Mixing Business With Pleasure (Love Conquers All Book 2) by Cheryl Persons Page B

defend that.  “Now, where were we?”  He looked down at the papers and then glanced back at her.  “From what we understand, after the wedding you two were spotted going out to eat for lunch.  Then he gave you a rose?  Is this all true?”
    “Yes.”  She shook her head as she felt like everything that they did would seem to be more than a friendship.
    “Okay, as you can see, each of these scenarios would cause someone to perk up and think.  However, we learned that that’s not where it stops ” Tiffany thought for a minute; she didn’t know what he was getting at, but that should have been all the juicy details Bruce could share.  “We’ll forget about the countless times you have been in his office.  After all, you are his boss and it would be hard to keep that from happening.”  Tiffany couldn’t help but glare at him; that was a relief.  “Yet, we hear that he was at your house late one evening recently.”  Tiffany opened her mouth in shock and he stopped her from saying anything.  “Then, you went out to eat with him and wound up at his apartment.  Are these two accounts correct?”
    She waited for a moment as the realization hit her that Bruce couldn’t have known that, unless he was spying on them.  “It is.”  She quietly admitted; even though she knew every account was legitimately platonic.
    “Well, you didn’t deny any of the accusations.  I guess that’s good, except it makes things even more difficult in our decision.”
    “Of course; we said we would give you the opportunity to explain.”
    Tiffany skimmed the faces of each of the people in the room; she suddenly wasn’t afraid.  She knew they had a valid reason for each of the encounters.  “I invited Matt to the wedding, mainly because I didn’t have anyone else to go with.  I know it was selfish, but I didn’t want to go alone.  He was here and I asked him.  Yes, it was out of town, however, we took a plane and the plan was to go and come right back home.  We didn’t anticipate the pilot would get sick.  They only had one hotel room, but we didn’t stay in it together.  We had an argument and he left.  I didn’t see him until the next morning.”
    “Was it a romantic argument?”  She cocked her eyebrow and shook her head.  “So, it wasn’t about things that a romantic couple would argue about?”
    “I forget what the argument was about.”  Of course it was a lie, but she didn’t think it would do the case any good if she confessed to what they were arguing about.
    “Okay, go on.”
    She huffed in despair and begged that she was getting through to them.  The guys seemed tough, but the woman’s expressions showed concern for her and she hoped that was correct.  “The Monday, after we got back, I had a huge meeting scheduled with a prospective client.  It went well; so Mr. Oswalt and I went out for a celebratory lunch.  Nothing happened, and it meant nothing.  He was just congratulating me.”  They just nodded, showing no idea of whether they bought it.  “He bought me a rose, and put it on my desk for the same reason.  He was saying congratulations.  I still have the card; if you would like to see it.”
    “So, you kept his card?  Isn’t that something a girlfriend would do?”
    Tiffany wanted to scream in despair.  “The rose hasn’t died yet; I kept the card attached to it.  There’s nothing romantic about it.”
    “ There’s no need to show us the card; this isn’t a trial.”  She wanted to laugh.  It sure seemed like a trial.  “You can proceed.”
    “As for him being at my house late; that is also explanatory.”  She contemplated telling the whole story about Bruce blackmailing her, but when she opened her mouth to share she realized it wouldn’t help anyone if she got someone else into trouble.  Besides, she wasn’t convinced they would believe her.  “I had too much to drink; I was out by myself and miles from my home.  I didn’t have anyone else to