AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sleeping in adjacent hotel rooms.
Why the hell did I agree to this?
I abandon the treadmill in the corner next to my bed and wobble through my studio apartment toward the kitchenette. As I chug a glass of water, I wonder if it’s too late to get out of it now. I could go to Graham and explain the situation. I could admit that Oliver and I have prior... relations that might compromise our work environment. That would be the responsible thing, right?
Or would it just... add unnecessary stress onto a man who needs all the help he can get right now?
I lean against the counter, holding in a gulp of air to curb my thumping pulse.
The fate of the company is in your hands, Paige.
No.
No, I can’t do that to Graham. He has more than enough to worry about.
I have to go on this trip. It’s just an audit; a task I’ve done hundreds of times. I literally wrote the company's handbook on it. There’s no reason I can’t handle five measly audits over the next two weeks.
Except for the most obvious of reasons.
I slept with the guy I’m going on the trip with.
Once, I remind myself. I slept with him once. It’s not like we were in a long-term relationship. It was one night. Four years ago.
Who cares?
I nod. “Who cares?” I say out loud to my empty apartment.
I sure don’t. And Oliver doesn’t seem to care, either, considering how normal he was last night. You know, when I totally lied to him about having errands to run this morning to get out of being alone with him. Hey, maybe he doesn’t even remember sleeping with me!
Hey.
Maybe he doesn’t even remember sleeping with me.
I pout. Yeah, like I really needed that hit to my self-esteem today.
“This is fine,” I say, reassuring myself as I rinse out my glass. “I can do this.”
I’ll go on this trip and do my job, I tell myself in the shower. I remind myself that I’m the right-hand lady to a billionaire CEO as I shave my legs. That I am a professional woman in a professional world and that I can do this.
I can do this.
I can conduct myself professionally with a man I’ve been unprofessional with. This doesn’t have to be awkward or weird.
I style my hair in a tight ponytail and do my make-up.
Simple.
Elegant.
Professional.
I put on the skirt and blouse I set out for myself last night and gather my suitcase and carry-on I also packed up the night before.
It’s time to go to work.
I step one foot out into my hallway and pause.
Wait!
