"I know, baby." His voices softens and he reaches a hand out to run his knuckles down my cheek but I pull back out of reach. He flinches. "Jules."
"Just tell me what happened."
"You won"t let me touch you? Does that mean that you just want an explanation so you can leave for good?"
I swallow hard and look at his beautiful hands and shake my head slowly, but I can"t talk. Not yet.
"Monday was a cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k, Julianne." He pulls a hand down his face and suddenly looks very tired. "I was pulled into Vincent"s office as soon as I got to work. He told me that they"d received an anonymous phone call telling them that I"d been having an affair with you. He said that they didn"t have any proof, so at first I denied it."
"Audrey." I state and he nods.
"It was Audrey. She saw us at the market on Sunday."
"How does she know about the no frat policy?" I ask, confused.
Nate sighs and shakes his head. "I don"t know. I have a feeling she"s probably made it her business to look into most everything about me. She"s a nosy woman."
"So it wasn"t Carly?" I"m so confused.
"No, but she was just a ticking time bomb too. After you asked about her in the meeting, Vincent had us do some checking into her computer and office. She had extensive notes on you, Jules. She"s the one who sent me that incomplete report in New York. Jenny admitted that she asked her to hit send on your computer after you called that day, and Carly set you up. She was trying to figure out a way to get you fired."
"Why?" I ask.
"Who knows?" he shrugs and shakes his head. "To move up in the company faster, maybe she just didn"t like you, the possibilities are endless. When confronted, she denied it, but we had enough evidence to fire her."
"So Carly"s gone too?"
"Yes." He exhales deeply.
"What happened that morning?" I ask.
"Vincent told me that he was going to fire you whether I copped to it or not. He said he didn"t need proof, which is true. This is a no-fault state. They can fire anyone for any reason. So I called over to HR to have a representative present and I told them that yes, you and I are in a relationship." He swallows and shakes his head.
"Then Vincent told me that he"d let you stay if I broke it off and transferred you to the New York office."
I gasp and feel my eyes go wide.
"I told him to go to h.e.l.l. I told him that I would stay on with the company if he offered you a severance package and cashed out your sick as well as your vacation time."
"Nate, it wasn"t about the money..."
"I"m not finished, Julianne."
Oh, that"s right, this is Nate.
"Alright."
"Then I left his office and went to mine and starting making calls. At noon, I was asked to go to the conference room so Vincent could discuss some things with Luis and me about how we"ll handle the accounts with you gone."
He looks me in the eye. "It was killing me. The thought of having to fire you, and planning how to divvy up your work was killing me."
"You looked just fine in the meeting, Nate."
"Yeah, well, looks are deceiving. When they pulled you in the room, I wanted to hold you and protect you. But I had a plan, and I couldn"t show you any emotion. I knew you"d be strong and that you would tell the truth, and you didn"t disappoint me, baby."
"I didn"t have any reason to lie. I knew what I was doing when we started our relationship, Nate."
"I know. We both did. But we don"t have to worry about it anymore."
"No, we don"t."
"I mean, there"s more." He smiles at me, a wide, beautiful smile, like he has a gift for me. "After you left the building, I made a few more calls, and then ran after you. You know what happened then."
"Yeah," I whisper.
"Well, the following day, I handed in my resignation." I gasp again and search his face. He looks happy. At peace.
"Nate, G.o.d, you didn"t have to..."
"Yeah, I did, Jules. But here"s the best part. You know I"ve done well in this business. I"ve been smart. I"m a very, very wealthy man, sweetheart."
"Okay." I narrow my eyes on his face, not sure where he"s going with this.
"Well, as of this morning, you"re looking at the CEO of McKenna Enterprises, LLC. We have clients on board, and Mrs. Glover is coming with us too."
"Us?" I ask, in shock.
"Of course us. It"s going to be a busy year ahead, but I know you"re not afraid of a little hard work."
Oh my G.o.d.
"Are you offering me a job?" I ask, still not entirely grasping what he"s asking.
"No, my love, I"m offering you a partnership. This is our company."
"Holy s.h.i.t."
"Is that your way of accepting the position?" he asks with a grin.
"No fraternization policy?" I ask.
"I"m not fond of those," he replies.
"You did this for me?" I whisper, in awe.
"I would do anything for you, baby. When are you going to figure that out?" His face is so serious, so sure.
