Page 44 of The Girlfriend Clause
Gerald continued. “And with the arrival of a bold, visionary leader—someone who truly embodies the entrepreneurial ethos that defines the Novexia spirit—we are ready toelevate. To ascend. To become more than the sum of our core deliverables.”
“We can’t do this right now.” I smiled, but I was starting to feel unnerved. Liam wasn’t leaving.
“You’re right, we can’t,” he said.
Finally. Thank the stars. Maybe I could still get him out of here before the crusty old German arrived.
“Andrea, I have to go. Can we talk later?”
What? Had to gowhere?
Heads started to turn toward the glass doors where we stood. We must have been making more noise than I realized. I grabbed Liam by his right arm and tried to steer him back toward the elevators, but he wasn’t moving. If anything, it felt like he was trying to move in the opposite direction.
Gerald’s voice was becoming louder. “So let us not wait for the future. Let usbethe future…”
Over Liam’s shoulder, I saw James doing a Ttime-outsign. He stared at me, eyes wide, and switched to a very vigorous neck-slicing move with his thumb.
The clapping intensified, and all the faces in the room turned to where we stood—me, on the edge of panic, and this out-of-place gym instructor who seemed to have no idea what was going on.Disaster.
“Liam.” I was calm, but urgent. “You have to go. Now. You’ll get me fired.” I didn’t seem to be able to get through to him.
The clapping grew louder.
“Andrea, I know—”
“No, you don’t,” I said, trying to harden my expression to convey the gravity of the situation. “It was sweet of you to come look for me, but you’ve got to leave. We can catch up some other time.”
How was he not getting it? Was it unfair to expect a fitness instructor to read the room at a big corporate event like this?
“And it is with enormous pride—and an energized heart space—that I welcome our new leader, and our newest teammate, Wilhelm von Roth.”
“I’m sorry, Andrea. We’ll talk soon,” he said kindly, after a beat.
Thank God.
I dropped his wrist and smiled, opening the glass door to the elevators.
But instead of heading through them, he looked toward Gerald and the leadership team, turned his smile up to megawatt level, and walked to the front of the room.
What the—
James was pointing frantically at Liam, shaking his head rapidly. Fuck. Von Roth was obviously here, and for someinexplicablereason, Liam was intent on inserting himself into the moment. Maybe the fall in the lift yesterday gave him a concussion? It was the only logical explanation.
The floor was now erupting with clapping and chatter. James’s eyes were so wide they looked like ping-pong balls. I couldn’t see von Roth yet, but clearly, we were out of time.
I had to stop him. If they found out he was here because ofme…
“Liam.”
I scurried after him, ignoring the stares of colleagues.
“Liam!” My voice was loud, but he couldn’t hear it over the cheers.
I glanced over the heads to the leadership team. Gerald was staring at Liam with an expression on his face I’d never seen before—was that shock, or fear?
My stomach lurched.
“LIAM!” I was closing in on him. I still had time.
