im, just the same way that you like that working for him challenges you.” She was grinning at me, and I had to grin in response.
“If this wasn’t what he wanted, would he be offering it to you?” Leanne said firmly. “Enough said.”
“There’s other things as well,” I finally sighed.
“Such as?”
“The media,” I said disdainfully.
Leanne shook her head. “I hate to say it, but if you wanted to stay out of the tabloids, you shouldn’t have started dating him in the first place. That ship has sailed.”
“And you don’t think they’re going to be even worse about it now that Daniel’s on trial for punching a guy who insulted me?” I said wryly.
“There’s only so many negative things they can write,” Leanne said somewhat dismissively. She paused, drumming her fingers on the tabletop. “Abby, you’re smart. You know just what they’re going to say about you. Just don’t worry about all of that. You’ve told me before that the guys you do business with don’t seem to care. So why let it bother you? Just don’t look at it.”
“But what about Zach and Layla?” I couldn’t help asking.
Leanne smiled at me. “I’m flattered that you’re worried about what they would think if they were to read about it,” she said. “But Zach is only nine, and Layla is even younger. By the time they’re of age to read that kind of crap, it’ll be buried underneath the next five hundred scandals.” She paused and then shook her head. “Don’t you think the media would be harsher on you if they found out you had been offered this position and turned it down?”
“I already thought about that,” I admitted. “I just don’t know what to do.”
Leanne shrugged. “And I can’t tell you,” she said, stirring her soup for a moment with her spoon. “But what I can tell you is that Daniel was willing to not only sit with you at the hospital for practically the whole weekend when Matt had his accident, but he also came to dinner with us. You’ve got something good with him, I think what you need to do is figure out how to keep that going.”
“Are you saying that my refusing to stand in as interim CEO might ruin our relationship?” I asked, aghast.
Leanne snorted. “No, but if you quit your job at McGregor Enterprises and move to Alaska or somewhere, that just might,” she joked. She gave me another serious look. “Abby, I think you’ll do an amazing job at this, and if I were you, I’d probably be jumping up and down at the opportunity. But you know I’ll support you, whatever you decide. And I’m sure Daniel will as well.”
I nodded slowly at her, knowing she was absolutely right. This was an opportunity, no matter how scary it was. It was a chance for me to really prove myself. And I wanted to step up to the challenge, I had to admit. I wanted to prove to myself, as well as to the media, that I wasn’t just an attractive woman Daniel had hired.
Maybe that would even help his case with Gerrard, by proving that the former advisor had been slandering me and thus giving Daniel a reason to try to shut him up.
Okay, maybe nothing that extreme, but I could always hope, right?
“Thanks,” I said to Leanne.
“You’re going to take the job, aren’t you?” Leanne asked, grinning at me.
I nodded at her. “I’ve already taken the job as advisor,” I pointed out. “It’s not like this will really be all that much different.”
Chapter 5
Daniel
I WASN’T SURPRISED when Abby returned from lunch and came directly into my office to see me. She paused in the doorway, though, looking around in surprise. “Damn, boss, it looks like a hurricane went through here,” she said.
I sighed, not sure what to say in response to that.
Abby frowned at me, shutting the door carefully behind herself and coming over to my desk, perching precarious on the edge of it. “Is everything okay?” she asked. “You look worried.”
I grimaced. “I just have a lot on my plate right now, as you well know,” I told her, trying not to react to the close proximity to her. We were rarely this close around the office; we had both decided that the wisest course of action was to maintain a good distance between us at work, to act strictly professional. Indeed, to the casual observer, it probably seemed like we were barely friends outside of the office. We walked into work holding hands, but that was about it.
I just wanted to pull her into my arms, to hold her close, to reassure both her and myself that things were going to be all right. I couldn’t do that, though, and I knew it. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Well, here’s one thing off your plate,” Abby told me. “I accept the position of interim CEO while you sort things out with Gerrard.” She paused, looking around again, and I could see the trepidation in her eyes. “Now, please tell me I don’t have to read all of this before tomorrow’s meetings!”
I laughed in spite of myself. “Nah, not before tomorrow,” I told her. “It’s really just here in case you need it. I tried to get together all the information I have about all of our different clients, and the shareholders, and anyone else that you might have to deal with.” I paused. “It’s a bit tricky because I don’t have any idea how long this trial is going to last for.”
“That’s fair,” Abby said, nodding. She chewed at her lower lip. “To be honest, I’m pretty nervous about this whole thing, and all of this isn’t making me feel any better.” She swept an arm around the room and then shrugged. “I feel like I’m woefully unprepared for this position.”