Page 31 of Discretion

Halle grabbed my tie and wrapped it around her fist, pulling me close. Reeling me in. And god, I was such a sucker for her.

I’d been trying to avoid her—this. Not because I didn’t want her, but because I wanted her too much. I couldn’t do it anymore. I just… I dropped my head to my chest. I couldn’t.

She pulled me even closer, the scent of sunshine and roses floating from her. When I met her gaze, the way she was looking up at me was the perfect mix of demure and sexy, and I nearly came in my pants.

I had a firm rule against sleeping with anyone who worked for the Huxley brand. It was something Pops had drilled into me—into all of us, really. The need to make sure our actions were always aboveboard. To treat employees with respect.

And here I was, about to break it.

Fuck.

Looking at her, I knew I was fooling myself to think I could resist.

“You’re sure?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. She might regret this later, but she definitely wanted it now.

“Positive,” she said, looking me dead in the eye.

“Any doubts?”Pierce asked, snapping me out of the memory.

I shook my head. “None. I would never be with someone without their enthusiastic consent.”

His shoulders relaxed a hair. “That’s good because I sure as shit don’t want to be dealing with a sexual harassment lawsuit on top of everything else we’ve had to weather the past few years.”

Everything else, meaning lapses in security, especially for high-profile guests. Then there were the anonymous threats Sloan had received, the escort scandal, an attempted hostile takeover, Graham’s sudden marriage and the board shake-up, and my taking over as CEO. It was a lot.

The last thing I wanted was to add to the scandal that had swirled around the brand for the past few years. But I also knew that my feelings for Halle weren’t going away, and it was getting harder to ignore them. And so, I’d sought Pierce’s advice. If anyone could help me navigate this situation, it was him.

“And in this scenario, you’re not together now, correct?”

“Correct,” I said. “We were together briefly. In the past.”

“Did things end on good terms?”

I nodded.

“You want my advice? Let it go. Lethergo. Move on and consider yourself lucky that things ended amicably and discreetly. The board likes you right now,” Pierce said. “Don’t fuck that up.”

“I know,” I said. “Trust me. I saw what Graham went through with them.”

“Your family may have secured a majority, but you stillneed the board’s support. The board is always on high alert for anything that could pose a risk to the company’s reputation or finances. And the CEO having an affair with an employee definitely falls into that category.”

“Knox slept with an employee who was also his son’s ex.”

“Yes, but as the sole owner of the Leatherbacks, he doesn’t have to report to a board or shareholders.” Right. Because he owned the damn team.

“What about Nate?” I asked, trying to plead my case. If my siblings could find happiness with someone who was considered “inappropriate” or “forbidden,” why couldn’t I? “He slept with his daughter’s nanny.”

“I hate to say this, but he’s a movie star, and it’s sort of expected. And again, no board runs his production company.”

Fuck.I rubbed the back of my neck. This conversation wasn’t going at all how I’d hoped. Instead of helping me find solutions, Pierce was pointing out all the reasons why I shouldn’t go for it.

“Sloan?” I asked. Her situation was probably the most similar to mine, though there were differences.

“First of all, Jackson was her bodyguard. And he was hired through Hudson Security—an independent contractor. Jackson wasn’t an employee of the Huxley brand.”

“True, but it was still against Hudson’s rules.”

“Yes, and Jackson had to resign because of it. Do I need to go on? You want to talk about Graham? Your brother, who decided to step down as CEO because of his relationship with Lily.”