“Okay. Well, we haven’t talked about what we’re doing.”
“As in if we’re in a relationship?”
“Yes,” I say carefully, grateful I’m sitting in his lap, so I don’t have to look him in the eyes.
“Is that what you want?” He slips his arms around my waist.
“Is that whatyouwant?” I ask in return.
“Yes. And I think we should tell everyone.”
“What? No. We can’t do that.”
Panic settles in my chest over what that would mean. Not only for my job, but for my personal life too. Namely—Harrison.
“Why not?” His tone is too calm, too… monotone. He’s upset. I upset him.
Oh my God, Iupsethim.
I turn to face him, straddling his lap, feeling awful.
“What will people think at work?” I say.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because I work there, and everyone will only think I got the job because I’m fucking you.”
I expect him to make a joke about that being the reason why he gave me the job, in hopes to fuck me, but he doesn’t. What he says? I don’t know if it’s better or worse.
“So quit.”
“What?”
“Stop working. Move in with me. Let me take care of you.”
His hands slide up and down my back until finally resting on my ass. All I can do is stare at him in shock. Is he serious?
“I don’t want to be a kept woman, Elliot.”
“That implies secrecy, Seraphine, and I’m the one wanting to tell everyone. I don’t want to keep you here in private, I just want people to know that we’re together. I’m not ashamed of it, of you.”
“I’m not ashamed of you either.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
I scoff, moving away from him to sit in the spot beside him. I don’t miss the frown on his face or the way the tension in the air has grown. When I thought of us having this conversation, I didn’t anticipate it going this way. I thought I’d be the one pleading with him to not hide me. Not once did I think he’d be the one wanting everyone to know.
“Have you even thought of what this would mean? Not only for us but everyone else.”
He frowns, but after a moment, nods in understanding. “Harrison.”
It’s not a question, but a realization.
I don’t answer him because I don’t know what to say to that. Because yes, I am worried about Harrison and what he’ll think, but that isn’t theonlyissue.
Though, now that I really think about it, people probably think I’m nothing but a young hot girl up Elliot’s ass anyway. Some gold digger he found off the street. He gave me the job because he felt bad for me, and for some reason, I never considered that until right now. Even with all the jabs Harrison threw, suggesting it, it never crossed my mind because it wasn’t the truth.
Now that the possibility of people finding out about us is real, a million worries flood me. For some reason, it’s my father’s voice in the back of my head, telling me how much of an idiot I am for ruining the only good thing I had in life—this job. But was the job even real? It was a real job, but it’s true I only got it because Elliot wanted to sleep with me.
