Page 33 of The Arrangement (Executive Suite Secrets #3)

LIAM ROSE

When I strode through the museum on Friday morning, there might have been an extra spring in my step. My night with Rome had been even better than I could have imagined. I felt…lighter. Freer. As if some piece of me that had always been out of joint had clicked into place.

Sure, I was still nervous and scared shitless most of the time, but it was as though my feet had found the right path out of the dark woods that had dominated most of my life. I could see the light, and I was heading in the right direction.

“Well, well, well. Someone had a good night,” Emily teased the moment she saw me. She turned away from her laptop and gave the floor a shove with the toe of her shoe, sending her rolling across the linoleum to me on her stool.

I caught her slender shoulder and pushed her toward her laptop. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t even utter those words without a giant grin on my face.

“No! You can’t do that!” She rolled back, blocking my path to my desk as I hung up my coat. “You saw Rome last night. I can tell. You’ve got it written all over your face. Did you two get your freak on? What kind of naughty things did he do to you, and how much did you love it?”

I choked on a gasp that was half surprise and half laughter. “I’m not telling you anything! We’re coworkers.”

Emily groaned and rolled across the floor, pouting at me the entire time. “But we’re not just coworkers. You met my girlfriend. We shared Friendsgiving. I told you about gay sex.”

“You did not!”

“Okay. But I planned to tell you about it if you would have asked.”

My legs gave out, and I dropped into my chair with a noisy squeak. She was ridiculous and nosy, but that was part of the reason I adored her. She helped to make things feel less overwhelming.

“Rome and I went to the zoo last night to see the Festival of Lights,” I started.

She nodded. “That’s a nice date.”

“He said it didn’t count as a date. He wanted to talk, to check on me after everything that had happened.”

“Awwww,” she cooed, pressing her hand to her heart. “That’s so sweet and thoughtful. He’s an excellent friend. I’m so glad you got through all that past nastiness. It’s obvious he cares a lot about you.”

That I could not argue with.

“Afterward, we went to his place. That was my idea.”

Emily perked up, her eyes wide as she wiggled on her stool. She pushed over, using her toes like a duck paddling across a pond. “And? And? And? What happened? Tell me every dirty detail!”

“No!”

“Liam,” she whined. “Give me something. This is the best tea I’ve lucked into in sooooo long.”

She was killing me with her adorableness. I couldn’t imagine how her girlfriend handled her.

“No,” I repeated, booping her on the tip of her nose. “I’ll say that I experienced some new things and thoroughly enjoyed all of it. I slept at his place—” I leaned in and whispered. “—in his bed.”

Emily squealed and clapped.

He’d taken me home early this morning, but I’d still been late. Only because he’d made the mistake of following me into my house to give me good-bye kisses that had stretched for a ridiculously long time.

Just sitting around and making out with a person had never held much interest to me, but with Rome, it was different. I didn’t ever want to stop kissing him.

“Swoon!” Emily cried. She kicked off and spun to her workstation. She’d barely landed in her spot when she swung to face me. “Your last date! Do you know what it’s going to be? It has to be super romantic, right? Do you have a plan?”

I frowned. “Not yet.” But she was right.

It was the last date in our agreement, yet I felt like it could mark a big moment for us.

Rome had created the arrangement in the name of getting even after suffering pain and betrayal as a child.

Since then, we’d cleared the air, become friends, and now we were on the cusp of becoming even more.

I wanted to do something big to show that the past was closed and over.

We were moving forward together, happier and free of old shackles.

This date needed fire.

Fireworks? Or maybe a bonfire?

I tossed the idea about as I logged in to my computer. Nothing seemed right, but there was still time to come up with something.

Unfortunately, my date planning was put on pause.

I had a message from my boss waiting for me.

I was to report to her office the second I made it to work.

Thankfully, the message had arrived just a minute ago.

This couldn’t be good. I was supposed to have until Christmas to get the donation. Was she going to pressure me again?

After giving Emily a heads-up that I had to meet with Dr. Case, I headed down the hall. Her office was on the second floor with a bunch of other executives, mostly because she would meet with rich donors, and everything had to look polished.

She summoned me as soon as I knocked. Pale winter sunlight poured in through the windows, bringing out the shine in all the dark woods and warm brass fixtures.

There was an old touch to the room, as if the head of fossils had to summon up a feeling of dusty old libraries from the late-nineteenth century.

She had a tall bookshelf filled with leather copies of well-known books, while a glass case displayed several exquisite fossils.

