Page 2 of Nefarious
“Very funny. You know I’m only loyal to you, Dane.”
He doubted she was loyal to anyone, but she had left their company to follow him to the Midwest, and he couldn’t forget that. “And I’m forever grateful. Truly, I’m humbled.”
Val narrowed an eye as though she could parse his bullshit enough to detect the sincerity behind his sarcastic tone. “Then you’ll help me set the girl on a ruinous path?”
Dane slid the unlit cigarette back in the pack. “I’m afraid I’m going to be distracted with another endeavor for some time.”
“Let me guess. Seducing the head of accounting? She seems like your type.”
He gave Val one long look. “No. I plan to seduce our new CEO.”
“Noelle?” Val scoffed. “How is that any kind of challenge? You could do that this morning and spend the rest of your summer with Selena.”
“You seem to forget history.”
“Oh, are you still nursing that wound? Or is this about Dane’s ego? She spurned you before you could bed her, and you’ll never rest until you check that box. Is that it?”
Dane clenched a fist. “I was so close. Until she shot me down with no explanation.”
Val frowned. “And publicly, too. Yes. How humiliating. If I’d known you carried a torch, I might not have insisted the board offer her the job.”
“Why did you? You never cared for her.”
“Perhaps not, but she might prove useful to me. There’s a story to her sudden resignation from R&M, and I intend to find out what it is. Maybe she holds a grudge against Geraldo as well. I could exploit that.” She dropped her cigarette and ground it out. “If you don’t spook her. What do you have planned?”
“What I failed to do last time.” He leaned forward to whisper in Val’s ear. “I’m going to seduce her before she realizes what happened. I want her to think she’s resisting me only to find she can’t.”
Val rolled her eyes. “Pedestrian. Let me guess. Was Noelle the last person to break your heart?”
“No.” Dane stepped off the table and tilted his head toward Val. “You were.”
The corner of Val’s mouth curled up slightly. “I believe I’ve rectified that.”
“Right. And then substituted rejection with betrayal.” He enjoyed seeing the color drain from her face.
She recovered enough to whisper harshly, “Let it go, Dane.”
He pushed the knife in another inch. “I already have.”
The awkward boy had circled around them and made his approach. Val regained the beneficent facade she reserved for the rest of the world. A strand of hair had escaped her tight control, and she tucked it behind her ear, head held high. She shot one more calculated glance at Dane. “Hurry along. This one looks ripe for the picking.”
Dane popped the pack of cigarettes back into his pocket and left Val to her games.
Email recovered from the corporate hard drive.
Sophie,
Guess where I am? Did you notice my new Fleetwood Capital email address? I’m here! I don’t know if I’m supposed to be writing personal emails from here, but I couldn’t resist breaking in my brand-new account!
I’m sitting in my cube! I have my own cube!! Okay, so it’s more like a shallow desk, but there is a small partition between computers. I don’t have anything to do here just yet but swivel in my office chair. We’ll be in training for a week before (I hope) they place us with mentors. Two more before we get to even touch the system. But then six weeks working in a real trading environment!
I hadn’t seen Val Montgomery since she and my father had their falling out years ago. I was nervous to speak to her considering, but she was so sweet. She complimented me on my glasses. I just stood there half stuttering and half rambling on about what an honor it was to be here.
I’ve yet to meet Dane Russ. But I did see him going into his office earlier. I cannot believe I’m going to be working under them. They were so young when they founded their company, and I know if I pay attention, I can learn so much. Maybe I’ll even be able to pick their brains and find out how they managed to get so successful so fast.
We have our first meeting with Val in a few minutes. The other interns look about as nervous and eager as me. I hope I’m not the worst one here. They’re probably all top of their classes, too.
Write me back and tell me about summer school. I don’t envy you stuck in class while I’m getting first-hand knowledge in the real world.
