Chapter 6
VIVIAN
Two days. Matthew leaves in two days, and we haven't talked about it once.
I stare at my computer screen, pretending to review Levi's calendar for next week even though Matthew won't be here to need it. The cursor blinks at me like it's mocking my ability to plan ahead. Which is fair. Because apparently I've developed the long-term thinking skills of a goldfish.
My phone vibrates.
Jaden: Emergency meeting in the supply closet. Bring chocolate.
Me: Can't. Pretending to work while having an existential crisis.
Jaden: That's what the chocolate is for.
Before I can respond, my office phone rings. The extension makes my stomach drop. Matthew.
"Can you come in here?"
"Of course."
With shaking hands, I walk the ten feet to his door, which feels like walking a plank.
When I step inside, Matthew is behind the desk—Levi's desk, our desk, the scene of several crimes against workplace professionalism.
I can never look at it the same way again, and maybe I should just spend my next paychecks buying a new one for Levi.
But what stops me cold is that Levi is here too, sitting in one of the chairs across from Matthew. He doesn't look happy.
"Close the door please," Matthew says.
I close it and sit in the chair next to Levi, who gives me a look I can't read. Matthew slides a folder across the desk toward me.
"What's this?"
"A job offer."
I scrunch my forehead. "A job offer."
"Executive assistant to the CEO. Astor Group headquarters. New York."
"I already have a job."
"This one pays three times what you're making now. Full benefits, relocation package, corner office on the forty-second floor."
Three times. I open the folder and look at the salary figure, and my brain goes completely blank. No freaking way. That's not a number that belongs in my life. That's not a number that belongs in anyone's life who isn't related to someone famous or running their own drug cartel.
"This is..." I look up at Matthew, then at Levi, then back at Matthew. "This is a lot of money."
"You're worth it."
Levi clears his throat. "I knew this would happen. The second I walked into my kitchen and saw you two making breakfast, I knew I was losing my EA. I called it, and now the universe is making it come true."
"Levi—"
Levi waves a hand dismissively, casting a glare at Matthew before looking at me.
"It's fine, Vivian. Well, it's not fine, it's a complete disaster for me personally, and I'll spend the next few weeks sulking, but I understand.
" He rests his elbows on his knees. "You've run this office better than I ever could.
You've covered for me, cleaned up after me, and made me look competent for two years.
If anyone deserves a corner office on the forty-second floor, it's you. "
Something warm and painful lodges in my throat.
Levi gave me this job when I was twenty-three and had been job-hopping.
He took a chance on me because I was the only applicant who actually read the job description and asked questions about the company and day-to-day responsibilities and expectations, not just the salary and benefits.
Tears prick my eyes as I smile at him. "Thank you."
He stands up and squeezes my shoulder. "Besides, Angela's going to need help getting the nursery ready, and I'd rather focus on that than finding someone to replace you. Matthew promised to help."
"No one's replacing me. You're screwed."
Levi chuckles. "Completely screwed."
"You're the best boss I've ever had."
Matthew raises one brow. "Are you sure? You might want to take that back."
I give him the fakest full-teeth smile I can muster. "You can't threaten me. I haven't actually accepted your job offer yet. You need to butter me up first."
"She's right, brother." Levi heads for the door. He pauses with his hand on the handle and jabs a finger at Matthew. "Don't mess this up."
"I won't."
"Or Angela and I will come for you."
"Is that a threat?"
"Oh, absolutely."
The door closes behind him, and suddenly, the office feels much smaller, the air charged and thick between us.
Matthew hasn't moved from behind the desk, but his hands are perfectly still on the surface, which is wrong.
Matthew is never still. He's always moving something—a pen, his phone, his coffee mug.
The stillness makes my chest tight. It's like coming home and finding that your favorite framed photo is missing. One empty space and the room is not the same.
"So," I say, looking back at the folder. "Executive assistant to the CEO."
"Yes."
"In New York."
"Yes."
"Working for you."
"Directly for me, yes."
I flip through the pages. Salary, benefits, job description, relocation assistance. It's all real. It's all legitimate. The numbers make sense, the responsibilities match my experience, the package is generous but not insane.
"When would I start?"
"Two weeks. There's an apartment available in the corporate housing building if you want it. Or we can help you find something else."
"Corporate housing." I look up at him. "Do you live there?"
"No."
Yup. There definitely is something off. My Spidey-senses are tingling. "The numbers and benefits are the things I used to dream about. Anyone would be crazy to turn this offer down."
His jaw tightens slightly. "That's the idea."
I stand and run my palms over my skirt, his gaze following my movement. "Let me ask you, Matthew, because I always expect you to give it to me straight. Is this a job offer, or are you asking me something else?"
Matthew doesn't answer immediately, and in that pause, I understand. The salary, the corner office, the relocation package—it's all real, but it's not why he put this together. The job offer is a bridge, and he's standing on one side hoping I'll cross over to the other.
"I spent the entire night making sure it would be hard for you to say no."
I lean my hip on the side of his desk, but he doesn't meet my eyes. "That doesn't answer my question."
Matthew takes a deep breath, and exhales through his mouth before meeting my eyes. "Fine. I couldn't figure out how to just ask you to stay by my side."
"Matthew."
"I get on a plane in two days, and I haven't been able to think about anything except whether you'll be on it with me.
If I just ask you to come with me, that would be absolutely selfish of me.
You'd be leaving everything, including your friends, including a boss you've had great rapport with, a familiar environment, a familiar everything.
" He stands to his full height and finally faces me.
"I wanted you to be able to say yes without feeling like it's too much of a risk. "
"You could have just asked me and then offered the job."
He scans my features, the dent between his brows deepens. "Would you have said yes?"
"Ask me."
Matthew's Adam's apple bobs as he swallows hard. "Vivian, will you come with me to New York? Put some color in my otherwise boring, dreary existence? Stop me from making my employees cry and maybe even stop my mom from worrying I might die alone and at work?"
Tears threaten to slide down my cheeks, so I blink them back furiously. "Fine … since you asked so nicely."
Matthew slides an arm around my waist and hauls me flush to his body. His knuckles graze my jaw, thumb tracing the seam of my bottom lip. His eyes are darker than I've ever seen them. "Is that a yes?"
"To the job or to you?"
"Both."
"Yes to you. As for the job..." I grin up at him. "I'm going to need it in writing."
He laughs and crushes his lips to mine. When we break apart, I'm breathless and grinning and probably about to make the biggest leap of my life.
"I'd also like to negotiate a quarterly trip back home, all expenses paid by the company. Jaden and Lea would kill me if they found out I'm abandoning them, and this is the only way they'll let me go in one piece."
Matthew sucks my bottom lip between his teeth. "Deal. I love you, Vivian."
"I love you, too. Now when are we leaving?"