“I was about to head to Flair and ask her that very question.” I’d only stalled all day, mentally scripting how the scene would go. Most of the versions involved lots of screaming. Mine, mostly. “I would never intentionally betray you. Please say you believe me.”
“I know you wanted that promotion badly.”
“Not at the price of hurting you.” And I meant that. The way Lachlan looked at me now spun webs of fear in the darkest corners of my conscience. I wanted to hit rewind and fix every broken thing. “I wished I’d gotten on a plane to you instead of spending one second at Flair.”
Lachlan closed his eyes and drank deeply from his mug. I saw the situation through his eyes—the betrayal, the hurt, the ruin. So much ruined. Would Lachlan ever trust me again? He probably thought I was one more loved one who’d let him down. “Say something, Lachlan. Please.”
Leaning against the counter, Lachlan scrubbed a hand over his face. “The good news is my stock will recover, if not surpass last week’s high. You made me into a sympathetic, if not pitiful hero while generating interest in Star Gazer and all its drama.”
Defeat elbowed me right in the heart. “You don’t believe me.”
Lachlan didn’t deny it. “I’ve been assured big investors might pause, but every small investor wanting a piece of the next big tech company will probably call their brokers today. That should bring you and Flair some relief.”
“All I care about is you.”
His head raised sharply and his eyes locked on mine. “Me?”
“Yes. It kills me to see you hurt.” I braved a few steps toward Lachlan, wishing I could touch him, but knowing it wasn’t yet welcome. “I thought you knew me by now. Do you really think I’d be so heartless that I’d sacrifice you for the sake of a promotion?”
Lachlan gave a mirthless laugh and stared into his coffee cup. “You were just doing your job, right?”
“You’re not a job. You’re my...” This was surely the wrong moment to tell Lachlan how I felt about him. But how did I feel? I was crazy about this man, but also scared to death of where we went from here.
Lachlan finally looked at me, one eyebrow curved in challenge. “Yourwhat, Olivia?”
Anxiety crept into my throat and strangled half the words I wanted to say. “I care about you.”
“You care. Well, cool.” The anger left Lachlan’s face, replaced by that old familiar expression of boredom and bland disbelief. “Right. Well, no matter who gets the blame, the damage is done now.”
“I can fix this,” I said, feeling him slip away. “Somehow I’ll make this right.”
Lachlan deposited his coffee mug into the sink, then walked right past me and out of the room.
“Where are you going?” I asked as I followed him up the staircase. I was stalking my own husband, begging Lachlan to hear me out, rehashing details of my conversation with Celeste, desperate for him to tell me I wasn’t to blame.
Lachlan’s shoes fell heavy on the wood floor as he crossed the hallway and ambled into his bedroom. With a large amount of clatter, he retrieved a suitcase from the closet and began to fill it, pulling shirts and pants from hangers with no regard for care.
“What are you doing?” Was he leaving? “You just got here.”
Lachlan paused. “Did you organize my closet?” Then he continued the pillage. “Of course you did. You handle everything.”
Add closet organization to my long list of regrets. “Why are you leaving?”
“As long as my home base is still in San Francisco, that’s where I’m needed.” Lachlan moved on to his tie rack. “Losing Maxwell means my company is without half its leadership. I need to meet with attorneys, auditors, accountants, and my new buddies at the FBI.”
Tears clouded my eyes, and I turned my head so Lachlan wouldn’t see. “I could go with you,” I said as I inspected a color-coordinated row of sweaters. “I could help out.”Beg you to forgive me and not let us go.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Lachlan dropped a pair of Nikes into the suitcase. “You have work.”
No. “Lachlan—”
“I’ll be in California for at least a few weeks.” He closed the lid and yanked the zipper with horrible finality.
I sniffed, pretty much not caring now that tears free-fell down my cheeks. “I’ll come a few days early for the movie premiere.”
“The day of the event will be fine.” Lachlan’s lips thinned into a small smile. “I should go. I have a plane waiting.”
“Let me drive you to the airport.”
