I sank deeper into my chair. “What do I do?”
She leaned forward eagerly. “You mean there is someone? Why didn’t you say something before?”
“Because I didn’t know it was possible. He’s an acquaintance of my brother. We spent time together a couple of weeks ago, and I didn’t think I’d see him again. I ran into him yesterday; he’s been looking for me. Mostly because I hacked into the security system of his company and locked him out, but he deserved it. One thing led to another, and another, and… well, you get the point. He was still at my place when I left this morning.” I nibbled on the nail of my thumb as I looked at her nervously. “He says he wants to make a go of this. He even agreed to not touch any other women, or they him. And then I get here, and Chris is here, acting normal…” I dropped my head on my desk.
“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay.” Why did it sound like she was laughing at me?
“What do I do, Linda?” I sat up and looked at her. “I don’t want this to interfere with work.”
She put on her business-as-usual face and sat up, her tablet in her lap. “First off, you never agreed to anything with Chris, you were friendly, that was it. That should be easy to take care of. Plus, you no longer work under him. This should not affect your work.”
“How is it easily taken care of though?” Yeah, I begged.
Linda waved it away and woke up her tablet. “Just have the new boyfriend show up to take you to lunch, or bring you to work, anything like that. It will settle the matter without any confrontation. Chris isn’t the kind for that anyway. It will be a blow to his ego…” She trailed off and paused as she looked at me for confirmation.
“Oh, yeah. Dillan is far from a nerd. Think… Greek God.”
“Definitely an ego blow then. But that’s it.”
“There might be one slight problem. I told Dillan not to come around. I am trusting you to keep your mouth shut with this…” I waited while she zipped her lips. “Dillan may or may not have a few hands in a few underground businesses.” I grimaced, waiting for the fallout and for her to tell me how stupid I was being.
She didn’t.
“Yeah, so. All that really matters is if he cares about you, honors you, and treats you like a queen. Does he?”
I sighed. “He does. The night we met he carried me because my feet were sore.”
“See, then there you go.”
“But the Senior Partners…”
Linda put the end of her stylus in her teeth as she mentally debated that one. “I see what you mean there. Maybe he is better staying away, for everyone’s sake.” She tapped her tablet a few times as she spoke. “We will think of something, don’t worry. Now, you have a meeting with your team in about ten minutes. Pull it together.”
I deflated as soon as she left. I should have stayed in bed with Dillan.
We hadn’t exchanged numbers yet. Not that it really mattered for me. It only took about two minutes before I had his new number. Unfortunately, it was time for my meeting. At least they would be coming up to me in one of the conference rooms. I really needed to keep the walking to a minimum today.
Chapter 9
