Deceiving Her Boss (15 page)

 
"You're amazing," Allie said when Sean finished his story. 
"Some people would have just assumed that was the job of the hospital
employees.  Others may have written a thank you note.  But you actually got
involved, and worked to pull even more resources in."

 
Sean shook his head.  "The staff here were the amazing ones.  I was just
doing what I could to ensure that other patients in the future got the same
level of care."  He quietly brushed off anything else Allie was about to
say by asking her to dance.

 
Allie took a sip of her champagne, and stood up.  "Sure.  Can we avoid
photographers this time?"

 
Allie and Sean left the benefit as things were starting to wind down.  As they
waited for Sean's car to be brought round from valet parking, Sean looked down
at Allie.   "Well, that ended up being a far different evening that I
expected it to be."

 
"Same for me," Allie smiled.  "But then again, I was expecting
take-out food and a movie, so this was bound to be an improvement."

 
Sean laughed.  "Don't you get enough take-out during the week?"

 
"I do, and I like to cook, but I hadn't gotten to the grocery store yet
this weekend.  That's on the chore list for tomorrow."

 
The valet pulled up with Sean's car then, and after Sean had opened the
passenger door for Allie, he tipped the valet before climbing into the driver's
seat.

 
"Sean, are you worried at all about that picture?" Allie asked as he
pulled away from the curb.

 
Sean glanced over with a grim look on his face.

 
"Yeah, I am.  But we'll see what ends up being published."

 
"What if it shows up in the paper?"

 
Sean reached over and squeezed her hand.  "I don't know, sweetheart."

 
Allie sighed.  "I probably should have resigned when we got back from
Miami.  I'm sorry, Sean."

 
"I needed you in the office, Allie.  Your resignation would have been
problematic in a lot of ways.  So if this was a trade-off to keep you there for
a while longer, I'll take it."

 
Allie nodded.  She knew what the last few weeks had entailed, and knew that her
leaving would have made a mess of things for Sean.  But she still worried that
tonight's photo might make a mess of things for both of them.

 
When Sean pulled to a stop in front of Allie's apartment, he turned off the car
and turned to face her.  "I'm going to walk you to your door, Allie.  And
then I'm going to drive away.  Because if I come in tonight, we both know that
I won't be able to leave."

 
Allie turned her gaze to look out the passenger window, so her words were
quiet, but Sean still heard them.

 
"I won't want you to go.  And if you walk me to my door, we're going to
end up inside.  You'll kiss me, and..."

 
Sean reached out and turned her face to his.  "I'll see you to your door,
Allie.  It's what a gentleman does.  But I'll kiss you good night here."

 
Bending forward, he gently kissed her, first on the lips, then on the forehead,
but it was a chaste kiss.  Then, he pulled back, got out of his car, and went
around to open her door.  He offered her his hand, and she gratefully took it
as she stepped from the seat.  Sean released her immediately, closed the door
behind her, and walked her to her door, his hand lightly resting on the small
of her back.

 
Allie pulled out her keys.  "Good night, Sean," she said as she
unlocked the door and pushed it open.

 
"Good night, Allie," he said.  Backing away, he waited until she was
safely in the door and lights were on before he turned and walked back to his
car.

 
He sat there for a few moments, his head back against the headrest.   He had
been through the ringer tonight, he thought.  First, he had been shocked to see
Allie at the benefit tonight.  Then, he had seen her dancing closely with
another man, and he had been shaken at the intense jealousy that he had felt
when he thought she was with a date.  The photographer had been the last straw.

 
And the truth was, he was very worried about the photo.  Despite the fact that
he and Allie had never slept together, that photo would belie that fact.  He
knew that he could try to stop it from being published, but that would probably
only make things worse.  He could imagine the story now, about a local business
executive trying to cover up an affair.  And that would hurt him, hurt his
business, and hurt Allie.

 
An idea began forming in his head.  He'd wait to see if the photo was
published, but if it was, this might be a way to get him what he was starting
to want very badly.  Allie herself.

TEN

 
It was bad.  Allie was in his arms, bent backward to look up into his face, and
her arm was curled around his neck.  They were dancing, and Sean was looking
down at her intently.  But the giveaway was in the eyes.  Nobody could mistake
the passion simmering there for anything else.  Sean sighed.  He hadn't even
considered the photographers last night.  All he could think about was Allie. 
How much he wanted her in his arms.  How much he wanted her in his bed.  He
knew that the photos from this event made it to the paper, and he knew that
nearly everyone in his company would, by tomorrow morning, assume that he was
sleeping with his assistant.  This was bad for Allie, who had spent the last
several months refusing to sleep with him for this very reason.  But it was
equally bad for him.  He took pride in running an ethical company, with no
moral shortcuts and no playing favorites. 

 
They would need to fix this, and soon.  Grabbing his car keys and the paper,
Sean headed for the door.

 
Allie was up early.  She took a quick shower, made a pot of coffee, and then
brought in the morning paper.  With no small amount of trepidation, she began
turning the pages.  Seeing the actual photo brought her no sense of relief.  It
was exactly as she had remembered -- the scene, the moment.  But when she
looked at the photo, she realized that she had missed the strength of his
passion when she had looked in his eyes last night.  And now it was there for the
world to see.

 
Last night, Sean had seem resigned to what they would face, but Allie knew that
actually seeing the photo this morning would anger him.  It was what they had
both been avoiding, and Allie blamed herself.  She should have known better
than to go last night, and she definitely should have stayed far away from her
boss.  But one touch, one kiss, one glance, and she was lost.

