I could be nice sometimes.
As I stepped outside, I felt the slight shift in the air that came from fall approaching. I breathed it in, anticipating my favorite season when it wasn’t hot as balls and the leaves started to change. It felt like a new beginning, and hell, I needed one right now.
I walked back to the office, the smell of my Italian sub wafting up toward me and making my stomach grumble. I took a sip of my soda, a luxury I rarely let myself have, and its sweetness kissedmy tongue. I let out an audible “mmm” as I stepped into the building, nodding at security as I passed.
When the elevator doors opened to my floor, it felt like the room stopped as everyone’s eyes shifted toward me momentarily before looking away. There was a feeling in the room that I couldn’t quite grasp, but it made me uneasy. I straightened my shoulders and continued walking toward my office, aware of the eyes on my back. I was used to quiet stares, but this was different.
I only realized why when I opened my office door to find Mr. Harold pacing the floor of my office. My stomach sunk. This was an unexpected visit, and judging from the tension in the office and the look on his face when he saw me walk in told me it was bad. Really bad.
Had he found out about the missing money? Did he think I had something to do with it? I swallowed hard, gathering my thoughts and ready to defend myself. I had nothing to do with it, and had planned on telling him when I had more information.
“Mr. Harold,” I said casually as I stepped around his pacing to set my lunch and drink on my desk. “This is a surprise.” I gave him a small smile.
“You’re fired,” he said, stopping in his tracks as his eyes narrowed in at me.
I did a double-take as his words absorbed into me, looking at his face for any clue of where this had suddenly come from. I openedmy mouth to tell him all about the accounting firm I had hired to look into the company, and reveal my unpleasant findings, to try and save my name from being a part of it. But what he said next was far worse than all of that.
“I am shocked by your behavior. Your bachelor lifestyle was one I was wary of before hiring you on, but I never thought you would let it seep into your position here.”
Fuck. This had nothing to do with the missing money…and everything to do with…
“Gabriella is my daughter. Myonlydaughter. She had a prominent life and pristine reputation with so much potential.Youtook that from her.”
“Sir, I…”
He held up his hand and I snapped my mouth shut. It was unlike me to let anyone put me in my place, but this was Mr. Harold and I had royally fucked up by fucking his daughter. I pressed my lips tightly together and braced myself for whatever anger he was about to unleash on me.
Anger that Gabriella had been worried about ever since we started our unlikely relationship at the gala. I just never believed it would happen. It was stupid to think we could get away with it, no matter how discreet we had been. We were reckless, thinking we were invincible. I realized now that we were not. I wondered how he had found out. How much he knew.
“You betrayed me. You betrayed my legacy that I entrusted to you. That had practically ruined my relationship with my daughter by handing it to you.”
That was on you,I thought. He couldn’t blame me for his choices when it came to business. But I kept my mouth shut, letting him bore into me, hoping his anger would subside and he could be reasonable.
“And what do I get from it? You sleeping with my daughter like the scum you are, and her getting pregnant from it.”
Fuck. He knew everything.
At first, I had hoped someone from the office had told them their assumptions of us. Maybe our “closed door” meetings had raised some suspicions, or maybe he had suspected something when he almost caught us a few weeks ago. But no, he knew about the baby. Either Gabriella had told him, which I doubted, or someone had somehow overheard our conversation at the country club.
“Do you know how much of a damn fool I felt like when I was called up and congratulated by a board member about becoming a grandfather?” he spat.
It hadn’t been Gabriella who had told him. I racked my brain, trying to remember how anyone could have overheard us in that small room. I thought we had been alone, but then again the moment she said the words, everything had gone hazy like I wasin a drunken stupor of surprise. The fact that it was a board member made this even worse.
“I assure you, it wasn’t intentional what happened between me and your daughter,” I said.
“How long has this been going on?” he asked, his voice a gruff whisper.
“I don’t know…”
“Howlong?” His hazel eyes narrowed. Gabriella’s eyes.
“Months. Since the gala.”
He blew out a hasty laugh from his closed lips and shook his head.
“It just happened,” I said, “I didn’t mean for—”
“That’s what Gabriella said, too,” he said, looking toward the ceiling in frustration.
