CHAPTER TWENTY

John

On Tuesday morning, I walk toward the office’s entrance. I can’t believe I fought Grandpa so hard to take this job. I might never have met Abby if I’d stayed at the headquarters. I haven’t stopped thinking about my dinner with Abby last night. Her eyes sparkled at the restaurant, and I wanted to take a picture to remember how she’d looked. The date exceeded all my expectations, with easy conversation, so much laughter, and a palpable connection, confirming what I’ve long suspected—there is something special between us. I hope she feels the same.

As I enter the lobby, a few employees exchange sideways glances and hushed whispers. Still, that office buzz is usual around here. I don’t pay much attention to the gossip. Whatever it is usually settles quickly.

“Good morning, Melanie,” I say to the receptionist.

She smiles at me. “Have a good day, Mr. Barrington.”

Sitting at my desk, I can’t stop thinking about taking things to the next level with Abby. Is it too soon? It feels like we’ve known each other forever, even though we met in July and just started dating.

Asking her to marry me so soon would probably be rushing things, and I don’t want her to run screaming in the other direction if I want more too fast.

But then I remember how she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention and how perfectly her hand fit in mine. Powerfluff has already claimed her throne at my grandparents’ house, and everyone respects that, even though it’s Grandma’s favorite chair.

Maybe it’s not too soon.

I half laugh. If my employees could see me now, they’d never take me seriously again.

Except Abby’s worth it.

She is, but I’m at the office now and need to work. Plus, being here means I’ll be able to see her. Yes, I have a one-track mind where she’s concerned, yet I eagerly anticipate our next encounter.

I return a few calls and reply to emails. I have a call in thirty minutes, which gives me plenty of time to grab coffee.

I go to the break room, noticing that Abby’s office door is open, but she’s not inside.

“Did you hear about Abby and the boss?” I overhear Sarah from accounting say to her cubicle mate.

My pace slows, as I listen despite myself.

“Oh, I heard all about it” comes the reply by a voice I don’t recognize, dripping with disdain. I can’t see them over the cubicle wall. “Here we thought Mr. Barrington hated her and would fire her. Guess we know that won’t happen now.”

I clench my jaw. The office grapevine worked faster than Abby or I anticipated.

Forget a cup of coffee. As I make my way to my office, more snippets of conversation reach me.

“I never thought she’d use the boss to get ahead,” someone whispers.

“Well, that’s one way to get job security,” another voice sneers. “But there goes our pool as to when she gets fired. I really wanted to win that money.”

My blood boils, but I force myself to keep walking. Confronting these rumors head-on will only fan the flames. Still, each step feels heavier, weighed down by the unfairness of it all.

Not to me. I’m the boss. This happens.

But Abby…

She doesn’t deserve this.

I see Abby coming out of the ladies’ room. Her shoulders shake slightly. My stomach clenches. I want to hold her, but I can’t without fueling more rumors about us. “Abby.”

Tears brim in her eyes, threatening to spill over. My heart aches.

“John.” Her voice trembles. “I don’t think we can make things work. I-I’m going to submit my resignation. I can’t stay here after what people are saying about me and you.”

That was the last thing I expected her to say, but she needs my support. Only out in the open, where anyone can hear us, isn’t the place for this conversation. I want her to be comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she can be under these circumstances. “Let’s go into your office.”

She hesitates, glances around as if to see if anyone is watching, and then nods.

I lead her inside, then close the door. I don’t care who might have seen us. All that matters is helping Abby. “I hate seeing you like this. And if you want to quit, that’s your choice.”

“The things they are saying about me and accusing me of…”

“It’s wrong, and I don’t even know how they found out.”

“Someone saw us last night when we came out of the restaurant. They followed us.”

I hang my head, never thinking such a nice date would go so wrong. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I didn’t think about eating in a different town.”

“We shouldn’t have to.”

“I don’t want to lose you.”

Abby sniffled. “Same, but how do I work here knowing what they’ve said? A few I considered friends.”

I completely understand, but I try to come up with something. I can’t slap sense into them, which means I have to do something else that would work similarly. I do know one thing I can do, something I didn’t want to tell her yet. I almost started to on Christmas but was interrupted. Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice now. “Do you really want to leave the job you love?”

“No, I really do enjoy working for this company.”

That’s all I needed to hear. “What if there’s another option?”

Confusion flickers across her face. “What?”

I take a deep breath. This isn’t how I wanted to tell her the truth about my family and their roles at the company, but I have no other choice. “My family owns the company. We could transfer to the corporate headquarters, where no one will care if we’re dating. I’m sure they’d love having you closer.”

