The Unintended Fiancé (Captured by Love Book 4) by Miranda P. Charles Page A

any of our clients’ private information to Brad to help him win a contract?”
    “What?” she asked in shock. “Roger, I would never do that! We sign an absolute privacy and confidentiality agreement with each of our clients, and not once have I broken that. Even if Brad—or anyone else, for that matter—asked me for any details regarding our clients, I would never give it to him. Not that Brad has ever asked or would ever ask. He’d never put me in a situation where I’d be compromising my integrity.”
    Roger leaned back on his chair and was silent for a long moment. “I believe you, Erin. Our initial in-house investigation doesn’t indicate any wrongdoing on your part. But a client of ours is threatening to sue us because he suspects that an important trade secret—one we’d helped him develop—has made its way to Brad’s hands.”
    “Which client are you talking about?” she asked, already having an inkling of the answer. Warren Freaking Oliver. Now Warren was using her in his quest to muddy Brad’s reputation because he’d lost out on the James Coyte contract? Unbelievable.
    “It’s Anthony Delsant of Delsant Team-Building Adventures.”
    Oh. She wasn’t expecting that answer. “I don’t understand. Delsant is not a competitor of Mead Commercial and Corporate Designs.”
    “No. But Delsant is one of Brad’s clients. The issue appears to be that Brad submitted a proposal for a Delsant project. Apparently, his proposed designs incorporated details that no one else knows about except for Delsant and JMR. Anthony Delsant is alleging that you, in particular, given your relationship with Brad, are the one who gave Brad the info, so he’s now questioning JMR’s processes. Basically, he’s suggesting that our clients’ top-secret details are not safe in JMR’s hands.”
    “That’s preposterous,” she said, staring at Roger in shock.
    “It is. And extremely worrying. If this allegation doesn’t get fixed immediately, we’re in big trouble.”
    “Well, he can’t defame us just like that, can he?”
    “I don’t know what proof he’s got. If you say you’ve never given Brad anything, then nothing should turn up in the investigations regarding you or JMR. The problem is that our reputation in the marketplace could take a serious beating while this is being resolved.”
    “What do we do now?”
    Roger let out a long, heavy sigh. “I’ve spoken to the board of directors and the HR manager. While this is being investigated, we’re asking that you take some annual leave, Erin. In case news of this gets out, it’s important that we show our clients that they can trust us. Unfortunately, that means you not being around to work on any accounts until we clear your name. I promise we’ll do our very best to get to the bottom of this as quickly as we can.”
    “Roger, that’s...” She didn’t know what to say. She was being asked not to turn up to work because of an alleged wrongdoing. Wouldn’t that make people think she was guilty?
    “I’m sorry, Erin. You are, of course, welcome to speak to legal counsel regarding management’s decision. But under the circumstances, we feel that it’s the best course of action to ensure our other clients don’t get nervous if they get wind of this. Rest assured, though, that we’re behind you in this.”
    She took a deep breath. If she were JMR’s management, she’d make the same decision. “How long do you think the investigations will take?”
    “There’s no way to tell. I have no idea where Delsant got his information from, or what he has to back up his allegations. We have to play it by ear.”
    She stared at Roger, a man who had always supported her in all her years in the company. And she did believe that the whole management team at JMR had got her back, so why not work with them to minimise the potential damage to the firm? “Okay, I’ll take some annual leave.”
    Roger smiled, his relief evident. “Good. Only those who have to know