Damage Control

Evan Carter - First Person

The room was suddenly full of activity.

Phones rang. Investors argued. Legal experts rushed to the far side of the room while frantically working their laptops and whispering figures to each other.

I stood there, trying to comprehend what had just occurred, as the headline continued to echo in my brain.

Corporate sabotage. Against me.

Which meant my first day at Wolfe Capital had just become a whole lot more serious.

Adrian didn’t yell, didn’t slam his hand on the table, and didn’t argue with anyone like I had expected.

He simply looked around the room.

Then he spoke. “Everyone, stop.”

And suddenly, everyone in the room stopped.

Twenty people in a room suddenly turned silent.

Adrian Wolfe placed both hands on the table.

And looked toward the legal team.

“How quickly will the market react?”

“Within an hour,” they answered.

“And the lawsuit?”

“They will seek emergency hearings tomorrow morning,” they answered.

Adrian nodded.

And then looked toward me.

Like I was something he hadn’t quite decided how to deal with.

A member of the board spoke up. “The analyst caused the collapse of the merger with Harrington Global. He manipulated internal data to sabotage the merger.”

“That’s ridiculous,” another investor chimed in.

“Ridiculous or not,” a lawyer jumped in, “the accusation is now public knowledge.”

Everyone in the room looked toward Adrian.

Because they knew it was now in his hands.

Adrian Wolfe stood up. Slowly.

And picked up his suit jacket from the back of the chair.

“The meeting is adjourned,” he declared.

Everyone in the room reacted.

“Mr. Adrian—”

“We can’t simply—”

“What about—”

Adrian Wolfe looked around the room, and everyone knew not to argue.

Because it wouldn’t do any good, nor would it change a thing.

The legal team would take care of the lawsuit.

The finance would take care of the press release.

And everyone else would simply shut their mouths until further notice.

The authority in his voice didn’t leave room for debate.

People were gathering their files and whispering urgently to each other.

In minutes, the room was clearing.

But Adrian didn’t budge. He stayed at the head of the table and watched the others leave. Waiting.

When the last of the investors left the room, the doors closed.

It was just the two of us. The silence was different.

I stood up and took my tablet. “I should probably start working on the documents for the legal team.”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

I hesitated.

Adrian walked around the table slowly. He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, and kept his eyes on me the whole time. “You’re the center of the accusation. And that makes you the key witness.”

“I understand that.”

“Do you?”

I nodded. “And I’m the easiest target.”

“I’m glad you're catching up.”

He didn’t sugarcoat anything.

This day keeps getting better and better at being worse.

I took a deep breath. “Maybe it would be best if I stayed out of the way.”

Adrian stopped moving. “Out of the way?”

“For a while.”

Adrian didn’t react. But his eyes seemed to tighten. “You think I’d hide an employee because of an accusation leveled by Harrington Global?”

“That employee is a brand new analyst who just cost the company a billion-dollar deal.”

“You blew the whistle on a bad deal.”

“It cost Harrington Global everything.”

He clenched his jaw. “It cost me nothing. They should have checked their numbers.”

The room fell silent once more.

I looked over in the direction of the door. “I should still give a legal statement.”

“You will.”

“Then I’ll go—”

“Carter.”

My footsteps instantly halted. There was something different in the way he said my name.

I slowly turned back to face him.

Adrian had moved closer to me without me noticing.

He was too close that I could see the tension in his shoulders. “You’re not going anywhere from that floor.”

“Why?”

“Because Harrington Global will come after you first.”

“I can handle that.”

His eyes scanned the contours of my face slowly. “I’m aware.”

There was something in the way he said the word that made my chest constrict.

I looked away first.

It was getting too complicated being this close to Adrian Wolfe.

For someone so untouchable and scary. He looked at me like I was food.

“You’re uncomfortable.”

I didn’t expect him to say that.

“No.”

“You stepped back.”

“Yeah. I like personal space.”

Adrian's lips curled up slightly. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?”

“Yeah. Because you’re going to lose all of it.”

Before I could ask what he meant by that, his phone buzzed again.

He looked down at the screen, again. “They’re moving faster than expected.”

He walked over to the window to type out a quick message.

I used the time to catch my breath.

Something weird had started to happen during the conversation.

The tension between us wasn’t just professional anymore. And that was dangerous. For me especially.

Adrian stuck his phone into his pocket and turned to leave. “The security is already reporting media vehicles outside the building.”

“That was fast.”

“Corporate scandals travel fast.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re coming with me.”

My stomach tightened. “Where?”

“Private strategy meeting.”

“With the board?”

“No.”

“Then who?”

“Me.”

I blinked. “That doesn’t sound like a meeting.”

“It’s not.”

Adrian turned to leave. I followed him automatically.

The hallways outside the boardroom were now deserted.

The security personnel were now standing near the elevators.

