Page 66 of Takeover
A redness tinged Sam’s neck and he coughed. “You’re not bothered by this at all, are you?”
He was. The position Sundra offered was everything he wanted—what he had once been. A correction for injustices done. But Sam—was more. Mornings and nights and all the times in between. Laughter and dinners and biking in the park. The job was, in the end, a job. Sam was everything Michael wanted in his life—someone to share it with. “Chance gives and chance takes. You cling to what’s important.”
Sam shook his head. “When you say things like that…”
“What?”
“I realize just how far I’ve fallen for you. Michael, I—” He looked up and froze.
Michael turned to follow Sam’s gaze, slipping his hand free in the process.
Greta had returned, but not alone. Dr. Vijay Malik stood beside her, looking none-too-pleased. “You two chose quite the interesting time for revelations.”
Michael stood. The sound of a chair scuffing carpet told him Sam had as well. “To be honest, I would have preferred a different venue,” Michael said. “But it seems someone had other plans.”
Sam stepped forward. “Regardless of us and whether we remain at Four Rivers, there are things you should know about William Vandershoot.”
“So I hear.” Dr. Malik gestured that they should follow.
Time to face their decisions.
Chapter Ten
Dr. Vijay Malikwas an unassuming man, unless you’d seen him in action. Sam had. Shorter than Sam and wiry, Malik had a quiet, watchful demeanor until he had something to say; then his presence expanded to fill an entire room. Intense was one way to describe Malik’s conversational style. Commanding was another.
Sam’s heart lodged itself in his throat. This meeting would probably ruin him, which was fine. He had more than enough money to live off of for quite some time. Sam had no idea how Michael would survive. However, Michael hadn’t even shown a touch of fear at Malik’s appearance.
God, what a mess. A glorious, wonderful, and horrible mess. Sam’s fault, too. He couldn’t think around Michael, not in the way he should. He’d nearly confessed his love to Michael… should have. Shit.
Sundra had known about Michael—his past with Four Rivers. It showed a competency that made Sam feel a bit inadequate. But then, he’d only ever headed up smaller companies. He still had much to learn, apparently, if he even wanted to continue along that path. Consulting started to look better and better… he might be able to support them both, if it came to that.
Malik entered a small conference room and they all followed—Sam, Michael, and Greta. Sam glanced Greta’s way, but her expression was the same one she wore while playing poker—utterly unreadable.
Not even an inch, G?
Then again, he wouldn’t give her leeway in the same situation. It wasn’t personal, just business.
Fuck that. Everything was personal now. His life. Michael’s life.
Malik closed the door and gestured at the table. “Please have a seat.” It wasn’t a request.
They all obeyed. Malik remained standing. “Greta has told me you two are involved in a relationship with each other, yes?”
“Yes,” Michael said. “And it’s my fault. I—”
Malik held up a hand. “Fault, no fault. That’s not important.”
No, it really wasn’t. Still, there were details that were. “It’s mutually consensual,” Sam said. “And began prior to us knowing we’d be working together.”
“Ah,” Dr. Malik said. “That’s good to know.” He gripped the back of one of the chairs. “Though a workplace relationship with an employee is not very politic. Your record speaks better of you, Mr. Anderson.”
That was a bit of a punch to the gut. Sam took a measured breath and ignored the warmth in his face. “It does. This situation is—unique. Unexpected.”
Michael shifted in his chair. “He didn’t, in any way, take advantage of the situation.”
“Did you?” Malik had golden-brown eyes, sharp as a hawk’s.
Michael didn’t flinch under that gaze. “No.”
