I wasn’t sure what was worse: having Cameron Wolff dump me, learning I had a mysterious spot on my lung, or having to go into work and tell my boss that I had failed to satisfy their biggest client.

Needless to say, it was a terrible morning, so terrible that an extra shot of mocha in my latte couldn’t fix it. I had thought about calling in sick so I wouldn’t have to face such humiliation, but that would have just delayed the inevitable. In my mind, it was better to get the entire ordeal over with. The sooner my boss learned about my failure, the sooner I could move on and try to put the pieces of my life back together.

I took a deep breath and knocked on my boss’s door. The sooner I got this meeting over with, the better.

“Come in,” a deep, gravelly voice called out from the other side of the door.

“Thank you for seeing me so early, Mr. Chase,” I said as I stepped into his office. “I know that you’re very busy.”

“Not so busy as to turn away our top advertising executive.” He waved me forward. “So, tell, me, how is Mr. Wolff doing?”

“Yes, well.” I cleared my throat and folded my hands in front of me. “The Wolff account was why I wanted to come and see you,”

“Oh?”

I lifted my chin. “Mr. Wolff would like to make some changes to our arrangement.”

Mr. Chase waved at one of the large, wingback chairs in front of his desk. “Sit and tell me about these changes.”

I slid into one of the chairs and adjust my skirt.

I pressed my lips together for a moment, trying to find the right words. “Mr. Wolff no longer wants me to work on his account exclusively.”

Mr. Chase furrowed his brow. “He doesn’t?”

“No. He has decided that he wants to bring the advertising team back together. He wants the team to design a more traditional advertising campaign for his new line. Evidently, he is no longer interested in pushing boundaries with unconventional ideas.”

Mr. Chase’s features softened. “How extraordinary.”

Extraordinary? I frowned and leaned forward. “Excuse me? I don’t think I understand.”

“My dear, you’ve done a marvelous job of bringing the man back to his senses.” He waved his hand in the air. “While fresh and new ideas are fantastic, they are also risky. There’s no way to tell how the public is going to react to them. With a more traditional campaign, one where we use more time-tested techniques, there is a much greater chance of us meeting Mr. Wolff’s lofty expectations.”

It was hard not to feel insulted. I wanted to tell my boss that he was wrong, that a traditional campaign for a cutting-edge clothing line will end up confusing buyers. I knew that such arguments would fall on deaf ears, however. Mr. Chase was already turning the speaker on his phone and asking his secretary to bring in his “top executive” to lead the new campaign.

When I heard him say Janet’s name, I pressed my lips together in frustration.

“Not that you didn’t do a good job.” Mr. Chase said as he ended the call with his secretary. “But I never understood why Mr. Wolff wanted an intern to spearhead such a large account. We here at Williams and Chase have launched thousands of successful campaigns. It never made sense that he didn’t want to tap into such a wealth of advertising experience…”

As Mr. Chase droned on about the virtues of his company, I couldn’t help but feel irritated. The man’s speech was hurtful and offensive, although he probably didn’t see it that way. I was so much more than just “an intern.” While it was true that I didn’t have a lot of experience, I had a fresh perspective and enthusiasm, something the other status-hungry executives seemed to lack.

“You wanted to see me, Mr. Chase?” Janet asked as she opened the door.

“Ah, there you are.” He stood and waved her inside. “Come in and take a seat. We have some wonderful news.”

Janet glanced at me, then returned her focus on our boss. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll stand,” she said as she closed the door behind her.

“Ha, that’s my girl.” Mr. Chase smiled at me. “Lesson one in negotiations: always make other people look up to you.” He pointed at Janet. “A good executive knows that if people have to look up at her, they are more likely to feel intimidated. That’s why she’s one of the best.” He motioned to the seat next to me once more. “Please.”

Janet hesitated, then took her seat next to me. “is there something amiss?”

“Quite the opposite—we have some good news.” Mr. Chase motioned me to speak. “Tell her.”

I could feel the heat of humiliation rise to my cheeks. While Mr. Chase didn’t see Cameron’s decision as my failure, I knew that Janet would.

