“Actually, my mind is sharp. Very clear.”
“I’ve had enough.” I pick up the desk phone, but before I can press a button, Oliver speaks.
“Put the phone down, or they lose everything.”
I pause, staring at the phone, knowing it’s a simple button to press to get security up here. It doesn’t look like he’s hiding any weapons, and he’s a small guy, so if I had to defend myself, I could. But something in my gut tells me to hang up. It’s not justthe threat, I know a lot of them are empty. I’ve already deduced he’s about to blackmail me, and I’ve been blackmailed enough to know how to handle it. Most of what he says is going to be bullshit—scare tactics. But I put the phone down anyway. Just in case.
“Since you won’t open the folder, I’ll have to tell you what’s in it. Better yet, I’ll give you some hints. You can put two and two together.” I hold his gaze. “You met him at a private and discreet club. There was a contract involved. Youpaidhim for services. Very specific requests, I believe. And then, the best part yet, you hired him here, at this company.”
My chest gets tight and my vision starts to blur. He continues, not giving me a second to think.
“You moved the company here from Texas to escape your past, but it seems you brought a lot of it with you.”
My hands ball into fists so tight my fingers ache. My insides swirl with rage, wanting to leap out of my chair and strangle him—while also being unable to move. I can barely think.
Oliver sighs, looking almost bored. “I didn’t meet the man, but I am sure your father would have been much more careful about keepings secrets… well,secret. I mean, I’m sure he was since I couldn’t dig anything up on him and there’s no way he was an angel.”
“Don’t speak about my father,” I growl.
“I’m only saying… issues tend to run in the family, but this one… this is new.”
“What is your point,” I ground out.
“My point is… I know all your secrets,Harmon. Every last one of them. And what do you think would happen if the public found out that the CEO of Stone Timeworks likes to paymento be hisslave? The outrage… Not only the taboo aspect of it, but you liking men?” He looks distressed, putting his hand on his chest. “You’d lose a lot of customers, Harmon. Probably investors too. I mean—” He lets out a sad laugh. “I can already see the headlines.” He moves his hand in front of him as he says, “Luxury CEO Pays for Control” Smiling, he sighs wistfully. “It would be beautiful, you know.”
This is a nightmare. My worst case scenario. Actually, the worst thing that could ever happen to me. It’s what I’ve been afraid of.
I brought Cassius here to go over the contract to make it look like he was a potential employee on an interview. It’s how I’ve always done it. The only way Oliver would have known it was anything more was if he got into my computer, or… was he listening? Hiding outside the room and listening to the conversation?
He steps forward, placing his hands on the desk and leaning forward.
“So this is how it’s going to go, Harmon.” He bites his lip, looking me up and down. “You’re going to give me a promotion and double my pay—all for my silence.”
“You don’t know that what you have will ruin me,” I say, trying to make it believable but even I don’t believe it.
“You’re smarter than that. Pretending to be stupid won’t help you.”
The problem is he’s right. My father was terrified of my sexuality and made me terrified of it, too. It’s why I hid it for long, even from myself. It took me a long time to figure out how to move forward. The contracts. The payments. The club. It wasn’t ideal, and I had been warned by my lawyer—and that’s without him knowing the entire extent of it.
If this gets out, especially now with everything still going around about Ferroix, I’ll be ruined completely.
“You’re going to ruin this company, Harmon. You’re the one risking all of it, and that’s why I’m doing this. I’m doing it for you, for this company. For every single employee here. I don’t want to see Stone Timeworks flounder—I truly don’t. So, this is my solution.”
“This is your solution?” I growl. “What kind of solution is this? What do you think will happen here, Oliver? You think I’ll just keep quiet about this for the rest of my life?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Yeah, actually, I do.” He leans in. “Want to know why?” I hold his stare, letting out a rumbling breath. “Because you’re weak.”
I’ve never wanted to punch someone as badly as I want to punch him right this very second. The confidence on his face is what’s throwing me the most. He’s so certain. He’s been planning this for a long time. Maybe even before Cassius. Maybe he knew about someone else, too…
My handsare tied.
“Fine,” I say. His eyes brighten with excitement. “But I have a stipulation.”
His brows raise. “You think you’re calling the shots here?”
“Oliver, I will murder you right the fuck now,” I seethe.
“Okay, okay,” he says, holding his hands up.