In the Boss's Bed (Harlequin Blaze) (13 page)

21

W
ITH
THE
PRESS
GATHERED
,
Jamie took his spot behind the podium on the DJ stage at Swerve Nightclub in front of the reporters to announce the opening of the hotel.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Swerve. I was born, raised and educated here in Montreal. This historic city is where I opened my first nightclub, the original Swerve Nightclub, where we stand today. I’ve since expanded my business and opened successful clubs all over the country.” Jamie smiled broadly as he savored the moment. He was about to make one of the most important announcements of his career.

“But I am very proud to tell you that we are all about pushing the envelope and taking it one step further.” He gestured to Maya as she started the slide-show presentation behind him. “I am pleased to officially announce the opening of the first of what I hope to be many Swerve Hotels, located right here in Montreal!”

The audience applauded appreciatively as Jamie explained the concept of the hotel and the amenities. He brought Maya forward. “I would also like to introduce the woman who will be running the show here at the downtown hotel—Maya Connor.”

Maya waved and approached the podium. She’d prepared a speech. But as she opened her mouth, a voice from the crowd interrupted her.

“Maya Connor,” a loud male called out. Because of the spotlights in her eyes, she couldn’t find the source. “Can we assume that this new position is directly related to a position you found yourself in just yesterday?”

Maya and Jamie exchanged a confused look. “I’m sorry? What are you talking about?” The lights dimmed and she watched as security agents made their way to the center of the crowd.

The source of the interruption, she now recognized as John Power, was gradually pulled out of the crowd by security. The man responsible for the nastiest, most disparaging stories about Jamie, yelled as he was dragged away by the bouncers. “I’m talking about the video that was uploaded to
Montreal Secrets
yesterday, showing you on your knees, servicing Mr. Sellers. I guess that’s how you got the job, huh? Through a job of your own?” he finished with a smirk, obviously proud of his own wit.

* * *

J
AMIE
GROWLED
AND
stalked off the stage, running so that he would come face-to-face with their accuser. Jamie looked him square in the eye and addressed his security. “Let him go,” he ordered them.

“Boss, we’re about to throw him out on his ass.”

“Let him go, I’m not going to break the jaw of a guy who is being restrained. How would that look?” He pulled back his fist, but before he could inflict any damage, he felt a soft, but firm grasp on his arm.

“Jamie, no,” Maya cried. “He isn’t worth it.”

When Jamie saw Maya’s pleading eyes, he dropped his fist.

“Yeah, Jamie, I’m not worth it.” John mimicked Maya.

Jamie exhaled and looked at his bouncers. “Just get him the hell out of here.” And the two large men dragged the reporter through the stunned, whispering crowd.

* * *

A
FTER
THE
DISASTER
that was the press conference, Jamie and Maya sat at opposite ends of Trevor’s office in the nightclub. The office was their easiest escape route from the madness of the night and the catastrophic press conference. Jamie’s hand covered his mouth and the lower half of his face. He kept stealing glances at Maya, who stared at her balled up fingers in her lap.

Trevor was at his laptop. “Here it is, guys, do you want to see it?”

“Yes,” Jamie said firmly, while Maya still said nothing.

Jamie had no idea what she was thinking. She wouldn’t look at him, so he knew that it couldn’t have been good. He sat in front of the computer as Trevor pushed Play.

“Hello, Montreal,” the administrator of the
Montreal Secrets
site screeched from the computer speakers. The administrator of the site was a close partner to John Power and they often worked together in collecting and reporting “news.”

“Boy, do we have an exclusive for you today,” he continued. “This is a brand-spanking-new video of Jamie Sellers which arrived in my in-box from an
anonymous source
this morning.” The administrator was in his element. “And I have to tell you all that it is
extremely
not safe for work.” Jamie watched as the video switched from the admin’s face to a clip in which Maya was visibly on her knees in front of him. A pixelated square covered his cock and a portion of her face. His head was thrown back and his eyes were closed and his hand rested on the back of her head. It was painfully obvious what they were doing in the video that seemed to be taken through the large window behind his desk, with some sort of telescopic lens.

The voice on the video continued. “The woman has since been identified as Maya Connor, Jamie’s assistant—”

At the mention of her name, Maya let out a small noise, part exclamation and part sob, from the corner of the room. It got Jamie’s attention and he could tell that she was crying. Ignoring the computer screen, he went to her, while Trevor discreetly let himself out of the room.

