The Price Of Scandal(94)

“You’ve been biding your time and waiting for your opportunity to destroy her since the beginning.”

“And look how patience pays off. I have my choice, either be CFO of La Sophia’s American market or, as of half an hour ago, the Flawless board members wisely offered me CEO. Isn’t that a conundrum?”

She’d choose Flawless. Just to sit in Emily’s chair.

“It sounds like you’re getting just what you deserve.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” She gave a girlish giggle.

“That was sarcasm, you abominable twat.”

“My first act of business will be dissolving your contract with Flawless. Your services are no longer needed seeing as how I’ve destroyed your girlfriend who probably isn’t taking your calls after those pictures of us surfaced. You certainly are photogenic.”

“What’s she saying?” Roger hissed from the opposite end of the table.

“He called her an abominable twat,” Rowena whispered back. “I don’t think it’s going well.”

“You won’t get away with this, Lita.”

“Did you know that reporter who’s been following her around like a puppy was there when the news broke? There’s no way you can fix this. No way to spin it. Emily is going down finally. You should have accepted my offer, Derek. I’d let you be on top.”

I should have decked her in that restaurant.

“If you wanted to be CEO, why did you tank the stock offering? More money in your pocket,” I asked.

She laughed mirthlessly. “I didn’t want CEO. At least, not specifically. I wanted her to fail. The IPO will be pushed back. After the requisite investigation, I’ll be the one finally reaping the rewards. And there’s no way for you to fix this.”

“You haven’t earned any of this, Lita.”

“I’ve been there since the beginning. Flawless is mine.”

I disconnected the call and dialed Emily again. No answer.

I needed to think. I needed to fix this. I needed Emily.

“What in the fucking fuck did you do, Price?” Jane stormed into the office with her hand on her stun gun.

“Oh, shit,” Roger whispered.

“Jane, I don’t have time to fight with you right now. You can stun gun me later.”

“How fucking stupid are you?” she demanded, ignoring my belated stun gunning offer. “You had to know Lita was up to something!”

“I didn’t know it was stealing formulas and staging affairs,” I yelled back. Frustration and anger and, worse, helplessness warred inside me. I should have known or at least suspected. I’d underestimated her to be just another greedy, jealous viper. “Did you?”

“Of course not,” she shouted. “I would have stuffed her in a trunk and fed her to Steve if I realized what she was up to. You need to fix this!”

I didn’t know if I could. I could spin things and threaten lawsuits. But how could I ever win back Emily’s trust? It was such a delicate, tenuous thing. And I’d walked right into the trap.

“What are you doing here?” I asked wearily.

“I have Nina Nowak’s address. Thought you might want to tag along and see why she suddenly decided to destroy the woman who fixed her face. Maybe if I don’t like what she says, I could mess it up again.”

At least there was something I could do for her. Something I could fix. And something I could prevent Jane from going to jail for.

“Rowena, when the attorney gets here, give her access to anything that will help make this all go away.”

“On it! Where are you going?”

“I’m going to fix this.”

“Don’t get arrested! We don’t have enough in petty cash for bail.”

I followed Jane out the door.

“Where is Emily?” I demanded.

“She went home early because she has until nine a.m. tomorrow to resign from Flawless.”

My fist left a sizable and satisfying hole in the drywall.





44





Emily





Betrayal weighed heavily. Much more so than the familiar density of expectation and responsibility. Betrayal left me feeling helpless, hopeless, listless. I wanted to find that life-affirming anger and rouse it back to life.

Angry was better than devastated.

“Here, my beautiful friend.” Luna danced over to me, barefoot and charming in a flowy skirt and crop top. She pressed a goblet of some thick, dark purple liquid into my hands.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s a serenity blend with herbs and fruit juices. The collagen in it will do amazing things for your skin.”

My skin felt too tight. Everything had changed. In just one day, I’d lost everything, and even my body seemed a stranger.

Plus, I’d spent so much time in the bathroom this afternoon that I was dehydrated.

We’d gathered at Luna’s. It hadn’t been spoken aloud, but due to the fact that Derek was so adept at breaking into my own house, I didn’t feel safe there. I couldn’t see him. I would break and either shatter into a thousand pieces or murder him. Daisy would have helped me with the body, but she was on her yacht in the Bahamas.

Luna’s home looked as though her soul had exploded triumphantly over every square foot. We were on her covered terrace listening to the thrum of waves. Colorful lanterns and dazzling strings of lights hung from the ceiling in no particular pattern. The furniture was low and cushioned in purples, reds, and golds. It reminded me of an oceanfront meditation studio on steroids.