Page 132 of Sins of the Father

Jamison crosses his arms. “What are you referring to, Harper?”

I try to collect my thoughts.

“Harper, whatever it is, just tell me,” Jamison says.

I nervously glance between all of them. I take a deep breath. “When I was seventeen, Matt and I were sleeping together. He...he was my first.”

Steven’s eyes grow wide.

“Tell me you’re joking,” Jamison blurts out, and disgust fills his face.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“You kind of just dropped a bomb on me.”

I twist my fingers in my lap.

Quinn grabs my hand and admits, “Don’t feel bad. I slept with him, too.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s my fault. I thought Matt was a good guy and pushed him on Quinn.” Guilt covers Steven’s face.

“How did I not know this, Harper?” Jamison asks.

My gut flips. “No one knew about us. Matt didn’t want to tell you, and it went on for about six months. He kept promising he would talk to you as soon as this or that happened, but he had a new excuse every time he was supposed to tell you.”

“Sounds like the coward I know,” Steven mutters.

I nod. “There was this party, and I told him I wasn’t going because I had exams. Well, I got done studying early and decided to surprise him. When I got there, he was making out with a cheerleader from our school. They had been sleeping together the entire time he was with me.”

“Karen Blanch?” Jamison asks.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I was embarrassed. You and Chase were like brothers with him. For as long as I can remember, you three were together. When Chase found him in bed with his fiancée, I felt even worse for not telling you. If I had, you would have known what kind of person he is.”

“Don’t blame yourself for his actions,” Jamison says.

Steven runs his hand through his thick strawberry-blond hair. “I found out his true colors after Jamison told me what he did to Chase. Matt and I had a falling out, and he rubbed sleeping with Quinn in my face. We were at a bar and got into a fight. A few of our other co-workers broke us up.”

“He’s a pig,” Quinn states.

“Yeah, he is. So he’s trying to steal your job, Steven?” I fret.

“He’s been trying to undermine me since we parted ways. We were good friends. Well, I thought we were. We both got hired at the same time. I’ve risen in the company faster than him and am his boss. Since my promotion, he’s done several things that I can’t prove he’s responsible for, but I know he is.”

My stomach flips. “Do you think he’ll steal your job?”

“He’s going to do whatever he can to get it.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure yet. But Shira has my back. She’ll keep me posted if she finds out about anything.”

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