Page 125 of The Exception

I groaned, looking at the floor. Nope. This was still completely mortifying.

“You okay?” Graham asked, tucking himself back into his pants.

“Your brother just walked in on us having sex in your office in the middle of the workday.” I covered my face with my hands. “I’ll never be able to face him again,” I mumbled the words into my palms. There was only one solution. I was going to have to change my name and disappear.

“Carson should’ve stopped Jasper—or, at the very least, warned me.” Graham moved as if to march toward the door.

I placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t. It will only make things worse.”

“I should fire him for this. I would fire my brother if I could.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Jasper is too big of an asset. And don’t take it out on Carson. From what I can tell, he’s a good assistant.”

Graham grunted. “I suppose you’re right.”

“That said, this is not going to help the rumors about us.”

“You’re looking at this the wrong way,” Graham said, rubbing my arms. “For anyone who had doubts about our relationship, we’ve now effectively dispatched them.”

“Not. Helping,” I ground out.

And while I knew he was joking, part of me worried that there was a kernel of truth in those words. Worried that even though Graham was teasing, he wasn’t all that upset about being caught because it supported the narrative he was trying to build.

I didn’t like that I was even questioning Graham’s motives where I was concerned, but a lifetime of living with my family, coupled with Jo’s comments earlier, had given me pause. I understood why she was concerned, and I appreciated that she was looking out for me. But Jo and I hadn’t talked in weeks, and she didn’t know my husband like I did.

Graham was merely trying to comfort me. Besides, I was the one who’d initiated this. He hadn’t asked me to come to his office. He hadn’t even known I was coming.

But deep down, I worried that Jo was right. And whether she was or she wasn’t, I hated that I even had to consider the agreement and how it factored into our relationship.

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

Sloan leaned forward, peering at Jasper and me through the computer screen. “Why are you guys acting so weird?”

I ignored her question and kept my focus straight ahead. After Jasper had fled my office, Lily had gone back to the penthouse so she could work on the preparations forles Journées du patrimoine. My brother hadn’t said anything about what he’d walked in on earlier, and neither had I.

“Can we please focus on the agenda for the board meeting?” I asked.

Sloan’s eyes flicked from Jasper to me. “No. Not until we talk about whatever’s going on. We need to present a united front to the board, and you guys are acting so strange.”

The tension built in the silence, so thick it was ready to snap. I huffed. Jasper tapped his fingers on his thigh.

“I walked in on Lily and Graham having sex in his office,” Jasper blurted.

I rolled my eyes. Sloan’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“There!” Jasper threw his hands in the air. “Are you happy now?” He glared at her, still unwilling to look at me.

I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. “Jasper, seriously? Jesus.”

“This is unexpected,” Sloan said, clearly bemused. “But I’m glad.”

“I’m not,” Jasper grumbled. “I didnotneed to see that.” He shuddered.

“Why are you glad?” I asked my sister.

“Promise not to get upset?” she asked.

“Why would I be upset?”

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