FIVE
Lana
After dinner, Josephtook me back to my place like the perfect gentleman, though I could tell that it was taking all of his restraint to not touch me, just as it was killing me to not touch him. I was on unfamiliar territory, unsure of what move to make here with him. But my fingers were twitching with the urge to touch him.
He was so close, and yet, he felt so far away.
He kissed me sweetly at my door, and he waited until I was inside of my apartment before walking back to his car and driving away.
I leaned back against my front door and drew in a deep shaky breath, pressing my hand to my pounding heart.
I was in so, so deep with Mr. Russo.
And honestly, I never wanted out. If I got to have him, I would gladly continue drowning.
? ? ?
The next morning, I grabbed both mine and Joseph’s coffees as I normally did and carried it up to our floor. Thankfully, the door was propped open, so I used my hip to push it open enough for me to slide in.
He looked up from his desk with a frown on his face. I halted, suddenly unsure. Was I supposed to have waited? Normally, he would send me a message or something along those lines to let me know to wait until nine on the dot to come in if he needed privacy.
“Am I too early?” I quietly asked.
“Sorry, Lana. No.” He stood from his chair and walked over to me, taking his coffee from my hand. He set it on his desk, turning back to face me. “There’s been a bit of an issue.” He gestured to my desk. “You might want to sit down for this one.”
Swallowing nervously, I set my coffee down, dropping my purse on my desk as well before I carefully sat down, my eyes wary as I watched him shut the office door, keeping anyone from overhearing our conversation.
“A reporter caught us together last night – specifically on your doorstep when I kissed you.” He informed me.
Oh, no. Everything was on the line now. My reputation. My job. God, his reputation. What would his business partners think? His investors? All of our new, potential clients?
My face paled. “We’re all over the headlines, Lana.” He tapped his fingers on my desk, seeming agitated. “I was hoping to contain all of this before it could explode, but the media works a hell of a lot faster than my publicity department.”
“So, what now?” I asked him, almost afraid of the answer.
He sighed. “I’ve already got the publicity department working to give out my statement.”
“Which is?” I asked him.
He sighed, raising those dark eyes to meet mine. “That I have been in love with my assistant for two years, and while I understand that our relationship is a bit taboo, I fully intend to continue standing by your side.”
My cheeks warmed, my heart melting in my chest. Before I could respond, though, my desk phone rang. Frowning, I reached forward and picked it up, putting the phone between my ear and shoulder as I quickly turned towards my computer and began to log in, thinking it was something I might need my computer for. Normally, any phones calls I received were. “Mr. Russo’s office.” I greeted. “Lana speaking.”
“Lana, I will need to see you down in the HR department as soon as possible, please.” Renee, the head of HR told me.
A bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I flickered my eyes towards Joseph. He clenched his jaw, stepping closer to me, his hand settling over my shoulder. A low rumble sounded from his chest, his eyes narrowed down at me, his hand tightening the slightest bit.
“Um, yes, Renee. I’ll be right down.”
I hung up the phone and stood. Joseph grasped my shoulders, halting me before I could move around him. “What does she want?” He asked me.
“For me to come down to HR.” I told him.
He reached up and traced my bottom lip as it trembled. I couldn’t afford to lose my job. I would never regret being with Joseph, but I was so fucked if I lost my job. “Then, we’ll go.” He told me.
“We?” I asked him. “She only wanted to see me, Joseph.”
“This may be their attempt to fire you or make you quit to save face, and I won’t allow that to happen. I won’t replace you as my PA, and I’m certainly not allowing you to take the fall for this all by yourself when I’m the one who initiated everything in the first place.” He grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”