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CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

HECTOR

The low buzz of chatter, mixed with the clacking of keyboards, drifted through the air. I stepped out of the elevator and loosened my tie, ready for the day to be over so I could leave with Heather, who hadn t stopped teasing me since she had come in at lunch.

Jacob leaned against his office doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and gaze on me. It wasn’t the soft, lighthearted one he usually gave everyone, but a sterner one that I had rarely seen before.

“Hector,” Jacob called from his office door, nodding me over to him.

I sighed internally and briefly glanced in Heather s direction. She stiffened and widened her eyes at me, as if to say, Please don’t let this be what I think it is . After a moment, I pulled my gaze away and continued my strides toward Jacob.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Let’s talk.”

Before I could say another word, Jacob walked into his office and left the door wide open. I sucked in a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever it was that he wanted to talk about, and then I stepped into the room.

When I closed the door behind me, Jacob let out a sigh. “How was the party?”

“It was great, as usual,” I said. “Leann sure knows how to throw a Christmas party.”

She does, he said flatly, taking a long drag of his coffee. He strummed his fingers lightly on his desk and cocked his head. You stayed a bit longer than the others, didn t you? Anything happen?

Fuck .

“Not much.”

“Nothing?”

After clearing my throat, I stuffed my hands into my pockets. “You know how it is, Jacob. Leann loves to chat.” If I keep running my mouth like this, then he’ll probably think that I’m fucking his ex-wife—if he doesn’t already.

“Must have been quite the evening for you to stick around that long.”

Fuck.

While I meant to laugh lightheartedly and to brush it off, my chuckle came out strained. “Yeah, well, she’s a great host. And you know,” I hummed, trying desperately to find a way to get out of this, “I’m not one to rush off.”

Damn, I can’t stop lying. Jacob knows I hate staying late.

“Sometimes, people stay later for reasons other than good conversation, don’t they?”

I peered through the windows of Jacob s office and outside into the main office. Except she wasn t working. I could tell by the strained look she was giving me and the tenseness of her shoulders.

“What are you insinuating?” I asked Jacob, meeting his gaze.

“I’m not a fool, Hector, so don’t treat me like one,” Jacob said.

My heart beat faster inside my chest, my fingers tugging at my collar. Part of me thought that maybe I should tell him about me and his daughter now to get it over with. But if he was this tense at the thought of me fucking his ex -wife … I couldn’t imagine what would happen when I told him the truth.

I don t take you as a fool. I straightened my back to show him that he couldn t intimidate me. But I d like to know what you re trying to accuse me of before responding because whatever you think I m doing, I m not.

Every day, my relationship with Heather was becoming a more and more dangerous game that could cost us both everything. But it was a game that I wasn’t going to quit; it was one that I had become addicted to.

Jacob tightened his jaw. “You’re sleeping with my ex-wife.”

I blew out a sigh of relief. No, I m not.

He didn’t pull his gaze away. “First, she came into our office during our quarterly meeting to talk to you . Next, she got very flirty during the Christmas party. Then, you decided to stay after I left. What time did you even get home on Saturday night?”

“She was not flirting with me during the Christmas party. She was being friendly.”

I ve never seen her be that friendly with you, he said.

“I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not sleeping with her.”

“You’d better not be lying to me, Hector, because secrets have a way of slithering out.”

My gaze became distant again, focusing on Heather heading to her desk outside the office windows. She was my deepest secret, but I really didn t know how long it would be before that secret slithered out. Her confession in my car on Saturday night had set a fire within me.

The memory of snow drifting down around us, her leaning closer and whispering that she loved me. Me! A man twice her age, whose best friend was her own father, and whose worst fear was losing her.

I m not lying to you, I said. But why does who I date matter to you? In case you ve forgotten, you came to my house the other night, half drunk off your ass, stressed out about being involved with Evelyn.

Jacob stiffened. “Evelyn is a different matter. This is my ex-wife.”

“So? Do you still have feelings for her?”

No, of course not. Jacob grabbed his coffee mug. But if you started dating her, then our business partnership would become messy. And we have something really good. This company is growing faster than any other ones I ve run.

Well, if he only knew …

“I’m not dating your ex-wife” —I’m dating your daughter— “so you don’t have to worry.”