The words are slurred, but I know what comes next. The kitchen tilts under my feet. My hand flies to my mouth. I think I’m going to throw up.
“He doesn’t…”
“Of course he does. I blew everything up. I… I don’t think I can love anybody else like that…”
Tears blur the image, and I snap the tablet shut. “I can’t hear any more.”
“I’m sorry, Jackie.”
Shaking my head, like that would make it go away, I re-open the tablet and frantically search the news feeds. “It’s already everywhere, right?”
Carter confirms my suspicions with a nod. The video was shared on every channel.
Money Can’t Buy You Love.
Badass CEO Loses Stock in Love Market.
Can Women Balance a Successful Career and Love Life? Jackie Rawlings Proves It’s Impossible.
Who comes up with this garbage?
The numbness in my fingertips spreads up my arms, closing over my chest like a vice. I broke every one of my four golden rules last night. Years of discipline, gone.
I’ve held everything close to my chest, ever since I was little. And still ended up in this mess. Vulnerable, for the whole world to see. Over a man.
That’s not fair. He’s not some man. And he wasn’t the one blabbing about his personal life in a public space.
But somehow, I don’t really have it in me to care about what’s been said about me.
“Did you talk to Radu?” I finally rasp.
“He’s trying to scrub it off the Internet…but…”
“Everybody’s seen it already.”
My brother rounds the island, looking at me with a deep frown. “It’s Adam, isn’t it? The guy you were talking about?”
“I can explain.”
“No. Wait.” He runs a hand over his face, exhaling hard. “It wasn’t a date last night. It was a sting.”
I blink at him, mouth parted, but no words come out.
“The FBI figured out Michelle was the mole. Didn’t want to spook her, so they asked Adam to talk to her.”
I must’ve heard wrong. My brain stutters. “Michelle?”
He nods. “Yeah. She played it well. Threw everyone off.”
My brain refuses to piece the story together. “But why?” My voice is thin. “I thought…I have my issues, but…Why would she want to hurt me? Kidnap me?”
“It’s complicated,” he says quietly.
Hundreds of morning coffees shared in my office. Dinners at my house. Traveling together all over the world. And all this time she was pretending?
“What the fuck?!” My voice rises despite myself.
“I know.” He takes a deep breath, shaking his head. “She became friends with a woman in her support group. Michelle thought she was being some sort of Robin Hood. That helping her get her hands on the Neural Interface would be a great service to humankind.”
