Chapter Sixteen
Elena
I didn’t usually go to work on a Saturday. Noah was very serious about not working overtime, but today was an exception. Noah had postponed the meeting with the investors to today after the photo of us kissing had appeared in the tabloids. Yesterday, the tabloids and newspapers had a field day with the story. Our photo popped up everywhere with text that suggested Saturn Intelligence was going down because Noah Fuller was concentrating on things other than business. It felt horrible that they were blaming me for the downfall of the business when things had been going downhill for a long time, and I had only been working for Noah for four months.
Of course, they would take whatever they could find and manipulate it to work for them. I had never been the object of scrutiny when it came to tabloids, and this was difficult for me to handle.
Since the photo had been published, I hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to Noah about it. He had been running around trying to put out fires, and I had been working hard to pick up the slack when he couldn’t focus on business. I had no idea what was going to happen. Noah had told me not to worry, that we would figure this out, but I wasn’t sure that it would be that simple. For one, I was sure that everyone would want me gone. Doug didn’t seem very happy when I was in the office with them yesterday, and I had a feeling this was the end of the line for me.
What was I going to do if I got fired? To be fired rather than quitting looked worse on any resume. Being in the news for having a relationship with my boss would ruin any chances of me finding a new job. Who would hire me if it waved above my head like a banner? But if Noah kept me on, it might affect his business. After what they were saying in the tabloids, I wasn’t sure he could afford to keep me around. Things were looking up for SI, but we weren’t in the clear yet. It could all go downhill from here, and I was worried that was what would happen.
Noah was in his office, reading cue cards for the meeting. He looked up and smiled when he saw me. I offered him a wan smile in return.
“It’s going to be fine, Elena,” Noah said, understanding my fears.
“I hope you’re right,” I said. My stomach bunched into a knot of nerves. I was nervous about the meeting. Scared. I had no idea what they were going to say, and even though Noah would be the one to do all the talking, it didn’t mean that they wouldn’t point fingers at me. It seemed almost inevitable, and I wished I didn’t have to be there.
The offices were quiet with everyone at home, and I was relieved. It was only us when we walked to the boardroom. There was no one to whisper behind our backs, no conversations to fall quiet and pick up after we had passed by the way they had yesterday. Rumors and gossip had been spreading the day before and being in the office had been horrible.
We were the first in the boardroom, and I sat down in my seat in the corner. I was overwhelmed. I curled forward in my chair and brought a shaky hand to my forehead. Any moment now, the investors were going to file into the room. I wished I was home. I wished I was anywhere but here.
One by one, the investors arrived. Every single one of them glanced at me before taking a seat at the table. I made eye contact with every one of them. I tried to look confident like I had nothing to hide. When I looked at Noah, there was no sign of distress. He was upright and exuded authority, as always. He smiled and shook hands with the investors, touching their elbows with his free hand when he did so.
“Gentlemen,” he said when everyone was seated. “Thank you for coming in on a Saturday. I know that takes you away from the families, so it is much appreciated.”
“What do you have for us, Fuller?” one of the investors asked.
Noah switched on the projector and stepped back so everyone could see. He showed the results of the research and surveys that the marketing team had conducted, as well as the projection of income and profits. I had heard the good news after Noah had spent time with the marketers, but it was the first time I saw everything laid out, and I had to admit, it looked great. If I were an investor, I would have agreed to put money into this product.
The investors seemed happy, too. They were smiling, nodding, talking amongst each other.
“I have promised,” Noah carried on, “you will each receive a better version of the product to try out for yourselves. I am confident that you will be happy.”
“Well done, Noah,” an investor said. “We are very impressed with the numbers and how you decide to approach marketing. I have to admit, we were very skeptical when you approached us the first time, but it seems we were wrong. From where we are standing, the future of Saturn Intelligence looks good.”
Noah smiled and I could tell he was relieved. Up until now, the investor’s money had still been a question. Despite everything that had gone wrong, it looked like Noah’s company was getting its happy ending. I was so excited for him. I only wished I could say the same about our personal lives. So far, nothing had been said about the news in the tabloids. I was too scared to hope that the investors hadn’t seen it or that it didn’t matter at all.
