Between You and Me

by Lynn Turner

  “I signed a nondisclosure agreement. He has his reasons—reasons that I think are valid—Admirable! Since you’re so resourceful, perhaps you should discover them for yourself,” she said, throwing the word back at him with disdain. “You might find that his reasons surprise you.”

  She glared at him from across his desk. His jaw tightened. Obviously, his pride was taking a beating. In all the time they’d known each other, he had never been the subject of such contempt in her eyes. But she was unmoved, crossing her arms over her chest.

  His lips tensed. “Perhaps, but whatever his intentions, there is still the matter of optics.”

  They obviously weren’t speaking as friends any longer.

  “I’ll handle it,” Emanuela said, coolly.

  “See that you do.”

  ****

  Emanuela rubbed her temples in agitation. She was driving poor Lydia crazy all afternoon, working with her on a plan to legitimize Finn’s charity and make Hurst Capital look good. After countless calls to former clients and business acquaintances, setting up meetings with event planners and searching for an appropriate venue, they finally had a solution Emanuela believed Philip would go for. She left Finn a voice message urging him to call whenever he was able, but she hadn’t heard from him yet. He was probably busy networking, or preparing for the next stop on his and Simon’s talking tour.

  She sighed. She hated having to tell Finn that his charity was about to go public in a very big way—much sooner than either of them had anticipated. She only hoped her plan would be successful enough to make it up to him somehow.

  “I’ll go ahead and draft a program template for you, Miss Monroe. I can have it for you within the hour,” Lydia said.

  “You’re a life saver, Lids. Hey, before you go—”

  Lydia looked up at Emanuela, gathering her notes. “Miss Monroe?”

  “I-if this event is approved, it will be my last task for Hurst Capital. I’ll be resigning shortly after.”

  “Oh,” Lydia said, her face downcast.

  “I know it’s happening fast,” Emanuela said. “For me, too. I didn’t intend to resign for a few months, but circumstances have come up that—” She took a deep breath, uncertain of how to proceed with her explanation since she hadn’t quite thought it through yet.

  “There’s no need to explain, Miss Monroe,” Lydia said. “I have a friend at Titan Insurance Agency who says there’s a position opening there soon. All I’d need is your recommendation and—”

  “Of course! I’ll call over there today and put in a good word for you.”

  Lydia gave her a solemn smile. “Thank you so much, Miss Monroe. I’m really going to miss working for you.”

  “You just let me know if you ever decide to move cross-country,” Emanuela said, half serious.

  “I will, Miss Monroe.”

  ****

  “Emmi,” Finn said when Emanuela picked up her line. “Sorry I missed you. We just finished touring some of the labs here and we’re breaking for lunch now.”

  “Sounds like you’re having a great time.”

  He frowned at the tension in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know that there’s an easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it straight out.”

  He stiffened. “Okay.”

  “Philip was monitoring your emails during your visit here a few weeks ago.”

  Finn sucked in a breath.

  She must have heard, because she spoke again quickly. “He kept it strictly to opened correspondence in your inbox. He assured me nothing else was compromised.”

  “Great. Then I guess it’s okay.”

  “Finn—”

  “Why?”

  Emanuela sighed. “He thought I looked uncomfortable and suspected that maybe—that you were—”

  “Sexually harassing you? Is that it?” He scoffed. “I’m sure he did. I’m also one hundred percent sure he’s lying.”

  “I believe him.”

  Finn cursed.

  “He was way out of line for what he did,” she said, “but he thought he was looking out for me.”

  “You’re defending him?”

  “I’m not! I’m pissed too, Finn! He obviously should have asked me himself, but considering the circumstances…” Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. And that’s not even everything.”

  Finn sighed in exasperation, but didn’t say anything further.

  “He knows about your charity work,” she said.

  “Obviously.” His tone was biting but he couldn’t help it.

  “He voiced the same concerns I had when you first told me.”

  Finn’s disbelieving laugh was his only answer.

  “I didn’t expect this to happen, Finn. I worked hard on the plan I shared with you, but I didn’t want to move on it until you had time to think about it. The nonprofit hasn’t even been registered yet.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means the timeline has changed. I don’t want to rush you, but I have a plan that will get your nonprofit up and going faster than we hoped. Hurst Capital will host a fundraising event for your charity. It’ll be formal, to attract influential people with deep wallets. It’s the best thing I could come up with that will make the firm look good, but only benefit your work. It’s fool-proof, Finn. Let me make this up to you.”

  Pressure built between his temples. He appreciated her efforts, but no matter how diplomatic she worded it, he was being manipulated because a very powerful, very insecure man decided to snoop through his emails. It was insult to injury and frankly, he was pissed. “Fine. Whatever you need.”

  “I’ll just need a name for it so I can get it registered and start moving on this,” she said quietly.

  “Give me a few hours.”

  “Okay.”

  The silence seemed to drag for an eternity.

  “Finn—”

  “I have to go,” he said stiffly, and he hung up.

