Page 41 of Nefarious
Selena looked up with tears in her eyes, and Val’s mind raced with ways to contain this disaster. She wasn’t at all prepared for what Selena said. “Dane’s great. I’ve learned so much from him in just two days.”
Val relaxed. Maybe this could be salvaged with some simple flattery. “That’s good to hear. He’s said wonderful things about you. He tells me you show great promise.”
A blush crept up Selena’s cheek.
Interesting.
Val had been so concerned that Dane had made an unwanted advance toward the child, she’d failed to notice the obvious. Selena might have consented to his overtures.
She filed that away as a potential solution to a bigger problem.
Selena twisted her hands. “That means so much to me, and trust me, I’d love to continue on with him, but my dad—”
“What about your dad?”
“He found out I’m here, and he’s not at all happy about it. He says I can stay, but I have to promise him I’ll find another mentor. So I can’t work with Dane. It’s not fair.”
Val had to bite back a smile. This wasn’t an ideal turn of events, but it might make Selena more eager to prove herself. “Oh, I didn’t know your father was unaware you were here. How did he find out? Do you know?”
Selena shook her head, swallowing back her emotions. “I don’t know. I don’t know anybody here. I’ve only told my college roommate, but I don’t think she’d tell on me. She doesn’t like that I’m here, either, but I don’t think she’d call my dad. She knows how I feel about him.”
Val played that admission over in her head. Had she overlooked a potentially willing weapon sitting right in her hands?
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s what we have to deal with now, right?” Val stood up and sat down next to Selena with her arm around the girl’s shoulders. “How would you like to work with me? I have two interns now, but I can catch you up quickly.”
Selena’s whole body dissolved into Val’s. “Oh, that would be wonderful.”
“I know I’m not Dane, but I know a thing or two.”
Selena sat up straight and shook her head. “No. I’d love to work with you. I never meant you to think otherwise. Thank you so much!”
Val patted her back. “Okay, then. Off you go. I’ll see you back here tomorrow afternoon.”
Selena wiped her eyes. Val would have liked to give her a tissue, but she didn’t have any in her office. She should rectify that—Selena wasn’t the first person to cry in her presence. Instead, she tightened her arm for a quick side hug and then stood with a hand held out to help Selena up. It was a kindly gesture, but Val just wanted Selena gone so she could concentrate on her own thoughts.
Selena closed the door, and Val immediately began pacing, trying to envision her battlefield. Someone had leaked to Geraldo, and that someone felt an awful lot like Noelle. Which side was she playing for?
More importantly, what issues did Selena have with her dad? Would she be willing to betray her own father? Could she?
Val stared out the window at the parking lot, tapping her fingernails on the glass. Her eyes fell on Dane’s external phallus of an automobile parked at the far corner. It was a shame she couldn’t use Dane to coerce her.
But maybe when he found out Geraldo had stripped him of his afternoon plaything, he’d be willing to return fire.
Val needed to talk to him right now.
The picnic tables wouldn’t work, especially since Dane had purportedly quit smoking. She checked the time and stepped out of her office. She could catch him before he left.
Rosamund Shirley lurked outside her door like a ghoul.
“May I help you?”
The decrepit woman gave Val the creeps. Why hadn’t she retired already? Shouldn’t one of her relatives have shipped her to a nursing home by now?
Rosamund looked around. “I seem to have gotten off on the wrong floor.”
Val gritted her teeth before pressing a smile across her face. “Let me walk you upstairs.” It never hurt to keep up appearances.
She led Rosamund to the elevator and stayed with her until they’d reached her cube. Rosamund patted her hand. “Thank you, dear. You’d think I just started working here yesterday.”
