“Maybe so, but a reporter from thePostwas here at the time, and Christo is afraid of bad press. He doesn’t want it to be turned into a story that people have sex in the dressing rooms or anything like that.”
He couldn’t help smiling. “I think I’ll go make his day even better.”
“Thank God you’re coming back. I couldn’t take it.”
“Oh no, sweetheart. I’m handing in my resignation. It’s up, up, and away.” He grinned. “And you’re coming with me.” He swung off the desk and patted Matty on the shoulder on his way out. “I’ll explain everything after I speak to Christo.”
Leaving Matty scrambling after him, Spencer headed to Christo’s office. Margo’s penciled brows shot high, and Spencer detected relief in her eyes.
“Is he available?”
“I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you.” She picked up the phone.
Spencer gave her a thin smile and waited.
“Go right in.”
Spencer opened the door to find Christo out of his suit jacket and with his sleeves rolled up, which was unheard of for the normally impeccable, unflappable man. Spencer couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen Christo flustered.
“Well, hello.” He leaned against the door. “Bad time?”
“No. My God, Spencer. Come in and sit. Can I get you a cappuccino, a pastry?”
What a difference from the last time he’d been called in and spanked. Spencer sat and crossed his ankles. “I’m fine, thank you.” He waited.
“I assume you heard what occurred yesterday.” Christo slumped into his chair. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he mumbled. “Finding Donald in that position…of course he’s been terminated.”
Spencer said nothing.
Christo stumbled on. “I-I want to apologize for treating you the way I did. You deserved better, and I jumped too soon.”
“Why did you, then?”
If Christo thought Spencer would let him off the hook with a “sorry,” he was sadly mistaken, and once again, he sent a silent prayer of thanks to André and Bianca for trusting him.
“I don’t know.” Christo met his eyes directly. “We’ve never had the easiest relationship. I wasn’t brought up in an age when I could be out with my sexuality. Maybe I was a little jealous of how easy it was for you. You’ve never had to hide who you were, and people accepted you, no questions asked.”
“Is that what you think?” Spencer burst out, the bitterness a heavy weight on his chest. “You couldn’t be further from the truth. And even if that was so, it shouldn’t have made you so eager to accept other people’s words against me. I’ve never given you anything but the highest respect. This store and my job meant everything to me, and in one minute it was yanked away because you chose to listen to vicious rumors from jealous, petty assholes.”
“I bet that felt good.” A hint of a smile touched Christo’s lips, and he laced his fingers together. “And you’re right. The best I can do is offer an apology and a promise to do better.”
“Well, I hope whomever you find for this position will be the beneficiary, because it won’t be me.” His heart slammed, but Spencer had never felt more free.
Christo’s brows drew together. “What’re you talking about? You’re not fired. Didn’t you hear what I said?”
“I did. And while I appreciate it and the apology, I think what happened opened my eyes to a lot of things. The most important being that I deserve better—the best, in fact. You think I had it easy?” He passed a hand over his eyes and huffed out a laugh. “When your own parent can’t look you in the eye because you aren’t who they’d hoped you’d be, you can either choose to deny yourself to make them happy, or accept who you are and live your truth. My father despised me, and it made me strong. I’ll never stay and work with people I can’t trust to have my best interests at heart.” He rose from the chair. “So, yeah. I’m leaving. I can’t work where I don’t feel safe or appreciated. I’m going to clean out my desk.”
“Please, Spencer. There must be something I can do to change your mind.”
He paused at the doorway. “No. You should’ve trusted me and my integrity when Donald came to you and told you those lies. He always was a petty little shit, and I have zero sympathy for what happened to him.”
Cue dramatic exit.
More lighthearted than he’d felt in weeks, he left Christo’s office for his. It took only a few minutes to put the photos and few personal items in a tote bag. Matty stood watching him, biting his lip.
“You meant it? You want me to come with you…where?”
Finished, Spencer kissed his cheek. “I’ll call you. Can you pack up the photos on the wall and my awards? I’ll have someone pick them up for me.”
