I blinked. I’d been here for three days, for fuck’s sake. I also didn’t mention that I’d paid for groceries yesterday and had been cooking dinner every night.
Brandy stopped chewing gum to smirk. “Yeah, it’s about time, Faith.”
Yep, congratulations to me. The unfurling of disappointment in my chest was a surprise since I didn’t think I had any expectations left. I must have had some though, because instead of quietlytexting Mom this afternoon when I found out, I waited like an idiot to tell them all at once.
“Oh look.” Brandy stared at the TV. The news was back on. “Turn it up, Dad.”Yes, please drown out the gross sounds of her chewing her gum.
Just when I thought I wouldn’t have to see Curtis ever again, there he was. The picture on the screen was of him in a tux looking like the king of the world, his expression serious, his demeanor commanding. Confidence oozed from every sexy inch of him. My stomach somersaulted before blowing the landing, the swoop of joy of seeing him ended with a punch of pain.
Bold text underlined the picture. “Knight Advertising CEO, Curtis Knight, fired in disgrace. New CEO appointed.” The anchor helpfully said it aloud as well.
“I knew he had to be a loser,” Brandy said gleefully. “Or why else would he date you?”
Why indeed.
The question I’d asked myself a hundred times. Each time, I’d come up with an answer that I knew was true—I was convenient. I’d also tried to make myself feel better by thinking maybe I was wrong, that he was different. If my life were a game show, the buzzer would’ve sounded, indicating an incorrect answer.
A reporter standing with Knight Senior and Queen B came on, staring down the barrel of the camera. “I’m with Mr. John Knight, major shareholder and director of Knight Advertising, and his new CEO, Victoria Worthington.” He turned to John. “This move was unexpected. Can you tell us what led to the appointment of Ms. Worthington?”
“I’d rather not comment. Suffice to say, Victoria has the killer attitude we require to attain outstanding results. Her values are more in line with what the board and our shareholders are after. Curtis lacked leadership skills. We’re looking forward to having Victoria at the helm.” So much for not elaborating. He alsodeserved an award for lying. I only deserved a minor award compared to his performance. It was podium worthy.
They wanted a dishonest, cutthroat environment where only the evilest survived. I had to assume Curtis knew about this. How was he coping, having his reputation shoved further into the mud?
Victoria smiled and looked down her nose at the reporter. I remembered that look well. At least I wasn’t on the receiving end of it this time. “I’m going to take this company to the next level. As lovely as Curtis is, as his father said, he didn’t quite have what it takes to run a company of this size.” What a bitch. Curtis turning on me burned like nothing else ever had, but it was probably nothing compared to how he felt—one of his oldest friends hadn’t just stabbed him in the back; she’d gone for the jugular too. How would he get any kind of job after this? Would he even be able to start his own company? I had to hope there were people out there he’d dealt with before who knew the real him.
The camera panned out as they said their goodbyes. Victoria slid on her designer sunglasses, the diamantés sparkling across the top of her frames looking like bedazzled eyebrows.
I sucked in a breath.
Those glasses, that red coat, her black stilettoes with red cherries all over them. That’s where I’d seen them before! I’d noticed her shoes at work and had a déjà vu moment, but it was the combination of all three that made everything clear.
I stood. Brandy looked at me. “Going to have a cry? Boohoo.”
Instead of defending myself, I decided not to care what anyone in this house thought. “Yeah, sure.” I smiled, drawing a confused look from her. Then her eyes narrowed. Good, she could wonder what I was off to do. Maybe she’d even lose sleep over it.
I slid my phone from my pocket and went into the bathroom. It was too cold to go outside, and I couldn’t be bothered putting extra clothes on. And with a bit of luck, someone else would needto use the bathroom and wouldn’t be able to because I was in there. It was the little things.
Amy answered on the third ring. “Hey, Faith. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. Um, I remembered something that could be important. You’re still helping Curtis, aren’t you?”
She paused. Her voice was gentle when she answered, “Yes. He’s paying us to follow up on the losing-client stuff. I can’t say much more—you understand.”
“Lawyer/client privilege. Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I don’t need to know.” I wanted to know, to ask if he was okay, but did I really want to hear he was fine and dating again? No. My heart had been savaged enough. “I just saw an interview on TV. Victoria is definitely the one sabotaging him.”
“We figured, but other than those two women, we haven’t proven anything yet. We still have to access her computers, but it’s harder now Curtis isn’t working there. He, ah… Um, forget it. I can’t say anymore. Tell me what you found.”
“Okay, well, I found it weird that she had those pictures of me and Mark when they’d never been shared on social media, and I certainly didn’t have any of them on my phone or anything.” Someone knocked on the door.
“Hurry up. I’m busting.”
I grinned. “Sorry,sis, but I’m gonna be a while.”
She banged the door harder. “Get out of there!”
I stuck one finger in my ear and ignored her as she continued to thump on the door like a five-year-old. Lowering my voice, I said, “She visited Amanda more than once, but she was always in sunglasses, maybe so no one recognized her—not that she’s famous, but you know.”
“Well, she’s famous now because she’s CEO of Knight Advertising.”
