I close my eyes and bite the inside of my lip. Shit. “I’m sorry, I thought Tyson briefed you. We got back late Saturday, and yesterday was my birthday. I slept in.”
She sighs. “It’s fine. I did talk to Tyson, so I know that all ended well, but I expected to hear from you regarding George and the real financials at Dupont.”
“I was going to give you my report on Monday.”
“Today is Monday. You were supposed to be back.”
“It’s Monday?” I ask, shocked. How is that possible?
“Yes, it’s Monday. Tyson isn’t at the office either, and I thought something had happened to you two.”
My stomach knots at the reproach, and I swallow thickly.
“No, we’re fine. Um, sorry. I lost track of time. I’ve been asleep, it was a pretty hectic day yesterday.”
“Where are you now?”
“At my hotel,” I lie.
“Fine. I was going to tell you this today in person, but seeing as you’re not here, this will have to do.”
“Tell me what?”
“I’m offering Tyson Erin’s role.”
“Oh, wow. That’s…great,” I say woodenly, but my heart is beating out of my chest as her words sink in. It’s not great at all.
“Well, I don’t know, but he’s certainly qualified, and it’s what he wants. But I need you to do the background check on him.”
My stomach churns. “Oh, I do those now? I thought they were manager level duty.”
“This is where business and personal mix. I want it done by someone I know won’t use it to exploit him. So it must be you, please.”
The please at the end is the most vulnerable I’ve ever heard her sound, and I can’t bring myself to say no. Because I’d have to explain why, and right now, I’m not sure I can explain it to myself. “So if he takes Erin’s role, that means I will report to him?”
“Yes. And thank goodness I don’t have to worry about you two falling in love. I mean, if my son knew what was good for him and you weren’t in such a rush, but alas…”
“In a rush for what?”
“To be settled.”
“Is it obvious?”
“Very. But it’s normal and wasn’t an indictment.”
“Does he… Tyson, does he know about the job?”
“Yes. I told him on Saturday that it was his for the taking.”
“I mean, does he know I’m taking Derrick’s job?”
“No, not yet. You haven’t signed your contract, didn’t want to get ahead of myself. But I can tell him.”
“No, it’s okay. I was just wondering.” Because he didn’t mention it. “I’m going to get myself together. I’ll be in the office tomorrow. I’m sorry I fell off the face of the earth. It won’t happen again.”
I hang up the phone and press my hands to my racing heart. Oh God, why can’t I just for once have everything I want? I’m a good person.
I sit on the floor, draw my knees up to my chest, and rest my cheek on my knees. I’m heartsick not because I’m faced with this choice but because I don’t think Tyson will struggle at all when he finds out.
“Hey, you okay?” Tyson is leaning against the frame of the door I left open on the balcony. He’s wearing boxers and nothing else. And I just want him so much that I wish I could roll back time and not have answered the call. “What did my mom want?”
I reach a hand up, and he takes it in his. “Sit, please?”
“Sure. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Your mom made me an offer before I came here.”
He frowns. “What offer?”
“Director, Derrick’s old job.”
He lets out a low whistle. “That’s a nice level up, Dina.”
“I know.”
“So why are you looking like you just got fired instead?”
A laugh that has a fringe of hysteria at the beginning escapes at his choice of words.
“Because in your new role, you’d be my boss.”
“And would that be so bad? I mean, yeah, I work my people hard, but—”
“No, it’s not that. It’s the company policy. We can’t be anything more than supervisor and direct report.”
“Oh, come on, they don’t enforce that.”
“That’s why Derrick and Erin were terminated. They were together, even before she came to Wilde, and she promoted him, moved to London, and let him get away with all sorts of shit before anyone realized. They do enforce it.”
He closes his eyes. “Shit.”
“Yeah…shit.” My stomach dips at the defeat in his voice.
“How come you didn’t mention she’d offered you Erin’s job?”
He shrugs. “Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it since she made the offer on Saturday. Also, I just realized it’s Monday morning. I thought it was still Sunday.”
I groan and cover my face again. “Tyson, see that’s why couples shouldn’t work together. Our first attempt and we almost fucked it up and then we lost a whole day in bed.”
“It is pretty damning, isn’t it? Good thing I didn’t answer that phone. There’d be no way to keep it from her then.”
His words cool my ardor and bring me crashing back down to earth. I surge to my feet.
“I need to pee.” I walk into the bathroom and sit on the toilet.
“You’re not peeing,” he calls from outside the door.
“I know, I’m thinking.”
“About what?”
“This is my dream job, Tyson. I’ve worked my ass off for it. You are my dream man. I’d work my ass off for you if I thought…”
“Thought what?”
I stand up and pull the door open. He is standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and an expression I can’t read on his face. “Thought what?”
I mimic his stance and square my chin. “What do you want from me?”
He doesn’t miss a beat before he answers. “Anything you’ll let me have. What do you want from me?”
“Honesty, common purpose, comfort, love. Nothing more. Nothing less,” I add meaningfully.
“Are you sure you’re ready to give me that? Are you going to turn the job down?”
His question, the flippancy of it, takes me aback. “Is that a condition for you to give me those things?”
“No. But I don’t see how you can expect me to be your man if you work for me.”
“Well, clearly you can’t be if I do.”
“Then don’t take the job.”
His words are a slap in the face. “What?”
“I’m just saying, there are other jobs like that, right?”
“No there aren’t. In fact, it’s such a rare thing, only companies Wilde’s size can support such a specific role. This is what I’ve been working for my whole life.”
He looks at me like I sprouted a tail. “Are you saying I should turn the job down? You can’t possibly expect me to do that. I’ve been working toward this my whole life.”
“So have I,” I retort.