  ****

  A couple of hours later, Emanuela stood in Philip’s office, too wired after her tense conversation with Finn and too annoyed with her boss to even bother to sit down. He was reviewing the rough draft of her plan, which looked even more promising, she had to admit, with the program mockup Lydia designed.

  “Is it satisfactory?” Emanuela asked when Philip finally looked up.

  “It is.” When she didn’t immediately turn on her heel to leave, he spoke again. “Em—”

  “You knew it wasn’t harassment, didn’t you?”

  He sighed, his shoulders sagging. “Yes.”

  She nodded. “I’m tendering my resignation.”

  “Emanuela…”

  She couldn’t even meet his eyes. Instead, she looked somewhere to the side of him, speaking robotically. “Two weeks from this event, I’ll no longer be working for Hurst Capital. I’ve compiled a shortlist of qualified replacements whom I’m confident will meet your expectations.”

  Philip searched her eyes. “Your mind is made up then.”

  She nodded once and, without another word, left his office. Her legs were a wobbly mess, her stomach twisted itself into a pretzel, and the beginnings of a migraine throbbed in her head, but she swore she heard him quietly sobbing before his assistant closed his office door.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Emanuela tapped away at her tablet, and Finn raked his fingers through his hair. They’d been at it for about an hour, batting potential names back and forth for the non-profit he wasn’t sure he was ready to present to the world yet. The process was meticulous, each name needing to be checked through multiple databases to make sure it and anything remotely similar hadn’t already been taken. It was a grueling day for them both, and the added tension from what Philip had done was like a third party in their conversation. It reminded them both of the reason they were sitting there in the first place. Emanuela looked slightly more optimistic this time, checking the final name in each of the databases.

  “Well
?” he asked, waiting for the verdict.

  A few more taps and her chest rose and fell in a deep sigh of relief. “It checks out! Thank God.”

  She smiled at him, clearly pleased with their accomplishment. He’d given her a brief explanation for the meaning behind each of the potential names to help her determine an angle for branding.

  “The name is perfect,” she said, happily. “Best for last. I’ll get a rush on registration first thing in the morning. There’s quite a bit of paperwork—tax exemption and all of that—but I’ll take care of it. The final step is to get a website up and running. People feel more confident making donations to organizations with an online presence.”

  He trusted her expertise completely, but he was growing tired of the tedious work at the late hour, and was ready to call it a night. When he didn’t respond, she eyed him with a frown.

  She pushed her tablet and several documents on her countertop aside. “I didn’t want it to happen like this either, you know. I’m just trying to make the best of the situation.”

  He scoffed.

  She sighed. “You know what? I’ve had it. I don’t blame you for being withdrawn during this process, but I don’t respond well to passive aggression. Why don’t you just say what’s on your mind, Finn?”

  “I don’t respond well to a spoiled, entitled grown man hacking into my personal email account because he’s obsessed with my girlfriend.”

  She rubbed her temples. “What do you want me to do, Finn? I had no idea he was going to do that, and I was just as angry as you when I found out.”

  “Were you? Because, judging by the way you jumped to his defense—”

  “I did not jump to his defense! Why are you turning this around on me? He was completely out of line for what he did, and I said just that when I confronted him about it. It wasn’t illegal, and he’s still my boss. There isn’t anything else I can do.”

  He cursed beneath his breath. “You did defend him. You had no idea what his motive was or whether he went into my hard drive or not, but you seemed pretty confident—”

  “Because I was. Initially.”

  “That’s very naïve.”

  “We were friends. It’s not naïve to give your friend the benefit of the doubt. He thought he was protecting me.”

  “Right. From sexual harassment, was it?”

  “Finn…”

  “The man told you he was in love with you, Emmi! You’re perceptive—you should have seen right through him!”

  “That’s pretty condescending. And cynical. I’d rather be naïve than expect the worst from someone I trust.”

  “I don’t have the pleasure of knowing him as well as you do, so forgive me if I don’t trust him the way you obviously do.”

  She frowned. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  He sighed, immediately contrite. “Nothing, okay? We’re both tired, so maybe it’s best we talk tomorrow.”

  “No way.”

  He groaned. She wasn’t about to let him off the hook.

  “Explain yourself,” she said. “Because if what you meant is the same thing going through my mind right now, I don’t want to talk to you tomorrow.”

  “God, Emmi. I didn’t mean it.”

  “It’s interesting, isn’t it?” she asked with a humorless laugh. “You can believe that you love me—that I love you—when we’ve hardly been seeing each other for five months, but it’s naïve that I’d believe someone I’ve known for years.”

  “It’s different with us, Emanuela.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you love me. Because you know I don’t have any ulterior motives.”

  “Do I? Maybe it’s naïve to trust you after so little time. Maybe you’re miffed because I admitted to being attracted to him and it’s been eating you ever since.”

  He flinched. “I shouldn’t have called you naïve.”

  “But you did.”

  Finn rubbed his chin. “Put yourself in my shoes. You took his word for it because of your friendship without considering how his feelings had changed…without considering how that looks to me from so far away.”

  Her face fell.

  “Part of me understands why he did it,” he said. “I’d probably be tempted to do the same thing in his position. But you can trust me, Emmi.”

