Page 146 of Boss of Me

I give him an icy look. “Mr. Pierce.”

“I’ve been meaning to track you down to further discuss my company’s internship program.” He gestures to the empty chair across from me. “Mind if I join you?”

“Actually, I was just leaving.”

“Ah.” Nodding wisely, he takes a seat anyway. “Judging by your frosty demeanor, Gunner must have filled you in on our contentious history.”

“He did. Which is why I have no interest in anything you have to say. Now if you’ll excuse me?—”

“He’s not who you think he is.”

I freeze, halfway out of my seat. Scanning Harlan’s face, I say sharply, “What the hell are you talking about?”

He motions for me to sit back down.

After a moment, I reluctantly comply.

He calmly leans back in his seat. “You have every reason to be suspicious of me. I hate your boyfriend’s guts, I won’t deny it. I’d love nothing more than to grind him to dust and scatter himto the four winds. But this isn’t about me settling an old grudge. Believe it or not, Marlowe, I’m trying to look out for you.”

“Sure you are.” My caustic tone masks the dread bubbling up like acid in my stomach.

“You’re young and inexperienced, and certain men will take advantage?—”

“Spare me the ‘father knows best’ lecture and get to the point,” I snap.

He leans forward, his gaze intent on my face. “If you’re going to be in a relationship with Gunner Ransom, you need to learn as much as you can about him. There are things you don’t know.”

“Such as?”

“Such as the fact that he’s keeping secrets from you.”

My skin goes cold and clammy. “What secrets?”

Harlan eyes me for a moment. “Are you familiar with Elliott Campion?”

“The CEO of Campion Records? Yes, I’ve heard of him.” I don’t add that I applied for a job as Elliott Campion’s executive assistant shortly after I started working for Gunner. When I came across the job opening at Campion Records, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to submit my resume. At the time I was mad at Gunner and looking for an escape. But I also recognized that working in the executive suite of a major record label could do wonders for my career.

“Elliott Campion and I belong to the same gym,” Harlan continues. “When we recently ran into each other in the sauna, he mentioned that he was hiring an executive assistant and asked if I knew any good candidates. Without thinking twice, I told him about you and your music background. Turns out he already knew who you were. He’d seen the viral video of you playing the piano at Gunner’s dinner party, so he recognized your name when your resume came across his desk. Heappreciated your musical talent, and he thought you’d be a good fit for his company.”

The dread deepens in my stomach as Harlan continues talking. “Elliott has a longstanding business relationship with Gunner. He didn’t want him to think he was poaching one of his employees, so as a professional courtesy, he told him that you’d applied for his assistant job. Gunner wasn’t pleased. He outright discouraged Elliott from interviewing you. He even went so far as to recommend a more qualified candidate.”

A horrible tightness wraps around my chest, pressing into my lungs. “You’re lying,” I whisper.

“For your sake, I wish I was.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because it’s the truth.”

I sit frozen, my mind reeling. Though every instinct is screaming that Gunner would never deliberately sabotage me, the fact is that Ididapply for a job at Campion Records. Harlan would have no way of knowing that unless he was telling the truth. But I don’t want to believe it. Ican’tbelieve it.

Harlan gives me a pitying look. “Call Elliott yourself. He’ll tell you all about their conversation.”

I stare at him, nostrils flaring.

He smiles a predatory smile, abandoning the pretense that he’s not enjoying this. “If you ever find yourself back in the job market?—”

“You’re the last person I’d call,” I hiss, then grab my handbag and storm out of the café.