She liked it too.
The secretary glanced up, curious. I had an inkling that she knew who I was. She nodded with a small smile. Possibly an ally. I returned her smile, turning to leave. I felt two sets of eyes on me as I walked down the corridor towards the lifts.
I’d never felt empowered at work before.
But I carried my head high, shoulders straight and my back rigid.
??????
They all stared as I sat down.
Carla, Andy, Graham and Francis.
“Well?” Francis whispered, head low, eyes cutting from side to side.“Spill everything.”
“He just wanted to thank me for all my hard work in his company,” I said. Loudly.
Oh, now you’re getting the hang of it, Bad Girl said.
“She’s lying,” Carla snapped.
“Sorry?” I turned to look at her.“How many times have you been invited to the executive suite for a personal tribute from the company’s CEO?”
Ooooh. Look at that little bitch burn.
Carla’s mouth thinned. She reminded me of girls I’d known in high school—the ones who were only ever happy when they were the most important person in the room and spent the rest of their energy making sure nobody else got comfortable.
“Get back to work, everyone,” Andy said. His eyes didn’t leave me. He ground his jaw.
He knew that I knew about the budget deficit.
The silence that settled was a different kind from this morning’s—not shame, not frost. Something tighter. The kind that meant calculations were being made and conclusions were being drawn and nobody wanted to be the one to speak first.
“Nika?”
I glanced up. Claire was standing in the gap between her office door and our bank of desks.
“Could you come in for a moment?”
I couldn't resist the smirk as I stood.
They hated me before, but now I’d given them a real reason to despise me. In their eyes, my success meant their failure. So much for teamwork.
And these weren't even aware that I was the reason they had all shat themselves in the most humiliating way possible.
Chapter 25
Conrí
He was furious.
Not because I’d found my mate—because I hadn’t told him. And beneath the fury, beneath the jaw and the volume and the pacing, I could see what it actually was.
He was hurt.
“Cuán, it wasn’t that simple,” I said.
His head snapped toward me.
