Maybe he is the kind of guy to cheat on his wife.
Fuck.
Is Travis even his real name?
Tears form in my eyes and a lump in my throat makes it hard to swallow. I can’t think about this any longer because it’s destroying me from the inside out. I turn to look at Leslie, my eyes brimming with tears.
“Hey, do you think can we hang out at Frank’s tonight? But like, not as a potential dating situation? I don’t think I could handle that right now.”
Leslie hugs me from the side. “Yeah, of course, sweetie. I’ll have Frank invite some folks and we can have a game night. How about that?”
“That sounds perfect. Thanks, Les.”
“You’re welcome. I love you, Pepper. You know I just want the best for you.”
I swallow and nod, while tears threaten to spill. But all the while, fears gnaw at my soul and make it hard to even think about anything but Travis. Why is he being like this? What is he hiding? And why did I look away for so long?8TravisMy assistant drops a file on my desk, peering at me over her horn-rim glasses. Lavender is a good name for my PA, seeing that her hair is currently dyed a filmy shade of pastel purple. I have no idea what’s going to happen when she decides to change her hair color.
“All good, Mr. Masters?”
I blink a few times. “What do you mean, Lavender?”
My assistant blinks at me from behind her glasses. “You’ve been kind of off these last few months. You’ve taken more long lunches and days off than I’ve seen since you took over the company. Are you sick or something? I heard there’s a virus going around.”
I chuckle. “No, I’m not sick.”
That is, unless falling in love is a disease. If it is, then I should be hospitalized. I chuckle internally and think to myself that I should be a poet. But I don’t say any of this aloud because Lavender would call the loony bin immediately if I did.
“Then what’s going on?” she demands, her hands on her hips.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I demur.
Unfortunately, this woman knows me too well and she’s stubborn to boot.
“You do. You’ve been distracted and largely absent, and you know that now is not the time to be shirking your duties as CEO of Keystone.”
I fix Lavender with a hard look. “I don’t need you to lecture me.”
She immediately softens.
“I’m not lecturing you,” she says in an appeasing tone. “I’m trying to ensure that this company has a future. I’d like to keep my job, and if you mess it up, I’ll be out on the streets.”
I roll my eyes. My assistant is one of the most dramatic people I know. If I become a poet, she should become an actress.
“I’d never let you end up on the streets. You don’t have to worry about that.”
She purses her lips, which today, are painted an odd shade of purple.
“Then tell me what’s bothering you so I can help fix it. Are the hours getting to you?”
“No, it’s nothing bad, I swear.” Then I take a deep breath and decide to come clean. “It’s good news, actually. I met someone.”
Lavender stares at me. “You’re acting this way because you have a girlfriend?”
“Why is that unbelievable?”
She rolls her eyes.
“In the three years I’ve been your assistant, I’ve never seen you date anyone for more than a couple months. Even then, you never referred to anyone as your girlfriend. It was always Samantha, Janie, Patricia, Amanda … oh, I could go on and on.”
I grimace.
“Yeah, but things are different now.”
“Mr. Masters, I don’t mean to sound cynical, but is this a good idea?”
I raise my brows. “Love is rarely a good idea, but it’s rewarding and worth the time and effort, or so I’ve heard.”
Lavender bites her lip. “Now doesn’t seem like the best time though. I mean, the merger is in full swing…”
“I am aware of what is going on with my company,” I growl. “Just because I’ve taken a couple days off doesn’t mean I’m shirking my responsibilities, as you say.” Clearly, my assistant is way too familiar with me, and she’s more like a friend now than a subordinate. Lavender raises a palm while nodding her head.
“Forgive me for being worried, but I just … well, you haven’t exactly made me feel better in the past five minutes.”
“Why is that, pray tell?”
“Because I can tell you’re thinking about this new girl of yours even as we’re having this conversation! You’re so in love that you’re totally losing it!”
Now, I’m getting angry.
“The conversation is about her, so naturally I’d have Pepper on my mind.”
But then Lavender purses her lips.
“Pepper? She does have a cute name, I’ll give her that,” Lavender says. Of course my assistant appreciates unique names given her own, and the fact that she named her daughter Magenta.