“And you can’t talk to Ms. Hall like that,” Simon retorted. “Your problem is with me. Not her.”
“I simply want to get to the bottom of this,” Everett said, his voice rising.
“Don’t take that tone with me,” Simon warned. “You’ve got some nerve. Dragging her in here. Bombarding her with ridiculous questions. This isn’t about HR or employee protocol. You’re asking for details. She did nothing wrong. I’m to blame, not her.”
Why was he doing this? This was just as much her mess as it was his. He was ruining his career for her even after she had shut the door on them. Even after she had rejected him so cruelly.
“Everett?” Simon pressed. “Are you leaking information to the press?”
There was a gasp from all the board members as their heads swiveled from Simon to Everett.
“Enough! Of course not.” Everett held up his hands. “Fine. Let’s move this along.”
“Get to the point,” Simon said tersely. “What do you want to say?”
“I sincerely hope you don’t make this kind of mistake again in the future,” Everett said. “It’s not just the fact that you didn’t report this. You’re the CEO. You can’t be having affairs like this.”
“This is my company. I’ll date whoever I want,” Simon said through gritted teeth.
Everett’s eyebrows shot up. “This is very unlike you, Simon. I’ve never seen you so passionate about another human being before,” he remarked snidely. “I hope for your sake that Heather defends you with the same passion.”
“I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but I’ve never disrespected anyone in my relationships,” Simon said, crossing his arms. “Nothing I’ve ever done has been unwanted. I’m not a perfect man, but I am an ethical one. I’ll never let my personal life get in the way of being a professional. I’ve also made sure Ms. Hall’s employment was out of my hands so there would be no bias when she’s evaluated.”
“You seem very...protective of her.” Everett’s lips curved up into a mocking smile. A smile that unsettled Heather because she detected a hint of malice flashing in his dark eyes. Maybe Simon had been right, and Everett had leaked information to the press. She had thought him respectable. Now she wasn’t so sure.
“I’m protective of everyone at Dover,” Simon said.
Everett scoffed. “Never like this.”
Simon gave Everett a hard stare, anger etched on his handsome face. His jaw clenched.
Her heart started to hammer at the sight of him towering over her, looking so dangerous. She’d glimpsed this part of him before when he stood up to her ex-husband weeks ago. But such displays from him were rare. Simon wasn’t a hot-head. He didn’t act impulsively or get angry like this. But here he was. Ready to fight for her honor.
She felt a flush steal up her cheeks. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Suddenly, she felt like a schoolgirl again. Looking at her first boyfriend stand up to the class bully on her behalf. She was light-headed. Almost giddy at the thought of a man willing to risk it all. For her.
Heather bit her lip to keep from saying anything. She’d probably just make things worse, and Simon looked like he wanted to stay in control of the situation.
“I’m protective of Ms. Hall because we’re old friends,” Simon said.
“We discovered as much through the background check you ran on her,” Everett said.
Her heart squeezed. Of course, there had been a background check. They were unlikely to find anything that Simon hadn’t already figured out, but if they found out that she had started her working relationship with her boss based on a lie, this scandal was liable to spin out of control.
“I went over that background check a few days ago.” Simon frowned. “There’s nothing in there that we didn’t already know.”
Simon hadn’t told her that he’d read over the background check. He’d kept that from her. They’d been getting along at work over the past few weeks, but apparently not well enough for him to trust her with that information.
“Fine. We’ve done enough digging.” Everett closed the binder in front of him and folded his hands on the table. “How do you suppose we solve this?”