“—announced today that she would be running Sellers’s new Montreal hotel. I’ll bet we all know how she got that job.”

He stood by her and put his hand on her shoulder. But upon hearing that last remark, he refused to listen to any more. He went back to the desk and picked up Trevor’s laptop and hurled it across the room. He saw Maya flinch against the noise and the violence of his actions, and regretted letting his emotions take over.

He went back to her and fell to his knees in front of her. He put his hands on her face, cupping her cheeks. “Maya, I’m so sorry.” She remained silent. “Say something to me, please.”

“How did this happen?” she asked him quietly, her large eyes filled with tears.

How did it happen? How could I let it happen?
He felt responsible. He should have stopped her. He should have known that there was a chance they could have been seen through the large window in the office. “Baby, I don’t know what happened. I guess someone saw us in the window, took a video.” He brushed a tear from her cheek. “But we’ll find him. I swear. I’m going to find who did this to us.”

She looked at the floor and not at him, and she whispered, “Jamie. I—I can’t work for you anymore.”

Even if she’d hit him with a semi, she couldn’t have dealt a harder blow. “What do you mean?”

“Jamie, this is exactly what I was afraid would happen. Our
supersecret
relationship was outed, in the worst possible way. For God’s sake, it looks like I traded sex for a promotion.” She shook her head, and the tears flowed once again. “Jamie, I quit.”

Jamie took her face in his hands. “I won’t let that happen, Maya. I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them that we’re together, and that you are the best candidate for the job. Who cares what people think?”

“I care, Jamie!” she emphatically stated. “I care. This is my reputation, my career we’re talking about. I told you how important my name is to me. It’s all I have, and now it’s ruined.”

“It’s not. Maya, we can still make this work,” he pleaded.

“No, Jamie. You have to let me go.”

Jamie knew that she wasn’t just talking about the job. She was leaving him. He pulled his hands from her face and stood. He walked away from her and faced the wall. She was the woman he loved, but his stupid, male pride wouldn’t beg her to stay. If she wanted to go, she could go.

Maya sat silent for a moment, and he could feel her eyes on his back. He wouldn’t turn to face her. Lest he shed the tears that burned his eyes and threatened to fall onto his cheeks. He wouldn’t turn around when he heard her sniff quietly, pick up her purse and walk out the door and out of his life.

22

M
AYA
LEFT
T
REVOR
’
S
OFFICE
, passing him on the way out. It looked like he was texting someone. She noticed him trying to catch her eye and she ignored him, lowering her head and continuing out the hallway. She went upstairs to Jamie’s office to pack her belongings, ignoring the stares and curious glances of her former coworkers.

When she arrived at her apartment, Maya was hoping that Abby wouldn’t be home. She really could have used a little more time to curl up in a ball and cry on her bed before she forced herself to pull it together and get her life back in order. No such luck. When she opened the door to the apartment, Abby ran to meet her.

“Maya, honey. I’m so sorry this happened to you.” She wrapped her arms around Maya’s shoulders and relieved her of the box that held the items from her desk. “What’s all this?”

“I packed up my desk. I just had to get out of there.”

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“I quit. I couldn’t stay. Everyone thinks...” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought. “Everybody knows...” She looked at her friend. “How did you find out?”

“Trevor told me,” Abby answered simply.

Maya thought it was odd that Abby and Trevor were in contact, but she was too exhausted, and too wrapped up in her own drama to question it.

“Maya, everybody knows that you are a wonderful, intelligent woman and that’s why Jamie promoted you. Not because of any relationship you have, which, by the way, is also no secret to anyone.” Abby led Maya to the couch and passed her a glass that held a small amount of amber liquid.

“Maya, you know how these things go. This will all blow over. You have to believe it. If anyone knows about this kind of thing, it’s Jamie. The press has put him through the wringer before, but he always comes back stronger. He can help you with this. Be a united front for the company,” Abby pleaded with her. “You can’t give this up. This is your dream.”

Maya shook her head, determined not to cry. “Abby, I can’t. I’m not like him. I’m not well-known, rich or respected. Especially as a woman in this field. All I have is my name. This type of scandal could follow me for the rest of my career. I had to quit, and hopefully I can repair some of the damage that’s been done.”

