Page 22 of Nefarious
She swallowed. “I wouldn’t have laughed, Dane.”
He took her hand. “I shouldn’t have slept with that other girl. But I’d already fallen in love with you by then, and I’d gone out drinking to try to figure out what I was going to do. I couldn’t think of any other way to slow things down. I should have known I’d ruin things either way.”
Her mind snagged on one statement. “You’d fallen in love with me?” The words choked in her throat. Had he been in love with her all that time? He’d always been there, beside her, devoted in every way. But they were best friends. And sure, she’d never stopped wondering what might have been, but he’d gone on to sleep his way through half the college and then their company, while she’d patted herself on the back for a job well done.
He traced her cheek with his finger. “I’m still in love with you, Val. I always will be.”
She wrapped her hand around his index finger. “It’s New Year’s. Is it too late to collect on a bet?”
His smile returned, but this time, there was no trace of teasing. He strode down the hall and threw open the door to a lavish honeymoon suite.
Val’s mind returned to the training room, the kids clacking on keyboards, and the reality of her lost cause. She blinked to clear her eyes of the forming tears. All that time, he’d been right there.
And she’d let him go again.
If she gave him a third chance, she suspected he’d take her, then leave her as repayment for her betrayal. Wasn’t that exactly what he intended to do with Noelle? Maybe Noelle would absorb his frustration with past regrets, leaving Val to receive a Dane ready to give their relationship another chance.
She could almost taste the ultimate satisfaction of rewarding Dane for using and losing Noelle while they laughed at the poor girl’s naïveté.
Several interns stood and began packing up. As they filed out, Val said, “Good work this week, and I’ll see you bright and early next Monday.”
Once they’d all left, she slipped back into the now empty hallway. She overheard Noelle’s voice through the opening in her door and wondered if it was possible Dane hadn’t left.
A slight alcove a few feet from Noelle’s door housed a copier and printer. Val laid her hands on the front panel of the copier and focused on the selection menu, but she keened her ears toward the conversation on the other side of the slightly ajar door.
“Geraldo, stop. It’s not just the money.”
Val’s stomach lurched. Why was she talking to Geraldo? Was he trying to lure her back?
“You think I don’t know that? I was there when you—”
Val urged her to finish that sentence.
The elevator doors opened down the hall, and Rosamund turned the corner toward Val. Val grabbed some abandoned print outs from the printer’s collection bin. She tapped them into a neat pile and pantomimed the act of putting the papers into the copier. She nodded as Rosamund passed by without a word.
What had Geraldo done? Val slid as close to the door as she could, praying nobody would appear in the hallway.
“If you recall, you’re the reason I’m even here.” Pause. “Iambeing careful. You’ve always underestimated me.”
Val peered through the crack. Noelle sat on the edge of her desk, one hand holding the phone to her ear, the other raking hair that had long fallen from its clasp.
“What do you propose? Am I supposed to go through Dane’s emails or tap her phone?”
Val stifled a gasp. Was she doing Geraldo’s bidding? Spying on them?
That little bitch.
Noelle stood, and Val fell out of sight. “Fine. I’ll talk to a few board members.”
Val’s heart beat a mile a minute. What game were they playing? She needed to get Noelle to confide in her somehow.
She waited until Noelle said her goodbyes, then counted to thirty before tapping on the office door.
“Hi, Noelle. Got a minute?” Her voice dripped with sweetness.
Noelle turned, face flushed. “Val, what brings you here?” She leaned against the edge of the desk.
“It occurred to me that you’re relatively new to the area, and I wanted to see if you’d like to go out tonight. I could show you around a little. We could grab a bite to eat.”
