Page 92 of Kiss and Tell

My boss Charlotte stood to the side, arms crossed and mouth pursed as she looked at the guy, not saying a word, but the concerned look on her face wasn’t reassuring.

“It’s a very serious accusation, as I’m sure you are aware?” he continued.

“Yes,” I choked out.

“Now, Quinn,” my boss spoke up. “Mr. Moore is well more than a decade older than you, and you are quite young. If he has done anything to make you uncomfortable or if he’s done anything objectionable, if we need to bring the authorities in to question this Walter Moore fellow—”

“No!” I cried out, alarmed. “It’s not Walt, it’s Connor who—”

I nearly bit my tongue, eyes going wide and panicked.

“I mean, it’s his brother, Connor Moore, who I’ve been working with,” I hurried to say. “And he hasn’t done anything inappropriate, either.”

It was a complete and total lie, but the thought of Connor’s brother being accused of such things was appalling and the words just slipped out.

My boss and the People Manager shared an unreadable look.

“You are aware that relationships with clients are against employee rules?” he continued.

“Yes, of course,” I said quickly.

“We can’t dictate what you do in your personal life, but being seen to curry favor with clients because of your personal connections wouldn’t reflect well on you,” he continued. “If anything of a sexual nature occurred—”

Oh my fucking god.

I couldn’t believe this was happening.

“I would hate to see such a black mark on your record, Quinn,” my boss interrupted. “If people thought you got this project because you had something…personal,” she stressed the word, “…going on with either one of these Moore men, it would look quite bad for you, I’m afraid.”

“I would never do anything to jeopardize my career here,” I said.

Except I had.

“So can we all agree these allegations are false?” she said.

“Yes, of course,” I said again. “No truth to them whatsoever.”

A dull ache throbbed in my chest at the blatant denial, the backs of my eyes stinging.

A sudden suspicion occurred to me.

“Was it Peter Cunningham who spoke to you?” I asked. “Is he the one saying these things?”

“I’m afraid we can’t divulge the source of these allegations,” the partner said.

“Because if it was, you should know he’s been—” I balled my hand into a fist. Should I say it? Dare I? “He’s been threatening to make up scandalous rumors about me.”

He frowned. “Ms. Browning, that’s a serious accusation.”

“So is the one he’s telling you about me!”

Of course, mine was also true, but…

“Mr. Cunningham has a sterling reputation here in the company,” the guy said. “We’ve heard nothing about this sort of behavior from him. In fact, he’s acted as a mentor to quite a few of our new hires.”

“I know,” I said through gritted teeth. “I was one of them.”

“If you wish to put in a formal complaint, I can give you the paperwork, but I’m afraid to tell you, Ms. Browning…” The partner looked over his glasses at me. “Frankly, it will only look like a case of you retaliating against him.”