If only that was how I was actually feeling. Because right now, all I’m feeling is fear, anxiety, and self-doubt.
Chapter 29
Damian
“Funnywhatsleepingwiththe boss will get you.”
I’m on my way into the kitchen when the words stop me dead. My blood burns with white-hot rage, not because an employee is calling out Brielle’s and my relationship, but because of his tone. It’s nasty and degrading. And God knows, he wouldn’t talk like that to me, so what makes him think he can speak to Brielle that way?
“Excuse me? What did you say?” Brielle counters. I haven’t even peeked my head into the kitchen to see what’s going on, but I can tell that she’s pissed.
I desperately want to storm in there, stand by her side, defend her, but I know that would only make things worse. She can handle this on her own, but I don’t like that she has to.
I turn and stalk back to my office. Louisa catches my eye and rears back.
“Is everything okay?” she asks.
“Fine,” I snap.
An unsettled feeling pulsates through me. It’s only been a couple of weeks with Brielle in my bed, and we’re already making a mess of things. It won’t stay quiet for long, and what happens when itcomes out? The CEO and the newly promoted media creator having an affair.
I know what the optics look like. But they don’t tell the true story. Brielle is damn good at the marketing side of the business. She’s creative and smart, collaborative and driven. Some of it comes naturally to her, like she showed during our very first dinner together, and other things she’s picked up in the past month or so that she’s been working in that role. She’s the right person for the job.
And the fact that she wants to grow her skill set in that field, that she wants to show off her creativity, and doesn’t want to stare at numbers all day, it’s a win-win.
But to anyone else, it will look like nepotism. Like my private relationship with Brielle is influencing my business decisions. And in the end, neither of us will come out of this unscathed.
It isn’t fair to put Brielle through this. I like her too much to let her relationship with me affect her future. Maybe even more than like.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I pick up my cell and shoot a text off to her.
Me: Something came up. I can’t see you tonight.
My hands feel tense and stiff. I have to flex my fingers to get the blood flowing again. I’ve barely woken up my computer from sleep mode when my phone chimes with a text.
Brielle: Okay. No problem.
I reread her message a dozen times, trying to determine her tone.
It doesn’t matter. We do need to spend some time apart. It isn’t healthy, the hold she has on me. So I don’t send back a reply. It’s better that way.
Brielle: Check out this recipe card! It sounds so good. We should try it :)
Me: I can’t tonight. I have plans.
Brielle: Oh, I didn’t realize. You hadn’t mentioned it before. What are you up to?
Me: I don’t need to give you a breakdown of my schedule. I have somewhere I have to be tonight.
It’s a bold-faced lie, and I hope she doesn’t call me out on it. One night apart wasn’t enough to free my heart from her clutches. All it did was make me think of her, miss her.
I hate this already. I don’t want to distance myself from her. I want her.
Brielle: That was rude.
Brielle: That’s two days in a row.
Yes, because seeing you in my bed, having you in my arms, is too tempting to walk away from. I’m only strong enough to do it when I’m not looking into your ocean eyes.
