“What is going on?” I asked insistently.
I needed to know why he had just fired one of my only friends in the office without any explanation to me. I couldn’t understand why he was getting a lawyer involved or why he would need a restraining order. And did he say something about Anderson? My head began to spin as I waited for Jeremiah to speak.
“Remember that private investigator I hired?” he asked.
“The one from last week. Yeah, I remember.” I rolled my eyes. Obviously, I remembered. It was only a few days ago and had led to one of our biggest fights yet. And our best makeup sex, but that’s beside the point.
“I met with him this morning.”
“And?” I raised a brow.
Jeremiah hesitated before sliding over a glossy photo, tapping his finger against the image. I leaned in and looked at the photo, wondering what the hell this had to do with him just embarrassing Tanya like that. Then I saw her. With Anderson. I sucked in a quiet breath.
“What the hell is this?” I whispered.
“They were working together.”
“There is no way.” I shook my head.
“Anderson hired her before I took the CEO position here. He wanted her to dig up dirt on me. To be his office spy.”
“But Tanya has worked here for years…” I said in disbelief.
“But she has no loyalty tome,” said Jeremiah.
“Or me, for that matter…” I muttered, as he slid another picture toward me.
It was from a different meeting between Anderson and Tanya. I would recognize her sleek bob cut anywhere and Anderson wasn’t hard to miss with his tall, slim figure and black eyes. She was wearing the same outfit she had worn when we went to grab tea and coffee last week. I shook my head in quiet disbelief as I pushed the photo away.
These were just photos from the past few days. How often had she met with him in the months prior? How many of our conversations were actually genuine, and not just a way to find out information? Was she even really my friend or was Anderson’s paycheck that good as to blind her to the fact we had known each other for years?
I felt like I was going to throw up. I placed my hand on my stomach and sucked in a shaky breath. Jeremiah looked at me worriedly and stood from his desk. He reached out his hand.
“Come,” he said gently.
I looked up at him curiously, trying not to get wrapped up in the soft expression he wore as he looked over me. He was ridiculously handsome, even when he had just pissed me off. But now I knew why he did it, and it made him even better. I placed my hand in his, the familiar feeling of his palm against mine setting my heartbeat faster.
“Let’s get you some fresh air,” he said, stroking his thumb over my knuckles.
He led me to his door, gently giving my hand a squeeze before letting go. I could feel his touch linger on my skin as he opened the door. Even though Tanya was gone, we still had the eyes of the entire office on us. All thanks to Tanya. The betrayal stung.
All I wanted was for Jeremiah to wrap his arms around me, but we had to keep up appearances. That stung almost as much as Tanya’s betrayal. I wondered if we could ever just be free to be who we were behind the closed door of his penthouse.
We walked side by side to the elevators in silence. Inside the doors, I expected Jeremiah to hit the button for the lobby, but instead he hit the button for the top floor. Soon the doors opened to a well-lit hallway that led to a large glass door leading to the rooftop. He took my hand again, away from the watchful eyes of everyone downstairs, and led me outside to a stunning view of the city.
“Wow,” I whispered. “I’ve never been up here.”
He smiled weakly, nodding to a nearby bench that sat next to a small garden filled with yellow, pink, and white flowers. I breathed in their floral scent as I sat next to Jeremiah. He undid the button of his light gray jacket and sat back comfortably before draping his arm around me. I settled into the solidness of his body.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
I looked up at him confused. “For what?”
“The private investigator. Tanya. Anderson. Getting you wrapped up in all of this.”
I ignored the last part because there was no one else I would rather be wrapped up with. I hoped he didn’t regret anything that had happened between us because I didn’t. It was hard as hell sometimes, but I didn’t regret climbing up all those flights of stairs to break into his apartment all those months ago.
“Why did Anderson hire Tanya in the first place?” I asked, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
