Touching the Billionaire - Holly Jaymes Page 0,43
the condo and went to her room to pack a bag, and twenty minutes after that, we were in her car with bottles of water and snacks, heading out into the Manhattan traffic to make our hundred-mile journey to Woodstock.
Once we got out of the city and the traffic lightened a little bit, my sister turned on her eighties music. It always made me roll my eyes, but I had to admit, it was good music for driving.
“So, is this impromptu trip because something’s going on with you or just for fun?” Nadine asked.
“I just needed some time out of the hustle and bustle of the city and I don’t have to work until mid-next week, so now was a good time.”
She cast a glance at me like she didn’t quite believe me. “Are you sure this doesn’t have to do with all that stuff in the news about you and Theo?”
“I told you that was nothing. Theo and I are friends. We’re working together well, but that's it.” Maybe if I said it enough, I would believe it too.
She was quiet for a moment and I thought perhaps she let it go, but then she asked, “Why are you hiding things from me?”
“I'm not,” I lied. Normally, Nadine and I were very close, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her about Theo and what had happened between us. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t trust her or had concerns that she wouldn’t give me good advice, because I knew I could and she would. Mostly I wanted to put him behind me. In talking about it, I would be reliving it which was the opposite of moving on.
To get the focus off of me, I turned the tables on her. “Plus, you’re never home. In fact, you’re the one that’s being secretive and keeping things.”
“I am not.” She swiveled her head at me quickly with her brows furrowed, and then just as quickly turned back to watch the road.
“You can’t possibly be working all those nights you say you’re going to be out late,” I argued.
“Why not? Being an entertainment lawyer in Manhattan is a lot of work. It involves long hours.” The way she shifted in her seat and how her fingers flexed and then gripped the steering wheel made me think that I was on the right track.
“So what’s really going on?” I asked.
“What’s going on is that I feel like you’re hiding something from me. And yet here you are, poking at me for hiding something from you.”
“So, you admit hiding something.”
She made a growling sound of frustration. “There’s really not much to tell. I am working, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t mixing a little bit of pleasure with the business.”
I grinned, all of a sudden feeling cheered up that my sister was having an office affair. “So who is he? And why is it such a secret?”
She was quiet again for a moment, but I could tell she was contemplating what she should tell me or maybe how much she should tell me.
“He’s my boss.”
“Your boss, meaning one of the big partners of the firm?” I asked, surprised.
“No. He’s not that high in the food chain. But he is above me. I work directly under him.”
I snickered at her choice of words, which was immature but I couldn’t help it.
She smirked at me. “Grow up.”
I was filled with so many questions like how long had her affair had been going on, and how serious was it?
But instead, I asked, “Is that why it’s a secret, because he’s your boss?”
“Yes. It’s against the rules for someone who is directly in charge of another person to engage in any type of personal activities.”
It occurred to me that I was in the same situation with Theo. He was head of his own production company that was producing the film. As such, he was my boss, and could fire me or impact my career. Not that I thought he would, but still, I realized that by seeing him, the situation was even much more complicated, and potentially disastrous, than I’d initially thought. He was in a position to make or break my career.
I ignored the wave of concern that brought and focused on Nadine again. “Are you feeling something for him?”
Her head see-sawed side to side. “I suppose I am.”
I nodded. “I figured.”
She glanced at me again. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re smart. You wouldn’t put your career on the line just for some