I got myself ready and arrived at the office a little earlier than usual. Liv was approaching from the other direction at the same time and smiled broadly as she jogged to catch up with me at the front door of the building. The air was cold, and her breath swirled between us as she kissed my cheek. “Hey,” she said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
I forced a smile, but it was strained, and she knew it, her eyes immediately narrowing. I pulled the door open and gestured for her to walk through first. We both waved to Cole and got on the elevator.
“What’s going on?” she asked, pressing her hands to my chest.
“Nothing, I’m handling it,” I said. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Is it Martin?” she asked.
I scoffed. “Isn’t it always? He found out about us.”
“What?” She stepped back, eyes wide. “How?”
“We haven’t exactly been subtle, sweetheart. And when I say ‘us,’ I meanallof us,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “Look it’ll be fine, I just need to talk to Sutton and we’ll come up with a plan.”
Olivia’s face paled. “He’s using our relationship against you?”
“Yes,” I said. “But I will be fine. I’ll explain the situation to the board. Sleeping with my assistant is definitely a morally gray area but I am not the first person to fall in love with someone who works for him.”
“What’s going to happen if they don’t accept this?” she asked, wiggling her fingers nervously against her thighs.
I took her hand and squeezed it gently. “I will figure it out.”
“Are you going to lose everything because of us?” she asked, voice high with panic.
“No, he’s just pissed about the transition plan and he’s grasping at straws.”
“But that straw is us,” she said, looking sick. “Because our relationship is always going to be something that people think they can use against us, isn’t it?”
I sighed and pulled her against my chest. “No, Olivia. Not everyone is going to be accepting of this, but not everyone is an evil fuck like Martin either. We’ll get through this.”
The elevator doors opened and I kissed Olivia on top of her head one more time before turning and finding Sutton standing in front of the elevator with one hand on her hip.
“So, Martin wasn’t entirely full of shit for once, huh?” she said, looking exhausted and exasperated.
I let go of Liv and Sutton turned to her with a tight smile. “Good morning, Olivia. I need to talk to Jace for a while. Can you please clear his morning?”
“Of course,” Olivia said, sliding past Sutton. She gave me one last glance before sitting down at her desk. The look of fear on her face and the doubt about our relationship I was afraid her fear would create invoked so much more dread than Martin’s little ploy.
“Coffee?” I asked Sutton, gesturing to the kitchen.
“I’ve made us plenty,” she said, leading the way. I followed her in and poured us each a cup in silence before walking to my office and closing the door behind us.
Chapter Forty-Six
Olivia
Adjusting Jace’s morning hadn’tbeen too difficult since Sutton already had a large block of time on his calendar for their planned meeting. Once I was done, I drummed my fingers on the desk, anxious energy pumping through my body. I got up and poured myself a cup of coffee from the Keurig pot which Jace claimed had solved our issues, then sat back down and tried to focus on my inbox. They’d gone into Jace’s office and closed the door, and I hadn’t heard anything since. Which probably meant she wasn’t yelling at him.That’s a good sign, right?
Of all Jace’s family members, Sutton was the one who I knew the least well. Adrian was a regular presence at Harrison’s Bar and Pub while I worked there, clearly very invested in his businesses and his employees. I’d known Sloane and Lavi for a while due to my friendship with Jace, and now that we were dating they felt like a second set of parents. They weren’t in-laws I’d have to pretend to like someday, they were supportive and genuine and kind. It was no wonder that Jace had turned out the wayhe had with them for parents, and I was glad they’d embraced Kaylee as a grandchild already.
Given how close Jace’s family was and how Leo had turned out to be such a great guy too, I had to imagine Sutton was a good person who was going to be supportive of Jace. Still, she’d looked mighty pissed when she saw us and she had this company to think about. Jace had told me she never wanted to run the company, but, even still, it was her family legacy and Jace getting caught up in a scandal would likely be something she was worried about.
Is that what we are? A scandal? Because three of us love each other and chose to commit our lives to each other? Or because I took a job to be there for my daughter when I knew I was in love with my boss? Our situation is so much more than meets the eye and we don’t deserve this.
I was spinning out. I refocused on my inbox and found a new email from Martin at the top of the screen.
Good morning, Olivia,
