Chapter 32
Brielle
My feet feel like they’re floating above the ground as I glide through the office on cloud nine.
Damian and I had the best weekend. After the ball game on Saturday, we went out for a few drinks at a local bar and called it an early night.
I was so exhausted from the excitement and sun that I passed out in the car on the way home.
He helped me out of my clothes and tucked me into bed with a kiss to my forehead.
I woke him up the next morning, wanting to show him my true appreciation… twice.
We spent the rest of the day each working on some things for CreativEdge, even though it was Sunday. It felt so easy, being with him, each getting our work done, stopping to eat or kiss whenever we wanted.
Holly called me yesterday, checking for proof of life since I haven’t even been to my apartment since last Thursday. Damian and I have really gotten into a groove. One that feels a lot more relationshippy than I think either of us was expecting. We even made plans for later this year.
As crazy as it sounds, this secret fling with my boss is the best relationship I’ve ever been in. Everything is really coming together for me, whether it’s at work or in my relationship. The common denominator being Damian. He makes my life better. He makes me better.
The door to the conference room opens as I make my way back to my office from the pod lounge. Devin steps out, and my hackles are immediately raised.
Unsurprisingly, our relationship hasn’t improved since our encounter in the breakroom. We’ve managed to work together with civility, but the undercurrent of hostility persists.
Behind him stands one of the board of directors.
She’s been in the office before, but I don’t know her name.
I pick up my pace so I can get past them as quickly as possible, catching Devin’s arrogant eyes on the way by.
He gives the board member a meaningful look that I choose to ignore. Just put my head down and keep walking.
“Excuse me. It’s Brielle, isn’t it? Brielle Collins?” the board member asks. Her blonde bob and trendy glasses should make her look chic, but there’s a calculating glint in her eyes that I don’t like.
“Yes. Can I help you?”
“If I could have a minute of your time, please.” She holds the door to the conference room open in invitation. “Thank you, Devin. I appreciate you reaching out to me.”
“Of course.” He smiles a Cheshire cat grin.
She shuts the door behind her and gestures for me to take a seat.
“What’s this about?” I smile.
Whatever Devin has said about me is utter bullshit.
I have teams of people who have worked with me that can attest to my work ethic and can-do attitude.
If he wants to make some erroneous complaint about me because he’s butt-hurt that I came in and superseded him on the marketing position, then he’s more than welcome to try.
“I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Rachel Perriman. I sit on Mr. Edgerton’s board of directors.”
“Nice to meet you, Rachel.”
I wait for her to tell me why she’s brought me in here as she takes a seat right next to me.
She reaches out and clasps my hands, holding them tightly. I flinch, trying to pull my hand away, but she just tightens her grip.
“Brielle. We take sexual harassment very seriously here at CreativEdge.”
My brain stutters. “I”m sorry, what? Did Devin say that I’ve been harassing him… sexually?” My voice goes up three octaves at the audacious claim.
“No. No. Not at all. He was concerned for you.” She gives me a sad, pleading look that I don’t trust for a minute. “Tell me, what exactly is your relationship with Mr. Edgerton?”
Blood drains from my body in a massive wave, my stomach twisting in knots. I can feel my palms start to sweat, but I don’t want to rub them on my skirt. Nothing guiltier than a sweating, fidgeting person.
“Mr. Edgerton is my boss. Why do you ask?”
“You can be honest, Brielle. I don’t want you to fear there will be any repercussions for you. You’re the victim here. I understand that.”
“I am no victim,” I say harshly, pulling my hands out of her hold. “Whatever Devin told you about Damian and me, do not for one second think that I am being taken advantage of by him. I’m not.”
“So, you admit that your relationship with Damian is more than just a boss and his employee?”
I can feel my heart beating in my chest, in my ears, all the way down to my toes.
We knew this day would come, but I don’t think either of us had a plan on how to handle it when it did. And now it has, and I don’t know what to say.
At this point, I think denying it entirely is out of the question.
If I come clean now, there may still be a chance that this doesn’t blow back on Damian. He can’t afford to lose everything he’s built because of me. It would be his greatest fear coming true.
I can’t do that to him. I can’t be the reason his life comes crashing down.
“Yes,” I admit, more confidently than I feel right now. “Damian and I have been engaged in an intimate relationship, but at no point has there been an abuse of power, sexual harassment, or any other form of coercion or demands.”
I feel like I’m going to vomit just saying the words out loud to this woman. She gives me a pitying look, like poor little bunny doesn’t see what’s right in front of her eyes.
“I understand that you might feel that way, but—”
“There is no ‘but,’” I interrupt. “Damian and I became friends, and there are no rules about becoming friends with your employees. What that friendship developed into was outside of this company and our roles within CreativEdge.”
“Well, the truth of the situation is that the employees are losing faith in Damian’s decision-making. It’s my understanding that you’ve changed departments and been promoted within the last three months, being chosen to lead a team when other more senior members were willing and available.”
“Those senior members couldn’t even manage their own jobs. I stepped up when Damian asked, and I proved myself to be an asset. Damian doesn’t make a business decision without careful consideration. This company is his life, his creation. He doesn’t, and he wouldn’t, jeopardize that for anyone.”
“Not even his girlfriend?” She raises her brow, a small smirk playing on her lips that I wish I could wipe right off her face.
“For anyone.”
