Page 15 of Nothing to This

“Avoid it?”

“I will not ask our children to lie.Four-year-olds are terrible at it anyway.If they see you, they’ll react.It’s not just my life you’ve compromised, it’s theirs too.Did you even think about them when you bought this place?”

“I didn’t know you worked here,” he said.“It just never came up.”

They never talked and from what she knew, her name didn’t arise in conversation with his mom or sister either.

“You expect me to believe this is all one big coincidence?”

Linking his fingers, he landed his forearms on the desk.“My mom moved to this city to be close to her grandchildren.”

“I know.”

“My sister followed a year later.”

“I know that too.”

“Until now, my goals have always been related to building up the business.It’s taken up all my adult life.Amassing money is fun, building an empire is challenging, but you know the one thing I never had?Roots.When I took a step back, I realized I needed a base.I don’t want to ping-pong around the planet anymore.I need somewhere to run things from… When I started thinking about where that might be, only one place came to mind.”

Okay, that was… unexpected.A home; he was seeking a home.

“You meant what you said about settling down and buying an apartment?”

“I did,” he said.“Where else would I do it?My family is here.My children are here.”

“I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have moved to the city,” she said.“The kids will love seeing more of you.And I’ll have one less thing to bitch about if you actually start showing up for them.I’m all for being wrong.”

“But…?”

“But did you have to buy the companyIwork for?”she asked and took a deep breath.“It doesn’t matter, it’s done now.Until I have the chance to consult a lawyer, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to anyone about… our link.”

“Our children,” he said.“Why do you have to consult a lawyer?I’m not here to take them away from you.You’re an incredible mom.”

Another surprise.A compliment?Was he trying to sweet talk her or did it just slip out?

“Thank you.But I meant the gag order,” she said.“While it’s okay for you to run around telling everyone who you are to my children, I could be sued for acknowledging it.I’ll have to explore the language around the kids acknowledging you too.If you start telling people, and they start asking…”

“It puts you in a precarious position,” he said, bobbing his head in understanding.“You know I would never sue you.At least, I hope you know.”

The soaking guy elbow deep in her bathtub that morning wouldn’t sue her.The slick businessman in front of her… she wasn’t so sure about him.

“You’re not like regular guys,” she said.“You’re not just… you.”

“What does that mean?”

“You have a team,” she said.“A team who felt it necessary to put this contingency in place.I don’t know why they did or who they were protecting, but clearly, they thought they might need it, and if you truly didn’t know about it, this proves they act without your explicit authority.Whether it’s you or not, someone could use this against me.It’s smart to protect myself.”

He nodded.“I understand.I’ll keep it to myself, if you do something for me.”

Making a noise of surprise as she inhaled, shock and outrage were less potent than vindication.Now the compliment made sense.

“What something?”

“I need someone to work with me up here,” he said.“Someone I can trust, someone I know.”

“To work with you?”she asked.“What does that mean?”

“To take calls, sit in on meetings—”