It was safe to assume that me going on and on about her had only served to confirm a suspicion he’d already had. I swiped my tongue across my lips, my heart suddenly thudding in my ears as I looked back at him.
“Are you capable of giving her the life she deserves?” I countered.
Jesse’s gaze locked on mine and he finally sat up a little straighter. “How long, Will?”
“What?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “How long have you been in love with her?”
He didn’t ask it flippantly or even lightly. He wasn’t making fun of the situation or trying to remind me that it was just a business deal again.
Before he could push further or I said something I couldn’t take back, I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath. “This was fun, but I’ve got work to do.”
“Will—”
I didn’t stop, suddenly desperate to get out of this office. I was already halfway to the door by the time he stood up. I didn’t look back, though, simply seeing him move in my periphery. I yanked open the door and walked down the corridor, past people who had no idea that I was living in the seventh circle of hell right now.
It felt like my life was unraveling. I was running out of time so fast that I could barely comprehend it myself, and now, Jesse knew it too. I didn’t know what he would do with the information, but for some reason, I also didn’t really care.
If he went to Alex, he would save me the time of doing it myself. I’d meant to talk to him at the party anyway, but I hadn’t actually even seen much of him there. I also hadn’t seen much of Sterling. Callum had told me the two of them had disappeared into Dad’s study, which had meant that it hadn’t been the right time.
Right now, the only thing I could focus on was Eliza. About that inevitable moment whenshefound out the truth. Because that moment was closer now than it’d ever been before.
All along, I’d known that being with her was only temporary. I just hadn’t realized how much that would eventually matter, but hearing Jesse say it out loud…
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I already had my phone in hand by the time I reached the conference room down the hall and I stepped into it, lockingthe door behind me. Before I could even think about it, I was scrolling to her number.
While I knew it wouldn’t make a lick of difference once she found out, I just needed to hear her voice. The phone rang for only a few seconds before she picked up. “Hi, Jesse.”
As soon as she said it, I knew something was wrong. She didn’t sound like herself. There was a strange tension in her voice, subtle but definitely present. “Hey, you. What’s going on?”
It also took her a few moments too long to respond to what should’ve been a simple question. “It seems I have a guest.”
My stomach bottomed out. I had no idea who’d gone to my townhouse, but the tone of her voice suggested that it wasn’t someone she’d been wanting or expecting to see.
CHAPTER 32
ELIZA
Completely shocked, I stared at Eugenie and she stared back at me with a kind of knowing look in her eyes that set me on edge. “What are you doing here?”
She smiled, but it wasn’t warm or happy. Strangely, it seemed calculating. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t seem strange at all.
Eugenie wasalwaysup to something, working some kind of angle to advance whatever goal she had in mind, but it had been so long since I’d last seen her that I couldn’t figure out what possible angle she couldalreadyhave.
“I came to see you, silly.” She arched an eyebrow when I didn’t step aside to let her in. “Well, are you going to leave me on the doorstep all day?”
I eyed her for a long moment, blinking hard as I tried to the process the fact that she was here. “No, of course not. I apologize. You’ve just caught me off guard.”
I finally moved out of the way and she breezed past me in a cloud of perfume and judgment. My big sister, as always, was dressed in only the finest designer clothing, a white linen suit with a striking pink blouse underneath, her nose slightly elevated as her gaze swept across the interior of the townhouse.
“This is where you’ve been living?” she said incredulously, almost like she couldn’t quite fathom it. “It’s rather dull, isn’t it?”
I closed the door behind her, resisting the urge to check for cameras outside. Either we were on one of those reality TV programs and I was being pranked, or this was some elaborate mistake.
“Compared to our house in London, I mean,” she said lightly, as though that softened her harsh opinion. “Perhaps you should speak to him about redecorating.”