“Mr. Wolff wants to reassemble the advertising team.” I tried to sound professional, but it was hard to keep the hurt from my voice.

Janet’s predatory smile shook me to the core. “He did?”

I nodded. “He wishes for a more traditional ad campaign for his new clothing line.”

“Really?” Janet asked, turning to face Mr. chase. “That’s extraordinary.”

Our boss leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. His smile of satisfaction made my stomach turn. “I thought so, too.”

“I just knew that the poor little thing was in over her head.” She gave me a pitying look. “We must get the old team back together right away,” Janet said.

Mr. Chase nodded. “And I want you to lead them.”

“Me, sir?” Janet put her hand on her chest and feigned surprise.

“Of course. You’re our best executive. I wouldn’t want anyone else to head up such an important account.”

Janet waved her hand in dismissal. “You flatter me, sir. I’m just doing my job.”

I had heard about enough. “If you don’t need anything else from me…” I stood and took a step toward the door.

“Don’t be ridiculous, child.” Mr. Chase motioned me back into my seat. “You may not be running this account anymore, but you will still play an important role.”

“I don’t understand. Cameron said that he wanted to reassemble the old team.”

“A team you were a part of.”

I glanced at Janet. “I wasn’t one of the creatives. Greg had me there to take notes and get coffee.”

“And you will do that again this time as well. But first, I need to you transfer all of your files to Janet at once. She’ll need that information if she’s to run an effective campaign for him.” He turned toward Janet.

“I’m sure that would be helpful, yes,” Janet said. “Although I have to admit that I’ve already been working on my own campaign—just in case something like this happened. I wanted to be prepared.”

I forced myself to smile. “I’d be happy to transfer all of the information on the Wolff account to Janet as soon as possible. She should have everything by the end of the day.”

“Within the hour,” Janet corrected. “I have a lot of work to do, and the sooner I get started, the better.” Janet’s self-assured smile made the fine hairs along the back of my neck stand on end.

“Of course.” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice. It was difficult.

“It really is for the best,” Janet said. “Even if you take out all of the personal drama you had with Mr. Wolff, the account was far too much for for an intern to take on.”

“Personal drama?” Mr. Chase asked.

Horrified, I sank back into my seat. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse. Janet was just waiting for the right moment to drop that bombshell. Now all of my dirty laundry was going to be aired out in front of my boss. I was ruined.

“You didn’t know?” Janet asked.

“Didn’t know about what?” Fresh wrinkles formed along Mr. Chase’s forehead. “What personal drama are you referring to, exactly?”

“Oh my.” Janet blinked in surprise and glanced at me. “You didn’t tell him?”

She knew very well that I didn’t tell my boss that I had been intimate with a client. Doing so would not only ruin my reputation, but get me fired. Janet was out for blood, and there was nothing I could do to stop her.

Mr. Chase frowned at me. “Just what kind of personal drama was going on, exactly?”

Janet flashed me a pitying expression. “I guess the cat is out of the bag now, isn’t it? I’m so sorry, Sadie.”

My emotions ranged from embarrassment to blind fury as I sat, stone-faced in front of my accuser.

When I didn’t speak, Mr. Chase turned toward Janet. “Will somebody please tell me what is going on here?”

Janet shifted to the edge of her chair. “I hate to have to say this, especially in light of what happened. Perhaps I should have just kept my mouth shut.”

“What happened?” Mr. Chase asked again. This time, his voice had a hard edge, as if holding back an avalanche of anger

“I’m sorry, Mr. Chase, but the entire time Sadie was in charge of Mr. Wolff’s account, I saw and heard things that suggested they were…intimate. More than just work colleagues.”

“What?” Mr. Chase exploded from his chair behind the desk. Within seconds he loomed before me, his face red with fury. “Is this true?” He roared. “Were you intimate with one of our biggest clients?”

I cleared my throat and shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

“Tell me.” Mr. Chase bent over until we were eye-level. “Did you sleep with Cameron Wolff?”