Tiger in Her Bed Revised Kindle(4)

Vanessa swallowed hard. Here we go. The invisible knot in her throat made her almost choke. “I… I only can say that I’m deeply sorry. There’s no excuse for what I did. I’m deeply ashamed for my bad judgment.”

Quinn stilled. He tapped his fingers on the glossy surface of his desk. “You’re ashamed of kissing me? Hmm. Somehow my pride is wounded. Here I thought I was a prize catch.”

“I’m sure you are, but that’s hardly relevant in this case, isn’t it?” Vanessa thought hard for a moment. “Can I, at least, be allowed to resign instead? My past performance has been exemplary. If I resign …” Her words trailed away. She was hoping to keep her resume squeaky clean.

Quinn stared straight into her eyes. “This job is important to you, isn’t it?”

“This job is my everything.”

Her boss relaxed. His ghostly smile lingered. He waved her off. “I’m not going to fire you for our little… ahem… indiscretion. The company rewards or punishes employees based on his or her work performance. You have been a great asset to us, especially during development of The Northmen Saga. I would never dream of letting you go over something so trivial.”

Vanessa could not believe what she heard. “So, you’re not going to fire me? I get to keep my job?”

“Yes, Vanessa, you get to keep your job.”

The weight on her shoulders suddenly lifted. She couldn’t believe this turn of events. She kept her job. Kept her pet project. She was having a hard time containing her grin. She’d jump around and dance if she weren’t in Quinn’s office right now. She couldn’t wait to tell Stephen.

“Thank you. I’m so relieved. I better get back to my work.” Vanessa started to rise from her seat.

“Sit down. We haven’t finished.”

She paused. “We haven’t?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Oh.” She sank her butt back in the chair.

“The reason I called you is that we have a problem that needs to be addressed quickly.”

“What kind of problem?”

Quinn took his phone and swiped his finger across the screen. After a few scrolls, he showed her. Vanessa craned her neck over Quinn’s desk, watching what appeared to be a YouTube video.

She widened her eyes, and couldn’t believe what she saw.

Someone had secretly taped Quinn kissing her at the New Year’s Eve party. She was giggling merrily in it, draping herself over Quinn’s arm as he led her from the restroom. She said something to him and Quinn suddenly pushed her against the wall and kissed the life out her.

Blood drained from her face. She wanted to disappear from where she was sitting, if she could. She covered her face with her hands, unable to look at Quinn any longer.

Unable to face her boss.

“It did happen, didn’t it?” she said in a small voice. “I thought it was a dream.”

“It did happen.” Quinn sounded rather annoyed.

Was he mad about this? But he was the one who kissed her. How was that her fault?

“I’m so sorry,” she said automatically, placing her hands on her lap.

“Well?”

“It won’t happen again.”

Quinn narrowed his eyes. “You have to take responsibility for this.”

“Ah yes, of course. Wait… you make me sound like I got you pregnant or something,” Vanessa blurted. “You’re the one who kissed me.”

He looked as if about to laugh but covered it with a frown instead. “This video has become viral. The problem is, my mom happened to see it. Then, my uncle. My brothers. Practically my entire family. And my mom, God bless her heart, has been bugging me about grandkids since I hit thirty-three. What a pain she is. Anyway, my phone has been ringing off the hook since she saw this video. She wants to meet you.”

Vanessa sat ramrod straight in her chair. “Why? I’m not your girlfriend.”

“I told her you are.”

“Why on earth did you do that?”

“To keep her off my back. You have no idea how persuasive she can be.”

“That’s sneaky.”

Quinn placed his phone next to his laptop. “We have a family get-together this weekend in Aspen. Mom expects me to bring you.”

Vanessa opened and closed her mouth. She shook her head. “No, no, no. Leave me out of this. You’re the one who lied to your mother. I won’t be a part of your charade.”

Quinn tsked. “That’s too bad. I already told her you’d come.”

“No way. I’m terrible at lying. I won’t go.”

One of his eyebrows arched. “Are you sure you want to do that?”