Page 47 of The Girlfriend Clause
“We both checked out fine with the medics. I assume HR is all over it already?”
“Of course.” She smiled tightly. “But she’ll need counseling. This doesn’t just disappear because it’s a public car park and not Novexia’s own building. We lease those spaces. We need to be cautious.”
“I realize that. I trust you have it all in hand.”
“I do. Just please, Liam—don’t make this any worse than it already is.”
“I’m not stupid.”
A pause. “So you haven’t spoken to her since the incident?”
“Not since yesterday, no. And then… at the meeting.”
The room was silent.
“Pretty, wasn’t she?” Bonnie’s tone was suspicious. I didn’t reply.
“And I suppose you introduced yourself yesterday? Since you were stuck in the lift together for half an hour?”
“Yes.”
“Liam …”
“Yes. I told her my name.”
“Of course. That was clear from how she shouted it across the floor. Three times.” Bonnie stared at me.
I looked over at my bedside table. Might be wise to turn on the TV. I reached for the remote and pointed it at the screen.
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t suppose you happened to mention you’d just bought the company she worked for, did you?”
I clicked on Netflix and started scrollingToday’s Top Picks. The algorithm helpfully suggestedLove Actuallyat the top of the queue. Even my TV was taking the piss.
“Can we talk about this tonight? I’m a bit jet-lagged.” I moved my cursor toContinue Watching for Liamand hovered overRick and Morty. If I clicked the icon, Bonnie would lose her mind, but at least we’d be discussing animated pickle science instead of my corporate ineptitude.
“Liam, you weren’t in a bar.”
I decided it wasn’t safe to hitResume.
“You were on the way to meet the entire company as the new owner. What the hell happened?”
Not an entirely unfair question. Bonnie turned her head to the screen behind her.
“Really? Cartoon nihilism? That’s your escape plan?”
I put down the remote. Maybe she’d have been less pissy if I’d been watching Bloomberg on loop like a real CEO.
“It just sort of—” I paused. “We got talking, and thenthe lift fell, and she was shaken up. There didn’t seem to be a right time.”
“Perfect, yes. Much better to wait until you were in a room of a couple of hundred people so she could make a total tit of herself. A masterclass in corporate diplomacy. They should put it inthe Harvard BusinessReview.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. It did sound terrible when you put it like that. “I really didn’t mean for that to happen,” I said. “I was just enjoying talking to her, and—”
“You decided transparency was optional at that juncture?”
“Bonnie. I didn’t know she worked at Novexia, all right?”
She softened slightly.
