He Hid Me Twelve Years and Paraded Her, So I Quit Both novel · Chapter 17 of 24

Chapter 17: In Front of People

Jonah called the whole floor together at nine the next morning.

I stood at the back by the coffee machine with a mug in my hands, in the place where I had stood holding a cake.

"Two things," he said, from the middle of the room. "First, the item about Ms. Garrity taking files is false, and anyone who says otherwise can say it to me."

Heads nodded.

"Second." He looked at me over all of them. "A week ago Everett Stroud took me to lunch and offered me the Harlan account if I would end Nell's employment here and stop seeing her."

Nine people went very still.

"I said no, and then I didn't tell her for eight days.

"She asked me never to keep anything from her, and I did.

"She found out from him, in front of forty people in hairnets, which is what I deserve."

Nobody spoke.

"She is the best strategist in this city, and I am in love with her. If either of those is a problem for you, there's a door." He put his hands in his pockets. "Her name goes above mine on the Harlan pitch. She leads it."

Then the young account lead who had looked miserable the day before raised her hand.

"Does the person who gave that quote to the website also get a door?"

A man near the window went red, and I knew him as the one who had not looked relieved.

"That was me," he said. "I'm sorry. A friend at Stroud asked what the new director was like.

"I repeated what you said at that dinner, Jonah. I didn't think it would end up in print."

"You thought it would end up somewhere," Jonah said, without heat.

"I'll clean out my desk."

He did, and he walked out through the lobby while nobody watched, and the floor stayed quiet for a long time after.

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