Our Fault (Culpable Book 3)

Two weeks after Thanksgiving, I got the call. I was about to start work! The secretary told me that Simon Roger, one of the partners in the firm, needed a young, energetic executive assistant to make his life easier. I would come in for a short meeting with him on Monday at seven a.m. It was an internship, but it still paid better than my old job, so I was happy.

When I arrived, I met a pretty woman with light hair and big brown eyes who showed me to Mr. Roger’s office. I knocked and waited a moment until he said I could come in. I was expecting an older man, not the impeccably dressed and groomed tall one who greeted me. He had green eyes and blond hair a bit lighter than mine. His blue suit and gray tie were of the finest materials, and I knew I’d looked at him for too long when I saw him smile.

“Noah Morgan, right?” he asked, standing up from his chair and buttoning his suit jacket with one hand while stretching out the other.

I wasn’t sure how hard to squeeze, and I worried I’d been too soft.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I said, feeling a little stupid.

Roger motioned for me to take a seat, then came around his desk to sit next to me. He turned his chair to face me. His office was simple: a wooden desk with an executive chair and two leather chairs in front of it, a gigantic Mac, and shelves full of file folders.

“When Lincoln told me Nicholas’s sister was looking for work here, I was surprised, but when I saw your grades and your references, I was happy you decided to work for me and not for Leister.”

I didn’t like hearing Nicholas’s name, but since they knew each other, I guessed it was inevitable that my family would come to light.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess no one wants to work for their stepfather,” I said, trying to sound friendly.

Roger looked up from a file and grinned. “I didn’t mean William, I meant Nicholas, but sure, I suppose you’re right.” He put the file aside, amused. “The job is simple. You take care of my errands, take notes at my meetings, help me with whatever I need…”

I nodded. So like a secretary, basically.

“I’m sure your brother could find you something better…”

“No, no, the last thing I want is to go begging to Nicholas. Anyway, I’d have to go to New York, right?” I said with a smile. I had a job! I was dying to get started!

Roger gave me a curious look. “Yes, I mean, it’s true that Nicholas is in New York right now, but this company is as much his as it is Lincoln’s and mine. But it’s normal you’d want to start from the bottom. That shows you have character…”

My mind froze, and I felt chills all over.

“Sorry, what exactly do you mean…?” A cold sweat dripped down my spine. “This company belongs to Nicholas?”

Roger looked at me as if I were an idiot and pointed to the emblem behind him, engraved on the window. I nearly had a heart attack. It couldn’t be.

LEISTER, ROGER & BAXWELL INC.

Shit!

It was Nicholas’s company, too?!

“We started the project together, but he’s the majority shareholder… I assumed you knew that,” he said, surprised that I obviously didn’t.

How could I be so stupid? Who just takes a job without even looking into it beforehand?

“My brother and I don’t have the best relationship,” I explained. “I called because Lincoln Baxwell offered me a job a few months ago. I didn’t have any idea this was Nicholas’s company. I…” I felt a flush coming into my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have wasted your time. I’ll go now.”

Roger stood and grabbed my arm before I could walk out. “Wait, Noah,” he said gently. “There’s no need for Nick to know you’re working here, if that’s what you’re worried about. He’s in New York, and as far as I know, he doesn’t have any intention of leaving.”

I took a deep breath. My thoughts were racing. I knew all too well Nicholas wasn’t planning on returning to LA. Not now, certainly.

“I’ll be your boss, not him,” he added, trying to convince me.

Could I do it? Could I work for Simon Roger knowing that one of the heads of the company was my ex-boyfriend, the same ex-boyfriend I hoped to never see again? If I’d had any other offer, I would have marched out…but I doubted things could get any better than this.

“What do you say?” he asked.

I swallowed my fears and suppressed my bad intuitions and said yes. Roger smiled, showing me his handsome white teeth.

“Welcome to the team, then… I’m very excited to be working with you.”

Forcing a smile, I said goodbye and walked out. Fuck, Nicholas… Why the hell is it so hard to get away from you?

As the days passed, and I got comfortable with the realization that I wasn’t just going to bump into Nick, that he really had gone to New York and was managing LRB from there, I relaxed and was able to work calmly. I liked the job. It didn’t leave me much time to think, much time to ruminate, and that was exactly what I needed. I worked all morning when I didn’t have class, and when I did, I would go to the office after to help Simon with whatever he needed.

The weeks flew by, and soon it was time for Christmas. I spent it with my mother, Will, and Maddie. Nick had told us work would keep him away, but deep down, I knew he was staying away because of me.

