“But, how did you find out?”
“That was pretty simple. I hired a private investigator. Once he looked into Henry’s finances and offshore accounts, he followed him for the past three weeks, and discovered he was sitting down with companies, talking up Arthur’s latest idea.” Noah sat back, taking a sip of his water that the waiter had already left them.
“Wow, I can’t even believe this. Arthur adored his nephew.”
“Well, now he gets to make an informed decision on who he allows to remain close. Personally, I’d make sure it was someone he could trust and was vetted constantly. In this business, it’s cutthroat.”
“Did you find out about all of this before it was too late?”
“We’ll see. I’ll be investing in Arthur’s company. Of course, I’ve also told him that you’re non-negotiable.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“He didn’t have the first clue that you’d taken several pay cuts and were living in a shithole.”
“Hey, there is nothing wrong with my apartment.”
“Well, after we enjoy our victory meal, you can take me to your apartment and tell me all the good things about it.”
“Noah, no.”
“That’s because it’s a shithole.”
“No. It’s because I don’t want to. You don’t have to come into my life and judge me.”
“I’m not judging you. I never have. You deserve a pay raise, and that’s what you’re going to get. You’ll be overseeing my financial department but also the merger with Sanderson’s, and your insight will be needed.”
They paused while the waiter handed them the menus. She smiled at the man and took it even as she was so angry at being ordered about what she was supposed to do.
“You didn’t ask me,” she said.
“I don’t need to ask you. It’s good for you.”
“Noah, I don’t like this.”
He closed his menu and sighed. “We can talk about this part in my office tomorrow morning. For now, it’s not going to be charged. I’ve got valid reasons for you sticking around.”
“Screwing me is not a valid reason.”
“I’m not keeping your around for a fuck, Skye. Don’t even mistake me for that kind of man. I know you’ve got a brilliant mind. You helped to tutor me when all I could give a fuck about was getting laid and playing the game.”
“Why did you stop playing?” she asked.
When he left with his father’s promotion taking him far away, she’d never gone looking for him. Since working in his office, during one of the lunch breaks she’d stayed in the office for, she did some research on him.
Not long after he left, his football days had come to an end. He won a couple of games, but that was it.
“I decided that playing a game no longer appealed to me. It was all fun and made getting girls easy, but it wasn’t something I was interested in. I hit the gym, worked out, trained, but didn’t play. All of my focus went into my studies. Whenever I was in the library, I’d think about you.”
“You would?”
“Of course. I’d wonder if you’d caught up on all that work we’d missed. If you were even struggling. You were always so bright, so intelligent. I know I drove you crazy with the way I was.”
“You were always so capable of doing the work. Then out of nowhere you wanted me to do all the work myself.”
“There’s a reason for that. I lied. It wasn’t just because I didn’t want to do the homework. I enjoyed hanging out with you, and I shouldn’t. I know there was no way we could have been together not with how I was, or who I was. You were always so smart. For a short time, a day, maybe, I thought flirting with you would get me what I wanted, but it didn’t.”
“I don’t handle flirting very well.”