“I’m sorry. I should have—”
“You should have listened to your attorneys.” Cassie wiped the tears off her face. “You could have stopped the case going to trial, but you didn’t. Your attorneys kept pushing and pushing until Dad had nothing left to give.”
Noah stepped toward her. “We had to go to court. There was more at stake than your father’s guilt or innocence. Regardless of whether we were right or wrong, we needed clarification on who owns the copyright on a design before it has been manufactured.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open. “Do you know how terrible that sounds? You left my father penniless and ruined his career to prove a point. Is that all another person’s life means to you?”
“You know me better than that.” His voice shook as he tried to control the panic racing through him. He loved Cassie, but their relationship was falling apart and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“I thought I knew you.” Cassie wrapped her arms around her waist. “Before we met, I didn’t want to accept your award. I thought your customers would boycott your company if they discovered I was Tony Harper’s daughter. I was willing to give up everything to protect my dad and your company.”
Noah wanted so badly to hold Cassie in his arms, to tell her he loved her and that everything would be okay. But right at this moment, that was the worst thing he could do. “You don’t need to protect anyone. My PR team will stop the media from making false accusations about you or your dad.”
“It’s too late.”
Noah’s heart pounded. “What do you mean?”
“The New York Timesis publishing an article about Dad, the award, and Emanuel Ricardo. The reporter asked me questions about your company and how I feel about what happened.”
No wonder Cassie was upset. If the reporter was like the other journalists who had covered the story, she would have been ruthless. “When did you talk to her?”
“A few minutes ago. Her name is Amanda Cooke.” With a trembling hand, she gave him a business card. “Her contact details are on here.”
“Cassie—”
“She said the only reason you asked me to work for you was because the board of directors wants to fire you. Is that true?”
Noah swallowed the knot in his throat. “I wanted to rebrand our prestige store. The board of directors didn’t want to invest the amount of money it would take to reach a new audience. I wanted you and your jewelry to be the new face of Wilson Enterprises.”
“I told you I don’t like being the center of attention. I only let Willow take my photo because you wanted an up-to-date image for tonight.”
It broke his heart to see Cassie so upset. “I did what I had to do.”
Her jaw clenched tight. “What would have happened if I’d decided I didn’t want to work with you?”
“The money my company has invested in getting ready for the rebrand would be wasted.”
“And your contract as chief executive?”
“It wouldn’t be renewed.”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “So what the reporter said was true?”
“I wasn’t using you to keep my job. Not in the way you mean. I love you, Cassie. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “I’m not sure you know what love is.” Her softly spoken words brought tears to his eyes. “I’m flying back to Montana tonight. I’ll take a taxi to your apartment and collect my suitcase. Before I go, I’ll leave the spare key on the kitchen counter.”
“Don’t go. We need to talk about what’s happened.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “I need time to think. I’ll work on your jewelry collection from Sapphire Bay.”
He held Cassie’s hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Emanuel.”
“So am I.” She pulled her hand away. “I’ll call you in a couple of weeks.”
As she walked across the terrace, Noah’s heart began to break. And he didn’t know if it would ever be whole again.
Cassie lookedin the mirror and sighed. At least she’d had the sense to visit the bathroom before leaving the Rockefeller Center. If she was being really kind, she’d say the dark smudges of mascara running down her face made her look like a fierce Scottish warrior. But with a pale face and red, puffy eyes, everyone would know she had been crying.
