Chapter 6 - THE CONFESSION
The silence in the office was deafening. The child’s drawing rested on the mahogany desk between them, next to the monitor still glowing with the image of the uncashed check.
“I need an answer, Cameron,” Audrey said, her voice trembling but fierce. “Did you try to buy me off three years ago? Was I a threat?”
Cameron rubbed a hand over his face, looking older and more exhausted than she had ever seen him. “No. Never. Three years ago, right after Daniel died and I took Mia in, I was drowning. The company was in chaos, I was grieving, and suddenly I was a father. You kept me afloat. You worked eighty-hour weeks. You never complained.”
He stepped closer, his dark eyes locking onto hers, stripping away every boundary that existed between boss and assistant.
“I overheard you talking to Sophie on the phone one night,” he continued softly. “You were crying. You said you wanted to start your own consulting firm, but you couldn’t afford to quit because your mother’s medical bills were too high. You were trapped working for a tyrant.”
Audrey swallowed hard. She remembered that night.
“I wrote that check to set you free,” Cameron whispered. “I wanted to give you the capital to start your business. But when I went to give it to you…” He looked down at his hands. “I couldn’t do it. I was so damn selfish. I knew if I gave it to you, you’d leave. And if you left, I would completely fall apart. So I hid the check. And I forced myself to write that resignation letter you found in my coat last night.”
Audrey gasped. “Elaine didn’t forge it?”
“No. I wrote it three years ago. I kept it in my coat to remind myself what a coward I was. I was going to hand it to you and fire you, so you could collect severance and move on. But I couldn't lose you, Audrey. Not then. And definitely not now.”
May you like
Tears pricked Audrey’s eyes. He hadn’t been trying to ruin her; he had been trying to save her, but his need for her had won out.
“We’ll deal with us later,” Audrey said, her voice thick with emotion. She grabbed her purse and the drawing. “Right now, Elaine is waiting for us at the Plaza. And we are going to get your daughter back.”
