Back at my desk, I pull up the Larsson file with shaking hands. The slides are excellent as they are, but the message behind Daniel’s instruction is clear.Make it less me.
I spend the next three hours draining every ounce of personality from the presentation. By noon, it looks like every other bland corporate deck in existence. Mission accomplished.
My phone buzzes. I glance down, expecting Gretchen again, but Derek’s name flashes across the screen instead.
Derek: I miss you. Can we talk?
I delete it without reading the rest. Whatever he has to say, I don’t want to hear it.
“Hey, Bailey!” Sarah from marketing appears at my desk, grinning. “Did you see the article?”
My stomach drops. “What article?”
She pulls out her phone and shows me. It takes a while to get some focus because of her excitement, but when my eyes catch some of the screen’s content, my heart stops. I practically snatch the phone out of her hands to gape at the gossip site featuring a photo from the gala. Daniel and I, his arm around my waist, looking at each other like we’re the only two people in the world.
The headline reads:DANIEL WILLIAMS DEBUTS NEW GIRLFRIEND, RISING DESIGNER BAILEY RODGERS.
“You two are everywhere,” Sarah says, oblivious to my panic. “It’s so romantic.”
The words blur together as I scan the article. It mentions my position at Williams Ventures, describes me as a “talented up-and-comer,” and speculates about how we met. The comments section is already filling with opinions, some supportive, others questioning whether I got my job because of Daniel.
“Thanks for showing me,” I manage.
Sarah leaves, and I immediately pull out my phone. Trevor is going to see this. If he hasn’t already, he will soon.
I should have called him first and controlled the narrative like Daniel said.
My hands shake as I dial Trevor’s number.
“Hey, Bay!” His voice is cheerful. “What’s up?”
“Hey. Do you have a minute?”
“Yeah, just finished rounds. What’s going on?”
I take a breath. “I need to tell you something. About Daniel.”
The pause on the other end is heavy. “What about him?”
“We’re… seeing each other. Dating.”
Silence.
“Trevor?”
“Since when?” His voice has changed. It’s calmer now, which is so much worse.
“A few weeks. It started casually, but—”
“A few weeks? The reunion was two weeks ago. You met him for the first time two weeks ago.”
Shit. “Actually, I—we work together. I’ve been working at Williams Ventures since before the reunion.”
The silence this time is deafening.
“You’ve been working for him.” It’s not a question. “For weeks. And you didn’t tell me.”
“I was going to—”
