Olivia
TALK TO ME.
Olivia
I’m begging you to pick up the phone.
At one o’clock thenext afternoon, I stood in front of my TV and watched the news. I wasn’t sure I’d moved from the spot since breakfast. Did I think if I changed networks, the headlines would be different? In all this time I’d become horribly aware of two things. One, my boss was a manipulative liar who would sacrifice anyone and anything on the altar of Flair. And two, I had been such a fool to confide in her. For a bonus, we could throw in one more certainty, and that would be that Lachlan probably wanted to strangle me.
No matter the channel, the news was all the same. Unrest in the Middle East, inflation expected to climb, and Lachlan Hayes, CEO of Star Gazer Corporation, was the biological son of tech magnate Benjamin Emmerich.
A clammy sweat beaded at the back of my neck, and my heart thudded an unsteady pattern. I’d called Lachlan exactly fifteen times in the last hour with no response.
Because my husband thought I’d betrayed him.
So much was uncertain in my life, but one thing wasn’t—the knowledge that Celeste was responsible for the leak to the press. It only took three texts to a few of my connections in network news to confirm. I didn’t know how Celeste had uncovered who Lachlan’s dad was, especially in record time, but I shouldn’t have been surprised she’d gone digging for that information. Perhaps I’d confided too many personal details of Lachlan’s childhood. As if the poor man needed one more thing to deal with.
Ten minutes later I stood in the kitchen and poured my fourth cup of coffee. I’d composed an entire monologue of what I’d say to Celeste when I finally calmed down enough to go into the office. How dare she? The unmitigated gall. I’d seen her act ruthlessly before, but this defied the boundaries of ethics.
I wouldnevertaxi that woman’s kids again.
I picked up my phone and hit redial once more. “Lachlan, I know you’re mad, and you have every right to be. But at least let me explain. Please, talk to me. I—”
“And what could I possibly have to say?”
I spun around and there, standing in our kitchen wearing jeans, a wrinkled sweatshirt, and a dark scowl was Lachlan. Handsome, beautiful, Lachlan. I had to blink a few times to make sure my overwrought mind hadn’t conjured him.
“Lachlan.” Rushing to him, I threw my arms wide and hugged my husband with what was left of my strength.
He did not hug me back.
Noticing the distinct chill in the room and his stiffened posture, I took a step back. “How are you here?”
“Chartered a plane at an ungodly hour, then drove home to my loving wife.” His eyes didn’t quite meet mine.
I hated the flat, lifeless tone in his voice. “I have so much to tell you. You have to know I didn’t—”
“What, Olivia?” Lachlan set down his travel backpack with an angry thud. “You didn’t mean to go to the press with your knowledge of my dad? You didn’t mean to betray my confidence—information I’d shared with you as someone I cared about? Do you know how many people knew about Emmerich? You, Miller, two attorneys, and my CFO who may have just booked an extended stay in a federal prison.”
“I didn’t go to the press. I would never have hurt you like that.” He had to believe me.
Lachlan looked so tired—eyes bloodshot and puffy, a few days’ worth of stubble on his face, and his expression resigned and distant. “I knew from the start I was business to you, a way to get that promotion. I guess you did what you had to do.”
“It wasn’t me.” I needed him to believe me.
“Then who?” He watched my face for two heavy heartbeats before understanding dawned. “Let me guess—Celeste. Right?”
“Yes, but—”
“Seriously, Olivia?” Lachlan shook his head before stalking to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. “You had to know what she’d do with that information.”
“I didn’t tell her about Emmerich. I swear to you.”
His hard stare felt like a slap. “I don’t buy that.”
“I did share how difficult you had it growing up—that I admit to. I told her about your mother and the challenges the two of you faced together. But when Celeste asked about your dad, I shut her down, Lachlan. I never said Emmerich’s name or anything that would ever give her any hints who your father was.”
“Then how did she know?”
