Several moments later, she looked at me and pursed her lips into a thin line. “I-I heard something about your company, Grant.” She cleared her throat and continued, “I heard about the foreman who died on the job last year.”
Everything stopped. “What?”
She cleared her throat again, and this time she kept my stare. “I heard that he was killed last year on LQT’s job site and the company covered it up.”
I needed a few moments to fully understand what the fuck she was talking about, and then the anger settled in. “That’s bullshit,” I hissed, feeling hurt that she actually believed in rumors.
“Is it, Grant? You know, I was actually scared to come to work yesterday. That is why I called in sick. This is just too much, and it made me afraid, to te
ll you the truth.”
It bothered me that she felt this way, but I was also angry that such rumors existed and were spread about my company. That wasn’t what we needed at the moment. Hell, this was the worst moment ever.
“I didn’t know anything about it, Madison. In fact, the company wasn’t liable for what happened. We gave his family a nice settlement because he worked for us, but what happened at that site didn’t have anything to do with us. It was horrible. I felt terrible for everything that went down. But that is an old story and I’m angry that it came up just like that—at the most inconvenient time, and that you believed it.”
“I am sorry, but it sounded too terrible for me.”
“It is terrible, and it is unfortunate that such a thing smears our company’s name. What is past is in the past, and we must focus on the future and positive things. Who told you about it?”
“My friend Lauren. She heard it from her boss.”
“Damn it.” I took her by hands and squeezed them gently. “Madison, my company isn’t like that. We don’t do those kinds of things. Hell, I hate when people deal with problems in that way. From the moment we started our company, Oliver, Colten, and I swore we wouldn’t go down that criminal road. We have been always working hard and clean. Everything we accomplished so far we accomplished on our own—in an honest way. You have to believe me.”
I caressed her soft skin, moving my fingers over hers, and smiled reassuringly to her as I waited for her response.
Finally, she sighed. “I am so sorry, Grant. I really didn’t want to doubt you, but hearing that someone got killed was awful for me.”
“I understand, but please, believe me. I’m not that kind of man. I will never be.”
“I get it. I realize that you are a good guy after all. Now I know that Lauren was being paranoid and I made a mistake for not clearing this with you when she told me that. I should have talked to you immediately instead of running away just like that.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m glad that you talked to me about it now.”
Her face showed regret and shame, but I just felt relieved that she believed me. It actually hurt me a little that she’d doubted me like that, but I understood why she’d felt this way. I knew we still had to learn a lot more about each other.
“I almost made things worse by not coming to the meeting.”
“Hey,” I squeezed her hands again. “That’s okay. You came and nothing else matters.”
“Yes, and I am glad I made a right decision. I believe you, Grant.”
I was about to kiss her, but then I remembered she’d said she felt scared, and it just confused me. Why would she feel scared?
“Madison, why did you feel scared? That poor man’s case has nothing to do with you.”
She licked her lips, suddenly all tense. “Actually, I think there is someone following me.”
I tensed too, watching her carefully now. “Following you?”
“Yes. I noticed it for the first time a few days ago when I was driving back home from work. The second time was the night before last, also when I was returning home from work. I was in the train and I felt someone’s eyes on me... It was actually terrifying, and not being able to see that person freaked me out. Then Lauren told me about that guy getting killed, and I thought the same thing might happen to me...”
My heart rammed wildly against my chest, and I hated I had to admit her that in this way... “Actually, Madison, that was the company investigator who was following you.”
Her eyes widened immediately, and she pulled away her hands from mine. “What?”
I took a deep breath, feeling so guilty now. I didn’t want to scare her like this or make her feel like I considered her a bad person. “We had an investigator follow you to make sure you were who you were claiming to be, you know. Oliver and Colten had some concerns so I needed to make them feel more at ease. I knew that bringing you into this business deal was a big move and we needed to trust you. I couldn’t afford to take any risks. So that man followed you for several days to make sure you didn’t work for our competition.”
Her face twisted into anger, and for the first time I realized that this might push her away from me, and how much that would kill me.