“With this information behind us,” the investor carried on, “we must touch on a different topic.” My stomach sank. I knew what was coming. “We noticed your company getting a little more media attention than usual. Is this going to be a problem?”
He was being nice by not putting it into words, but we all knew what he was talking about.
“I am aware that the news might influence the release of this product,” Noah said. “I believe that we have something strong enough to pull us through.”
“As we are all hoping, Fuller, but you are still working with the woman in question.” The investors turned to look at me, and I fought the urge to back against the wall. “What are you going to do with her?”
They were talking about me as if I wasn’t there. I didn’t exactly have a leg to stand on right now, to demand they change their tone. I glanced at Noah. Whatever happened next was completely up to him. It terrified me that I had no idea what it might be.
When Noah looked at me, his gaze was soft, his eyes smiling. He tried to reassure me with his facial expression, but it worked only a little.
“Until yesterday morning when the news published an unfortunate photo, I was planning to promote her,” Noah said.
The investors were as shocked as I was. A promotion? This was the last thing I had expected. The investors didn’t seem very happy about the idea. Before they could get a chance to respond, Noah carried on.
“Of course, that’s not possible now. If I promote her, it won’t look good, and I want to keep rumors to a minimum.”
“We can agree with that,” someone said. “But are you not going to fire her? This can tank your reputation and considering your financial disposition, your image is the only reason we bought into Saturn Intelligence. It’s a big risk running with something that could lose us all a lot of money.”
I thought I was going to be sick. I swallowed hard and try to take deep breaths.
“I’m not going to fire her,” Noah said. He glanced at me. “This is no more her fault than it is mine, and it isn’t a meaningless office romance. I care very deeply about Elena, and our relationship is much more than a physical secret behind every corner.”
I was shocked. Not once during our time together had Noah confessed his feelings to me. We had never spoken about it and I had been too nervous to ask. Now that he admitted to the investors – not just anyone – I felt warm all over. I had dreamed of him saying something like this. Suddenly, everything that had gone wrong didn’t matter. Noah had fixed it.
“Well, the news certainly is a surprise,” an investor said. “But we don’t have any objection to your relationship with Miss Hayes as long as it stays professional within the workplace and doesn’t affect productivity.” I couldn’t believe my ears. It was getting better and better. “I am still worried about the media,” the investor carried on. “You may have a recipe for success, but with bad publicity, it might blow up in your face anyway.”
He was right. Everything they said to Noah made sense. But Noah didn’t look uncomfortable or unsure. He nodded, confident.
“I fully understand. That is why I intend to go public with our story and turn it into a romance that runs parallel with the success of Saturn Intelligence. If we approach it that way, I believe it will go down well with the public, turning into a fairy tale rather than a scandal. It will be right up there with my reputation as the People’s Choice, as the man who cares. Because I do care. A lot.”
The investors nodded and murmured among themselves. I looked at Noah, who was intently focused on the investors and how there were responding to the news. It had caught me completely off guard. I’d had no idea that he felt this way about me and making it public was a huge step. Not to mention a rather permanent one. When he glanced at me, catching my eye, he smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. The tension had eased out of the room. I wasn’t so stressed anymore. I felt like perhaps, this could work out after all.
Noah had promised we would figure it out, and he had delivered. In a pleasantly surprising way.
“We are happy with your approach,” they finally said to Noah. “We look forward to our meeting next week.”
And with that, the meeting was over. The investors left in twos and threes until Noah and I were the only ones remaining. I rose out of my seat and walked to him, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.
“That was amazing,” I said.
He grinned. “I’m glad you liked it.”
“Were you serious?” I asked. “Do you care about me very deeply?” I was worried for a moment it was a publicity stunt of sorts, saying the right thing to save face.
Noah was suddenly serious. He nodded, looking at me with his dark eyes. “I do,” he said. It wasn’t a confession of love, but it was too early in our relationship for that. But the way he said it was more than I could ever have hoped for.
“Thank you,” I said. “For everything. For not painting me as the one that caused all of this. For making it all happen. And I feel the same about you.”
Noah smiled and dipped his head to kiss me. For a moment everything fell away, and it was only the two of us, his body pressed against mine, his kiss sending electricity through me. When he finally broke the kiss, he smiled at me again.
“Come to dinner with me tonight,” he said.
I nodded. “Okay,” I whispered.