CHAPTER 12
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Emma did not scold Tanner that night when she returned home.
That could lead to more questions and doubts, which she wasn't about to settle. Even if she was dying of curiosity about how her son ended up in a coffee shop with Liam Van Dyke, when they were never supposed to see each other.
The solution she came up with was for Tanner to never return to the building.
Regarding Liam, he also didn't notice anything strange and never made mention of any children to him.
All these clues gave Emma to understand that the two contenders were still in total ignorance of each other and that was the way it should go.
Emma continued to work normally, even though the workload was very high as the board meeting was in a couple of days and it would be seen if all the hard work had paid off.
That morning, Emma went into the office early, as she always did, carrying vanilla lattes for Liam and a stack of mail.
She set her things down on the desk and was startled by laughter coming from Liam's office. The door was ajar so Emma approached, even though the female giggles were more noticeable.
And it wasn't just one, it was several women's voices.
Had Liam brought the revelry into the office?
Emma almost recoiled, but the door was open and in a little while people would start arriving, they should at least have the decency to close the door.
Carefully she craned her head closer and came upon two women in sequins swaying around the office.
One of them leaning on the desk, striking erotic poses and the other on the couch laughing.
Emma put her hands to her mouth.
That scoundrel if he was capable of doing this!
Her first impulse called her to close the door and dedicate herself to her own desk. What Liam did with his private life was none of her business.
But her hands were shaking just thinking about the audacity of the whole thing. She decided to go to the office to tell Liam that he should at least tell his companions to cover up, but when she did, she noticed that only the two women were there and no sign of Liam.
She checked the bathroom and nothing. In fact, she didn't even see Liam's jacket, his cell phone or his briefcase.
That was strange and both women were still laughing, totally ignoring her.
Emma cleared her throat to get their attention.
“Where is Mr. Van Dyke...?”
But the women, both blondes, answered her in a language she didn't know, probably Russian.
They were foreign prostitutes, this was getting worse and worse.
Emma was about to leave, disappointed in everything, but turned around as she noticed a particular issue.
There was no sign of Liam and these women were hell bent on making a fuss and they didn't speak the language.
Liam was a jerk, but that much?
The board was coming up, Liam's candidacy was hated by everyone and it wouldn't be the first time the rivals had attacked him.
Emma remembered something fundamental: the company's partner morality rule.
“This is not Liam's little spree... this is a trap,” the woman said to herself as she realized the whole thing, and then she began to think about it. But, it is possible that these women were called by him.
She had to think what to do, first of all call William to come and help her fix this mess, so she called him on the phone, while she thought about how to reach Liam, who had ordered her never to call him on his cell phone when he was not in office hours.
Damn rules!
William, fortunately answered, but told her he was on his way from Long Island and would be late. Who knows what the man was doing in the area, so Emma hung up to think of a suitable strategy.
At that moment, Mr. Howard's personal assistant, one of the shareholders, appeared and came to get some information.
On seeing him, Emma remembered a fatal detail.
Today was also the day for collecting reports from all the offices where the partners sent for them.
Liam was a senior partner, he was not obliged to give it except at board meetings, but he wanted to maintain a fluid communication with the shareholders in view of the elections, so Emma was preparing a report, which he corrected and which she had saved on the laptop.
She only had to print a few to hand out to the attendees.
The boy kept looking at the door while Emma pretended to smile her best smile and searched for the document to send to the printer.
She tried to distract him.
“I hope they change the cafeteria food; it was bad yesterday”
The stuffy assistant gave her a sidelong glance.
“I don't go to the staff canteen, I'm an executive assistant to partner Howards so I only eat lunch in the main cafeteria in the building”
He was a prissy snob, but if it distracted him a little and he stopped looking at the door it was enough for her. She handed him the paper, but the little man wasn't done leaving.
“Are you sure it's all right?”
“Why would it be wrong?” asked Emma, putting on her best fake smile.
“Those voices in the office - is someone drunk in there?”
Emma knew this smart ass would go with the story to everyone, and especially Howards, and they would come to try to make things difficult, call the other partners, make a fuss, even make a record about the presence of the two prostitutes.
Liam's run for the CEO position would be over.
“I don't know what you're talking about, I don't hear anything”
The little man snorted, then unfurled a contemptuous glare at Emma and securing the paper in his hands slowly walked away to the woman's despair.
When he finally disappeared into the elevator, Emma breathed a sigh of relief.
She dialed Liam's number again. It was off and it wasn't strange, as he himself warned, he only turned on his corporate when he got to the office.
She was still pondering what to do, when the distinctive sound of the elevator alerted her that someone was coming to her floor. Hoping it was Liam or William, her lips curled up when she noticed that it was another one of those unbearable assistants, with executive pretensions who were always wearing a pompous and smug superiority.
So she did the only thing she could think of, as the voices of the prostitutes grew louder and louder, which was to push her desk with all her strength and place it right in front of the door.
If anyone tried to enter, they would literally have to do it over her dead body.
“Have you lost your mind?” said the newly arrived assistant.
Emma arranged her clothes and feigned a calmness she didn't have.
“I'll get your report, wait for me”
The little man said nothing, but his eyes were fixed on the door.
“If Mr. Van Dyke is having an orgy in his office, as rumor has it, I advise you not to cover it up”
Emma knew that the other fop was delighted to disperse the gossip. It was only a matter of time before they came to press her.
“I don't know what you're talking about, it's clear you're wrong”
Her fingers began to tremble, but the young woman decided to stand firm. She handed the paper to the man and pretended to keep working.
