If she survived this, she’d have to ask the hacker to find the real file—if it existed.
Or she could find those answers herself. That’s why she was here.Stop stalling, Dizzie. The answers were right behind those doors. Everything she wanted to know wasright there.
Fueled by anger, Dizzie circled the empty desk and took the final steps to the office doors. She reached for the polished metal and pulled. Expecting resistance, she stumbled backward when it opened easily. Regaining her balance, she pulled it open and stepped into the inner sanctum.
“Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?”
Chapter44
The booming voicestopped Dizzie in the doorway. She recognized the voice—the man—from news stories and company announcements. She’d never been this close to the CEO before. Phillip Tremaine didn’t associate with people like her. The ones who actually carried the weight of the company on their shoulders.
He sat behind a massive desk and glared at her. He had blue eyes and expertly cut dark blond hair. Sharp cheekbones that he’d passed on to Portia, but not Dizzie, and an angry set to his mouth. Phillip Tremaine looked like a man in his forties—he must’ve had work done.
“How did you get past my assistant?”
“There’s no one out there.” Her voice wavered.
Knees shaking, Dizzie moved forward slowly. Every instinct screamed that she didn’t belong here. Her nails pricked her palms. All she wanted to do was turn around and run before this got worse.
The floor here had the same shine as the reception area. Her heels clicked on the surface and echoed in the large space.
“I do belong here,” she whispered under her breath.
Dizzie tried to take in her surroundings while she studied the man behind the desk. He looked exactly like the pictures that adorned the walls and meeting rooms throughout the building.
The wall of windows behind his desk revealed another spectacular view of the city.
Tremaine pushed back from his desk and stood. “Leave before I call security.”
Training demanded she obey. Instead, Dizzie shook her head and stepped closer. “No.”
He reached for a button on his desk.
It was now or never. “I want a few minutes of your time.” She paused for effect. “Father.”
His hand stopped before he touched the button. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he blustered, but the way he settled back into his chair told her otherwise.
“I had a very interesting hospital stay that says otherwise.” Her words were as bold as his denial had been. Without waiting for an invitation, she took the chair directly in front of his desk. Lower than his, it accentuated the power differential between the CEO and the people seeking his favor.
It didn’t bother her. She had grown up so far down the food chain, everyone above her played power games.
Her time with Killian had taught her that there was nothing special about him, Portia, or anyone else in the highest levels of society. The only difference was money and opportunities.
Now that she had a connection to the highest levels of power, those opportunities could be hers.
His hand edged away from the button. “What do you want? Money?”
Dizzie didn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out. Money.
Until today, yes, that was exactly what she’d wanted. Enough money to buy out her contract and set herself up with a comfortable lifestyle, doing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
Everything she’d worked so hard for and now the CEO was offering it on a silver platter. But today, it wasn’t enough.
“I want answers.” Until she spoke, Dizzie hadn’t known what she would say.
Tremaine laughed. Not the evil villain laugh she’d half-expected. Just an average laugh, only special because it came from a man running one of the top corporations in the world. “Answers? To what?”
Was everything too much to ask? She chose her words with care. She couldn’t show weakness—her position was precarious as it was. “How did I end up here, in the orphanage?” There. That should get the conversation started.
