“Of course not!” Sutton exclaimed, looking offended. “I’m not going to punish her to protect you.”
I let out a breath of relief.
“I’m suggesting that she quit.”
“Sutton!” I yelled.
She sighed. “Here me out. We find Olivia another job, quickly. When this comes out, we can address the situation for what it is. You two had a prior relationship that evolved, and you both took immediate steps to mitigate any professional integrity questions that your relationship raises.”
“I fucking hate this,” I said.
Sutton leaned forward and patted my knee gently. “I know. But you both said it was temporary. This is the best way to protect you—and her, if he tries to discredit her.”
“Oh, he will. She’s job shadowed in a few departments here already and she’s not into any of them. I think she wants to go back to the restaurant industry, but the hours aren’t optimal.”
Sutton’s eyes lit up. “I might be able to help with that. Kelly, the manager at Ackerson’s, just gave us her notice. She’s moving with her girlfriend to Chicago. She has daytime hours and Olivia has more than enough experience to manage the place.”
My chest clenched. “She’s not going to want to be handed another job, Sutton. She’s going to want to earn it.”
“Shehasearned it. Jackson’s still a mess at Harrison’s without her. She was a phenomenal employee, and he hated letting her go. Between her experience and her degree, she’s more than qualified. If this job had been available a few months ago when she was looking for a change in hours, Adrian would have offered it to her.”
I sighed. “He can offer it to her now, but I won’t force her out of this job to project myself, Sutton.”
“Understood. We need to talk to her before the board meeting Martin called. He’s going to be very smug and think he beat you, but if we get a few things in place before then, we can stop him and move forward the way you and I have always wanted.”
“Okay,” I said. “Do you want to talk to her now?”
“No, I need time to strategize. I’ll talk to Adrian about the bar too.” She pulled out her phone and started typing. I suspected her ideas were already flowing. She really was a kickass lawyer and if anyone could solve this, it would be her. She groaned and dropped her phone to her lap. “I assume you haven’t seen his email? Liv forwarded it to us.”
She held her phone out for me and my pulse soared as I read it. “Sutton, if he hurts either of them—” My voice cracked, and she stood up to hug me again.
“We’re not going to let that happen, Jace. If they’re your partners, then they’re family and this man will not fuck with my family.”
I chuckled sadly. “It’s a good thing I believe you or I’d fall apart over this.”
She rubbed my back. “I’ll come up with a plan—one where we will not be going to New York, by the way. He can fly his dumb ass here. Should we talk again with Olivia and Kayden tonight over dinner?”
I shook my head. “Kaylee’s father-daughter dance is tonight. I’m taking her and Olivia has tomorrow off to help her mom with last-minute wedding preparations. The ceremony is Saturday.”
“Okay, then let’s get breakfast on Thursday. I’ll have a plan by then.”
“I want to be involved in the plan. Let’s do this together. Please. I want to make sure they’re both protected.”
“Of course, Jace. I can come back tomorrow morning. We can hash it out all day and present them with the options on Thursday. Who else knows about the three of you?”
“Mom and Ima,” I said.
“Of course.” Sutton rolled her eyes. “Who knew they could actually keep a secret this big?”
I laughed. “Leo and Sophia. Liv’s parents. Kaylee. Kayden is telling his father today, though I don’t expect that to go well.”
“Any chance you can get him to hold off until this blows over?”
I shook my head. “No, he needs this. I won’t ask him to wait because of this. We’re all going to the wedding together on Saturday. I’m not going to hide us, Sutton. Not for this company or anything else.”
“I don’t want you to do that, Jace,” she said as I stood up. “I love you and I’m happy for you. I cannot wait to get to know Olivia and Kayden under different circumstances.”
I laughed, finally feeling the knot in my stomach release. “I’m sorry you found out from Martin. I swear, the coffee date I had on our schedules today was to tell you everything.”
