A tremor of dread made his stomach tighten.

“What do you mean, she can’t work for me anymore?” Simon demanded. He wanted to ignore the fact that it felt like Everett had just gut-punched him, but it was no use. Heather meant so much to him that the thought of not seeing her every day was already making him crazy.

“This isn’t up for negotiation,” Everett said flatly as he walked back into the conference room.

Simon marched in after him, the urge to force an answer out of him so overwhelming his hands balled up. They weren’t going to get away with taking Heather away from him. “You have no right to punish her like this.”

“We’re not punishing her,” Everett muttered as he resumed his seat.

Simon’s gaze fell on Heather and she stared right back at him, a cloud of sadness darkening her eyes.

“So, where is she supposed to work?” Simon asked.

“She’ll be working with the media relations team,” Everett explained. “Linda needs some more hands and Heather got experience working with the press when she was employed by VLA.”

His jaw tightened at the mention of VLA. Simon still hadn’t mentioned to the board that Heather had been approached to spy on him at her old job. If he revealed that, she’d probably be fired on the spot and be exposed to getting sued by her former employers.

He wracked his brain, trying to think of something that could get Heather back. Linda didn’t have the power to protect Heather the way he did. Heather needed him no matter how much she denied it. “And the board thinks that’s supposed to be a good fit for her?”

“This transfer wasn’t the board’s idea,” Everett said. “When we called her back in for more clarification, Ms. Hall insisted on going to a new department. This transfer was her idea.”

“Heather’s idea?” Simon demanded in disbelief.

She stared down at her hands.

“This is the best decision for everyone,” Everett said. “We’ll avoid any bad feelings between Dover and Heather. You won’t have your... judgment clouded anymore by Heather’s presence. And Heather gets to keep her job. For the time being.”

“So, her job still isn’t permanent?” Simon asked.

“Heather hasn’t been given a more permanent contract,” Everett explained. “It didn’t seem fair to offer her a permanent position at Dover with this cloud of suspicion over her. Simon, you did point out that Dover hasn’t handled this spying business as professionally as it could have, so it seems best to give Heather a chance to prove her innocence while she stays on at Dover.”

Simon frowned. “Which means...”

“Which means that Heather can be dismissed at any time for any reason,” Everett said. “And moving to another department will remove all doubts about bias on your part.”

He hated to admit it, but the board had come to a fair decision. The offer to keep Heather on at Dover was more generous that he had anticipated, but it still didn’t sit well with him. Try as he might, he wasn’t over her. Hadn’t figured out a way to let her go and move on. Because he didn’t want to. Even if her refusal to be with him hurt like hell, he still didn’t want to stop working with her. Somehow, in a matter of weeks, his entire world had started to revolve around her. He had no idea how he was going to function in her absence.

A break up was bad enough. But now they couldn’t even work together—which seemed even worse, if such a thing was possible.

“If this is what Heather wants, then it’s the best idea moving forward.”

Her eyes met his, and something in them softened. Like she was grateful that he was willing to go along with what she wanted. Of course, he would honor her wishes. What other choice was there?

When Everett had first explained Heather’s transfer, Simon had been convinced it had been the board’s idea. The thought of the transfer being Heather’s idea hadn’t even occurred to him. Now he knew just how badly she wanted to get away from him. His lack of trust in her had pushed her further away than he’d ever expected.

How could he possibly make it up to her if she wasn’t even going to be around anymore?

Simon gazed back at her, keeping his face blank. There was no use in letting her see how much this was getting to him. If she wanted to get away from him so badly, nothing was going to convince her otherwise. Not that he blamed her. After the shabby way he’d treated her, she had every right to want to work away from him.

Once the board meeting was adjourned Simon headed to his office, unsure of how he was going to tackle the rest of the day now that he knew Heather would be gone soon.

Sinking into the chair at his desk, Simon opened one of the desk drawers and took out a bottle of painkillers. His head was throbbing.

“Do you need a glass of water?” Heather’s voice drifted quietly over to him.

He looked up. She was standing in the office doorway, looking at him with concern on her face.

Without responding he opened the bottle and downed two pills, wincing at the bitter taste and hoping it didn’t show. “No. Don’t you have to start working for Linda right away?”

“I do. But I have to clear out my office, and I realize that you won’t have an assistant once I leave.” She frowned and walked towards him. “How are you going to get by?”

