"There she is," he remarked, not looking up. It was not said in a playful manner. I stopped short.
When he finally raised his head, Mace's expression was menacing. He steepled his hands in front of his face. I looked over at the assistant's office. Anke wasn't there.
"I need to tell you something," I urged.
"I bet you do." His face was cold.
"Where's Henry? It's important!" I pleaded.
Tara walked in. "Good morning," she said brightly. She turned to sneer at me. "Is it that time already?"
"What time?" I asked, confused.
"Time for you to finally be thrown out," she said.
"Mace, listen to me. I have to tell you—"
"Is it about Anke and the fact that she was involved in a plot to sell my little brother to a rich infertile couple? Or was it the fact that she manipulated Adrian into handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars to her. Or was it the fact that you knew that she was dangerous, knew that she was a scam artist, and let her waltz around here, setting her traps and wreaking havoc on my company and my family."
"I can explain. I just—" I looked wildly around. "She scammed me too—"
"Then why didn't you say anything, Josie?" he asked, his mouth a thin, angry line. "You lied to me."
"I didn't lie," I said in a small voice. "I just didn't tell the truth." I fought back the tears. "Is Henry okay?"
Mace's eyes narrowed. "Henry is safe," he said. "No thanks to you."
"I am so sorry," I cried, the tears spilling down my face.
Tara had a triumphant look on her face. "I told you she was no good," she said to Mace.
"The worst of it is," Mace said to me, "I trusted you. I loved you. I let you around my family. But that's my fault. You told me you were a terrible, no good, untrustworthy person. And you were right."
"I am so sorry," I begged. "I can make it up to you, I—"
"I don't want to hear it," Mace interrupted. "I heard all about how you and Anke were two peas in a pod. It shouldn't surprise anyone why you two got along so well. You're the same conniving, manipulative person."
"I love you," I said. But the words sounded hollow to my ears.
"No, you don't," he sneered.
I sobbed as Tara looked on. Having her witness my fall to rock bottom just made it so much more painful.
"Shall I have security escort her out?" Tara asked, her voice dripping with satisfaction.
"No," Mace barked. "Tara, Josie lied by omission, but you flat-out lied. Why did you recommend Anke come work here?"
"I—" she stammered, and I looked up at her.
"You knew that letter was a forgery," Mace continued.
"No, I didn't—"
"Yes, you did," Garrett said, walking in. "You said that you checked with the Holbrooks. A perusal of your phone records indicated that you did talk to one of the Holbrook secretaries that you knew. However, I talked to her last night. She said she told you she had no idea who Anke was. And you told Mace to hire her anyway."
"You were trying to get me fired!" I screeched at Tara.
"She said she knew Josie," Tara protested. "I was just trying to show everyone the truth."
