Owning Violet (The Fowler Sisters #1)(89)

Oh, and I’m this close to having confirmation that she’s f*cking around with Forrest Fowler.

The woman has balls of steel, I gotta give her that.

Deciding I may as well go see her and get it over with, I make my way to Pilar’s office, knocking on her open door before I enter. She’s on the phone and she turns away from me, murmuring something quick before she hangs up and turns on the charm.

“Darling. A visit from you is always a lovely surprise. Especially since I feel such a … distance between us lately.” She leaps up from her chair and comes to me, clasping her arms around my waist and pressing her lips to mine.

I lean away from her mouth, startled that she would try and kiss me at work. Shocked that she would kiss me at all. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know,” she trills, as she releases her hold on me and does a little dance around her office. “It’s a good day, you know? The sun is shining, the weather is warm. I had words with Violet this morning and I think I upset her. Life doesn’t get much better than this.”

I’m stunned. “Words? What are you talking about?”

Why didn’t Violet tell me? What the f*ck is going on?

Pilar tsks and settles back in her chair. “I paid her a visit in her palace, otherwise known as her office.” She rolls her eyes. “Nothing like this dump.”

She has a corner office with an amazing view of the city. It’s far from a dump. “Hell, Pilar, are you ever happy?”

“Today I am.” She laughs. “You should’ve seen her. I got her riled up. Trembling so hard her voice shook as she tried to defend herself.”

“What exactly did you say?” I feel f*cking awful. I wish I had been there so I could defend Violet, but …

Yeah. That would’ve blown our cover for sure.

“I heard her complaining to her sister that she was worried her line wouldn’t be ready in time for its set debut date. The moment Rose left her office, I went in for the kill.” Pilar smirks. “I tried for the innocent act, feigning concern for her line, then implied that maybe she wasn’t cut out for heading such a large, demanding project after all.”

“And what did she say?”

“Nothing! Well, she told me she had it under control, and there was hardly any fight in her. God, she’s boring. I don’t understand why you’re all fascinated with her. You. Zachary. Forrest.” She shakes her head. “She’s a little nothing.”

Jealous. Pilar is so jealous she can hardly see straight.

“Sounds like you got your digs in.” It grates that I have to play along. “I notice you keep mentioning our fearless leader’s name so casually,” I drawl, hoping she thinks I’m teasing her and not fishing for information.

But I am fishing.

“I’ve spent an awful lot of time with Forrest lately,” she says coyly. “He’s a lovely man.”

“I’m sure.” Old enough to be her father, too, but that’s not stopping her. “Sleeping with him to climb your way to the very top?”

“Oh, stop.” She laughs a little too loudly, her discomfort a little too obvious. “I would never do that.”

“Uh-huh.” I approach her desk, my gaze never leaving hers. “Tell me the truth, Pilar. Are you f*cking Fowler?”

Her eyes widen and she rests her hand at the center of her chest. “Are you accusing me of having an affair with Forrest?”

“I am.”

She bursts out laughing. “I can neither confirm nor deny your suspicion.”

“Give me a break.”

“I can’t give up all my secrets, you know.”

“You used to,” I remind her.

“So did you,” she throws back in my face. “But that’s all changed, hasn’t it? Now you’ve cut all ties between us and walked away. If you can’t help me, then I need to help myself, right?”

I can’t even deal with this woman. I decide to change the subject, throw her off. “What about Lawrence?”

Her brows rise. “What about him?”

“Why did you f*ck around with him?”

“He was nothing. A distraction.” She waves a hand, dismissing him. “You said you wanted to seduce Violet and I wanted in on the action. I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

I ignore her teasing tone. I don’t find anything about this funny. “Were you already f*cking Forrest when we had that conversation?”

She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t have to. The coy smile that curls her lips is my answer.

“You never told me,” I say stiffly. I’m shocked—and surprisingly hurt, which I know is stupid, but I can’t help it. We’ve shared so many things, so many ups and downs, that the fact that she deliberately chose not to tell me that she was having an affair with Forrest Fowler bothers me.

Yet I’m lying to her about Violet, so I have no room to judge.

“There’s nothing to tell.” She’s holding it all in, I can tell. She’s not going to give me anything, not that I can blame her. We’re lying to each other. I may have called off this game, but we’re still playing and it’s getting dirty.

When I don’t say anything she starts to laugh. “Darling, are you jealous?” She looks thrilled at the possibility.