They were all staring at her.

Watching her every move as she made her way to an empty seat at the round conference room table. All of Dover’s conference room tables were round, to foster a certain egalitarian vibe.

None of that made her rising queasiness go away. The entire board was sitting at the table, staring daggers at her. Nobody said a word as Simon stepped in after her and took the empty seat beside her.

Like she’d predicted, everybody on the board was impeccably dressed. Suits for the men and pantsuits for the women. The board was totally different from the rest of Dover’s relatively laid-back staff. She suspected that none of the board members would ever dream of wearing jeans to work, and she was glad she managed to get Simon to wear his immaculate designer suit.

And right now, he looked unbelievably sexy in the Italian suit. It was perfectly tailored, and it gave him an aura of power. He might be in trouble with the board, but there was no denying that he was the one steering everything. Simon was in command of the room.

“Glad you could join us,” Linda said from her seat at the table.

Simon frowned. “You’re not a board member, Linda.”

“No. But we need a strong media person to deal with this situation,” Everett Eastman said. Heather ran through the list of those present. She knew Everett. He was an esteemed board member, brought in from Britain in the early days of the company to give it an air of polish. If Everett thought they needed to deal with the media that he loathed almost as much as Simon did, he was probably extremely unhappy.  

“I know what this is about.” Simon glanced at her, and her anxiety subsided. As terrifying as a meeting like this was, Heather knew she could get through it if Simon was on her side. “None of this is Heathers fault.”

“We’re not here to cast blame. All we want is to get to the bottom of this,” Everett said, his dark eyes narrowing. “Dover’s rules are quite clear. If there is a romantic relationship going on between two employees—CEO included—you’re expected to report it. Yet, no report has been made.”

“That’s my fault,” Heather murmured, hating that her face felt like it was heating up. “I told Simon not to—”

“What my assistant means is, I neglected my responsibilities,” Simon interrupted, shooting her a warning glare. “I should’ve made a report. I didn’t. There’s no excuse for what I did.”

She knew he had insisted on doing all the talking at the meeting, but she wasn’t going to stay silent while the board made accusations against him. This situation was just as much her fault as it was his. Simon had decided not to report their relationship because she had begged him not to.

Everett frowned. “Well, it looks like you two are going to defend each other. I can’t fathom why.”

“I’m in charge,” Simon said firmly. “I take full responsibility.”

“That’s all very well and good,” Everett barked. “But we have the media to contend with. They’ve been calling non-stop, trying to get information out of us. Apparently, they discovered this liaison of yours over the past few weeks and are ready to break the story.”

“How did they find out?” Simon demanded. “I’ve made my mistakes, but I’ve done my best to be discreet.”

“The family lawyer,” Everett muttered.

Simon looked at him quizzically. “What?”

“You hired a family lawyer a few weeks ago, didn’t you, Simon?” Linda asked.

“Yes, I did. A damn good one,” Simon replied. The way his eyebrows pressed together, he clearly wasn’t seeing the point.

“It looks like some underling at your lawyer’s firm went gossiping to the press about you hiring one of their family lawyers,” Linda said. “You don’t have a family, so it was unusual for you to have hired such a lawyer. That made the press do some snooping. And they figured out that you hired a lawyer to help your... uh, girlfriend.”

“Oh, crap.” Heather groaned. Gary. Her jerk of an ex-husband must have blabbed to the press.

After she had gotten Finn back from him her ex had called, and they’d gotten into a huge argument. He was the one who was ticked off, when she had every right to be mad. He’d kidnapped Finn. She bit her bottom lip to keep from saying anything to the board. It wasn’t any of their business. She’d gotten Gary calmed down by agreeing to let him come over to visit Finn, with her there supervising. The visit had gone well enough for Gary to swear up and down that he’d be more present for Finn in the future. He’d even promised to keep her fling with Simon a secret.

He hadn’t visited Finn in the month since then, which meant that part of his promise had already been broken. He’d probably broken his other promise by telling the press about her and Simon.

“Something on your mind, Ms. Hall?” Everett asked sharply.

“No,” she said. There was no use in bringing up the subject of Gary. It would just add even more drama, which was the last thing they needed.

Besides, Gary was the reason she’d closed the door on a relationship with Simon. After Simon had helped her get Finn back, she knew there was no way they could ever be together. Her son was her number one priority. She hadn’t even really gotten together with Simon, but even a brief fling with her boss had put her son in danger. Gary was still too jealous, and she owed it to her son to sort things out with his father. Starting a relationship with a man was out of the question. She could see that now.

Besides, the fling with her boss had also put Simon in a dangerous position. He’d agreed to pay for an expensive lawyer, and there was no way she could expect her boss to sacrifice more than he already had. She’d taken too much from him already.

“Heather isn’t my girlfriend,” Simon said firmly.

His words were like a needle in her heart. Sharp and unexpected. But Simon was right. She wasn’t his girlfriend. Not after she had made it abundantly clear the night she literally slammed the door in his face.