 
And she should have known better.  She knew that Sean got photographed every
year at this event -- he was one of the youngest and best looking of the board
members, and he always had a beautiful woman on his arm.  She knew this, KNEW
this, and yet she hadn't even thought about it tonight.  Not even once.  Even
though she hadn't gone to the event as his date, nobody would believe that. 
And it didn't matter anyway - she had still ended up being photographed with
him.  And in a fairly compromising pose.  Oh dear God, this was bad.  Really
really bad.  Because even though she had not slept with her boss, nobody would
believe it when they saw the photo.

 
The loud knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts.  She knew
immediately that it would be Sean, and she went to open the door for him.  She
was prepared for his frustration, but one look at his face told her that he was
no longer simply resigned, and that this wasn't a social visit in any sense of
the word.

 
Walking in, he bent down and gave her a hard kiss on the mouth before strolling
back to her kitchen, where Allie had the paper open to the offending page.  He
shook his head, then turned his gaze to where Allie was standing, leaning
against the doorframe with her coffee in hand.

 
"Coffee?" she offered, pointing toward the full pot.

 
"Thanks," Sean responded, pulling a mug from her shelf and filling
it.  He took one long sip, then set the mug on the counter and turned to Allie.

 
"It's worse than I expected, Allie."

 
"I know," she answered quietly.

 
"I was hoping we'd just be able to explain it away as two colleagues who
ran into each other and shared a dance."

 
Allie sighed and shook her head.  "That's not what the photo says,
though."

 
"No, it's not.  There's no mistaking how we feel about each other, Allie. 
Not for anyone with eyes."

 
She looked up at him then.  "So what do we do?  I'll resign right away,
Sean, but..."

 
"That won't solve anything for either of us, Allie.  All it will do is
make us look guilty of something we have not done."

 
"But then, what...?"

 
"I've come up with only one solution to this, Allie.  We'll need to marry,
and soon."

 
Of all things that she expected Sean to say this morning, that was not one of
them.

 
"What?  What are you talking about?" she asked, setting her coffee
down next to her.

 
Sean pointed at the photograph.  "We are in an untenable position, Allie. 
And the damage has been done.  You can resign tomorrow, and there will be a
wealth of rumors that  will follow both of us.  You will always be the
secretary who slept her way to the top, and I will be the employer who took
advantage of his employee.  I can't afford those rumors, Allie -- in our
business, personal relationships and high moral standards are the name of the
game."

 
Allie just shook her head in confusion.  "But.... how will marriage help
that?  Like you said, the damage has been done.  We certainly weren't married
when this picture was taken."

 
Sean smiled without humor.  "We convince people that we fell in love. 
That covers a multitude of sins, so to speak.  If we marry, this goes away.  I
didn't take advantage of you, for one thing."

 
"But I still slept my way to the top, didn't I?  Only I slept my way into
marriage.  I landed the boss," she said bitterly.  "I'll always be the
secretary who enticed you into a relationship."

 
Sean reached out and pushed her hair back from her face and tucked it behind
her ear.  "I don't think that will be an issue, Allie.  Remember, I've
dated a lot of women.  If I were easily enticed, I'd have been married long
before now.  People will assume that I fell in love with you, and married you."

 
Allie closed her eyes.  "Maybe I should just go.  Find another job.  In
another city, or another state."

 
But Sean shook his head.  "That won't make the rumors go away.  And it's a
small world, Allie.  You know as well as I do that the rumors will follow you,
and my own reputation will still be damaged."  Reaching out, he hooked her
chin with one hand, and lifted her face until she was looking at him. 
"This is the only way.  And Allie, you will marry me.  Because you owe it
to me."

 
"What do you mean?" Allie asked in surprise.

 
"Despite the fact that we work well together, I honestly should have fired
you when I found out how you had deceived me into hiring you in the first
place."

 
Allie knew this was true, so just asked, "Why didn't you?"

 
Sean dropped his hand and paced around her small kitchen.  "I knew that
you were telling the truth about why you did it.  And I partly understood your
reasoning.  But mostly, you did your job and did it well.  I didn't want to
have to start at the beginning with someone new."

 
Allie nodded, her arms crossed around her middle in a posture of misery.

 
Sean continued.  "But the fact is, you are still my employee, and we are
still, in the eyes of what will soon be everyone in my company, having an
affair.  I'm not willing to let that go any further, Allie.  You will marry me,
you will convince everyone that you fell madly in love with me, and you will
act as my wife."

 
She closed her eyes.  "For how long?" she whispered.

 
"For as long as it takes, Allie," Sean responded.

 
Allie opened her eyes and met his gaze with her own.  "I don't want this,
Sean.  And I can't believe that you do either."

 
Sean shrugged.  "I don't have much of a choice.  And if I don't have a
choice, you don't have a choice.  It's me, or it's the unemployment line, and a
black mark on your name in this industry."

 
"I can't believe that every company out there will care about the personal
lives of their employees.  And if I end up being fired, then sleeping my way to
the top didn't really do me much good, did it?" Allie asked, still
desperately searching for another option.

 
"They may not mind your sexual activities, Allie, but I guarantee they
will mind if their employees are honest or not.  And I will be quite sure that
any future employee on your part is aware of your history with me.   And you
know I'll find you, Allie, no matter where you go," he added, his voice
stern.

 
"Why are you doing this?" Allie asked in a whisper.