“Don’t bullshit me,” I say. “I think you’ve done enough of that, don’t you?”
“Fine, I handled it wrong. I was trying to keep you out of it. You were never supposed to be involved. And our friendship is not a sham. You were my friend before any of this.”
“And Roberto?” I ask. “Was that part of the package, too?”
“No,” she says firmly. “No. What happened between you was all you.”
“Except the bottle of wine and private dinner.”
“I wasn’t thinking about any of the casino stuff when I did that,” she insists. “Or the… other stuff. I saw the way you looked at each other. I haven’t seen him look at anyone like that since his wife died. We weren’t running some sort of play on you. I would never do that to you.”
“How can I trust that?” I say, my voice breaking. “You looked me in the face, and you liedover and over.
Caterina’s mouth tightens. “You can’t. Not today,” she says quietly. “All I can do is stand here and tell you I didn’t bring you here to use you, and I didn’t throw you to the wolves. I wanted you beside me because you’re the best at what you do and because you’re my friend.”
My laugh scrapes my throat. “Your friend who was kept in the dark.”
“Yes,” she says sincerely. “Because the dark was the only place I thought you would be safe. I thought if I walled it off from you, you could just build the thing you came to build and never have to carry anything else.”
I shake my head. “And if something went wrong? If the feds showed up? I’d be the idiot who said I didn’t know.”
“Plausible deniability,” she says.
“Or what if they don’t believe that anyone could be so stupid as to not know who they’re working for,” I spit out. “Who their friendreallyis. Who the person they’re sleeping with really is!”
Caterina’s eyes shine. “Then let me take the hit,” she says. “If you want out, I’ll process it today—paid out, full reference. If you want to stay, I’ll firewall you. No owner approvals touching your queue. We go back to the way it was supposed to be.”
My stomach twists. “So that’s it? I keep my head down and pretend I didn’t see what Isaw?”
“I’m asking you not to blow up your life tonight,” she says, voice low. “I’m not asking for me. I’m asking for you. Give me forty-eight hours to pull anything that could brush you. If after that you still want to walk, I won’t fight you.”
“Forty-eight hours to do what, exactly?” I ask. “Make the comps disappear?”
“To route them where they should have gone and lock the doors you never should’ve had a key to,” she answers.
“You know I can’t do that,” I say quietly. “You know I can’t just turn away and pretend it’s not happening. I won’t be able to live with that.”
“Then tell me what I can do,” she begs. “Just please… Please don’t take this out on Roberto. It’s not on him. I hired you before I told him. He didn’t bring you into this. I did.”
“Yeah, but what he did was worse,” I say, and I can feel my eyes burning. “He let me fall in love with him, and it was a lie.”
I’ve never said the words out loud before, and I can’t believe this is how it happened.
Caterina shakes her head. “No. That part wasn’t a lie,” she says. “Whatever else you believe about him, don’t rewrite that. He’s a lot of things, Olivia, but he doesn’t fake what he feels. Not about you.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” I choke out. “You didn’t put your heart into his hands, only to come out feeling like an idiot.”
Caterina steps closer but keeps her distance. “You’re not an idiot,” she says. “You were in love with a man who made you feel seen. That’s not stupid. That’s human.”
I wipe under one eye with my thumb and look away. “It feels stupid.”
“It feels like betrayal,” she says quietly. “I get that. Be angry at me. Be angry at him. You’re allowed. But don’t quit, don’t walk away like this.”
My laugh is rough. “That would be the smartest thing to do, just walk away.”
“Olivia,” she says. “Whatever you think, I love you. I don’t know if I can ever fix this, but I’m trying. I can protect your job, your reputation. I can stay away from you, if that’s what you want. But I can’t take it back. Truth is, I don’t know if I want to. It’s a relief not having to lie to you or hide it from you anymore.”
“Does your family feel the same way?” I ask. “Your dad?”
