Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

“We need to talk,” he said.

Swallowing hard, she nodded and followed him into his office.

The minute he got inside his office, he shrugged off his jacket and started to unknot his tie. Damn it. Even taking off some of his clothes like this was bringing back memories of their brief affair. He could feel her hands on him. Hear her breathless moans.

This had to end. He had to put a stop to it before something even more insane happened between them.

As he took a seat at his desk, he motioned for her to sit down across from him.

He cleared his throat and slipped the tie off. “I’m sorry you had to deal with all that.”

“Oh.” She looked at him in surprise. “I thought you were going to reprimand me for speaking at the meeting.”

“You did what you thought was right,” he said. “I appreciate you trying to help, as reckless as it was.”

“Thank you for defending me.”

“It’s my job to protect the staff at Dover,” he said.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked.

Simon sighed heavily. “I think it’s time for you to move to a different department.”

“No way,” she said forcefully.

He stared at her, taken aback. “You’re very good. At your job, I mean.” He shook his head. Shit, can I ever not screw this up? “It’ll be a fresh start. And may create fewer issues with the press.”

“Moving me will be admitting we can’t work together,” she said. “We’ll basically be telling the board that you can’t handle this job if I’m around. That’s hardly a vote of confidence.”

“You’re not getting fired,” he reassured her. “It’s not a demotion. I’ll just be giving you a chance to work without people making insinuations about you.”

She shook her head. “When the story breaks, it won’t matter where I work. I’ll be the slutty assistant who chased after her boss.”

“That’s not true,” he said. “If that’s how the press tries to describe you, I’ll go after them. I’ll sue them if I have to.”

“For what, having an opinion you don’t like?” She frowned. “Simon, you can’t just make the world do what you want it to do.”

“Watch me.”

A breathless laugh escaped her throat. “You’ve been rich for way too long.”

“Dover is my company. I built this place. I’ll be damned if some hack journalists try to take it from me,” he said. “And there’s no way in hell I’ll allow them to smear one of my employees. I won’t put up with it, Heather.”

“The media is hard to control,” she said. “You of all people should know that.”

“I do know that,” he admitted. “That’s why I’ve avoided talking to the press all these years.”

“Now I’ve forced you to deal with them.” She lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze.

“You haven’t forced me to do anything.” He knew now that if he didn’t give her an out she’d continue to blame herself. She’d probably guessed that his feelings for her hadn’t vanished. If he was being honest with himself, they’d only intensified. But he had to make her think that his feelings had died, even if it was a complete lie. Since she refused to move to another department, this was the only way for them to move forward. “I regret our time together. I got caught up in the past for a moment. It was a stupid mistake. I’m your boss and I made my choice to be with you. It was the wrong one.”

THE WRONG CHOICE. SHE didn’t know what to say, how to respond. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Or was it dryness? Whatever it was, it felt near impossible to swallow.

Sleeping together had been the wrong choice. He regretted it. Not that she could blame him. Their fling hadn’t lasted long, but it had caused so much heartache. Finn had been kidnapped, and now the media was digging through their private lives.

But that knowledge didn’t ease her pain. Being with Simon had led to so much disaster, but she didn’t regret what she’d done. She regretted getting him into trouble, but not the passionate nights she had spent with him.