Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN THEY CALLED A GOLD DIGGER
By morning, the photograph was online.
A gossip account posted:
BILLIONAIRE ADRIAN KANE'S MYSTERY WOMAN—EMPLOYEE OR SOMETHING MORE?
The comments were worse.
Secretary.
Gold digger.
Replacement mother.
Career climber.
The irony was almost impressive.
Twenty-four hours earlier, my biggest fear had been Noah embarrassing me in an office hallway.
Now strangers were debating whether I planned to marry his father for money.
I arrived at work at 7:10.
Adrian was already waiting outside my desk.
“We’re issuing a statement.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“No?”
“We are not using Kane Global communications to defend my dating life when I am not dating anyone.”
His jaw tightened.
“The story is false.”
“Then HR can investigate and say that.”
“You shouldn’t have to tolerate this.”
“I don’t.”
I placed my bag down.
“But you publicly attacking the story will make it larger.”
He stared at me.
I continued.
“I want a formal HR review.”
“Emma—”
“And I want temporary reassignment from your direct reporting line.”
His expression went blank.
“No.”
That single word held far too much emotion.
I softened my voice.
“This protects both of us.”
“You have done nothing wrong.”
“Exactly.”
“Then why should you move?”
“Because I refuse to spend the next year wondering whether every promotion I earn will be explained by one photograph.”
He turned away.
For the first time, I realized Adrian was angry because he understood I was right.
By noon, HR opened an independent review.
Every email.
Every expense.
Every evaluation.
Every compensation adjustment.
I welcomed it.
My record was clean.
I had never accepted a personal gift from Adrian.
Never traveled alone with him outside company business.
Never received unusual pay.
Nothing.
The restaurant dinner had included Margaret and Noah.
Security records confirmed it.
The complaint collapsed quickly.
But the leak remained.
Cybersecurity traced the original photograph to a private investigator named Ethan Crowley.
Crowley’s invoices came from Northstar.
Victor again.
He had ordered surveillance on Adrian after being suspended.
Rebecca handled it.
I wanted nothing to do with Victor anymore.
Then HR called me into a meeting.
My reassignment request had been approved.
Not sideways.
Upward.
The COO, Lila Chen, had been trying to recruit me into corporate operations for six months.
I never knew.
She had noticed the systems I built around Adrian’s office.
Board workflow.
Crisis scheduling.
Acquisition integration.
She offered me Director of Executive Operations.
Higher salary.
Larger team.
No direct reporting to Adrian.
I stared at her.
“Did Mr. Kane arrange this?”
Lila laughed.
“If Adrian Kane had arranged it, I would reject it on principle.”
I liked her instantly.
“The offer existed before this mess. HR has my draft from October.”
Proof.
Clean.
Mine.
I accepted.
When I told Adrian, he was silent.
Then:
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re leaving Monday?”
“Yes.”
He looked at my desk as if it had personally betrayed him.
Noah reacted worse.
“You’re quitting Dad?”
“I’m not quitting anyone.”
“You’re moving floors.”
“Yes.”
“That’s how it starts.”
I laughed.
“You have been watching too many cartoons.”
He folded his arms.
“Who will make Dad eat lunch?”
“Your father is thirty-six.”
“He forgets.”
Adrian looked offended.
“He’s right,” I said.
“Both of you are intolerable.”
My final Friday as Adrian’s executive secretary, I cleared the last drawer.
At the bottom was something that did not belong to me.
A cream envelope.
My name was written across it.
EMMA REED.
I stared.
Then remembered the blue letter Celeste had written “for the woman who makes him laugh.”
But I had already read that.
This was different.
The handwriting was Celeste’s.
Margaret must have slipped it into my desk.
I opened it.
Inside was one page.
If you're reading this because things with Adrian have become complicated, please remember one thing: Noah needing love is not enough reason for you to stay. Adrian must choose you for himself. And you must choose him for yourself. Never become a replacement for a dead woman. Become only what is honestly yours.
My eyes burned.
At the bottom, Celeste had added:
Also, if he forgets lunch, let him. He's very dramatic when hungry, but he survives.
I laughed through tears.
Then Adrian spoke behind me.
“She wrote that?”
I turned.
He had read the last line over my shoulder.
“Yes.”
He smiled.
Then his eyes moved to the rest of the letter.
His expression became serious.
“Emma.”
My heart began pounding.
But before he could finish, Rebecca called.
Victor had filed an emergency motion demanding removal of Adrian as CEO.
His argument?
Adrian’s “emotional involvement with a subordinate” had compromised his judgment.
The board would vote Monday.
May you like
My first day in a new job.
And possibly Adrian’s last as CEO.
