“Who is it?” he demanded.
“Andrew Haddon.”
Huh? Jake frowned. “Andrew?”
“Yes.”
Jake licked his lips. What the hell was Andrew doing there? “Ah. Okay. I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks, Jake.” Courtney’s perky voice didn’t fit with the disturbing news she’d just delivered.
He thrust both hands into his hair and stood like that for a moment. Okay, whatever. He’d face him and get it over with. Curiosity about why Andrew was there led him out the door of his office and down the hall.
Andrew sat on one of the chairs lining the reception area. They didn’t get a lot of visitors on this floor, so it wasn’t all luxurious, just basic tables, chairs and a few ancient copies of the Wall Street Journal and Time.
“Andrew.”
Andrew looked up. He stood. The two men faced each other.
“Got a few minutes to talk?” Andrew finally said in a low voice.
“I’m pretty busy.”
“Oh for shit’s sake, get over it, Jake.” Andrew kept his voice down, but Courtney still sent them a puzzled glance.
Jake sighed. “Come on in.”
He led the way to his office. Inside he gestured to one of the chairs and he threw himself down into the one behind his desk.
“What’s up?” he asked, ignoring the rapid thump of his heart.
“That was a pretty ugly scene last night.”
Jake’s mouth twisted. “Yeah.”
Andrew’s eyes shifted and it seemed he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Jake folded his arms across his chest and waited. He wasn’t going to help the guy out.
Finally Andrew spoke again. “What’s with you and Gianna?”
“Maybe you should ask her that.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“She wasn’t speaking to me last night.”
“Great.” Jake rubbed his forehead. “There’s nothing going on between us.”
“Bullshit.”
Jake sighed inwardly. “It’s the truth, Andrew. I told you last night—we were just having a drink.”
Andrew gave him a hard stare. Jake met his gaze head on and challenged, “And what about you and Shelby?”
Andrew’s brow furrowed. “What about me and Shelby?”
“What were you doing with her?”
“We were having a drink.” And then understanding dawned. “Oh.” He was silent for a moment, and then once again went on the offensive. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Did what?”
“Hurt Shelby like that.”
“I can’t believe you were trying to get with her, you asshole.” Jake leaned forward, arms going to his desk. “You’re married! You’re her boss! What the hell were you thinking?”
Andrew half rose out of his chair. “Are you fucking kidding me? I wasn’t after Shelby! Do you think I’m that stupid? She works for me! Ever heard of sexual harassment? Jesus Christ.”
“You’re saying you weren’t?”
“Yes! That is what I’m damn well saying!” Andrew rubbed his jaw. “Shelby is a very bright and talented project manager. I hired her. I want her to do well. And besides, I’m married.” He glared at Jake.
“You were making her life miserable.”
“What?” Andrew’s mouth fell open.
“People are talking about you. Maybe you’re walking around with your head so far up your ass you don’t know what’s going on, but everyone at Gold Shield thinks—or should I say, thought—you two were having an affair. You gave her the best projects. Passed over people with more seniority. You two go out for drinks after work, business dinners with clients. She gets to travel and take long lunches with you. No wonder people were talking. She’s still new there and everyone hates her guts.”
“They do not.” Andrew’s forehead furrowed. “Do they?” Confusion lined his face.
“Okay, nobody hates Shelby, she’s too sweet to hate, but it was damn uncomfortable for her. I was doing her a favor, making people think she had a boyfriend.”
Andrew lowered his chin and gave Jake a yeah-right look. “A favor?”
“She told you she had a boyfriend to get you off her back. I volunteered to act the part for the barbecue.”
“To get me off her back?” Andrew’s eyes widened. “Is that what she said?”
“Well not in those exact words. She said you never did anything inappropriate. She just felt uncomfortable.”
“Holy shit.” Andrew passed a hand over his hair. “Holy shit. I didn’t know how I was coming across. But I swear to you, Jake, it was just professional interest. Mentoring. Shelby came to Gold Shield with not a great track record from her last job.”
“That was not her fault.”
“I kind of thought that. Our HR department said we should avoid her, but I wanted to give her a shot.”
“And that had nothing to do with what she looks like?” Jake scowled suspiciously.
“No. Seriously. After I went to bat for her, I wanted to make sure she succeeded.”
“But what you were doing was putting her in the exact position she was at in her last job. She’d had an affair with her boss.” Telling this made his gut hurt, but, oh well. “The guy used her then let her take the fall for his screw up. That’s why she got fired.”
Andrew winced. Dropped his chin to his chest for a moment. “Shit.” Then he looked up at Jake and narrowed his eyes. “So if you were supposedly just doing her a favor, why are you still seeing her?”
Jake stared at him. “Because…because…I like her.”
“Bullshit.” Understanding dawned in Andrew’s eyes. “You thought I was after her. Jesus Christ! You were trying to get back at me!”
“No. I wasn’t. The truth is…” He heaved a heartfelt sigh and rubbed his aching chest. “When I saw you and Gianna again, I thought you still felt sorry for me. I didn’t want your goddamn pity. I wanted you to think I’d found someone else.”
“Oh hell.” The two men sat silent as time ticked by. “It’s not like that,” Andrew finally said. “I didn’t feel sorry for you. Like, pity you. But I did feel sorry…I do feel sorry…for what happened. Hell, Jake. I fell in love with Gianna. I couldn’t help it. She loved me too. You were a fucking hero about it all back then, but I knew you had to be hurting.”
Jake nodded. With distance and time and a whole different perspective on things thanks to Shelby, he could admit it now. “Yeah. I was.”
“I would never do anything to hurt Gianna. I love her.” Andrew closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “For all the good that does me.”
“What I said last night was true. There was nothing going on,” Jake told him. “I really am over Gianna.”
Andrew eyed him doubtfully. “What about Shelby?”
“What about her?”
“She’s a mess.” Andrew scowled. “She came in this morning looking like hell. And I had to give her some very bad news.”
“What bad news?”
“Business bad news.”
“Don’t you even fucking think of firing her over this!” Jake’s blood pressure shot up and he almost leaped out of his chair.
“Jesus Christ! Would you quit being so emotional and reactive about this? Get a grip, man, I’m not firing her.”
Jake leaned back again in his chair, sweat breaking out under his arms. “Okay.”
“We had to pull the plug on the project she was working on,” Andrew continued.
“What?” Oh holy hell. Shelby would be devastated. “Why?”
Andrew waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Jesus Christ, it’s happening all over again.”