“I’ll get on just fine without you.” That came out far more harshly than he’d wanted it to. The pain in his head intensified. “That’s not what I meant—”

“You have a habit of saying things you supposedly don’t mean,” she bit out. There was a silence that was near unbearable. “Well, since you don’t need me, I’ll be in my office clearing out my things.”

“Heather, wait.” He let out a breath, trying to gather his thoughts through the haze of his migraine. “That came out wrong. What I meant to say is that I have no idea how I’ll get by without you.”

“You’ll manage,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll hire someone great to replace me.”

“That’s just it,” he said. “I don’t want to hire someone to replace you. Heather, you’re the best assistant I’ve ever had. Nobody can do this job the way you can. Trust me, I know. You’re a great assistant.”

He meant every word, but it wasn’t all that he wanted to say to her. There was so much more he was leaving unsaid. Heather was more than a good assistant. His feelings for her were more than professional. And far more than the friendship they had started as children. The truth was, he had no idea how to cope without her presence. Without her generosity and her courage to constantly push back against him. She didn’t treat him like someone she wanted to get something out of.

She stared, holding his gaze a moment too long. Then she blinked in surprise and backed away towards the door. “That’s nice of you to say, but this is goodbye. I’ve enjoyed our time together.”

“I want to make it up to you,” he said desperately. “Those things I said—”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Simon,” she said sharply. “I’ll make sure to leave anything you might need.”

Clearly, he wasn’t going to be able to get through to her now. Too much anger and distrust had grown between them.

As she walked out of his office, he knew that it was wrong to still want her. Wrong to wish she’d change her mind and come running back.

But it didn’t matter how wrong it was. Determination set in. Simon was going to get her back. He just didn’t know how.

~~*~~

HEATHER METHODICALLY cleared out her desk, putting everything she was going to need in her new office into cardboard boxes. She planned to leave everything else, so Simon could figure out a way to move on without her. He could find a new assistant.

A lump formed in her throat as she organized stacks of documents he was going to need to read through and sign. She hadn’t been working at Dover for long, but already they had established a routine. Whenever Simon needed something, she was right there to help. To pick up the slack if he was under pressure.

Plus, he never treated her like she was some lowly subordinate. If he needed a second opinion on something he’d come to her, peppering her with questions until he was satisfied. Which was why his cruel words yesterday had been excruciating.

He had told her she was pathetic. Reminded her that she hadn’t made something of her life. Every time he had been kind to her or approached her for her ideas had been what? A lie? No. Simon wasn’t a liar. It had been pity that made him treat her like her opinion mattered. He felt sorry for her and didn’t want her to feel left out or less than, even though she was basically the hired help.

Fighting back tears, she grabbed one of the large boxes and made her way to the media relations department a few floors below Simon’s office.

Linda appeared and ushered her into her new corner office. “It’s much smaller than you’re used to, but you’ll have plenty of privacy here.”

Heather glanced around, frowning at her new cramped quarters. Linda wasn’t kidding. The place was barely bigger than a broom closet, with a desk shoved at the back and not much else.

There were perks to working with the CEO that she had gotten used to. She’d gotten so used to them, she had forgotten how other administrative assistants had to work.

She bit back a sigh and threw back her shoulders. If she had any hope of clearing her name without Simon’s interference, she needed to make the best of this. “I think it’s pretty cozy actually.”

Linda arched an eyebrow. “Now I see why Simon is taking this so hard.”

Heather dumped the box on her new desk and smoothed down the front of her blouse, needing something to occupy her hands so she didn’t lose it in front of Linda. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Don’t bother trying to pretend with me,” Linda said firmly. “If we’re going to work together we have to trust each other. And trust is based on truth.”

“I’ve been accused of terrible things,” Heather said. “I don’t see how you can trust me.”

“I trust you because Simon trusts you,” Linda explained.

“He doesn’t trust me.”

“He does,” Linda insisted. “That’s why he was so quick to believe the worst about you. Trusting you probably scared the hell out of him.”

Heather scoffed in disbelief. “Nothing scares Simon.”

“Conceding power does,” Linda said. “The same way it scares every other man. And you have power over him because he wants you in his life. For a while I thought Simon might consider me a friend, even a surrogate mother of sorts, considering his strained relationship with his parents.” Her shoulders sagged as she went on. “But that wasn’t meant to be. He pushes the rest of us away, but somehow you managed to get in. You got too close and he didn’t know how to deal with that. So he resorted to the only trick he had left. Pushing you away like he does with everyone else.”

