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“An NDA.”
“An NDA?”
“Yes. This is business, after all. And while the relationship will terminate a few months after I secure the company, I need to be sure this won’t ever come to light—what we’re doing.”
She looks up at me with a frown, her eyes calculating. “You’re very serious about this.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
With a sigh, I perch on the edge of the loveseat. I don’t want to tell her everything, but I do need her to understand.
“I’ve been at Dupont Analytics since the start. No one is a better fit for running it than I am, and if I don’t prove to Roy that I can handle long-term commitment to something, then he’ll give it to his stepson.”
Zach. Just the thought of him made my blood boil, but I suppressed it, not wanting Mel to see.
“It’s your baby,” Mel murmurs as she drops into the chair across from me.
My jaw tightens.It’s all I have.But I won’t say that to her, either. I need to keep a wall up. I can’t let her get close, not again.
“It’s a lucrative company that I’ve spent the last decade building from the ground up. I’d like to see it go further.” Calmly, I pull a checkbook out from my blazer’s inner pocket. “I’m assuming that’s enough to ensure your involvement and your discretion?”
There’s a moment of hesitation, but then Mel nods. Her eyes are glued to the check—half of the total amount—and there’s a sadness in them again. One that’s veiled, but I can see it. I know her well enough to know that she’s hiding something.
For a moment, I have the urge to ask if everything’s okay.
Then that night comes flooding back—the hurried voicemail.It’s not going to work out. Sorry, Jenson.
Just like that, she was gone. No explanation. My heart aches all over again, but it hardens me.
“And you think you and I…are plausible? As a couple?”
Another shrug. Obviously, Mel doesn’t think much of me, or authority in general. She’s made that clear. But then why did she take the job at one of the largest corporate offices in the county?
“We have a history. It’ll be easier to fake.” Another thing I don’t say:We were believable once; we were in love once. We can fake it all over again.
She looks away, a blush coloring her cheeks as her eyes scan the NDA.
“So there are certain stipulations in here about intimacy, I’m guessing? PDA?”
“Yes. And of course, we need to have our story straight. Everyone will be wondering why Dupont Analytics suddenly hired my fiancé.”
“About that…” she asks curiously.
“I emailed the head of HR this morning. We’ll be signing a disclosure Monday, before we leave for the retreat.”
“How long would we have to fake this? The retreat is just shy of two weeks, and I doubt Mr. Dupont will be convinced by a few days spent together.”
Smart girl. Now my smirk unfurls.
“A month. Two, at the most. He’ll be retired by then and I’m sure this is the last push he needs to hand it over to me. Like I said, I’ve been here since day one; no one knows the company better than I do.”
The questions in her eyes soften. What I’ve said has appeased her, and she sighs, pushing the shopping bags around aimlessly.
“Okay. Two months at the most. Let me read this over tonight, and I can have it to you Monday, signed, if I agree with everything.”
You will, I want to say.