  Her body relaxed, and she released a calming sigh. “I know. We’ve both been on edge for hours and we’re taking it out on each other.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Me too. I should have been more sensitive to how you were feeling. Are you okay?”

  He really looked at her then, noticing the faint circles around her eyes for the first time, and he wanted to kick himself. He was so distracted by his own anger and annoyance that he didn’t appreciate how hard she was working to turn things around in his favor.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “I’ll talk to Philip when I’m ready, but I don’t like being pushed. I don’t like that something he did is forcing our hand.”

  “I don’t like it either, but it was already part of our plan, Finn. It actually works out much better than what I proposed. A gala is more significant than a few donors. I didn’t plan on quitting my job this soon, but we were arguing about whose mattress we’d keep and—”

  “You quit?”

  “Things got pretty heated between Philip and I. I told him I’m resigning two weeks after the benefit gala.”

  “Emmi—”

  “It’s okay. It’s just a few months ahead of schedule. I can be a tourist—rent something in Seattle until you make an honest woman out of me.”

  Finn was pretty sure he could read every thought going through her mind, and he would have laughed out loud if he didn’t know how vulnerable she was allowing herself to be for him. “Emmi, I would marry you tomorrow if you were ready, but I’m willing to wait until you are.”

  She gasped, trembling visibly, her eyes becoming great big glassy pools.

  “Emmi?”

  “How soon can you get here?”

  ****

  Seven Weeks Later

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Em.” Allie fell into step with a throng of evening rush-hour foot traffic along Spring Street in Soho, practically shouting at Emanuela through the phone. “We’re not not celebrating your birthday. Quit moping just because the Good Doctor can’t make it or I’ll feel insulted.”

  “I’m not moping.” Emanuela sat at her desk trying to think of an excuse to cancel their plans for the evening. “I’m just tired. Let’s do something this weekend instead.”

  Allie stepped onto the curb. “I tuned you out after you said you weren’t moping. I might not be able to give you screaming orgasms—or whatever it is you do when you have them—what do you do, by the way?”

  “Allie!”

  “Fine—but you’re not ditching. Did you bring a change of clothes like I told you?”

  Emanuela mumbled incomprehensibly.

  “Good,” Allie said. “Look hot. I don’t want to upstage you on your birthday.”

  “I don’t know why we’re friends.”

  Allie stepped just out of the way of the subway entrance. “Love you too.”

  Emanuela frowned at the background noise on Allie’s end of the call. “Are you going home? You won’t make it back here in an hour.”

  “I forgot something, okay? Don’t worry, I’ll make it back. One hour, Em.”

  “Okay,” Emanuela said, resigned. “See you soon.”

  Allie hung up and sent a quick text message, then disappeared down the subway steps.

  ****

  Emanuela gave herself a final appraisal in her office mirror. She wore a blush colored cocktail dress that fit her like a sleeve and showed off her long legs. Turning, she admired the way the dress dipped to her waist and revealed the smooth, sinuous curve of her back. She tossed her hair a bit to give it some body after spending the day pinned up, slipped into her heels, and covered herself with the blazer she’d worn to work that morning. />
  “Goodnight, Miss Monroe,” Lydia said as Emanuela approached her desk. “And happy birthday.”

  “Thanks Lids!” Emanuela smiled. She was actually feeling up to a night out now. Then she thought of something. “Do I have any meetings tomorrow?”

  “No. You can indulge tonight,” Lydia said with a knowing smile.

  “I think I will. Go home. Nite, Lids!” She tapped a quick message to Finn and made her way to the elevators.

  —Heading out now. Allie is determined to get me drunk. Fair warning.—

  They video chatted early that morning so he could be the first to wish her a happy birthday. He knew not to send flowers since she could never manage to keep them alive longer than forty-eight hours. Instead, he had a card and truffles from Vosges Haute-Chocolates delivered to her office. She’d skipped lunch, shamelessly devouring all sixteen of the succulent sweets in flavors like sweet Indian curry and coconut, candied violet flower, and crunchy hazelnut praline.

  Finn and Simon had their hands full lately, supervising the arrival and installation of the new lab equipment at SimLife Laboratories, and a million other details that needed their undivided attention. Finn promised to make it up to her next weekend when he came to visit.

  She stepped from the elevator, smiling at his text response.

  —Sorry to be missing that. You’re a sexy drunk. Handsy.—

  She expertly navigated through the lobby without needing to look up, tapping her reply.

  —For your sake I hope not. ;)—

  She narrowly missed colliding with someone on her way through the sliding doors, and his response came a moment later.

  —What? Watch where you’re going.—

  She stopped in her tracks and looked up, her heart pounding. Oh my God. She saw no sign of him among the annoyed passersby who had to go around her as she stood puzzled on the sidewalk. Where are you? Then the sidewalk cleared and her lips parted.

  Finn’s wide, satisfied grin spread across his face and out through his eyes. He was a few yards down the street, leaning against the shiny curves of a 1981 vintage marathon yellow checkered cab.