She pressed her lips into a demure, innocent smile. "Joanna, please don't overthink it. It was just a suggestion. You and Jonathan have so much private time together—why worry about one night?"
"So." My voice came out dry, scratching my throat. "You took her suggestion?"
The air in the office grew heavy. Thick enough to choke on.
Jonathan frowned, a crease appearing between his brows. "Joanna, stop. We are handling business as business."
"*Handling business as business.*" I repeated the phrase, a bitter laugh bubbling up in my chest.
"Then last year, and the year before, when I sat at your left hand—was that mixing business with pleasure?"
"The company wasn't this size back then." His tone sharpened with impatience. "Now, countless eyes are watching us. I have to consider the optics."
"What optics?" I stared him down, refusing to blink. "If I sit next to you, does it damage the company image? Hurt financing? Or does it ruin the image you're trying to sell to investors—that you're a dazzlingly single bachelor?"
Jonathan's face darkened instantly.
He rounded the desk and gripped my shoulder.
Once, this touch would have grounded me. Now, it felt like a shackle.