“Got it,” said John with a nod.
“Watch yourself with him. He’s slick,” I warned.
“I assure you, I’m slicker.” John said, rising to his feet and picking up his briefcase. He headed for the closed door, opening it and calling over his shoulder. “Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Mason.”
I chuckled to myself. Nice move.
Sadie looked at me curiously from her desk, her brow perfectly arched over her green eyes, which seemed to be sparkling more since we talked the other night. As scared as I was to open up to her about my past, she listened and didn’t judge. I should have known she wouldn’t. All she wanted was to know me. Therealme. And she wasn’t running from it. Yet.
“Sadie, can you come in here, please?” I asked.
She quickly nodded and walked over.
“Please, close the door behind you,” I said.
She looked confused. It wasn’t something we did anymore, since the rumors started about us. But I needed to talk to her about the private investigator. Besides, the shades were up and anyone could see in and see nothing precarious was going on between us.
She gently closed the door and sat in the armchair across from my desk, her auburn ponytail settling over her shoulder as she looked at me expectantly.
“We have a new hire. John. Our newest junior associate. I need you to work with HR to draw up some new hire paperwork for him.”
“Okay. I didn’t know we were hiring,” she said almost as a question.
“We aren’t. He’s actually a private investigator.”
“What?” Her brows rose high.
“He’ll be working undercover for the foreseeable future. I need to find out who has been spreading these rumors about us, and if you say it wasn’t you or your two friends, then I guess it has to be someone here,” I said firmly.
“Jeremiah…” she started warily. “Is it really worth all this? A private investigator?”
“Of course, it is. Someone among us is a traitor and I intend to sniff them out.”
“And then what?”
“Fire them.”
“For gossiping?”
“For tarnishing my reputation,” I said, my voice rising slightly. I didn’t understand why she wasn’t more upset by this.
She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind, pressing her lips together firmly.
“What?” I asked impatiently, unable to read her thoughts.
“I just didn’t realize it was this big of a deal to you…”
“I told you what this could do to me. Tous.”
“Yes, but I’m going to start showing soon. I can wear all the flowy tops or oversized blazers in the world, but the bump is coming. I can’t hide it forever.”
I looked to her midsection now, as if I hadn’t seen her naked last night. The black blazer she wore hid any sign of her being pregnant.
“Plus, my boobs are doubled in size. I’m sure that’s another giveaway.”
I couldn’t help but smirk slightly. They had been my favorite thing about pregnancy so far. Sadie’s cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink as she saw the look on my face.
“You’re ridiculous,” she said, biting back a smile.
