“Charlie—”
“Don’t.” The word came out sharper than I intended. But I wasn’t going to stand here and let him say my name the way he’d said it last night. Like it meant something. “You don’t get to ‘Charlie’ me right now.”
He took a breath. “I understand you’re angry.”
“Angry doesn’t begin to cover it.” I stepped closer, which was probably a mistake because I could smell his cologne and my body hadn’t gotten the memo that we hated him now. “You sat next to me for an hour. You asked about my work, my brother, my life. You let me—” I stopped. I was not going to say let me feel something. “You had every opportunity to tell me who you were.”
“And if I had?” His voice was quiet. “Would you have stayed?”
“That’s not the point.”
“It’s exactly the point.”
We stared at each other. The conference table stretched between us, covered in corporate transition documents and NDA templates. The wreckage of my professional life, spread out in neat stacks.
“Dinner’s off,” I said. “Obviously.”
Something moved behind his eyes. He nodded once. “Understood.”
I turned and walked out. Didn’t look back. My heels clicked on the tile floor with a steadiness I didn’t feel, and I kept my shoulders straight and my chin up all the way to my lab, where I shut the door and locked it and stood in the quiet hum of my equipment with my hands shaking.
He’d known. The whole time. He’d watched me light up talking about SEAS, about Wyatt, about the work that mattered more to me than anything—and he’d already signed the papers to take it from me.
Every charming thing he’d said. Every careful question. Every moment I’d let my guard down, thinking for once I’d met someone who actually saw me.
He’d seen me, all right. He’d seen a company asset.
I pressed my palms against the cool surface of my workstation and forced myself to breathe.
The navy dress was still hanging on my bathroom door at home. I’d have to remember to put it back in the closet tonight.
I wouldn’t be needing it.
5
ASHER
“You look like hell.” Mike didn’t bother knocking, just strode into my suite past the room service guy who was on his way out like he owned the place. I was used to it. We’d been friends for so long we treated each other more like brothers than anything else.
“Thanks for the insightful commentary,” I replied, adjusting my cufflinks. “I wasn’t aware I’d hired you for your fashion expertise.”
Mike grinned. He knew when to push and when to back off. Right now, he was pushing.
“Nervous about today?” He set his briefcase on the table, thumbing through his phone. “That’s not like you.”
“Not nervous. Just didn’t sleep much.” I straightened my already-straight tie. “I ran into Charlie Winters at the bar downstairs last night.”
Mike’s head snapped up. “The engineer? The one with the?—”
“The SEAS project, yes.” I struggled to keep my tone neutral. “It was a coincidence.”
“Hell of a coincidence.” Mike studied me. “How did you end up meeting? Are you sure it wasn’t a setup?” He narrowed hiseyes. “If Sterling leaked any of the details he’s in breach of his NDA and we can?—”
“She.”
“Excuse me?”
“Charlie Winters is a woman.”