Dr. Case glanced up as I approached, her welcoming smile tense. “Liam. Good. Thank you for coming up so quickly.” She motioned to the chairs in front of her desk.

“No problem. What can I help with?” I inquired as I sat. My hand smoothed my tie out of nervous habit. I’d shed my blazer but hadn’t pulled on my white lab coat yet.

“I noticed that I still haven’t heard from Mr. Ashbridge yet. Our department also hasn’t received a lovely donation from him either,” Dr. Case began. She closed a file that was open on her desk, her long nails clicking on the wood surface.

“As I promised, I’m working on it. I still have a little time before the deadline.” But even as I said the words, my stomach soured. Could I still ask Rome for a donation? Wouldn’t he think I was using him for his money?

No, maybe not, but this all felt so dirty and disgusting.

My skin crawled at the idea of trying to broach the subject with him now.

It would be better if I handed the entire thing off to my boss.

Let her make phone calls and shmooze these people until the money faucet turned on.

That was one of the key components of her job. Not mine.

“Well, if you’re still attempting tackle the topic of a donation, I think it would be a good idea to make an adjustment to the number you’re trying to achieve.”

“What?” I gasped. All the words I’d been cobbling together to make my argument flew away like dry leaves on an icy wind.

“Mr. Wagoner, the owner of the land we want to dig into for the next fossil exploration project, is attempting to rescind his agreement to allow us onto the property. We’ve tried polite negotiations, but I am getting the impression that he wants more money.”

I lunged forward in my seat, fingers gripping the arms. “But he can’t do that!

We have a contract. He can’t randomly change the terms now.

We’re supposed to break ground in less than four months.

Dr. Luo and I already have a survey team gathered to help mark the most likely spots for the dig in February. ”

All the plans we’d made were going up in smoke because some asshole thought he could squeeze more money out of the museum. The problem was that we didn’t have access to all the museum’s income. We were a small part of the whole, and we didn’t even get that big of a budget each year.

“Regardless, he’s attempting it. We need to hire on a law firm to handle negotiations and, if necessary, take him to court.

Something I’m hoping we can avoid. I’d prefer to handle this amicably, but no matter how it is handled, it will take more funds.

” She stopped and stared at me. The weight falling onto my shoulders was enormous.

If I didn’t get that money from Rome or another rich source, our plans to explore the region for new fossils stopped. There might even be cutbacks within the department, starting with my job.

I released the arms of the chair and folded my hands together in my lap, twisting my fingers until my knuckles turned white.

“Dr. Case, I appreciate the department’s desperation for a fresh investment of funds.” I swallowed hard, trying to work up a little saliva in my dry mouth. “It’s just…things have changed between Rome Ashbridge and me. We were friends as children, but now…I…”

The words got caught in my throat. Could I say this? Yes. For me and for Rome.

“We’re dating, and I feel it would be a conflict of interest to ask him for a donation.”

Holding my breath, I lifted my eyes to Linda Case. She sat perfectly still, her elegant face unreadable. As I was deciding this was a mistake, her lips broke into a bright smile.

“No! This is a wonderful development. Boyfriends and husbands are always so happy to invest in the passion projects of their partners.” She made a scoffing noise and waved a hand, brushing off my concerns.

“All you need to do is tell him that this greedy landowner is trying to stop your dig. He’d be happy to write you a check.

” She heaved a happy sigh and turned to her computer screen on her right.

“That’s wonderful news. I’m feeling much better about all of this now. ”

And she returned to her papers, dismissing me and my uneasiness from her mind. Because she didn’t have a problem asking for money from anyone, it meant that I couldn’t possibly have a problem with it either. If I wanted to keep my job, I had to suck it up and ask Rome.

I was trembling as I walked to my desk. Emily was missing, but I thought she’d mentioned earlier in the week that she was giving a talk to a group of high schoolers who were coming to the museum today.

Sick to my stomach, I opened up a blank document and stared at it for several minutes. A hundred times, I questioned whether in good conscience I could ask Rome for money. Each time, the answer came back no. Not as his friend, and especially not as his lover.

Sure, I’d done it when we were enemies and we’d created this stupid arrangement, but everything was different now. He wasn’t my enemy. He should never have been my enemy.

And he would not be my piggy bank now.

Dr. Case didn’t respect me or Rome. I couldn’t stay here.

The nausea faded as I typed out my resignation. I still had my part-time job at the university and some money in savings. That would have to be enough until I figured my shit out. Right now, this was the only way I could think of to protect Rome.