Page 87 of Mine

“Yes,” I murmured.

“And your ex-husband, who I almost punched when you left us in the elevator.”

“Youwhat?” I hissed. “Did he say something?—”

“He made some comments,” Salt said. “I don’t like him. At all. I don’t think he likes me too much either.”

“What did you say to him?”

Now, he smirked. “He mentioned you were trying to keep him from inviting his wife to an awards show.”

I threw up my hands. “For fuck’s sake.”

Salt chuckled. “If it makes you feel any better, I asked him how long he’d been married. Then how long he’d been divorced. He didn’t like that question.”

“Oh. I bet he didn’t like that.”

“He didn’t.”

Perhaps it was a little petty, but the idea of Salt making him feel like shit brought me an immense amount of joy. “Thanks for that.” But then, I frowned. “Salt… Did you fire your bass player?”

Salt shrugged his shoulders. “Yes. He wasn’t a good fit.”

“Did you do it because of me? Tommy heard a rumor and approached me about it.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I lied to him,” I said. “Well, I didn’t exactly lie. I just didn’t tell him the truth.”

“And what is the truth, Pepper?”

“We’re not right for each other. You’re too young, I’m too old. If they knew about us, they would judge us. They would think I’ve lost my mind.”

“They’d think you were taking advantage of me,” he said. “That’s what Jack suggested. Which is why I fired him, because that’s the furthest thing from the truth. And the thing is, people are always going to talk. They’re always going to judge. I’ve been dealing with it my entire life.” He tilted his head slightly as he held my gaze. “You can’t let other people dictate how you live your life. You can’t let fear stop you from having what you want. Otherwise, you’re just killing yourself for them.”

“I started this company years ago,” I said. “It’s all I have.”

“Would us being open change that? You’re the CEO. The company is yours.”

I’d been thinking about this nonstop since Tommy and I talked. I looked away as I considered what would happen if we told the board we were together.

“It would be a lot of pressure,” I said. “It would put us in a completely different position. And if things ended badly between us, it would hurt both of our careers. There’s a lot at stake.”

“We don’t need to decide right now,” he murmured gently. “But I want you to know that I want you. I want to be with you.”

“I want you too.”

My admission was soft. Vulnerable.

He tugged me close to him and kissed the top of my head. “That’s all I needed to know. Everything else can wait.”

I leaned into him fully and closed my eyes. All of my emotions were on the surface today, but his presence was calming them.

“I make bad decisions when I’m with you,” I whispered.

“Well, I think there’s room for worse.”

I snorted and craned my head back. “When that meeting happens, you have to promise me you’ll behave.”

---