Page 60 of The Bargain

Everything started going to shit as soon as I opened my eyes this morning.

That damn fucking picture.Why would someone invade another couple’s privacy by posting something like that? Didn’t they know it was dangerous? That they could ruin someone’s life by doing that?

Not that the person had intended to harm us. No. I’d tracked down the original post. It had been a lovely thing about “Love is love” and supporting gay marriage. That was great, but it was fucking up my life right now. I’d be lucky if Byron ever wanted to marry me after this.

Except if there was blame to toss about, it fell squarely on my shoulders and nowhere else. This wasn’t Byron’s fault or the company’s or even the person who posted the picture. I’d been the one stupid enough to engage in a secret affair and then do something as mindless as kissing Byron out in public.

I knew better. Common sense stated that if you wanted to keep things a secret, you did them in private.

But I hadn’t been thinking clearly yesterday. Byron had been in a lot of pain—pain I hadn’t known he’d been dealing withfor more than a decade. I’d been desperate to do something,anything, to make him feel better. That desperation had made me stupid.

Now I had to clean up my mess and do everything I could to keep Byron from being hurt by my selfishness and carelessness.

A text flashed across my phone from my father announcing he’d arrived and that we needed to talk. That was a fucking understatement. I left my phone on the charger in my office. The battery had already lost half of its life, and it wasn’t even nine in the morning.

As I charged out of my office, I paused for a heartbeat when I noticed Byron wasn’t at his desk, in the break room, or speaking to Kaylan, who was briskly answering calls. Maybe he’d stepped out to the bathroom to splash some water on his face and pull himself together. If we could get through these first few hours, everything would even out, and we could get to work.

I continued across the long hall to the other side of the floor, where my father maintained an office. It was smaller than my own since he stopped in the office only four to five times per year now that I had taken over as CEO.

I walked in without knocking just as his assistant, Bridget, was getting him a glass of water. She gave me a nod as she passed by me and hurried from the room, closing the double doors behind her.

The office was cold and emotionless, filled with lots of black and silver. The windows faced the north, giving a view of the other skyscrapers of downtown and one of the many hills that surrounded the city. Everything about the style of the room was old-fashioned and reserved. I hated this room. I wanted to redecorate it, but it wasn’t mine, so I didn’t touch it.

John Courtland sat behind the large desk in a leather swivel chair that dwarfed him. I hadn’t seen him in a few weeks, but it appeared as if his salt-and-pepper hair had become decidedlysaltier. The wrinkles had multiplied on his face overnight and the line between his bushy brows was dug even deeper than normal. My father’s face comprised a lot of harshly carved features, as if the artist who made him couldn’t be bothered with smoothing him out to make him more handsome or kinder looking.

Dad and I generally got along. We frequently butted heads on several topics, but since retiring, he’d become more hands off with the company, content to let me run it how I saw fit.

Unfortunately, with the icy glare and frown directed at me, I got the feeling that today wouldn’t be one of those days.

“What the hell were you thinking?” my father growled so low I almost didn’t hear him, but somehow he still sounded as if he were shouting. “Do you have any idea how disappointed I am with you right now? How much you’ve tarnished the Courtland name? How you’ve damaged the company?”

“Why? Because I removed all doubt that I was gay?” The snide words were out of my mouth before I could catch them. I never reacted well to being backed into a corner, even when I was in the wrong.

My father slammed his hand on the desk with a loudboom, and I couldn’t help but flinch. “Don’t you dare make this about people accepting your sexual orientation! You know that’s not the issue.”

I lowered my head and forced my fingers to unclench. “You’re right. I’m sorry. This is about my dating an employee.”

“Dating an employee? This isn’t just about you dating an employee! This is about you datingyour goddamn assistant! Your mother told me you were dating someone new, but she neglected to mention he was your assistant. What the hell were you thinking?” he repeated at much higher volume as he rose to his feet. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? He could sue you for harassment. He could sue the company for creatingan unsafe work environment. We’re in enough financial trouble as it is. If we can get through this year without layoffs, it’ll be nothing short of a miracle, but if your fling sues the company, there will be nothing left.”

“Byron isn’t some fling, and he’s not like that. He won’t sue Courtland Enterprises.”

“Well, I’m going to make damn sure of that. We’re not about to have another Thomas Cook incident.”

I mentally cringed at the mention of my bastard ex. He hadn’t gotten the chance to threaten Courtland Enterprises while I was in college, but I had a feeling he would have if I’d given him enough time and control over me. But Byron wasn’t Thomas Cook. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have the lawyers working on some documents to save your ass and the company’s. We’re going to offer him a few million to sign a waiver, agreeing that he won’t sue you or Courtland Enterprises. I think that should be more than enough to satisfy him.”

I staggered. Nausea roiled my stomach, and I was sure I was going to be sick on his expensive Aubusson rug.

“You’re paying Byron off?”

“Yes, it’s the safest option for everyone. And I’m taking the money out of your portion of your inheritance.”

“Byron isn’t like that.”

“Everyone is like that,” my father grumbled.

This was spiraling out of control. I needed to take a step back, breathe, and de-escalate this before anything truly unfixable could happen.

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