I’m putting my hair in a ponytail when I get a call from one of my Mather & Wilde colleagues. She works beneath the new Maison Valmont CEO but has been there for almost a decade. We know each other well.
The new CEO just warned about layoffs.
When?
In seven months.
The anger that pulses through me is heady and sharp, like the lash of a whip. I think of Rafe’s hands.Breath for me, Wilde.Of his confessions in the night and his insistence that I take the medicine the doctor prescribed. I think of his rapport with the watchmaker in his factory and the way he spoke to them all by name.
He promised me he wouldn’t fire anyone at Mather & Wilde for at least six months. Technically he’s still staying true to his agreement… but only by a month.
And he didn’t tell me any of this himself.
Betrayal feels like heat in my stomach. I’ve beensostupid. Starting to trust him…
I know I never should’ve.
I rush down the marble steps of the villa. Through the kitchen, and the living room, and onto the terrace. Every room I pass is empty. He’s nowhere to be seen. So he’s early to the tennis court, then.
I walk past the lavender hedges with the industrious bees. I pass the fountain with Egeria, pouring water out of her urn. She works hard day in and day out. Suddenly I feel angry on her behalf, too. Did anyone ask her if she wanted to stand there working forever?Wise adviser to the king.I bet she got angry at times, too. Kings are hard to deal with.
I push open the wooden door to the tennis court.
He’s there.
Standing by the bench, racquet in hand.
He looks at me. There’s a curve to his lips that dies when he sees my expression. Carefully, he sets down his racquet.
“Paige,” he says.
And that’s what hurts the most. He uses my name, and it’s in a careful voice that tells me this isn’t a fluke or a mistake. He meant to do this.
“You look angry,” he says.
“I am angry. And you know exactly why, don’t you?” I close the distance between us. Energy is buzzing beneath my skin, like I’ve swallowed the bees from his garden. “Youpromisedme you wouldn’t lay anyone off. You promised me in exchange for me behaving. And I have behaved!”
“I haven’t laid anyone off.”
“Yet.Your CEO at Mather & Wildejusthad a company-wide meeting and warned everyone there would be layoffs.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “In seven months, after the pause you put in place.”
He says it so simply, like that makes it okay. I’m feeling too much at once. “How soon after? Theweek?” I take a step closer. The angrier I am, the less hurt I feel. “Damn it, Montclair. Just when I thought… Damn it.”
“I followed what you said to theletter.” His jaw works. “No one will be let go for six months, like I promised. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be long-term changes. You know your uncle invested in entire vanity departments that are unprofitable. You’ve said as much yourself! You need to return to the basics, to your heritage.”
I push against his chest. My hands rest against his t-shirt, warm from the sun. “Those people are like family to me.”
“They won’t be better off if the company as a whole goes bankrupt. We have to tell them early so people can start making plans if they lose their jobs.”
“How long have you known this was coming?”
He hesitates a moment too long. “Three days.”
“Threedays?” It feels like a dagger. While I was… he was… the dress shop. His mouth between my legs. Holding me when I was sick. Sweet words and the watch, that beautiful watch, with the wave on it. So similar to my tattoo.
He knew that entire time.
