AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sure. Because that’s believable.” She arches an eyebrow. “So, if it was a real emergency, tell me about it.”
Yeah, how exactly am I supposed to answer that? Does she really think I made up the work emergency? That it was just a line I used to sneak out? No wonder she’s so fucking pissed.
Of course, that doesn’t change anything. “I can’t discuss my clients with you.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
“I have a fiduciary obligation to?—”
“You’re an infuriating man to have a fight with.”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“So, what? Ian is your boss?”
“Again, I can’t?—”
“He must be your boss. Otherwise, why would the NDA have come from you?”
“Obviously, you’re free to draw your own conclusions.”
Just like obviously, it’s not the answer I wish I could give her. I wish I could tell her everything.
That I could map out for her every interaction we’ve had over the past six months and how each of them affected me. How I made one questionable mistake after another, so that now our lives are weirdly intertwined and my loyalties are twisted into a knot. But I can’t tell her all that. Not just because of my fiduciary obligation to my client, but because I have no idea how she’d respond.
“But you’re the one who hired Savannah?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you hire her?”
“Has she talked to you about her job?”
“Yes. And, no she hasn’t violated her NDA or anything.”
“I wasn’t suggesting she had.” It’s more that I’m trying to get Trinity to make guesses on her own, though, honestly I’m not sure what the point would be.
As far as I can tell, Ian has it bad for Savannah. And I have no idea if Savannah returns that interest or not. And it’s not my business either way. My only concern is protecting Ian. And I don’t know how I can do that and come clean with Trinity.
“I know all the things that she could tell me when she was first hired. That she needed to live on location and that she couldn’t talk about her boss. Since you had me sign my NDA, I know who her boss is. That’s it.”
“Well there you go. Now you know why she was hired. Ian needed someone on site to cook for him.”
Trinity leans forward abruptly. Propping her elbows on her knees and studying me with a disconcerting focus. Like she’s trying to peel back all the layers of my lawyer speak to reveal the meaning underneath. I’ve never felt more vulnerable. I want to pour out my soul to this woman. To share every secret I’ve ever had.
Which just proves how dangerous she is to me and all the reasons I need her to walk away. I have no idea if I’ll ever be strong enough to walk away myself.
“But that doesn’t answer my question,” she says softly, pleadingly. “Why hire her? Why Savannah? Out of all the private chefs in Austin, why hire my sister?”
“You don’t think she’s qualified?” I shoot back, because the real answer would terrify her. God knows, it terrifies me.
“Obviously, my sister is qualified. If anything she’s overqualified. She ran the kitchen at one of the most popular restaurants in Austin. And she’s an amazing chef.”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is. Your sister was hired to do a job that she is qualified to do and she’s going to be well paid for it.”
“Don’t be an idiot. My problem isn’t how much she’s being paid.” She drops her fingers to her knee and starts drumming them like she’s puzzling through something. “It’s a question of timeline.”
“In what way?”
