Page 48 of The Girlfriend Clause
“I’m sorry to snap. But you’re not in the RAF anymore. I’m concerned this could cause problems down the line—it was a very strange start to your leadership here.”
“It’ll be fine, Bonnie,” I said. “I fucked up. I get it. It was just nice to talk to someone who wasn’t standing on ceremony. She had no clue who I was and—”
“You liked it,” Bonnie finished for me.
I paused.
“Yes. I liked it.”
Of course I did. I didn’t get to bemevery often anymore. But it was more than just that. Andrea was so… real. Funny. Nothing like the dead-eyed execs I usually worked with, or the hangers-on looking for access to a yacht.
Andrea didn’t care about my money or status. None of that had mattered to her because she didn’t know.
And because she didn’t know, telling her my full name, my job, didn’t even occur to me. I could just… talk to her. Like a normal person.
Fuck. She was beautiful. And today, even moreso.
And the sex had been insane.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. About her.
“Right. Well. Have you decided how you’re going to navigate a recovery from this? What’s your plan?”
“I’ll have a chat with her. It was a simple misunderstanding.”
“Yes, of course. Like theTitanicwas a simple navigation error.”
“I’m sure she’ll be okay with it.” Or she might have been, if I hadn’t fled the scene after we’d fucked.
But Bonnie was correct. I had to make it right. It had been a simple mistake, but Andrea had paid the price. That wasn’t fair.
“You know, Liam, I’m your strategic and legal adviser, not your love life consultant. Perhaps I should addrelationship counselorto my LinkedIn?”
“I understand. I’ll fix it.” This probably wasn’t the right time to mention that we’d actually had sex. In hindsight, Bonnie wasn’t likely to think that was a strategically wise move.
“I hope so. Because it’s going to be hard enough to make the changes you want to at Novexia as it is. Redundancies are a minefield, especially in the UK. The last thing we need is you bringing in more risk because of—well, whatever that was all about.”
Chapter 10
Andrea
“We are officiallyat DEFCON 1.” James pressed a fist into his hand and rolled his fingers, as if he were running a war room from the corner of the packed bar. It was six o’clock, the start of the welcome party. Behind him, the view of London sprawled out in every direction.
“Shit, Andy, what are you going to do? We need more espresso martinis.” Kelly waved a waiter over. “Thank God Novexia’s paying for drinks.”
“Fuck,” I said. “How did I not know it was him?”
“More to the point, how did you not tell us you’d slept with him?” asked James.
“I didn’t think I’d see him again.”
“Nothing wrong with a hookup,” said Kelly.
“Just not this one,” I said.
“Is it that bad, though?” mused James. “I mean, on the one hand, you’ve ruined your own life by telling your new boss—who happens to be a billionaire investor—that he’s a giant douchebag and a capitalist pig.”
“Also, a sociopath,” I said wretchedly. Fuck. How could I? To hisface? Maybethatwas why he’d left?
