She’s just eating. Get it together.
“Why did you go to the gala and expose Stella for taking your invite? It seems to have caused you more harm than good.”
Emily dabbed at the corners of her mouth with the napkin as she looked at him. She was assessing him.
He smirked. “You don’t have to look at me like that. I’m not the paparazzi searching for some scoop.”
She blinked, the emotion fading. “I’m sorry. It’s just?—”
“Instinct?”
“Yeah.” She set down her napkin.
Her confirmation resonated with him. People like them learned to be guarded when they’ve had their words or actions used against them.
She tossed her hair to the side in thought. His eyes followed the movement. “I didn’t have much of a choice,” she admitted. “Starz pushes Stella a lot, and if I were to complain, they would’ve done nothing. He would’ve done nothing.”
His spine straightened. “Byhe,do you mean your ex-fiancé?”
Emily’s eyes flew up in surprise at his forwardness. Her reaction told him all that he needed to know.
Mallion was far worse than he’d expected. Nicolas had discovered that he’d been Emily’s first long-term boyfriend. Before him, she only had a six-month fling during university. Mallion must have known this and used it to his advantage.
The end of their relationship must have hurt far more than she was letting on. She looked unaffected though. He couldn’t help but wonder how many years of practice it had taken to perfect this side of her.
Nicolas was tempted to break it. To hear her restraint crack like glass under his blow.
He quickly blinked the impulse away.
Cristo santo…
“Yes,” Emily finally confirmed, oblivious to his thoughts. “Jake stole my invitation himself. He texted me after the event, explaining that it was important for Stella’s career and all that. You know how crucial it is to maintain good relationships with these stakeholders, but it wasn’t only that. I was just a puppet in their little show.”
Their?
Her face twisted, and for a split second, hatred flared in those golden-brown eyes.
Ah, she meant Jake and Stella’s affair.
Sure enough, Nicolas had eventually found that missing piece to the puzzle. Jake had cheated on Emily.
It was laughable when he was given the pictures of the cheaters from a private investigator. Not because infidelity was in any way amusing, but because the man had fumbled so catastrophically it was absurd.
He had a five-course meal and went for the scraps instead.
Jake’s actions didn’t really surprise Nicolas. Still, for Emily’s sake, he’d hoped it wasn’t that.
A faint stir of pity moved inside his chest.
She suddenly looked lost in her thoughts. A desire to pull her out of them overcame him.
“He who laughs last, laughs best.” His tone was firm. “The game isn’t over until you decide it is, Emily. And now that you bear the Re name, I doubt you’ll be the one to lose.”
Emily paused at the intensity in his eyes.
Before she could say anything, her phone started ringing on the table before them.
Jake’s name popped up on the screen. The heart attached to it brought Nicolas a great deal of annoyance.