Abby nodded and pulled Maya close to herself. “Does Jamie know you left?”

Maya nodded and sniffed. “He does.”

“And he didn’t try to stop you?”

Maya recalled their conversation in Trevor’s office. He’d held her, looked into her eyes and told her that they could make it work. It’d be okay. They could face it together. But when she walked out of the office, away from him, he hadn’t stopped her from leaving.

She shook her head, tears fresh from mourning the loss of her relationship with him. “He wanted to stop me, I know it. But he didn’t.”

“So, why did you leave him, then?”

Maya didn’t know for sure. “It felt like it was my only choice.”

“Instead of talking about it? Instead of sticking it out together?”

Maya flinched under Abby’s inquisition. “Why are you attacking me?” she asked her friend angrily.

Abby put a firm, but supportive hand on her shoulder. “Honey, I’m always on your side. But this is something you do. When the going gets tough, you get out. It’s like when you have something worth fighting for, you don’t even see it. That’s your MO. I’ve seen you do this a thousand times. If this was a tough assignment, you would double down and push through it, but when something gets too real, or too emotional, you call it quits. You do so well in an academic or professional setting, but your personal life is a mess.”

“That isn’t what’s going on here.”

“No? All right, Maya. If you say so.”

* * *

T
HANKFULLY
, T
REVOR
GAVE
him a few minutes alone before he made his way back into the office.

“So that went...” Trevor noticed the broken heap on the floor that was once his computer. “Well.”

Jamie dismissed it. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Yeah, a better one, too. Thankfully, I’ve got everything backed up. So, ah...” He sat at his desk, leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “What’s going on here?”

Jamie remained silent.

“So, you and Maya, huh? I can’t say that I’m surprised. I kind of figured there was something going on there with the two of you...”

“What do you know about it?” Jamie grumbled, running an impatient hand through his hair. He’d messed up. He should have been more careful. He had known that they were in front of the window. He shouldn’t have let this happen.

“Dude, talk to me. I’m your friend. Where did she go?”

“She left. I don’t know where she is.”

“You didn’t go after her?”

“Nope. She wanted to leave.”

“And you let her?”

Jamie smashed his fist down on Trevor’s desk. “What was I supposed to do?”

“You obviously care about her. You should have convinced her to stay.”

“Dammit, Trevor. I tried!”

“I don’t believe you. You’re Jamie-goddamn-Sellers.” Trevor’s adoption of Maya’s new nickname for his friend drove the point home. “You have never let anything stand in the way of anything you’ve ever wanted. You wanted to open a nightclub? You did. You wanted to open twelve? You did. You wanted hotels? You got ’em. She went out on a limb to be with you, and she got burned,” he said, getting in Jamie’s face. “Fight for her.”

Jamie brought his fingertips to his eyes and rubbed them. “She’s gone,” he sighed. “It’s too late.”

23

A
FTER
SEVEN
DAYS
of crying over Jamie, Maya decided it was time to pick up her life and start fresh. She stayed in her apartment, as the one time she’d left, she was hounded by gossip and tabloid “reporters,” who were questioning her relationship with Jamie, what she did to
earn
her promotion and her hasty departure from the company.

She hadn’t spoken to Jamie. If she did, she was afraid that she would fall back under his spell. She would go back to work for him, and always live under the shadow of the scandal.

Maya needed a fresh start.

Abby walked into the living room and saw Maya sitting on the couch. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.”

“Yeah, it looks like you showered and everything today,” Abby joked.

“I’m starting over. Starting today,” Maya stated with a smile.

“That’s awesome. Glad to hear you’re pulling out of your funk.”

“Yeah,” Maya agreed, a thoughtful smile on her lips. “I think I need a montage.”

“A montage?”

“Yeah, you know, like in those cheesy eighties movies. I need clips of me getting my life back in order—me hanging out with friends, me searching online job ads, me going to the gym, picking up kickboxing, going on job interviews. I just wish I could fast-forward through putting myself back together and just be
me
again.”

Abby laughed. “You’re a nut. You must be feeling better,” she said, pulling lightly on Maya’s ponytail, and left the room.