“His behavior has been noted, and I will be bringing it up at our board meeting. It is entirely unacceptable for the CEO to be having relations with a current employee. The appearance of impropriety is equally as important in the culture of the workplace as being improper. It isn’t about the truth, but what those who work for him think is the truth. ”
“He isn’t.” The words are out of my mouth before I can process them, but I know what I have to do. “Having a relationship with a current employee, that is.”
Rachel gives me a quizzical look. I can see her wheels spinning behind her eyes.
“He isn’t having a relationship with a current employee, because I quit.”
Her eyes go comically round, and she rushes to assure me, “No. No, dear. This isn’t on you. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen. Damian needs to take accountability for his own actions. You shouldn’t be the one to fall on the sword on his behalf.”
She’s really starting to piss me off now. It’s like she wants to get Damian into trouble. I’ve met people like her before, people like Devin. Miserable in their own lives, and they want to bring others down, too.
I stand from my chair and head for the door.
“I’ll let HR know of my decision, effective immediately.”
A split second of panic passes and then a sense of peace washes over me. I know in my heart that this is the right move. And the last thing I would ever want is for Damian to suffer because of me.
The HR office is just down the hall. I give her my notice, or lack thereof, and make arrangements for my last check to be mailed.
Now comes the hard part.
I go back to the office that I share with Trent and Danielle and tell them the news.
“I know it’s come as a surprise, and I never wanted to leave you guys stranded. I’m so sorry for that.”
“I can’t believe this. You can’t go,” Trent pleads.
“This is the worst news ever,” Danielle adds after picking her jaw up off the floor.
“Is it though?” I spin around to find Devin standing in the doorway. “I mean, maybe now he’ll bring the right people onto the marketing team instead of his little plaything.”
“Hey!” Trent exclaims. “Watch it. No one cares about your stupid rumors, Devin. We’ve all heard you spouting them off to anyone who will listen.”
“And for the record, the right person was promoted to the marketing team. Brielle turned the Heartland campaign around in a matter of twenty-four hours. What Brian and Kyle couldn’t handle in weeks.”
Devin sneers at the group of us. “She shouldn’t even be here.
If her ad creative wasn’t brought back from the dead, she never would have met the deadline to getting that first campaign out.
I should have known something was up then, when it showed up again almost instantly.
No way you recreated that piece so fast.”
“The ad that was deleted from the network? The one that IT had to recover for me? That ad?” I spit out.
“How did you even hear about that? The only people who knew about it was the three of us, Mr. Edgerton, and the IT department,” Danielle says, gesturing around the table at us.
It’s obvious how he knows. The guilt etched on his face tells it all.
“Don’t bother, guys. It doesn’t matter now anyway,” I tell him, spearing a long, narrowed look at Devin one more time.
“It doesn’t surprise me that you would try to sabotage me.
It isn’t like you could have come out on top based on merit. ”
I hug Trent and Danielle and then stop in and see Rui and Erica before I leave. By the time I get to Damian’s office, he’s gone. The conference room door is closed, and even Louisa isn’t at her desk.
I know I made the right call, but a part of me wasn’t ready to give up on this dream just yet.
I was having so much fun with the marketing team, being a part of the discussions and working with the others to turn the concepts into reality.
It’s hard to walk away from that when I know that creative jobs are a lot harder to come by than accounting positions.
But at least I know I’ll always have something to fall back on.
From excitement for new adventures to desperation for a paycheck that I haven’t even missed yet, my thoughts spin and bounce through my head the entire walk back to my apartment.
I pull out my phone to call Damian, like I’ve done a dozen times already. The board meetings are usually a few hours long, according to Damian, and I don’t want to bother him while he’s in there.
I have to admit, I’m a little nervous as well.
What we shared between us was a secret, or at least it was supposed to be.
But I threw it all out there with Rachel.
Blew up our spot. Maybe I should have stuck with the lie.
Denied the entire thing. It was only Devin’s word against mine—what would she have done?
It’s out there now though. Will Damian get in trouble anyway? Did I just ruin everything for him? For us? I pocket my phone again and turn down the alleyway. Only time will tell, I guess.
The sound of silence greets me when I walk into my apartment. Holly’s things have taken over the living room. Her dishes drying on the kitchen counter, a pan left to soak in the sink. It feels like I’m stepping into someone else’s home.
I change out of my work outfit and into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, then collapse on the couch with Holly’s blanket.
It’s hitting me, now that I’m sitting in the quiet of my apartment in the middle of the day. I just quit my job. I am officially unemployed. With absolutely no plan.
I scroll through job postings for accountants online, each one more depressing than the next. I can’t bring myself to apply for them just yet. Out of curiosity, I search for marketing positions. Those aren’t much better. No one seems to be looking for the creative side of the business.
What a difference a few hours can make. This morning, I was walking on cloud nine, blissfully unaware that imminent danger was just around the corner. And now, I’m rotting away on the couch, a pint of cookies and cream ice cream keeping my unemployed self company.
I’m alerted to the sound of someone in the hallway a half second before pounding rattles my door.
“Brielle. Open the door,” Damian shouts. My heart is in my throat as I stare at the door. He sounds pissed. Like really pissed.
He bangs again.
“Open the fucking door, Brielle.”
I swallow down a wave of emotion. Not fear for my safety—I know that no matter how upset he is with me, he isn’t going to hurt me—but fear for my heart. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath.
Time to face the music.