire consequences.”
“What if you are sued for sexual harassment? It wouldn’t be the first time that a woman had done this.”
It was Phil Colton speaking now and I knew that he was speaking from experience.
“This is not that kind of situation Phil. We are not even to that level and I am certainly not harassing this girl. Do you have any proof or is this all wild accusations? I do not have time for this. I have a business to run.”
“The CEO setting himself up for litigation is always the company’s business. You hired us to make sure that everything runs as it does now. We cannot do that if there is a question of what you are doing on your off time. Without you on your best form, there is no company.”
“Remember that when you talk about this company like it is separate from me.”
“We have proof Rick. We have pictures of the two of you together, on and off the clock. Would you like to argue and contest it now?”
The older woman used to be one of my favorites. I had always liked the blunt manner that made it easier to deal with her. She just said it how it was and that was that. It was a breath of fresh air compared to everyone else that told me what I wanted to hear. I can’t say that I felt that way now. Now I wished she would just sit there and nod her head. That is what I paid her for in the end.
“I do not know what kind of pictures that you would have, but we haven’t been intimate, not yet anyways.”
“You realize that sexual harassment can be far less than sexual intercourse?”
Again Phil was piping in his concerns and I still had a feeling that it was merely a projection of his own troubles. This was not a situation like that at all. This was different and my anger bubbling up to the surface was not helping anything. I closed my eyes for a minute so that I could take a few breaths. That is what I needed and when I opened them back up, I felt a calm go over me.
“I will consult with my lawyer before I say anything further.”
“This needs to be addressed immediately Rick. We will reconvene tomorrow at the same time and we expect answers. You will need to prove to us that this situation is not a liability. If it is, the company will need to distance itself from you and we will have to find someone else to run things for a while. No one is contesting that you are the company Rick, but now it is the publics as well and it is our duty to safeguard the stockholder’s interests.”
I gave a curt nod before I left. I had a day to figure this out and I was stumped on what to do. I was going to have to call Mary down at my lawyer’s office and see if I could squeeze in a consultation. It was embarrassing when I considered what I would have to sit across from the straight-laced woman and explain, but there was nothing that could be done about it. I was going to have to figure it out one way or another and Mary was always there to help me when the problem was just too big or out of my expertise. This was a little of both and I was hoping that she would be able to add some sanity to an insane moment in my life.
***
“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”
Mary shrugged her
shoulders and waved me off like it was no big deal. The fact that I paid her a lucrative hourly rate to bounce ideas off her was most likely one of the reasons she could make time for me. I had made the woman thousands of dollars in the past and it looked like I might be ready to do it again if I had to fight the board for my own company. Sandra Brown had made it clear what would happen if I didn’t have answers when I met with them tomorrow. She was only safeguarding the company, but it made it no easier to stomach.
“So what can I do for you Rick? Are you ready to expand again? I have a great friend that works in real estate.”
“No, no, nothing like that.”
She put her pen and paper down. “Oh, so not about the business?”
“Sort of.”
Her brow went up and I knew it was because I was being so vague about everything. It wasn’t like me to be this way, but there was a part of me that didn’t want to come out and say it. It was embarrassing and no matter how delicately the subject was broached, it was still a subject that I didn’t necessarily want to get into.
“Okay, well don’t leave me in suspense Rick. What is going on?”
“It is of a delicate matter.”
“That is why I am on retainer, for all of that. What is up?”
The older raven-haired woman was poised at the edge of her seat and I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to disappoint. She was on retainer and we had been through worse together, but it was the first time that I felt so vulnerable. It was literally the last thing I wanted to say to her or anyone else, but I didn’t have a choice.
So I laid it all out to her and I waited for her to crack a smile or tell me I was an idiot. I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. More importantly, I wanted her to figure out a way to have it all and to have no repercussions. It was a tall order.
“How do you feel about this girl?”
That was the first of many questions and then there was the silver lining. She always knew exactly what to do and this time was no different. It was a leap of faith, but what else was love anyways?
Chapter 17
Claire
Things were getting weird at work. There was something going on between me and Rick. I wasn’t really sure what it was, but I was sure that I liked it. I felt for him more than I had felt for another soul. I was falling in love. There was no two ways around it. No matter how much I had tried to keep my heart away, I was unable to do so. I wanted him for more than just a night or some fun. I knew that he wanted me as well, but there was something holding us back.
That something was me and the fact that I had waited so long for my first time. I wanted everything to be perfect and now I was starting to wonder if I would even recognize it when it was right in front of my face. I didn’t think that I would find a better man in general or a better man to be my first. I was in love and though I was sure it wasn’t mutual, I knew that he cared for me. He would make my first time memorable and the more I thought about it, the harder it was to be around Rick without playing it all out in my head.
So when I heard his voice at the door, I jumped a little in my seat and turned around to greet him. “What can I do for you Sir?”
He had a smile on his face that I loved to see, but it usually meant that he was about to cause a ruckus. He loved to start trouble and there was no telling what he had up his sleeve.
“What?”
Rick closed the door behind him and the man looked like he was going to burst any minute. I was a little thrown off with the fact that he had shut the door. It was usually open when we were talking and the first thought that came to my mind was that he was going to kiss me again. I wanted to tell myself that I didn’t need his kiss, but I did in fact want him to kiss me so badly. I could already feel his lips on mine and I closed my eyes to let it happen.