“If he was so ready to push me away, it’s obvious that I meant nothing to him,” Heather said, unable to hide the bitterness in her tone.

“You mean more to him than you realize,” Linda said. “That’s why he’s having such a hard time letting you come to another department.”

“How do you know he’s having such a hard time?” Heather asked in surprise.

“He called me earlier this morning. Before the board made its decision.” Linda shrugged. “Simon might push people away, but even he has to get things off his chest from time to time. He didn’t realize you were transferring at the time, but he wasn’t taking the thought of you being fired well. Working with you has changed him. I suspect part of that is because you’re much more than just colleagues.” Linda looked at her meaningfully, making heat rise in Heather’s cheeks.

“Well, that’s never going to happen now,” Heather said, her voice shaky. “He might be sorry, but he can’t take back what he’s said or done.”

“No, he can’t,” Linda said. “But if he could, he would.”

Her breathing went shallow as memories of his cruel accusation came flooding back. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on his face. The disappointment. The anger. He really thought I was capable of betraying him. After everything we’ve been through together, he still made up his mind about me before he even got my side of the story.”

Linda pursed her lips. “How much of your side of the story had you shared with him before he confronted you?”

“Are you saying this is my fault?” Heather asked. “Because I’m private and keep things to myself sometimes?”

“No. I’m saying you two are more alike than you realize,” Linda said.

Heather shot her a hard stare, unsure of how to tell Linda to back off without making a scene on her first day in this new office. “That doesn’t matter now.” She knew that they were alike in one regard at least. They were both guarding their hearts. The only difference was that, even when she had everything to lose, she was willing to give her heart to him. And in return he had thrown her feelings for him back in her face. Humiliated her and made her feel smaller than she ever had in her life. Forgiveness was impossible. Not with this weight on what was left of her heart.

Linda must have noticed the shift in her body language, because she sighed and said, “I’m prying into something that isn’t my business. I apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Heather said, holding up her hands. “You’re only trying to help. I appreciate it, but I’d like to focus on work. On helping you get things done around here.”

“I’m interested in helping you.”

“Me? What do you mean?” Heather asked.

“You need help clearing your name, right? I can send you anything I think might help you do that,” Linda offered.

Her offer touched Heather, but after rejecting Simon’s help she was hesitant to accept anyone else’s help. She was used to standing on her own two feet. Besides, she didn’t want to drag Linda down if the worst happened. “Why do you want to help me? Won’t the board members be upset if you try to help me out?”

“The board is always upset about something,” Linda responded with a roll of her eyes. “But I know this is what Simon would want.”

“I don’t want Simon’s help,” Heather said sharply.

“I’m not offering you Simon’s help. I’m offering you my help,” Linda said. “If you’re going to be too stubborn to accept my offer—”

“Wait, no.” Heather bit her lip, realizing how ungrateful she was being. Linda hadn’t been the one to accuse her and humiliate her. Not to mention, she didn’t have to welcome Heather into the media department. She could have easily refused to accept Heather’s transfer.

Guilt gnawed at her. Even though the transfer out of Simon’s office had been her idea, it suddenly felt like she had created a burden that didn’t need to exist. Not only did Simon have to now find a new assistant, but Linda was going to have to make room for her.

But asking the board for a transfer had been her only chance of staying on at Dover. There was no way she could keep working for Simon. Keep seeing him every single day while her heart broke over and over. Each time she saw him her heart broke a little more. And then, when she could no longer stand the pain, it was replaced by anger. Anger at how he’d treated her and accused her.

If she stayed on, he would insist on helping her clear her name. Worse, she could see herself falling for him all over again. With the real possibility of being arrested and losing her son, she was not going to give in to her feelings for him ever again. She needed to be strong for her son, and if that meant she had to turn her back on Simon for good then that was the price she was ready to pay. It was the steepest price she would ever pay for anything, but her son was all that mattered.

“I’m sorry for questioning you,” Heather continued. “I just don’t want to bring you down with me. If I don’t clear my name and it gets out that you tried to help me, that might affect your job. I can’t let you risk your job for me.”

“You let me worry about my own job.” Linda waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for Simon and Dover. If you’re not the spy, we have to catch the real culprit. Then we can clear your name and put all of this behind us.”

Linda made it all sound so easy. But, deep down, Heather knew that catching the real spy was easier said than done.