She had been so ready to be with him. So ready to finally open her heart to a man after all these years. Then Gary had kidnapped Finn, and that put everything in perspective. Her relationship with Simon was so fragile that it hadn’t even really gotten off the ground. But even just a few nights of hot sex had been so passionate and so explosive that it consumed everything around them. Nobody was safe with them together, her son least of all.

Not to mention Simon’s career was at stake, and she refused to ask him to jeopardize everything he’d worked for. She wasn’t worth a billion-dollar company.

Everett stroked his graying beard, deep in thought. “So, what exactly is the nature of your relationship?”

“There is no relationship.” There was no anger in his voice. In fact, there was nothing in his voice that gave away anything. Simon sounded like he was completely over her. Not that she blamed him. After she had so harshly rejected him, it made sense for him to move on. Even if she hadn’t. Even if going to work every day was both the best and the worst thing she could do.

Seeing Simon every day made her ache. Filled her with a regret she had never known. But seeing him also made the ache go away. Because she got to spend time with him. And spending time with Simon was better than being away from him.

The desperate, painful longing that she carried with her all the time now was better than all the years she had spent away from him. It was crazy, and she couldn’t explain it. Miserably pining over Simon while he worked in the next office was better than never getting to see him. Her schoolgirl crush had morphed into an obsession. It was like Simon was a drug she never wanted to quit. A habit she couldn’t break. She knew that wanting her boss was trouble for her but, damn, it felt so good.

Everett crossed his arms, eyes laser-focused on Heather. “Did you or did you not have a sexual relationship with your boss?”

Heather squirmed in her seat, the question making her too anxious to sit still. This was beyond embarrassing. If they had reported what they’d done, like Simon had wanted, this cross-examination probably wouldn’t be happening. But she had been so terrified of anyone at Dover knowing what she had done that she had begged Simon not to report anything.

Regret began to mix with her anxiety. “I did,” she blurted out.

The board members gasped audibly. Some began to speak in hushed tones.

Her face flushed. The embarrassment was turning into total humiliation. More than a dozen people were quietly judging her, and she had never felt so small. So foolish.

She didn’t get into trouble like this. She had spent her entire life following the rules. But with Simon back in her life, she had grabbed trouble with both hands. Tossed caution to the wind.

Simon glanced at her and cleared his throat. “We did have a sexual relationship. But that’s over now.”

“Heather, did you have sexual relations at work?” Everett asked.

“Dammit, Everett!” Simon said icily. “What the hell are you trying to insinuate?”

“It’s not an insinuation,” Everett shot back. “I’m flat-out asking if you had sex here at Dover headquarters.”

“No!” Heather said sharply. The thought was... tempting. Dammit—focus, Heather. This is your job!

“I’m not going to sit here while you try to humiliate Heather like this,” Simon ground out. “We did not do anything here at Dover.”

“You don’t always work here at the office,” Everett said coolly. “Did you have sexual relations during work hours somewhere else?”

Silence.

Mortified, Heather stared at her hands. She hadn’t even realized that she was gripping the edge of the conference table. Her knuckles were turning white and she couldn’t pull her hands away.

Her stomach knotted. Tears pricked the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away. The board might try to humiliate her, but she wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She was going to face this with all the dignity she could muster. Even if they ended up firing her, she refused to cry in front of them.

Everett’s dark eyes landed on hers and held her gaze. “I assume that’s a yes.”

She swallowed hard. “We had an encounter after the inter-company conference a several weeks ago. Work had ended but we were together in Simon’s hotel room.”

More gasps. Even louder than before. Some of the board members shook their heads in disbelief. Others avoided her gaze. She sat up straighter in her chair, trying to project a confidence she didn’t feel.

“Stop this, Everett,” Simon commanded. “You’ve put on your show. Leave Ms. Heather Hall alone.”

“Heather, was that the only time you had an encounter with your boss?” Everett pressed, ignoring him.

“I’m warning you.” Simon shot to his feet, his hands balled into fists. “This ends now. You and I can talk in private, but so help me, if you continue to question Heather—”

“You’ll what?” Everett cut in.

“I’ll destroy you,” Simon said without blinking. “Don’t think for a moment I won’t.”

Everett’s eyes widened in shock. “This is outrageous,” he sputtered. “You can’t talk to me like that.”

“And you can’t talk to Ms. Hall like that,” Simon retorted. “Your problem is with me. Not her.”

“I simply want to get to the bottom of this,” Everett said, his voice rising.

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Simon warned. “You’ve got some nerve. Dragging her in here. Bombarding her with ridiculous questions. This isn’t about HR or employee protocol. You’re asking for details. She did nothing wrong. I’m to blame, not her.”

Why was he doing this? This was just as much her mess as it was his. He was ruining his career for her even after she had shut the door on them. Even after she had rejected him so cruelly.

“Everett?” Simon pressed. “Are you leaking information to the press?”

There was a gasp from all the board members as their heads swiveled from Simon to Everett.

