Taming Lily (The Fowler Sisters #3)(64)

You are such a doll. Thank you again for inviting me to your party last Saturday night. It was such a delight to spend more time with you and your sister. I loved talking shop. Perhaps we can get together again soon.

Kisses,

Pilar

“This is the first email she sent to Felicity after she went to Felicity’s party, dated four months ago. They continued to chat each other up via email, nothing serious. Casual gossipy correspondence that’s boring as shit. But then about two months ago, things got interesting,” Levi explains.

I hate it there so much. Forrest is so cloying and tries to control my every move and he’s so fixated on Violet’s opinion on everything, it’s like I can’t make a decision on my own. Ever. Dahlia totters in on occasion and pontificates as if what she has to say matters, the old hag. I’m sick of it. Forrest is undermining my authority, as is Violet, and she’s in London for f*ck’s sake! I know you have no openings at the moment for someone of my expertise but the second you know of something, please let me know.

xoxo

P

The venom in that one short email is telling. She wants out of Fleur. And she blames Violet for all of her problems.

“Pilar’s emails to Felicity go on in a similar vein for a few weeks, until everything changes,” Levi continues, his mouth settling in a grim line.

“What do you mean, everything changes?” I ask. “So she was trying to get the hell out of Fleur. So what? Wouldn’t Lily want that to happen?”

“I don’t know if Lily read the remaining emails. I can tell what was opened and what wasn’t; there’s a history that’s left behind and if you’re smart like me, you can figure it out.” Levi grins and I shove his shoulder, muttering under my breath. Show-off. “Lily stopped reading emails at the one you just read. No others were opened until me.”

“And what did those emails say?”

“It’s this one in particular that you need to read. It’s probably what’s pushing Pilar to get this laptop from Lily so damn bad,” Levi explains as he opens another email.

Felicity,

I understand you’re nervous, but trust me. I swear no one will find out about this. Please confirm you received the information I sent you, as promised.

xoxo

P

“Attached to this email is information about Fleur’s new line. The colors of the cosmetics, the names, the new perfumes named after the sisters. Everything,” Levi says.

Jesus. I take a drink of water, then run a hand over my face, my throat immediately going dry again. Pilar blames Lily for causing family turmoil and is giving away Fleur corporate secrets to their direct competition on the side, all while having an affair with Zachary Lawrence, Violet’s ex-boyfriend.

This is some seriously f*cked-up shit.

“She must really hate Violet,” I say, blowing out a harsh breath. “All of the Fowlers, really.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Levi snickers. “Though this isn’t funny, not at all. Your client PV? She is one conniving bitch.”

A conniving bitch I need to keep away from Lily. I should call her. Text her, though she probably won’t answer me. Would she? I doubt it. She’d probably tell me to go to hell and not believe a word I said, not that I can blame her.

“The Fowlers need to know about this, stat. Felicity Winston never responded to Pilar’s email and that went down a few weeks ago. Pilar’s probably freaking the f*ck out, especially since she thinks Lily knows all and Felicity is ignoring her. Shit is about to hit the fan my, friend,” Levi continues.

“I need to talk to Lily first,” I mutter, rubbing my hand over my mouth, along my jaw, my mind spinning with all the possibilities. I want to tell her. I need to see her. But how do I approach her? She must be furious with me.

Levi turns in his chair to look at me, shaking his head. “This is a mess, bro. You’re working for the wrong person, you know.”

I sigh and lean forward, propping my elbows on the edge of the desk, and bend my head so I can run my hands through my hair. “I know. But how can I get out of it now? Pilar is going to be here any minute. She’ll want the laptop.” I narrow my eyes, trying to think of an alternative.

“Don’t give it to her.”

He makes it sound so easy. As if I can just tell Pilar to f*ck off. It’s not even the laptop that Pilar should be concerned about. It’s the fact that Lily dug into her private information and knows what she’s done in the last couple of years, including some damning details. All the bullshit, all the lies, all the conniving and plotting and planning to f*ck the entire company over by giving away information in the hopes of getting get a new position.

Taking that laptop will not solve all of Pilar’s problems. Ruining Lily is what’s going to give her any sort of satisfaction.

“What else is on it?” At Levi’s questioning glance, I continue. “The laptop. Anything … incriminating?”

“Nothing much else, with the exception of one thing.” Levi sighs. “Hey, I know Lily Fowler is a public figure. I’ve seen her on that TMZ TV show or whatever. I don’t get why everyone’s fascinated with her. I mean, she’s hot. But what does she do? I lump her in with the Kardashians and the Hiltons, useless celebrities who look pretty and cause trouble.”

I press my lips together to keep from blurting out that there’s so much more to Lily than looking good and causing trouble. She’s sweet and easygoing. She never acted like she wanted a lick of attention from anyone but me. When I was with her, she was nothing like the party-girl persona I saw in the media. But he doesn’t know that I actually spent time with her, got to know her, got naked with her.