Page 45 of Masters of the Game: Colton
“I overheard two women in the breakroom claiming that the only reason my agency got the contract was that it had been handpicked by you because you wanted me in your bed. Theysaid that Lake had wanted another agency but he gave in to what you wanted.”
“That’s not true and you know it.”
“Do I?”
“You should.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Just what are you accusing me of?”
“I’m not accusing you of anything. But if it’s true, it certainly gave you the opportunity to spend time with me in New York and LA.”
“And I told you it was Lake’s idea that we work closely together.”
She glared at him. “Yes, you did say that, didn’t you?”
He glared back. “Are you saying you don’t believe me?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what to believe. All I know is that you knew how hard I’ve worked over the past two years to make a success of my agency. And now my company’s reputation could be ruined.”
“And you think I’d deliberately do something like that?”
She rubbed her temple. “Someone saw us together at Coney Island and are putting their own salacious spin on things. The fact that people think I only got that contract because of you isn’t good.” She sighed. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
“Am I not allowed to say anything in my defense?”
“I honestly don’t want to hear what you have to say, Colton. I need to be alone.”
Uncrossing his arms, he stared at her for a long moment before he walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.
**
Sherelle knew she couldn’t put it off any longer since the workday ended in an hour. Picking up the envelope off her desk, she walked out of her office and crossed the spacious and beautifully decorated lobby that connected to the office of theCEO. His administrative assistant looked up and smiled. “Hello, Ms. Telfair, can I help you?”
“Hello, Yvette, I’d like to see Lake.”
“Certainly. Let me see if he’s free now. He was on a business call earlier.”
Moments later, Yvette looked at her, smiled again and said, “He said for you to go right in.”
Sherelle nodded. She moved toward Lake’s office when Yvette called out to her. “Ms. Telfair, are you okay? You look so sad today, and for the past week, you’ve been so happy.”
There was no way she could tell the older woman that she’d believed she had a man in her life who loved her. Only now, that wasn’t the case. She had no man, and soon, she’d have no job. “I’m fine, Yvette. Thanks for asking.”
When she reached Lake’s door, she knocked.
“Come on in, Sherelle,” he called out.
When she entered, she saw him sitting at his desk with his sleeves rolled up. He looked up and smiled. “I was just about to call you with some good news. The next location of our office will be New York. The PR Department will prepare a press release for Monday.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Evidently, her words didn’t have the enthusiasm he’d expected, so he tilted his head and stared at her. “Are you all right?”
Instead of answering him, she handed him the envelope. He took it and looked back at her. “What’s this?”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said, “My resignation.”
Surprise showed in his features. “You’re resigning?”
She swallowed again. “I think it’s best to resign now, because once you find out what I did, I’ll get fired.”
