“I know.”
I already knew Hudson knew. It was me that was just now admitting it.
I turned away from the desk and plopped myself down on his couch. Hudson came and sat down next to me. I rubbed my hand across his cheek. “Thank you for offering, though. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”
“No. It wasn’t.” He ran his fingers up and down my arm, leaving goose bumps in their wake. “But it would be worth it to make you happy.”
Man, he’d grown up in the last few weeks. I had to give him that.
But maybe I hadn’t, because I still wasn’t quite ready to let the subject of Norma Anders go to rest. “Have you considered that maybe it’s not good for Norma to work with you either?”
Hudson chuckled. “No, I haven’t. And I’m sure it’s not.”
I shifted to face him. “Could we make some sort of concession here?” I took his hand in mine, playing with it as I talked. “Like, could you not have meetings alone with her? Is there anyone else on your team that could join you in the future?”
With his free hand, he brushed a piece of hair out of my face. “On the project we’re currently working on—no. But it’s almost done, and I don’t expect that this level of secrecy would be necessary in the future.”
And on top of their private meetings, they were sharing a secret. Fucking great. “What project are you working on?”
“Nothing you’d be interested in.” Before I had a chance to scowl, he corrected himself. “I’m trying to purchase a company from someone who would never sell if they knew I was the purchaser. Norma’s the only person I can trust not to leak the information.”
“Fine.” I hated that there was no way around their working relationship. Hated it. But what could I do? “Fine,” I said again, more for me than him. “Social settings only, please. Where there are people around. And when this deal’s over, you won’t need private meetings with her anymore?”
“No. I won’t.”
“I’m going to still ask about her. Like, all the time. Because I can’t just let it go.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
Though I was pleased that we’d worked through our argument constructively, the resolution was still a bitter pill to swallow. “Do you know how much this hurts to let you keep her employed?” I squeezed his hand hard, digging my fingernails into the back of his hand to accentuate my pain level.
Hudson narrowed his eyes, tolerating my assault. “Believe me, I do.”
“Okay then. As long as we’re clear.” I released his hand.
“Was there another reason you stopped by?” He rubbed the back of his hand. “Or was Norma the intended subject all along?”
I laughed as I recalled the ridiculousness of my day. “No. I came by because I just wanted to see you. Lunch was…interesting…and then Celia was there again.”
His brow shot up. “Celia was there?”
“Jordan said he texted you.”
Hudson reached in his pants pocket and pulled out his phone. He flipped through a few screens. “Damn. I left my phone on silent. I didn’t know. She didn’t try anything?”
“Nope. Just let me know she was there.”
“Alayna. I’m so sorry.” He pulled me so I was half on his lap and wrapped his arms around me from behind.
I sighed, settling into the warmth of him.
Hudson kissed the top of my head. “Maybe you should take some time off. I could send you out of town. Would you like another week at my spa?”
I stretched my head to see if he was serious. He was. “I can’t leave now. Not with everything at the club. And she’ll know she scared me off. I can’t let her have that victory.”
“That’s a very brave response. I just hate that you’re in this position.” He tightened his arms around my breasts.
It was then that I remembered my other reason for stopping by. “Do you have a plan to deal with her?”
He was silent for a beat. “I talked to my lawyer today,” he said finally. “As you said, there’s nothing we can do legally. But we’re looking into some other options.”
“Illegal options?”
“How about you let me handle this? I’ll fill you in when everything’s sorted out.”
I didn’t have the energy at the moment to push him. Besides, it seemed he really didn’t have anything worked out at all, and forcing him to admit that would be unkind.
So I let it go. “You require an awful lot of trust these days.”
He placed a light kiss at my temple. “Too much?” His voice was strained and his body tight—it was his turn to need my reassurance.