“What are you doing Claire? I need to speak to you.”
I opened my eyes a little embarrassed and realized that he wasn’t here to kiss me. His dark eyes were glittering at me and I could have sworn that he knew what I had thought. It didn’t make me feel any better and i just sort of groaned to myself. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I so in need of him when I knew that it was wrong in so many ways? It really didn’t make sense to me.
“Shoot.”
“Well I don’t really want to do it here. Why don’t we go out for lunch or dinner? How is your schedule looking today?”
I looked at the calendar at the edge of my desk and I could see that I was booked for the rest of the day, most likely the rest of the week. “Tonight works better than lunch. I have a client that I was going to meet at the Willopaw, if you want to go there with me. Or I guess I can reschedule.” I didn’t want to, but Rick looked like whatever it was that he was bursting to tell me was important and I didn’t want to keep him waiting. I also didn’t want him to be alone with me if I could find a person to be a buffer in between us.
Rick wasn’t going for it though. He had the look in his eyes to be alone and I tried to ignore the sudden awakening of my body. Every time he was around, it was as if I was waiting for him. It was a hard feeling to shake, but one that I desperately wanted to. It didn’t seem right to feel this way, not knowing what he was feeling in return. While I tried to remind myself that he was a player in all senses of the word, I couldn’t stop loving him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What, what do you mean?”
“I don’t know. You are not paying me any mind. I asked you something almost a minute ago and you are just looking past me with this goofy grin on your face. Are you okay?”
I was embarrassed, but I was perfectly fine. That was the whole reason that I didn’t like to be around him alone. My mind started to wander and it wasn’t long before I was fantasizing about what could be. It was a lot to think about and even now, as he looked at me like I had an addled brain I was unable to keep the focus on his words. My attention was on his lips and how they moved to form each word. I couldn’t help myself.
“Yes, I am fine Rick. I just have a lot on my plate. I can meet you around seven for dinner if you would like.” It felt strange that I could dictate our time together, but I knew that I could. He was the one that had heaped my plate up so high on the work side of things. There was also something else between us on the personal side and I had learned that he gave me far more leeway that he did with other employees.
“Good, that will work. I will see you in a couple of hours. I will meet you downstairs.”
I nodded that was a good idea and waited for him to leave before I let out the last rush of air from my lungs. Something was going on and the fact that he wouldn’t even give me a hint of what it was about, made me nervous. I was worried about what was going to happen tonight when I meet him. My only hope would be that there were enough people there to keep us occupied and off the subjects that would cause our relationship to get even more strained than it already was.
***
Something told me that I want to dress up for this dinner date. It felt like a date even though it was my boss and he had not said what it was about. I wanted to look pretty and when I saw his eyes light up and the look on his face, I was more than happy to give him the same smile back. He looked handsome in his suit and it appeared that I wasn’t the only one that wanted to look my best. My hand wanted to push through his dark locks of hair. He was stunning to look at and I was the one that had to finally break eye contact because I couldn’t take any more of his intensity.
“You look amazing as always Claire. I didn’t think you would have time to go home before meeting me.”
“I wanted to make time. You look good as well.”
“Have you been here before?”
I didn’t have to look at the menu to gather the price of this place. It was not a place that I would have been able to afford, so it was a treat to even be here.
“I don’t think I have found the time yet. Is it any good?” From the looks of the place, it better be.
“Y
es, I think you will enjoy it. It will always hold a special place in my heart because I have been here for so many major events in my life. This is the place that I associate with celebrations and tonight I am determined for it to be more of the same.”
“Well I am glad you brought me here.”
The hostess saw us coming into the main area and knew Rick by name. He wasn’t joking when he said that he was here a lot. They must have been waiting for him because he called ahead, because we were whisked off to a table rather quickly. Or maybe I just wasn’t used to going out with men like Rick. I bet that everywhere he went, he was treated like this. Like some kind of god because of all of his money. While it was wrong in some ways, it wasn’t that hard to live with on the other side of things. We got a great table in the back with plenty of privacy and we had wine and appetizers out on the table before we could even order them. Everything was going so perfectly.
“So what is it that you wanted to talk about Rick? You were acting a little strange earlier and you have me wondering what is going on.”
“Well Claire, I don’t really know how to say it. Ever since you have come into my life, you have turned it all upside down.”
That wasn’t what I was expecting and I must have been frowning because he was looking at me as if he had messed it all up.
“Sorry, that didn’t come out right. I am nervous and you know I am not nervous very often. I don’t deal well with it.”
“There is no reason to be nervous Rick. We have talked about all kinds of things. This is no different. Just spit it out and we will both feel a whole lot better.”
He was battling with himself and it made me extremely curious to wonder what it was that had him so jazzed up. I could tell that whatever it was on his mind was important enough that he wanted it to go right. I sat still and waited for him to collect himself while I took a few nibbles on an appetizer and took a few sips of my wine. Everything tasted good, so it wasn’t hard to take my time, while he took his.
“You are right. I am building it up in my head and that is why it is so hard to just get it out.”