"Oh, Nate." I launch myself into his arms, and he pulls me close, buries his face in my neck and holds on tight.
"I love you so much, Julianne. Don"t leave me again. Please."
I run my fingers through his hair and soak in his warmth. "I"m here."
He pulls back and gazes down at me, brushes his knuckles down my cheek and kisses my forehead. "Your skin is so soft."
"Natalie and I had my birthday spa treatments today."
"You deserved them." He murmurs.
"Nate?"
"Yes, baby."
I pull my fingers down his face, so in love with this sweet man. "When can I move in?"
"I"ll make some calls in the morning."
Epilogue.
"Are the arrangements all made, Jenny?" I ask my a.s.sistant.
"Yes sir, everything is ready." Jenny winks at me and I smile back. Bringing her with Julianne and me to the new company was one of the best moves I ever made.
"Thank you. You can go ahead and go home for the weekend."
"Great, I"ll do that. Happy birthday, Mr. McKenna."
"Thank you, Jenny."
Jenny pulls her purse out of her desk just as Julianne comes out of her office, looking f.u.c.king amazing in her red dress and black heels, hair all loose around her gorgeous face.
G.o.d, I love her.
"Are you heading out, Jenny?" she asks in her soft, sweet voice.
"Yes, Miss Montgomery, unless you had anything else for me?"
"Oh, no, that"s fine. Have a good weekend." She smiles at Jenny and then crosses to me, a happy smile on her lips. "I think I"m ready to call it a day as well, Mr. McKenna."
"You read my mind, baby." I take her in my arms and rest my lips on her soft forehead, breathing her in. She always smells like sunshine and vanilla. "I have a surprise for you."
She looks up at me with wide eyes and then frowns. "But it"s your birthday. I have a surprise for you."
"Will it travel?" I ask and rub my hands up and down her lean back.
She purses her lips and her eyes widen a bit in surprise and then she says, "Yeah, I guess so."
"Good. Grab your things and let"s go."
"Are we going home first?" she asks. I love it when she says home like that. It"s our home now, and has been for two months, but it still sounds new when it trips off her sweet tongue.
"No, we don"t have time."
"But, I didn"t bring anything for a weekend trip."
"It"s been taken care of, Julianne. Trust me." She gathers her things and we lock up the office, then I hold my hand out for hers, lacing her fingers in mine, and we ride down the elevator to the parking garage.
"Where are we going?" she asks, her big blue eyes looking up at me expectantly.
"You"ll see soon." She sticks her bottom lip out in a pout and I laugh and lean down to nibble and kiss her lips. "You taste good," I whisper.
"I had a Hershey bar before we left," she whispers back.
I chuckle as the elevator opens and lead her to the Mercedes. I"d really like to take the bike this weekend, but we have too much stuff to bring with us.
After stowing our things, we"re soon on the freeway heading south out of Seattle. Julianne runs her fingertips up and down my thigh, sending shivers through me and making my c.o.c.k twitch. I catch her hand and kiss her fingertips, and then rest our hands in my lap. She smiles sa.s.sily. "Later," I murmur.
"Okay, spill it. Where are we going?"
"To the beach house."
"Oh good! We haven"t been in a while." She beams at me and I smile back.
"I know, we"ve been too busy building the business. We deserve this weekend away." I kiss her hand again and she leans over to kiss me.
"Yes, we do."
"Hey, baby, we"re here." I brush the back of my hand down Jules" soft cheek, waking her from her nap. She fell asleep thirty minutes into the car ride here and I just let her sleep. She looks like an angel when she sleeps, and we"ve worked many sixty to eighty hour weeks lately, exhausting both of us.
"We"re here?" she asks sleepily and sits up to stretch, pushing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s out against that s.e.xy dress and my c.o.c.k immediately stirs to life.
I didn"t realize until I pulled in the driveway how nervous I am about tonight. Telling her that I have a surprise for her was the understatement of the year. This could be one of the most important nights of our lives, and I just pray to G.o.d I don"t f.u.c.k it up.
Jules grabs her handbag and I pull the large suitcase containing both of our clothes for the weekend out of the backseat and join her on the porch, unlock the door, and follow her inside.
The rental company I use to care for the house in our absence has been here like I requested, and I take a quick look around. There is a fire burning in the fireplace, the logs not burned too far down, telling me they were here recently.
Perfect.
The dining room table is set for dinner, and there are chafing dishes on the counter with our dinner being kept warm.