𝑺 𝑬 𝑹 𝑬 𝑵 𝑰 𝑻 𝒀 (18+)

Thirty-three

S E R E N I T Y

♥

The Harrington Thanksgiving was a shit show. Noah stormed out in the middle of dinner, June ran off crying and Giselle was the cause of it all. Poor George had to sit there and defend his wife and his kids all evening. They were surely going to send that sweet man to an early grave. It was a good thing he owned a hospital and his wife worked there.

They definitely won that year for worst Thanksgiving.

December came bearing gifts and it wasn't even Christmas yet. Noah had just revealed that Ivy was moving into grocery stores. I was mildly confused at first and he wasn't pleased with having to explain how simple it was to me. He was going to get a list of the top ten meals from all of his restaurants and those ten dishes were going to be turned into frozen meals. It was very smart, now people who couldn't normally afford to eat out at Ivy could have the meals in the comfort of their own home. People who had also never tried Ivy would have the meals and want to visit the restaurant, either way, it was more money for the business.

There was going to be a celebration in honor of Arcadia Green Inc. and Ivy corp's collaboration at a hotel two blocks away from the office. Because of this new business venture, Noah was in a fairly pleasant mood. I hadn't been obnoxiously called to his office or heard him yell at a single soul all morning. He didn't even mind that his coffee was a tad cold when I'd given it to him.

Sweet bliss.

Unfortunately for me just because it wasn't done obnoxiously Noah didn't restrain from requesting my presence. I had single-handedly found a new wine and a vodka vendor for Ivy. This impromptu meeting was interrupting my scheduling.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Harrington?" When was the last time I strolled into his office asking that?

"Yes, Serenity, please sit."

I shut the door and took a seat. Noah's tone was quite serious and he toyed with a pen in his hand. Something told me he wasn't calling me in here for a morning quickie. Boo.

"There's something I need to tell you, but you can't freak out."

"You don't tell people they can't freak out Noah. That's what makes them freak out."

He nodded his head slowly and pulled out a newspaper handing it to me. "I'm not sure how it happened, but someone added your name to a list of Bullion's accusers. The incident at Ivy and the wine tasting is mentioned, though no real evidence is there to support." I scanned through the paper and scoffed, I'd never been called a slut so viciously. The entire article was ripping apart each and every one of these women who had been physically or emotionally hurt by Dominic Bullion. It was disgusting.

"You've got to be kidding me," I tossed the paper in the trash knocking it over. "So what they called me a slut? I've been called way worse. It's the other women I'm worried about." It was hard enough for them to speak out against Bullion, to have their story be bulldozed by the public was unacceptable.

"Every single last one of those papers will be pulled from the Seattle area by noon. I've contacted the publisher and there will be no more prints. I wish I could do more Serenity."

"Making sure no one else has to read this filth is enough Noah. Now, I know my name on that list isn't just my problem. What else is there?"

Tom Duhamel contacted Noah to give him a heads up on the board's opinions. They felt my name being involved with the scandal put too much negative focus on Noah and Ivy. He was coming across as a man who thought with his dick and not his head. The board was questioning how smart of a decision it was to hire me even with my parent's standing.