Chapter 44

Evelyn

Scott straightened, intrigued. His features flooded with curiosity.

“I own a penthouse downtown. Left over from my… previous life.” I said it casually. I hadn’t set foot in the place in years, but it was still there, waiting for a new tenant. It would be convenient to put it to use here.

“It’s fully furnished,” I continued. “And it’s discreet.”

His eyes narrowed. “And you’re offering it all to me?”

Despite the greed I had seen flash in his eyes, I had to give him credit. He at least seemed skeptical when perfect opportunities were dangled in front of him. It made me wonder how his initial conversation with Emma had gone.

“It’s not free. I’m offering it in exchange for a collaboration. If you accept, we’ll work together, and you’ll put Emma aside,” I said.

I leaned closer as I decided that flattery might be the best way to win him over. “Let’s be honest: you don’t want to be just a middleman in this little drama Emma’s orchestrating. You’re too clever for that. Let’s do something together. Collaborate.”

Scott hesitated. “You’d give me a penthouse… just for that?”

“Oh, not just for that,” I said sweetly. “Think of it as a deposit. A good-faith investment. Emma’s been playing hardball, and I intend to return the effort in this little game we started. You and I could rewrite the rules if we wanted to.”

A beat passed, and then he laughed. Not in mockery but in delight.

“Well, damn. Emma never offered me half as much,” he said. “No penthouse, that’s for sure. Just a few thousand to send you on your way. I wouldn’t even get to keep the car in this scheme.”

I raised a brow. “She just wanted to run me out of town?”

He winced slightly at my choice of words. “Yes. But that wasn’t all. She wanted you discredited, too. Pushed out and then slandered when you were gone. She said you were dangerous and that you were getting in the way.”

I let the word dangerous settle between us. I would hardly consider what I was doing dangerous. If conducting basic research into Emma put her so on edge, I was clearly on to something.

I couldn’t deny feeling bolstered by the description, though. I rolled the word dangerous around in my mind, savoring the feeling it gave me. It tasted like power.

“Good,” I said. “Let her keep thinking that.”

He chuckled again, a little nervously this time. “I think I misjudged you, Evelyn.”

“No,” I said, downing the rest of my drink in one long, final swallow. “You were just working off the wrong information and started it all by listening to the wrong woman. I think we’ll work well together to fix that.”

Two days later, I stepped into Scott’s office. Its inside was cool and dimly lit by lights mounted on each wall that cast an amber hue on the wooden floor and his enormous desk.

I had come armed with purpose and calm detachment. I was there to finalize logistics for my new alliance. Under my arm was a folder of documents, including details of the penthouse transfer and outlined terms of our “understanding.”

But mostly, I came to measure how far the cracks Emma had initially created had begun to spread.

Just like Scott, I was hesitant about the deal, even though I was the one who proposed it. Even days removed from our conversation, it felt too good to be true. I wanted to finalize my expectations with this meeting and clarify our collaboration in writing.

Scott’s assistant, a sharp-eyed woman named Mira, smiled at me as she gestured toward the desk, drawing attention to it as if I could have ever missed such a hulking piece of furniture.

“Scott will be back in a moment,” she said with a smile before parting.

I walked over and sat in one of the seats before the desk. A beat later, Scott came rushing in, raking his hands through his hair to comb it back from his face.

“Glad you could make it,” he said, taking the seat across the desk from me. “Sorry I’m late.”

“All good,” I said, placing the folder on the surface between us. Scott flipped it open immediately to review its contents, skimming the writing inside.

“She’s spiraling,” he said after a silent moment without raising his eyes. “Emma.”

“Oh?” I pressed.

He grinned, finally looking up. “I blocked her on all channels. She didn’t take it well, to say the least. She’s furious. Just tried calling Mira to try to go through her and get to me.”

He nodded to where his assistant had disappeared down the short hallway beyond his office. She was stationed so close I could hear her chuckle along to what he’d said, sounding just as humored by Emma’s spiraling.

Then, the phone buzzed from down the hall as if it had been cued up. Scott and I shared a knowing look. I arched a questioning brow, and Scott nodded.

“Almost definitely her. Again. She’s been calling all day asking for me,” he said in a lowered voice as Mira picked up the phone. “I really wish you and I had run into each other from the start.”

“Mira speaking,” the assistant said from a short distance away, just audible from where Scott and I were sitting.

There was a pause. “No, Scott isn’t available.” Another pause. “Emma, I don’t care how many times you try, your number’s been blocked from his personal contacts for a reason. We won’t be bending to your blackmail and bribes anymore.”

A shriek filtered through the receiver, audible even from where I sat. Mira slammed down the phone, not even bothering to respond to the screech.

“What did she say?” Scott asked loudly, craning his neck to amplify his voice out to Mira.

A moment later, Mira was in the doorway, smirking with shared amusement at Emma’s erratic behavior.

“She’s accusing me of favoring Evelyn,” Mira replied, rolling her eyes. Then she turned her attention to me. “Respectfully, I don’t even know you well enough to play sides in this! She also said I shouldn’t back you because Scott slept with you. Well, she used less kind words for that. Like I would care, though. I should have told her it is none of her damn business.”

Scott winced at that accusation but said nothing. I didn’t so much as blink at her essentially calling me a whore. It was typical Emma behavior.

Mira kept going. “And then she tried to make it seem like it was part of her plan. Said she’s the one who ‘sent you to his bed.’ Like she orchestrated it.”

I sighed, letting that settle in.

“I told her not to mention blackmail and bribes again,” Mira added. “I doubt she’ll listen, though.”

I returned her smirk. “She’s never been known as the listening type.”

Mira chuckled. “Yeah, that last part really set her off.

The silence that followed was heavy and electric. I could see how tense the other two were by Emma’s antics. They hadn’t known what they were getting into when they first agreed to work with Emma, but it seemed they’d quickly learned their lesson.

I almost felt bad for them.

Scott let out a slow breath. “She’s officially lost it.”

I stood, smoothing my skirt. “Good. Let her unravel.”

I turned toward the door, letting the click of my heels echo across the marble tile. Before I stepped out, I glanced back at Scott.

“I’ll let you review those documents, and I’ll come to collect them in two days. If you still want to do this, then be ready when I return,” I said. “This is only the first tremor. She’s going to bring the storm next.”

His smile faltered because he knew I was right.

I had just flipped the board.

And Emma didn’t even know whose game she was playing anymore. But I would make sure that she soon found out.