She jumped at the voice of the person behind her.
The office door was left wide open, showing evidence of her manager’s entrance. She held a bouquet of flowers in her hands.
“Nicolas,” Emily replied.
She’d told her manager about Nicolas after the charity gala event. It was practically a no-brainer. If Talia was going to be her right-hand woman in this revenge mission, she had to know. She was already hiding the truth from so many people.
Zariah was one thing—different state, different pressure. But Talia? She saw her almost every day. Keeping this secret was next to impossible.
Her reaction had been priceless, screaming that Jake would be rolling in agony once he found out. When she asked her why she wasn’t upset about her secretly getting married again (successfully this time), Talia just said, “Sweetheart, the first time taught me my lesson. It also aged me ten years. I’m trying not to have an early death.”
Talia’s eyes now narrowed suspiciously. “What were you two up to? Dirty talk?”
A fit of coughs came. “W-What’s up with everyone and the word ‘dirty’ today?”
“Aha! Sosomethingdirty was going on.”
Emily wrung her hands. “No, I told you, this is all business. Plus, I’m still troubled by what Jake has done. Do you honestly think I’d fall in love again that quickly?”
Talia’s eyes locked onto hers, holding Emily in place for a beat. Then she let go. “That’s true. If you moved on that fast, it’d be so unlike you.”
“Exact—”
“Then again, you’ve been doing a lot of things your usual self wouldn’t.”
She froze.
Revenge. Lies. Manipulation.
Talia tsked. “It’s a shame, really. I actually think the two of you would make a great pair.”
She felt her face heating up. “What makes you say that?”
“Other than the fact that you are who you are,” Talia approached her slowly. “Nicolas is also who he is. Business mogul. The hottest piece of ass to ever walk New York’s dirty streets. Royal Media’s CEO.”
“And...”
“Andhe’s the only man I’ve seen you interested in other than Jake Gyllenhaal?—”
“I wasnotinto Jake Gyllenhaal?—”
“Oh, yousowere,” she insisted. “You had a crush on him afterLove & Other Drugs. And let’s be honest, Gyllenhaal is the better Jake.”
She rolled her eyes.
“All I’m saying is I’d be down for the two of you actually falling in love.”
Silence.
“Just something to keep in mind.” Talia handed the bouquet over. “You have a delivery, by the way.”
Emily smiled. “Someone sent me flowers?”
“They sure did,” she confirmed. “I had security check them. Nothing out of the norm.”
Her first thought of who the sender may be was Nicolas, but he’d just congratulated her over the phone, so she considered Chelsea or Zariah.
When she opened the card attached to the bouquet of white lilies, her smile vanished.
