Bishop (Arizona Vengeance 1)

“We think Miss Pearson set up this whole sexual harassment lawsuit merely as a way to make a buck,” Fred Gruber says imperiously. “We think she’s revealing your dirty laundry to the press to just make things more interesting and to keep the spotlight on herself. Tear at us from the inside so to speak.”

My gaze goes from Fred to Dominik. “Mr. Carlson—”

“Dominik,” he corrects.

“Dominik,” I say quite pissily. “I swear to you…I did not have an affair or anything of that nature with Sebastian. And yes, the relationship with Bishop started out on not quite a legitimate level for personal reasons that I don’t think are anyone’s business, but it’s not a sham now.”

“It isn’t any of my business,” he says quietly, giving me a reassuring smile. “But we will have to address it to the press. I think the truth is always the best course. Your statement can be just that with no further explanation. That will eventually die down and I expect it will be old news sooner rather than later.”

I nod, feeling so very sick to my stomach. My dad is going to know I’ve been lying to him, and no matter how good my intentions were, it’s going to slice him deep. This is going to embarrass Marianne, who has been nothing but kind to Bishop and me, trying to help us as best she could. It’s going to bring a level of jaundice to this organization that will color all the amazing things they’ve been doing as an expansion team.

And it’s all because of me.

“This is all my fault,” I murmur, looking down and twisting Marianne’s ring on my finger.

“No it’s not,” Dominik says.

“It is,” I say lifting my eyes to his. “None of this would have happened had I not just told the truth to my father from the get-go.”

Dominik is shaking his head. “That doesn’t change what Nanette orchestrated—”

“Yes, it does,” I interrupt, leaning forward in my chair. “I brought Nanette into the lie when she came to visit because she knew I had not dated Bishop for as long as we were claiming. And when I made her a part of my deceit, she had leverage over me. It’s why I let her stay for so long, and gave her the opportunity to meet people in the organization and set this up. This is right on my shoulders, and as such, I’m giving you my formal resignation.”

“I’m not the proper channel to do that—” Dominik starts to say, I know only as a stalling measure.

“You’re the owner,” I snap at him, completely not intimidated anymore. What do I have to be scared of? Everything has tumbled apart anyway. “There’s no one more qualified to accept someone’s resignation.”

“Brooke,” he says in a tone that has me shrinking back a bit. It’s commanding, slightly haughty, and a little bit threatening. “You did nothing wrong and did not cause this. I absolutely will not accept your resignation. I’d ask you to think about it. Take some time away from here if you have to, but at least think about it. That’s not a request…it’s an order.”

There’s no sense in arguing with him. He’ll roll right over me and he can’t stop me from quitting. But I need to set that aside for now.

Instead, I give him a cool smile, and I’m impressed with how calm I am right now. “You said you needed to interview me. That you need to know everything I know. Can we get that over with? I’d like to do that, and if it’s okay with you, I really would like to take a bit of time away from here to…think things through.”

Dominik doesn’t look convinced, and in fact looks a bit troubled. But he nods and says, “Of course…let’s get this done. I know this was all a shock to you and you’d probably like to get out of here.”

For the next two hours, I answer everything that Fred Gruber asks. Dominik doesn’t ask a single question, but he manages to shoot me encouraging smiles when I dare to look at him. As far as billionaires go, he’s pretty cool I guess.

When Fred has finally exhausted himself of any other questions to ask, I finally have one of my own. “What are you going to do? Are you going to pay Nanette off? Give her the money she’s asking for?”

Dominik shrugs. “Sometimes that’s the most efficient course of action. It will put it quickly to rest.”

“But she’s lying,” I snarl with outrage. “She pursued Dax and Erik. They did absolutely nothing wrong, and she’s totally setting Sebastian up. You can’t pay her.”

“That’s not for you to worry about,” Fred says dismissively as he gathers his papers. He heads toward the door, but before leaving he says, “Make sure we have your most up-to-date contact info. You’re a critical witness in this case, Miss Perron.”