Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

“We’re not close enough for you to know a damn thing about my personal life,” Simon said. “Look, it’s not her.”

“Where did she work before?” Josh asked. “Your assistant. Heather.”

Simon let his fork drop, the sound reverberating across the restaurant. “That hardly matters.”

“You’ve only been working with her for a short time,” Josh said. “You have no idea if you can trust her. You’re here asking for my help. So, let me help you. Where did your assistant used to work, Simon?”

He gave Josh a hard stare, his typically restrained anger making his body go taut. “VLA Technologies.”

“Dover’s main rival?” Josh whistled and leaned back in his seat. “What if she seduced you to screw you over? What if this whole thing has been a setup?”

“It’s not,” Simon hissed loudly.

Every patron in the restaurant turned to stare at him but he didn’t care. There was no way Heather could have done what Josh was accusing her of. Sure, she had started their working relationship with a lie, but she had only done that to protect herself. It was only natural for her to want to avoid conflict if she was looking for a job.

“Do the math, Simon. Your PA got fired because of insider trading. You hire a new one very quickly, almost like a rush job, right?” He didn’t wait for Simon to respond. “Then this... this girl is swooning over you, somehow manages to get the vault known as Simon Diesel open. She lost her job or quit her old job and you’re the one who hired her. She seduces you, the story gets leaked to the media, and yet she’s still innocent?” Josh sighed. “I’m not trying to throw around accusations.”

“So, don’t,” Simon warned through gritted teeth. “I want you to get to the bottom of this with evidence.”

“That I can do,” Josh said. “After I start investigating, the first task is writing up a list of possible suspects. I’ll get that list to you as soon as I can. We can proceed from there.”

“I’m not telling you how to do your job.” Simon shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He hadn’t wanted to blow up at Josh, but he wasn’t going to let anyone make accusations against Heather. Not when a news story that could destroy her reputation was about to break. He refused to believe what Josh was suggesting. He knew once Josh did some investigating he’d realize it, too.

“I get it,” Josh replied. “I’m not trying to make baseless accusations. I just want to be upfront. Sometimes my investigations reveal very unpleasant things, and it’s best that you know that now.”

“Find out who’s trying to fuck me over. I’ll take care of the rest.”

They finished eating; Simon picked up the tab and headed back to the office. It was pouring rain by the time he raced into the lobby. He dried off in the bathroom and head into Heather’s office, to find out what was so important that he’d missed.

The sight in front of him pierced his heart.

Heather was sitting at her desk, tears streaming down her face.

Chapter 5

How had things gotten so out of hand? The board meeting and now Gary? All this was her fault. She sniffed but didn’t bother looking for a Kleenex.

Her door creaked open, making her jump.

She frantically tried brushing the tears away. She figured he’d be out of the office for the rest of the day, but here he was, concern etched on his face.

“Heather, what is it?” he asked quietly. “What’s wrong?”

How could she tell him that Gary was trying to take Finn away from her? “It’s... nothing.” She searched her drawer for a packet of tissues.

“That’s not true.” He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. It was so hard to ignore how much his touch soothed her. “Today has stressed you out. I didn’t even stop to think that it would be harder on you. The board was tough, and I just expected you to head back to work. I should have told you to take the afternoon off.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

“No, you’re not,” he said. “Take the rest of the day off. And work from home tomorrow.”