Page 109 of Making It Burn

“Sit,” he said.

We sat.

Silence stretched for what felt like an eternity.Then Carter sighed.

“That was quite a performance out there, Mason.”

“I’m sorry if I—”

“I’m not finished.”Carter held up a hand.“Paul Cramer was out of line.Completely, unacceptably out of line.What he said was inappropriate, unprofessional, and borderline actionable.Patsy and I will deal with him separately.”

Relief flooded through me.

“However,” Carter continued, “you two have been in a relationship and didn’t disclose it to senior management.That’s a problem.”

“We know,” Beau said quietly.“We should have said something earlier.”

“Yes, you should have.”Patsy leaned forward.“Not because we have an issue with workplace relationships—we don’t.Not inherently.But because when two attorneys are working closely together on significant cases, we need to know about potential conflicts of interest.”

“There haven’t been any conflicts,” I said.“Our relationship hasn’t affected our work.”

“That’s for us to determine, not you.”Carter’s voice was firm but not unkind.“That said—” He glanced at Patsy, who nodded.“From what I’ve seen, your relationship, if anything, has made you both more effective.The work you’ve done together has been exceptional.But moving forward, we need transparency.”

“Understood,” I said.

“So here’s what’s going to happen.”Carter sat down, his expression softening slightly.“You’ll both submit a formal disclosure of your relationship to HR after the holidays.We’ll review your case assignments to make sure there are no ethical issues.And in the future, if there’s ever a situation where your relationship could create a conflict, you come to us immediately.Clear?”

“Clear,” Beau and I said in unison.

“Good.”Patsy smiled.“For what it’s worth, Mason, what you said out there about Beau’s work?You were absolutely right.He’s been an incredible addition to this firm, and his success has nothing to do with your relationship.”

“I know,” I said.“Everyone should know.”

“They will now.”Carter stood and extended his hand.“Congratulations on finding each other.Just next time, maybe with less public drama?”

I shook his hand, grinning.“No promises.”

We left Carter’s office in a daze.The office was nearly empty now, most people having grabbed their bonuses and fled for the holidays.Lisa was waiting by Beau’s office, practically bouncing.

“Well?”she demanded.“Are you fired?Promoted?What happened?”

“We’re fine,” Beau said.“We just have to file a formal disclosure about our relationship after the holiday break.”

“That’s it?”Lisa’s mouth dropped open.“I was expecting much worse.”

“That’s it.”

“Thank God.”Lisa pulled both of us into a hug.“I was ready to riot if they punished you for putting that asshole Paul in his place.”

“Carter and Patsy are dealing with Paul,” I said.“Separately.”

“Good.He deserves whatever he gets.”Lisa pulled back, grinning.“Now get out of here.Go enjoy your holiday.Be disgustingly in love.I’ll see you both after New Year’s.”

She left with a wave, and suddenly it was just Beau and me standing in the empty hallway.

“We should go,” Beau said.

“We should.”