“Because I have a conscience. As much of a dick as he is, I couldn't live with myself if he got fired over this.”
“What about you? What you're saying is, in getting him off the hook, you’re risking your own job.”
“If you have to fire me, I'll deal with it,” I told him with more certainty than I possessed.
“I won't fire you, Leah. In spite of the amount of stupidity you’ve shown this weekend, you are damn good at your job. I won’t lose you.”
“So what's going to happen now?”
“I need you to stay here. I'll call Taylor and McCoy in so we can sort this out once and for all.”
Richard immediately contacted Radleigh and Taylor, and they were told to be in the training ground restaurant in an hour. Seemed like a slightly weird meeting place to me, returning to the scene of the non-existent crime. It was definitely bigger than Richard’s office though, which was a good thing. I wanted to be as far away from all of them as possible. Being crammed in the office would be too uncomfortable for words.
My head had been aching almost constantly for twenty-four hours. First it was a hangover, then guilt, panic, shame and anger. Exhausted with all the emotion, I waited in the restaurant for everyone to arrive and tried to ready myself for my last huge hurdle of the day.
I hadn’t thought about Taylor much. My mind had been too occupied with Miguel. Just thinking about the expression on his face when I told him about Radleigh made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. I planned to do just that as soon as I reached the privacy of home.
“Hey.”
I jumped at the sound of McCoy’s voice. I’d been so immersed in my thoughts, I hadn’t heard him come in.
“Hi. It's not like you to be early for a meeting.”
“Well, it's very rare for me to be called to a meeting where I’m the victim.”
I smiled at the truth of his statement.
He’s not that innocent. Don't forget who you're dealing with.
“Leah, I want to thank you for … for telling the truth.”
Looking up at him, I said, “You knew I would.”
“No I didn't. I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn’t after the way I've treated you.”
“Quit trying to butter me up,” I told him, sharply. “I've already confessed, there's nothing more I can do.”
“I'm trying to apologise.”
“For what?” I challenged. “For making my job harder than it should be? For trying to land me in trouble? What exactly are you sorry about?”
He rested his hands down on the table and leaned forward slightly.
“I’m sorry for everything. But I’m not sorry we slept together.”
As much as I’d tried to block out the events of that night, I knew Radleigh would never let it drop.
“I’m not buying this new, thoughtful you,” I told him. “At least when you were being devious, it was real.”
“You bought it on Friday night.”
“On Friday night you weren't putting on an act.”
“Wasn't I?”
“No. You weren't.”
“Well, if that eases your conscience …”