Page 9 of Save Me the Trouble (Country Love Collection #12)

Chapter Six

Grace

“ D iane wants to see you,” Molly said with a smirk that deepened the pit in my stomach.

I was going to be fired. For kissing him or for yelling at him, I couldn’t be exactly sure, but I was definitely going to lose my job.

I mumbled something in reply and rose from my desk, the stretch of hallway to Diane’s office looming in front of me.

It was bright and sunny this morning, unlike the storms that had steeped the city in rain the entire weekend. I’d spent the last two days in turmoil. Thank God Darcy went to visit her sister for the weekend, otherwise, there was no lie to keep her off the scent of the truth.

I’d kissed Killian Crown.

And then I told him he was a sexist pig who ruined lives for fun. Not in so many words, fortunately, but unfortunately, with enough words to make my thoughts about him clear.

The real irony was my thoughts on him weren’t clear at all. Once I met the man underneath the persona and then kissed him… No, my thoughts on Killian were as cloudy as a classic Seattle sky.

On the one hand, I knew what he’d done—how he discarded people like their lives were worthless to him. But on the other hand…listening to his answers…the real ones…and then that kiss.

I swallowed a groan and kept my head tall.

Killian’s kiss haunted my dreams. The hold of his lips…

the command of his tongue…I succumbed like a flame to a tsunami.

It was categorically unfair that a man like him should kiss so well.

And in my dreams, I lived out the fantasy that hadn’t stopped with the kiss.

A fantasy that hadn’t stopped until I’d met the version of him that was turned on by giving pleasure.

But when morning rolled around, the reality of my reaction was like a bucket of ice water over my head.

I approached Diane’s office, and the knot in my stomach tightened with dread.

This was it. I rolled my shoulders back, prepared to do whatever it took to keep my job. Killian was the one who’d led me on—lured me closer. There were a dozen baristas to witness it. Maybe I’d crossed a line with my reaction, but I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

I knocked lightly on the door, my hand trembling.

“Come in,” Diane’s voice called from the other side.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside, instantly finding Diane seated behind her large, glass desk. Her expression was sterner than normal.

“Good morning, Grace.” She gestured for me to sit in the chair opposite her, and I did so, my heart pounding in her chest.

“Diane,” I murmured, bracing myself for whatever came next.

Diane folded her hands on the desk and regarded me with a calm, measured gaze. “I need to speak to you about Mr. Crown.”

I stiffened and nodded. “Of course.” I felt the heat already scalding the surface of my cheeks.

“He called me personally this morning to discuss a sensitive topic.”

My throat became too tight to swallow as I waited for the hammer to drop—for her to tell me that my actions crossed a line and I’d jeopardized the company’s last chance to make things work with Mr. Crown.

“But I need your word that what we’re about to discuss doesn’t leave this room,” she continued. “For the sake of everyone’s reputation.”

“Of course,” I replied, my voice definitely sounding strangled.

Diane scrutinized me for a long second and then sighed. “Alright.” She linked her hands in front of her on the desk. “Mr. Crown instructed me to tell you the truth about what happened with Aleta.”

I stilled, a cold chill rampaging down my spine. “The truth?”

“I want you to understand that we have an NDA in place with him, so normally this information would be confidential, but he personally gave me permission to break that agreement to share this with you.”

“Okay,” I croaked, hardly able to hear my own voice over the blood thundering in my ears.

“Aleta came on to Mr. Crown. It started with small insinuations and flirtations, but when he rebuffed her, it escalated. She would leave photos…of herself…for him hidden in his office, and notes of a…sexual nature.”

My world tilted on its axis, nausea churning in my stomach. I’d been so quick to judge, to accuse Killian of things…and here, what I thought couldn’t be farther from the truth… and then, with Diane’s next revelation, the full weight of my mistake that morning crashed down on me.

“He asked her more firmly to please stop and also reached out to me to request a new curator. Even with all of that harassment, he still tried to spare her. He didn’t reveal to me then what was going on only that he wanted a new representative from Embers,” she continued.

“When I brought it up to Aleta, she lost it. She snuck back into his office, waited there for him, and then tried to force herself on him.”

By now, I was sure my jaw had crashed through all thirteen floors and landed on the sidewalk below.