I spent New Year’s Eve with Jenna and Lion. She tried not to talk about Nick when we were together, but the subject came up without either of us wanting it to.

“He’s not in love with her, Noah,” she said over dinner, with a pointed look. “He’s still with her, though.”

She had been insisting that now that I was single and could do it, I should go out, meet more people, let my hair down… As we were counting down to New Year’s Day, I thought maybe she was right and it was time to go out with other guys.

One morning at work, Simon entered my tiny office, which was connected to his by a dark wooden door. I looked up from the computer screen and watched him as he walked over. He rested his hands on the back of the chair in front of me and smiled.

“You’re doing a great job, Noah,” he said proudly. I had the feeling he had taken me under his wing and was teaching me and protecting me, almost as if he wanted me to be his disciple. I’d only been there a month, but I’d learned a ton, and I was very grateful.

“Thanks, Simon,” I said. As always, I blushed in his presence. He was to die for. That day he had on gray suit pants and a spotless white shirt rolled up to his elbows. His blond hair was combed up in the front, his green eyes cheerful.

“I thought I’d invite you out.” I furrowed my brows, but he kept talking. “The whole office is going; we want to celebrate our deal for the new Coca-Cola campaign. Come on, don’t look at me like that. You’re supposed to be young, remember?”

I smiled and felt a tingle in my stomach. It had been a long time since I’d gone out just to have fun. It was chilly out, so I wrapped a light blue scarf around my neck. The two of us walked out together.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“They must already be at the bar. Not everyone works as much as you do.”

I ignored that dig or compliment, whatever it was, and followed behind him. We turned the corner of the tall building that housed our company and walked down a street packed with cars and people… It was a typical afternoon at rush hour. We talked along the way, and I was surprised at how easy it was to do so when we weren’t at work and how at ease I felt by his side. I was still laughing at a joke he told when he stopped suddenly.

“Can I be sincere with you?” he asked, looking me in the eye.

The change of tone made me nervous, but still, I nodded cautiously. “Sincerity is always better than the opposite.”

I smiled again, and he tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear. That made me relive a forgotten feeling: butterflies flapping lightly in my stomach.

“I like you, Noah… I mean, I really like you, and I’d like to invite you to dinner,” he said. There was no embarrassment in his voice. He was self-assured, the way a man should be when he’s accomplished a lot in a short amount of time and is brilliant, funny, and a good boss to boot.

“You want to invite me to dinner now…or are we still supposed to be going out with our coworkers?” I was nervous, and I was pretty sure he knew it.

“To be honest…I made that up. I’d been wanting to ask you out, but I was afraid you’d say no, so I made up a little story.”

“I get it,” I said. I wasn’t really sure whether I was happy about him lying to me.

“It’s just to get to know you better… We’ll talk, we’ll have a nice dinner somewhere, we’ll order the most expensive thing on the menu, and then we’ll each go to our respective homes.”

It sounded nice, but…was it a date?

The restaurant he took me to was nice, but not too nice… Not so nice that I felt uncomfortable, anyway. On the walls were records from the eighties, the vinyl different colors, and the tables were set with red-and-white-checked tablecloths with candles in the middle, to give it a homey, informal feel.

It was Italian, so I was sure I would like the food. I ordered ravioli with alfredo sauce; he got a vegetarian lasagna. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed our talk, I enjoyed playing twenty questions and getting to know each other better. I hadn’t been on a date in a long time… I’d only ever gone out with Dan and Nick, and afterward, I’d barely had time to meet boys or even get to know anyone, really.

Simon told me he was the oldest child in his family, brother to four sisters who drove him crazy. He was from a well-off family: his father was an architect, his mother a doctor. He was the weirdo who’d decided to go into marketing and communications.

Dinner passed by fast, and we walked back to the parking deck at work. My Audi was parked next to his. Some coincidence.

“Well, Noah,” he said when there was clearly no more walking left to do, “I loved eating with you, and if we can do it again, the sooner, the better.”

I laughed. I couldn’t believe how well it all had gone. No drama, no games, just a guy and a girl sitting together and talking about their lives. I’d had fun, but it was weird when he stepped forward and tried to kiss me.

Instinctively, I turned aside, and his lips landed on my cheek.

“Hm,” he said, amused but disappointed.

“Sorry… I loved dinner, but I need to go slower,” I said, feeling like a stupid little girl, unable to even give a guy a kiss on the lips.

He patted me on the cheek. That I did like.

“Sure… You’re making it hard for me, but that’s fine. I like a challenge.”

He got in his car and left.

I stood there for a few seconds more, and when I moved again, I realized my eyes were filling with tears.