Her forehead creases. “I don’t understand. The founder isn’t a Barrington. It’s George—”

“My mother’s father,” I explain, watching her eyes widen with understanding. “My grandfather, and his brothers are Ross and Rusty.”

The confusion in her eyes turns into hurt. “You didn’t tell me.”

It’s not a question. I pause, considering my words carefully. I don’t want to make things worse. “Does it matter?”

“Yes… No… Maybe,” she stammers, clearly conflicted.

I reach for her hand, relieved when she doesn’t pull away. “I told you how I’ve felt about you from the beginning. That’s the truth that matters.”

Abby is quiet, her gaze dropping to our joined hands. Then, unexpectedly, a small smile tugs at her lips. “If you’d said anything, especially in front of my family, Rachel would have dumped Jake in a heartbeat and made a play for you.”

We both laugh, the tension easing slightly. It reminds me how far we’ve come, from boss and employee to boyfriend and girlfriend.

“Want to think about it?” I ask, hope creeping into my voice despite my efforts to remain neutral.

She nods. “I do.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ll be in my office if you want to talk more. Otherwise, I’ll come over tonight with takeout if you don’t have other plans.”

She nods again, and I reluctantly leave.

I close her door behind me. As I do, I notice a few curious glances. Let them look. We’ve done nothing wrong. We have nothing to be ashamed of.

As I leave, I don’t know what else I can do other than offer Abby another way out of this mess. I want us to stay together, too. Selfish? Completely, and her need to think about a transfer worries me. Will we even have a chance now?

I enter my office and leave the door ajar, remembering what Abby said about being more available to employees, even though I’m upset at those gossiping about us. I plop into my chair and try to think of what else I can do. Calling Grandpa pops into my head, but he put me here to turn the office around. I should at least try to handle it before asking for help.

Maybe I should get ready for the conference call that’s happening in minutes.

An hour passes, then two. Somehow I sounded professional on the call, but I’ve made little progress on anything else. My mind constantly drifts to Abby. My gut tells me to check on her, but I don’t want to appear pushy. This is her career and her decision to make, not mine.

A knock sounds at my door.

“Come in,” I call, not expecting anyone.

Abby enters and closes the door behind her. Her eyes are red-rimmed but dry, and the determined set to her jaw wasn’t there earlier.

She takes a seat on the other side of my desk. “I’ve been thinking.”

I lean forward. “Come to any decision?”

She takes a deep breath. “I appreciate the offer to transfer, John. But I can’t do that. Even though my first instinct was to quit, I can’t run away from this.”

My heart cracks. I can’t imagine she’ll want to continue dating if we’re both working here. “I understand.”

“If we transfer, it might look like we’re admitting to doing something wrong. And we haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You’re right.” My chest puffs at what she is saying, but my heart hurts at the thought she might want to end things between us. “We haven’t.”

“After you left, I realized I had no one else to talk to about this. I couldn’t call my mom, and there’s no way I’d get in touch with Rachel. Most of my other friends work here, yet they’re all betting on when I get fired and gossiping about you and me.”

“You need new friends.”

“I do, but the only person I wanted to discuss this with was you. So, I pretended to have a conversation with you.”

I love her so much. “How’d it go?”

“Figured out a few things.” Abby leans forward and lifts her chin. “I want to stay here and face this head-on. Show everyone that we can be professional and that our relationship doesn’t affect our work.”

I smile at her determination. “We’ll face it together. But how do you want to handle it?”

She grins. “I have a few ideas…”

“Excellent. You’ve got better communication skills than I do, so I can’t wait to hear what you’ve come up with.”

For the next hour, Abby and I brainstorm ways to address the rumors and improve the office culture.

I twirl my pen. “What if we start with a team-building exercise?”

Abby’s eyes light up. “That’s a great idea. Maybe something that encourages open communication?”

“Exactly.” I lean back in my chair. “An effective communication and conflict resolution workshop might work.”

Abby’s posture relaxes. “We should also address the rumor mill head-on. Perhaps a company-wide meeting where we encourage transparency and discourage gossip and betting on an employee’s employment?”

I snap my fingers. “Yes, and we can use that opportunity to reinforce our company values and expectations.”

We outline a comprehensive plan that consists of team-building exercises, a communication workshop, and regular check-ins with department heads. We also decide to implement an anonymous suggestion box in the break room and monthly meetings to address concerns openly.

As Abby stands, the corners of her mouth are tipped upward. “We’ve got something solid here.”

A weight lifts off my chest. “We do.”

“Thanks for taking this so seriously. It means a lot.”

“Anytime, and that’s what a boss and a boyfriend are for.” I only wish I could kiss her.

Abby leaves, and I lean back in my chair, exhaling slowly.

We have a good plan, and I have a feeling the office gossips won’t know what hit them.