“It’s okay if you change your mind.” He sounded pained but sincere. “Don’t feel like youhaveto move to San Francisco. Do I want you here permanently? Hell yes. But I know how much you love New York, and if you want to move back after B-school, we’ll make it work. They invented phones and Skype and airplanes for a reason.”
Olivia’s heart hurt so much it was hard to breathe. “That’s not it. Iwantto stay here with you.” Her chin wobbled.
Sammy’s expression grew alarmed. “Then what is it? Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “Like I said, long day.”
“Liv, we promised we’d be honest with each other.” His firm tone brooked no opposition. “So be honest. Tell me what’s wrong and we’ll work it out—together.”
“You have enough to worry about. I don’t want to stress you out more.”
“You not telling mewillstress me out more. C’mon.” Sammy’s mouth quirked. “What could be worse than having a customer find a roach in one of your products?”
Olivia cracked a smile. At least he’d reached the point where he could joke about it—sort of.
He was right, though. He’d stress more if he didn’t know what was going on than if he did, so she told him about Michael’s ultimatum. She barely got the words out without screaming in frustration.
Once she finished, Sammy drew back, looking like he’d been sucker-punched. “Your boss really said that to you?”
“Yeah.” Olivia reached for another dumpling for comfort, only to discover there were none left.Great.“It’s so stupid. I have to talk to HR about this. There’s no way—I mean, they can’t police my personal life like this. There has to be a loophole or something I’m missing. Or I can find another job,” she rambled, her mind running a million miles a minute as she searched for a way out of this mess. “I have a great resume, and there are other private equity firms in San Francisco.”
“But will you be able to land a vice-presidency right out of B-school at those other firms?”
She faltered. They both knew the answer: no. She’d have to work for another two years at least before she could earn a VP slot at a new company, and the chances of her getting hired straight into the position were slim to none.
“It’s just a few extra years.” Her stomach churned with nausea. “I’ll work my way up like I did before.”
Sammy scrubbed a hand over his face. “Liv...”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Yes, it is. It’s a huge deal. The VP position is all you’ve talked about.”
“This whole thing will blow over.” Olivia said this to convince herself as much as Sammy. “Those stupid wannabe-paparazzi shots were a one-time thing. Look, I don’t have to decide until the end of summer. I’ll come up with a convincing argument before then. I’ll convince PHC our relationship isn’t a threat to my reputation—which is such bullshit, anyway—once the heat dies down, and they’ll agree. The end.”
Sammy’s jaw tensed. “I don’t want you to throw away your career for me. What if they don’t agree? What if they fire and blackball you?”
The nausea intensified.
“I’m not throwing away anything.” Olivia lifted her chin, trying to project calm confidence. “Let’s see how this plays out first, okay?”
“Sure.” Sammy’s tone was muted, his expression shuttered.
“It’ll be fine.” She pressed her lips to his and sent a fervent prayer up to the heavens. “We’llbe fine.”
Please, God, let us be fine.