“Enough! Of course not.” Everett held up his hands. “Fine. Let’s move this along.”

“Get to the point,” Simon said tersely. “What do you want to say?”

“I sincerely hope you don’t make this kind of mistake again in the future,” Everett said. “It’s not just the fact that you didn’t report this. You’re the CEO. You can’t be having affairs like this.”

“This is my company. I’ll date whoever I want,” Simon said through gritted teeth.

Everett’s eyebrows shot up. “This is very unlike you, Simon. I’ve never seen you so passionate about another human being before,” he remarked snidely. “I hope for your sake that Heather defends you with the same passion.”

“I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but I’ve never disrespected anyone in my relationships,” Simon said, crossing his arms. “Nothing I’ve ever done has been unwanted. I’m not a perfect man, but I am an ethical one. I’ll never let my personal life get in the way of being a professional. I’ve also made sure Ms. Hall’s employment was out of my hands so there would be no bias when she’s evaluated.”

“You seem very...protective of her.” Everett’s lips curved up into a mocking smile. A smile that unsettled Heather because she detected a hint of malice flashing in his dark eyes. Maybe Simon had been right, and Everett had leaked information to the press. She had thought him respectable. Now she wasn’t so sure.

“I’m protective of everyone at Dover,” Simon said.

Everett scoffed. “Never like this.”

Simon gave Everett a hard stare, anger etched on his handsome face. His jaw clenched.

Her heart started to hammer at the sight of him towering over her, looking so dangerous. She’d glimpsed this part of him before when he stood up to her ex-husband weeks ago. But such displays from him were rare. Simon wasn’t a hot-head. He didn’t act impulsively or get angry like this. But here he was. Ready to fight for her honor.

She felt a flush steal up her cheeks. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Suddenly, she felt like a schoolgirl again. Looking at her first boyfriend stand up to the class bully on her behalf. She was light-headed. Almost giddy at the thought of a man willing to risk it all. For her.

Heather bit her lip to keep from saying anything. She’d probably just make things worse, and Simon looked like he wanted to stay in control of the situation.

“I’m protective of Ms. Hall because we’re old friends,” Simon said.

“We discovered as much through the background check you ran on her,” Everett said.

Her heart squeezed. Of course, there had been a background check. They were unlikely to find anything that Simon hadn’t already figured out, but if they found out that she had started her working relationship with her boss based on a lie, this scandal was liable to spin out of control.

“I went over that background check a few days ago.” Simon frowned. “There’s nothing in there that we didn’t already know.”

Simon hadn’t told her that he’d read over the background check. He’d kept that from her. They’d been getting along at work over the past few weeks, but apparently not well enough for him to trust her with that information.

“Fine. We’ve done enough digging.” Everett closed the binder in front of him and folded his hands on the table. “How do you suppose we solve this?”

“We can release a statement,” Linda spoke up. “Heather, if you’d like to give a statement, that would be great. The situation would look more like a mutual relationship that’s fizzled out, rather than a scandal.”

“No.” Simon sat back down and narrowed his eyes at Linda.

Lind frowned. “What?”

“I’m not dragging Heather into this media storm,” he said. “She has a son to think about. Let me deal with making a statement.”

“I don’t mind making a statement,” Heather breathed. “If it’ll help Dover, I’m more than happy to do that. I could work with Linda on it.”

“If you insist.” He scowled, clearly displeased that she’d defied him. The look barely lasted a second before his face became unreadable. He turned to the board. “Now what’s my punishment, even though I’ve done nothing wrong?”

“We haven’t decided yet,” Everett said. “It all depends on how the media spins this. If it’s bad, you’re looking at a suspension of three months, minimum, Simon.”

Heather gasped. “No.”

Simon shot her another warning glance that chilled her right down to the bone. “I can handle whatever I have to. As long as Heather’s job isn’t in jeopardy. I’m not going to accept you forcing her out or undermining her work. A three-month suspension is simply a holiday that’s long overdue.”

“We wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing,” Everett reassured him. “For now, let’s work on a statement and figure out how the media is going to handle the story. We can spend the next 24 hours preparing to go on the offensive instead of taking a defensive position. Linda, start crafting a statement and include some quotes from Heather. Get the statement out to local media early tomorrow morning—that way it doesn’t get lost in the afternoon news rush.”

“Are we done here?” Simon asked, his voice as hard as granite.

“For now, I believe,” Everett replied.

Simon got to his feet and nodded at Heather. That was his signal that it was time to leave. She rose to her feet slowly, trying to ignore her wildly fluttering heart. Trying to ignore the board members all condemning her with their silent stares felt next to impossible. These people were harsh. She should’ve let Simon report their activities when they first started. What a mess she’d made of this.

She followed Simon as he sauntered across the conference room.

“Simon, make sure this relationship between you two is really over,” Everett said when they reached the door. “Keep it professional, if you can.”

“Trust me,” Simon said darkly. “It’s over.”