Yes, she was feeling better. Maya had a new plan. She needed to go somewhere the scandal wouldn’t follow her. She picked up her laptop and started scouring online job ads. She thought about relocating to the other end of the country when one ad in particular caught her eye. The general manager of Blue Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was looking for an assistant manager. She opened another internet window and quickly searched for any information for Blue, only to discover it was a property that was owned by Garrett Collins.

In a moment of inspiration, she picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she needed. She dialed and waited for the male voice to answer.

“Garrett Collins’s office, Andre speaking.”

“Andre? Hey, it’s Maya Connor calling, from Montreal. I’m—I was Jamie Sellers’s assistant. We met in Vegas.”

“Oh, Maya, yes, of course. How are you?”

“I’m great,” she lied. “I’m actually calling you because I’m looking to relocate and I just saw the job ad for the assistant manager for Blue.”

“Thinking about heading to the desert? Why don’t you just email your résumé to me and I’ll see that HR gets it, along with a recommendation from the Big Man. You made quite an impression on Garrett when you were here.”

Maya found herself smiling. She’d made an impression on Garrett Collins? “Thanks, Andre, I’ll be sure to do that.”

As Maya said her goodbye and hung up the phone she smiled. She still felt a flicker of apprehension, however. What if Garrett or someone in his human resources department ran a Google search on her? What if they found the video? Her smile faded. There was nothing she could do. The video was out there; she had resigned herself to that fact. And if Garrett Collins saw it, she would have to deal with the situation when it came up. He would hire her or not. But Maya needed a new start. This was just the sort of change she needed to turn her life around.

* * *

J
AMIE
SAT
IN
his office, once again unable to take his eyes off the empty desk in the corner of the room. Maya was gone, and he missed her desperately. He found it difficult to focus on any of the work that needed his attention. Jamie never thought it would be possible for a woman to make him feel so hollow. When the phone rang, he snapped out of his daydreams and picked it up.

Mary’s cool voice came over the intercom. “Jamie, it’s Garrett Collins.”

“Collins? Really?” Garrett Collins was the last man that Jamie had expected to hear from. Sure, they’d had a pleasant enough introduction and meeting in Las Vegas, but Jamie couldn’t imagine what Collins wanted that warranted a one-on-one phone call. “Put him through.”

Jamie cleared his throat. “Jamie Sellers here.”

“Jamie,” said the confident baritone of one of the most successful men in America. “It’s nice to speak with you again.”

“Well, I can assure you the pleasure is all mine,” Jamie replied, still more than a little confused. “What can I do for you today?”

“Well, Jamie, I’m looking for a recommendation from you.”

“Okay.” Jamie dragged out the word, still not really sure what Garrett was getting at.

“For your assistant, Maya. I received a copy of her résumé today in response to an ad my office placed.”

“Really?” Jamie was angry, but he forced himself to control his emotions.

“Yes, I take it she’s no longer working for you? Andre tells me that she’s looking for a change in scenery. Really, I don’t know why she would trade the history and culture of your fine city for the desert, but that’s beside the point.”

So Maya had reached out to Collins and had contacted Andre. Andre had flirted with Maya incessantly during their trip to Las Vegas. Jamie clenched a fist and imagined that weasel Andre being in the same room as his Maya. His Maya. He shook his head.
She’s not yours any longer.
And she no longer worked for him, so she could go anywhere or speak to anyone she pleased.

It also seemed that Garrett Collins had not yet got wind of the scandal that had rocked them and imploded their relationship, which was good news for Maya. But Jamie saw himself as having two choices in the matter. If he was an evil man, he could absolutely screw Maya. He could sabotage her chance of getting the position, or any others, thereby forcing her to return to work for him. But he wasn’t that kind of person. He would obviously tell the truth, praise her to a potential employer, especially one that could further her career, get her out of Montreal and make all of her dreams come true. Jamie did the right thing, even though it meant that he would be permanently removing Maya from his life.

“That’s correct. Maya and I have parted ways. Amicably, of course. She was an amazing assistant, intelligent and very capable. She’s just looking for something different right now. And if you hire her, you definitely will not regret it.”

“That’s some glowing praise there, Sellers. Makes me wonder why you didn’t keep her for yourself.”

Jamie closed his eyes, the stabbing pain in his chest too much to bear. “I would have if she let me, Garrett,” he said softly. “Good luck with your interviews. I’ve got to go now.”