“At that point, of course, there was nothing else he could do to try and get her out of any repercussions for her actions. He provided me with security footage from his office as well as the photos and notes that she’d left him.

” Diane wrinkled her nose, clearly recalling how distasteful she found them.

“And all he asked was that I handle this discreetly with her, and if she didn’t cause any more problems, he wouldn’t press charges.

He also requested an NDA that I wouldn’t share any of what happened.

Until now.” Her eyes narrowed. “To you.”

I’d accused him of ruining Aleta’s career, of taking advantage of her, when in reality, it was her; she was the one who tried to take advantage of him.

And yet, despite having every reason to not only ask for Aleta to be fired but to press charges, he’d let her go quietly.

Kept the horrible truth under lock and key even after she spread all these rumors about him.

Diane’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. “Grace. I’ve been checking in on his profile. In three days, you’ve made more progress with Mr. Crown’s account than anyone else. Why is he asking that I share this information with you?”

I swallowed hard, her throat struggling to work.

Because I accused him of the worst possible thing. A lie.

Right after I kissed him.

If he hadn’t told her either of those things, then neither would I.

“Because I ask hard questions. Because I don’t let his reputation or power or how much money he has stop me from doing my job. And there were certain questions…conversations…that prompted me to ask about Aleta because her version of the story…”

Diane’s expression darkened, her mind letting go of why Killian favored me and latched onto the knowledge that Aleta was spreading lies in spite of an NDA.

“I see. Well, I hope these questions haven’t jeopardized this profile.” Her lip twitched and she added, “Now that you’re fully aware why we need to do better for Mr. Crown.”

“Of course.” I managed to keep my voice steady even though my heart felt like it was in freefall.

She scrutinized me another moment. “That will be all, Grace.”

I nodded and stood abruptly, guilt like lead weight making my limbs move disjointedly as I closed the door to her office behind me.

Killian had every right to have me fired, but he hadn’t.

Instead, he’d shown me a kindness I didn’t deserve.

And a kiss like I’d never felt before…my mind raced with how to make things right.

I owed him an apology. Several apologies.

And some extensive groveling. But even that didn’t seem like enough.

I moved like a zombie back to my desk, not even able to care about Molly’s smirk or correcting her assumption that I’d just been put on notice.

I hadn’t. But I felt worse than if I had.

Aleta came on to him.

My computer screen pulsed in front of me.

“Grace?”

I blinked and snapped my head up. Darcy stood at my desk, her backpack over her shoulder, and a stack of mail clutched to her chest.

“Hey,” I greeted her; I hadn’t seen her this morning because she was coming straight from her sister’s place to work. “How’s Lilly?”

“She’s Lilly. Over the top. Dramatic. Worrywart.” Her eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong with you? Why is Molly looking at us like she just won the lottery?”

“She thinks Diane fired me.”

Darcy snorted. “What an idiot.”

“Yeah.”

She stepped into my little cubicle, blocking everyone else’s view of me, and then set her stack of junk mail down on my desk. One of her responsibilities was to sort through magazines and tabloids and look for mentions of our client or scout for potential new clients we could contact.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on? Is it Crown? Because I swear?—”

“No,” I blurted out, the pain in my chest sharpening again. I couldn’t tell her the truth, but I had to tell her something. “I mean…Darcy.” I lowered my voice. “Mr. Crown isn’t…who Aleta made him out to be.”

Her eyes went wide. “Oh no, Grace. You can’t. It’s a trap. Don’t fall for him like she?—”

I grabbed her wrist and met her stare. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you—what Diane just told me. Mr. Crown didn’t…do the things Aleta said he did.”

She stared for a long moment, dumbstruck. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” I pulled my hand back, brought my elbows to my desk, and dropped my forehead to my palms. “Unfortunately, I already accused him of being a sexist pig.”

“You what? ” she gasped and looked around like I’d just confessed to murder. “I’m sorry. I know I was worried about you falling for him, but please tell me you didn’t?—”

“I did,” I cut her off. “I accused him of trying to get me fired.”

“And…just to clarify, you’re not fired, correct?”

“No, I’m not fired,” I said and straightened, but as I slid my arms off my desk, my elbow pumped her stack of magazines and sent them sliding onto the floor.

“Shit. I’m sorry,” I muttered and bent to help her pick up the mess.

“So, he didn’t ask to have you fired?”