But she would not get up from there, she would have to be forcibly removed. Since she couldn't play loud music or anything like that to mask the noise of the Russians, it was that she thought to bring the paper shredder that was on the corner table to place on her desk.
The noise of the device would help with the appearance.
She hadn't even realized at what point the last assistant left.
She didn't have a lot of documents to shred, so she grabbed several white sheets of paper to cover up her idea, which couldn't last long.
The noise of the elevator at a new stop got her excited again about the arrival of Liam or William.
But her soul almost left her body when she recognized three elegantly dressed men.
One of them, she knew very well, was the same guy who fired her that time she did not accept to be bribed: Michael Foreman accompanied by two others, one seemed to be Howards and the other could not remember his name, but they were shareholders. Behind them came those two squeamish guys who brought the reports.
Emma and Michael looked at each other. It was clear that he intended to charge her for having passed on his authority.
“What kind of a show is this? Why did he move the desk?” Howards asked.
“Sir...this...it's just that I needed a better plug…”
“Do not attempt to obstruct Mr. Van Dyke's office, we have received a disturbing report and must verify it. Step aside,” ordered the other.
Michael remained silent, but it was clear that he was behind everything and that he was using these two manipulative associates to do his dirty work for him.
Emma did not move from her chair.
“I'm sorry sir, but I can't open the office to anyone other than Mr. Van Dyke,” Emma replied, although she lowered her gaze because it was impossible for her to hold it with these men.
“I said step aside,” the man ordered her more sternly again.
Emma was terrified, but did not move an inch.
“As I said, I am not allowed to move unless Mr. Van Dyke says otherwise”
Howards, offended that a mere secretary was in open rebellion, showed her that he was very serious.
“Call security, have this woman removed to the street,” he ordered his assistant.
Emma, who had not expected the outcome of being dragged away, did her best to keep her composure. She was going to be fired in a big way, there would be no escaping that now.
Howards' assistant called for someone and Emma knew she was asking for the burly security staff to come immediately.
“I'm warning you that in addition to kicking you out, we'll be pressing charges against you, so I'm telling you again, step aside”
Emma raised her head, and it was impossible for her to concentrate on Howards face, not when Michael was behind her and holding her with a look that would break anyone's heart.
The damn elevator made the noise again that announced someone was coming down on the floor. Emma didn't even have to look to know what the bouncers were about.
“Drag this woman out of here and break down the door!”
Emma wanted to hold on to the desk with all her might, but the men grabbed her arms to yank her away.
“Let go of me! The only one allowed in that office is Mr. Van Dyke!” she shouted, trying to defend herself.
One more push and she wouldn't resist.
“What the fuck is the meaning of this?”
Liam's voice came on the scene and Emma opened her eyes. She bumped into Liam accompanied by William and three other men, Security employees.
“We're about to file a report, because of a complaint and we needed to check that office. That woman was blocking us,” Howards replied.
Liam approached Emma, who was immediately released by the bouncers. The man who had arrived was a Van Dyke, had the last name of the company's founder and was scary.
“She hasn't violated any rules, she's just following my orders to let absolutely no one in, you're the ones who have to explain yourselves for breaking into my office”
“The complaint...”
“And that gives you the right to violate my office?” Liam replied harshly, throwing his coldest look.
“It is important to remind the shareholders about the morality rule, which is clearly being violated against Mr. Van Dyke. We can call for an extraordinary meeting to try this unfortunate case,” was William, who launched into his lawyerly speech.
Howards looked at Michael, waiting for some instruction, as he was afraid of such assemblies. He was not going to be expelled because of a mere secretary.
Michael motioned to him with his eyes, to give up the fight.
Everything would have been simple if that stupid fourth-rate employee hadn't gotten in the way.
Michael approached Liam, giving a fake paternalistic smile.
“Don't blame these gentlemen, they only care about the regal enforcement of the morality rule, but they already understand that it was all a misunderstanding”
Liam just nodded to him.
Michael was a character to watch out for and with the board so close he didn't intend to challenge him now.
Emma watched quietly, though the trembling had not yet left her completely.
As the contingent disappeared into the elevator, Liam approached her.
The cold stare with which he had questioned those men had completely relaxed.
Emma could even see in it an unspoken thank you that would never come out of his mouth.
“William warned me what was going on”
But Emma said nothing.
A strange air of weakness and old nostalgia had settled over her.
Seeing him in that pose, Emma compared him to her memories of ten years ago in Cheyenne with the figure of the man who had come to her rescue.
But she awoke immediately from that fleeting reverie.
Liam hadn't saved her from anything, he was saving himself.
He cleared his throat and stood up, feigning professional seriousness.
“I was just following orders that I'm not to let anyone into that office in your absence”
But he studied her, as if concluding something.
"You really believe that I brought those prostitutes ...."
The man was reading her mind, so Emma couldn't help herself either.
“And isn't it true...?”
He laughed, relieving the atmosphere of that inappropriate tension.
“Do you think I'm the kind of man who would pay for a woman's company?”
That smile, displayed so close to her, made her almost lose her breath.
She felt hopelessly stupid.
“Am I interrupting something?” William materialized in their midst. “We need to get these women out of sight”
Emma felt a weight off her shoulders because of the lawyer's timely appearance, because things had gotten a little strange and she was a lousy actress.
Liam followed William to open the door to take care of that problem as discreetly as possible.
Emma was left alone at the desk.
She sat down, trying to calm the heaving in her chest and the lightheadedness in her limbs.
She had just realized something she hadn't counted on when she embarked on this adventure of working with Liam van Dyke.
She had been in love with him and the key was always that she “was”.
Now, face to face with such closeness, she felt she wasn't so sure about that.
Now she was in real trouble.