Page 71 of Power
“Stumbled in the dark,” Jace said quickly. “Mind giving us a minute?”
“Of course.” Grabby Hands placed a hand on Jace’s shoulder, shot me an antagonistic smirk, and then ambled off with the confidence of a man who’d already won the game he’d dragged me into.
“You two are close?” Could he hear the tremble in my voice? The disbelief? The absolute horror? I hoped not. I was half smiling, playing the role of a woman who had not just met her harasser.
“Marcus?” Jace looked back at Grabby Hands for a moment. “Oh, yeah. We go way back. He’s actually one of my best friends.”
Houston, we have a catastrophe.
“That the NDA?” Jace asked, reaching out his palm.
What I wanted to do was rip it up in front of him and throw it in the air like confetti. I wanted to scream at him,How could you be friends with someone like that?And what did that say about Jace? Was he really the stand-up guy that I thought he was, or was he somebody who would protect his “best friend” above all else?
He’d certainly never believe some fling he’d shared two days with over his best friend—that was for damn sure.
But I had to play it cool. I needed time to digest what just happened, and until I knew my next move, secrecy was my greatest asset.
“I can’t sign it.” I pulled the paper closer to my chest.
Jace’s eyebrows pulled together, and he shoved his hands into his tailored pants pockets. After glancing at the doorway and the conference table full of people, he sighed in frustration.
“I didn’t realize you had a meeting,” I said. “We can talk when you have time.”
“I never have time,” he said. “My calendar is booked. We’re talking now.”
36
SCARLETT
Oh my God, so many thoughts were racing through my head. First of all, this NDA,theoretically, protected me against losing my job or suffering unfair consequences if I revealed the name of the sexual harasser. Even if Jace turned around and believed him over me. But that was theoretical.
Practically speaking? Jace had an army of lawyers and HR experts at his disposal. He was Goliath, and I was David with a slingshot loaded with accusations that had bounced off men like him a thousand times before. If Jace believed his best friend over me, I was, to put it bluntly … screwed. Royally screwed. Majorly screwed. Likeupdate my résumé while crying into a pint of ice creamscrewed.
And let’s just talk about that for a moment. Sure, so far, Jace had seemed like a really good guy, and if the bad guy was anybody else, I would venture to say he would believe me. But he’d only known me for a few days. This was one of his best friends. Best. Friend. If someone accused Tessa or Dakota of something, you bet your ass it would take more than a few days with her accuser toevermake me question or second-guess my best friend’s integrity. So, chances were, Jace would absolutely side with his best friend.
Or, even worse, what if Jaceknewthat his best friend was shady as hell? In which case, had Jace been, or currently was, complicit in Grabby Hands’s behavior? Maybe I didn’t really know Jace. I mean, sure, he’d swooped in and protected me from my father and protected my mother, but I’d learned the hard way that people could have multiple faces. Hero in one moment, but covering for his bro the next. Not only did that spell very bad news for me and my prospect of not getting fired over this, but also that kind of guy would be somebody I wanted nothing to do with.
“Follow me,” Jace demanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.
“Mr. Lockwood”—his assistant rose from her desk, pen hovering in midair like she was about to conduct an invisible orchestra—“I’m afraid Mr. Camdon has to leave shortly for a flight.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Jace replied, his tone clipped.
“Sir …” she persisted, her eyes darting nervously between the office of waiting leaders and Jace, who continued striding in the wrong direction.
“A minute,” Jace repeated so firmly that she said nothing more.
He led me to the small conference room, holding the door open until I walked inside. My pencil skirt felt suddenly too tight as I squeezed past him, the fabric brushing against his perfectly tailored pants. Even in my highest heels, I barely reached his chin. He shut the door behind him with a soft click that sounded like a prison cell locking.
“What do you mean, you’re unwilling to sign the NDA?” He turned to face me, his broad shoulders blocking the exit like the world’s sexiest bouncer.
I swallowed, trying not to notice how his custom suit curved his body perfectly.
“You have people waiting for you. We can talk about this later.”
“They can wait.” His eyes darkened. “Explain.”
“I mean …” I cleared my throat, attempting to look anywhere but at the way his jaw clenched. “After careful consideration, I have opted against legally binding myself to this document.” Look at me, using big lawyer words, like I hadn’t been fantasizing about fleeing the country five seconds ago. “You don’t have to worry. I won’t talk about our relationship to anyone in the office. In fact, if you draft another NDA that strips out the paragraph where I have to report who harassed me, I’ll happily sign it immediately.”