Adrian ignored them and continued down the hall to the executive wing.

I tried to stay focused on the situation.

Lawsuit. Media. Corporate war.

But the problem was walking directly in front of me.

Adrian's top button on his shirt was now unbuttoned and I was left wondering when he removed his tie without me spotting it.

When he came to a sudden stop. I almost walked into him.

He turned to me. “You’re distracted.”

“N…no, I’m not.”

“You’ve been looking at the floor for the last thirty seconds.”

“That’s because I’m thinking.”

“About the lawsuit?”

“Yes.”

Adrian’s eyes lingered on mine a fraction of a second too long.

Then he opened a door at the end of the hall.

Adrian’s office.

It was larger than the boardroom. Glass walls, dark furniture, city skyline stretching across the background.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind us.

The quiet returned instantly.

Adrian loosened the cuffs of his sleeves while walking toward his desk. “You said something earlier.”

“What?”

“You said something earlier.”

“I did.”

His gaze lifted again. “Why?”

I hesitated.

Because the real answer wasn’t professional.

It was personal.

“You wouldn’t like the reason.”

“Try me.”

I crossed my arms.

“You’re my boss.”

“That’s correct.”

“And you’re engaged to a woman whose company is now suing us.”

He waited.

“So it would probably be smarter if I kept some distance.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “That explanation makes no sense.”

“It does if you think about it.”

“Then explain it properly.”

I hesitated again.

Adrian noticed. “Carter.”

“What?”

“You’re avoiding the real answer.”

“Maybe.”

He pushed away from the desk and walked

toward me again.

Slowly.

That was not helping the situation.

“Say it.”

I exhaled. “Fine.”

He stopped a few feet away.

“This job matters to me,” I said. “Which means I can’t afford to make it awkward.”

His head tilted slightly. “Awkward how?”

My heart started beating faster. “You really want me to answer that?”

“I do.”

The problem was the truth sounded ridiculous when spoken out loud.

But his stare didn’t leave my face. So I said it. “Because I’m gay.”

The words settled into the room quietly.

Adrian didn’t react immediately.

Where was the surprise? The scare? Why was he so calm?

“And?” he said finally.

“And you’re my boss.”

“I am aware that I am.”

“And you don’t strike me as someone who would appreciate an employee getting the wrong idea.”

His eyes sharpened slightly. “What wrong idea?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “This conversation is already proving my point.”

“Explain that to me, Carter.”

I swallowed hard to get the words out. “If I ever looked at you the wrong way, it would probably end my career here.”

Adrian examined me. Then said something that surprised me. “That sounds like a problem for you.”

I stared at him. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“No, it's not.”

His voice dropped a little. “You’re assuming how I’ll react.”

“You wouldn’t?”

Adrian moved closer again. Close enough that I could see the crease between his eyebrows as he focused. “I didn’t say that.”

The atmosphere changed again.

My heart sped up.

I swallowed hard. “This conversation is getting dangerously unprofessional.”

Adrian’s mouth quirked slightly. “Probably.”

“So I’m going to leave.”

I turned to the door.

Adrian spoke again. “Carter.”

I froze. Now what?

“Don’t run.”

“I’m not running.”

“You’re walking away very fast.”

“That’s because the situation is complicated.”

“How?”

I paused. Then said the honest answer. “Because you’re standing too close.”

Adrian looked down. He took a slow step back.

The space between us grew again.

“Better?” he asked.

I nodded. “Perfect.”

But the damage had already been done.

Adrian looked away from the window. “We need to focus on the lawsuit first.”

I nodded again. “Good plan.”

“One more thing, Carter?”

“Sir?”

Again, his eyes met mine briefly. “You’re not leaving this company.”

I raised an eyebrow slightly. Wasn't he the one that fired me the second I made a suggestion hours ago?

He looked away from me to the skyline. “Since Harrington Global has just made you the most important person in this company.”

My phone suddenly buzzed. I checked the screen. And my stomach sank once again.

“What the hell happened again?” Adrian asked.

I showed him the screen. It was another breaking headline.

HARRINGTON GLOBAL OFFERS $50 MILLION REWARD FOR INFORMATION PROVING WOLFE CAPITAL ANALYST SABOTAGED MERGER

Adrian read the headline once. And his face changed to a cold calm. “They’re trying to destroy you publicly.”

I looked up slowly. “I should have stayed at home.”

Adrian looked at me for a long time. “It's a good thing you didn't.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

Adrian picked up his phone again.

“I mean,” he said quietly as he started to dial a number. “They just made this personal.”

He paused as he waited for the person to answer the phone. “Prepare a counterattack.”

Adrian looked at me briefly. “And make sure the press gets the message.”

He looked away from me slightly as he lowered his voice. “Wolfe Capital will protect our people.”

The phone call ended.

Holy hell. Adrian was on my side.