“Mr. Lind is the Solveig Consortium’s agent here in Seattle. He’s the one that the Solveigs sent here to set up the meeting.”
Dizzie raised her brow. “Is that the guy you left the bar with the other night?”
Her teasing tone made Portia bristle. “Are you spying on me?” Portia set her cup down on the table with a thud. Her outrage was over the top, she knew that. But why was everyone talking about that night?
Dizzie raised her hands in a placating gesture. “Whoa, easy. Don’t get your panties in a twist. One of the waitresses at Razor Jack’s mentioned it when we were there. No one knew who he was, but they said he had a sexy accent.” She stopped speaking and stared at Portia. “Oh my god. Itishim. You like him.”
Portia’s face heated. She pressed her lips together, refusing to confirm or deny. “Mr. Lind and I have been working together since his arrival.” Hopefully Dizzie wouldn’t suspect the real reason she’d left the bar with Aleks.
“Sure, Portia, whatever you say.” She saluted Portia with her coffee mug.
Taking a deep breath, Portia tried to get the conversation back on track. “I wasn’t sure whether to tell you this before the meeting, but I think you have the right to know. I don’t know how to sugarcoat it. The Solveigs want to eliminate me and put you in charge of the company.”
Dizzie’s jaw dropped. Portia was weirdly relieved that her look was one of shock rather than interest.
“Wait, what?”
“In revenge for your mom, the Solveigs—your grandparents—want to give you the Tremaine Corporation. Like a birthday present or something.” Part of her recognized that it might be considered a sweet gesture in some circles—mostly without the whole murder aspect.
“That’s...”
Portia held her breath, waiting to see how she finished that sentence.
“That’s crazy,” Dizzie said.
She exhaled slowly. “Yeah, that was my thought, too. Plus, I don’t really want to die.” She’d come perilously close during the bombing and didn’t want to experience that again.
“Is he your source? Aleks? I mean, Mr. Lind? Are you sure you can trust him?”
Portia shrugged but held Dizzie’s gaze. “I’m not sure I can trust anyone these days.”
“Look, I know you don’t like me,” Dizzie said. “And you have no reason to trust me. I’m not going to tell you to get over it because I can’t imagine losing Killian, but I’m not your enemy. I never was. The only way that changes is if you hurt Killian. Then the gloves would be off.”
Unbidden, Portia’s gaze dropped to her nails in their sparkly blue glory. Portia had seen them dripping with blood, so she believed her. She hid a shudder. Dizzie had saved her life when she’d used those nails on the man trying to kill them both.
Now they faced another threat. One that only wanted to kill Portia.
“So, you don’t want the company?” Portia asked.
Dizzie stared at Portia. “Are you kidding me? You’ve been training for this for years. I have my hands full dealing with the creche kids, finding them jobs or new homes since the organ harvest orphanage was shut down. Plus, you work all the damn time. Why would I want to work that hard when I can spend time with Killian instead?”
Unexpected bitterness hit Portia. Or maybe it was jealousy. Dizzie spent time with her boyfriend. Prioritized it, even. Had she ever done that with Tommy?
The thought made her frown. If she hadn’t dragged him to that damn event, he’d still be alive.
“Take care of him,” Portia blurted.
Dizzie blinked at her.
“Killian,” Portia clarified. “You never know when it all could end.”
“Is that a threat?” Dizzie looked about ready to launch off the sofa.
Portia shook her head. “No, not at all,” she said wistfully. “It’s a lesson I learned too late and wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
Tension seeped out of Dizzie. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I know you hate that Killian and I are together. I wasn’t sure if that changed how you feel about him.”
Portia wasn’t sure how to respond. “He’s still one of—” Her throat clenched and she bit back a rush of tears. “He’s still my best friend. We’re just taking a break.”
