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Cass took the harsh question without flinching. “I have a list of suspects. Everyone who’s had their hands on Formula-47 over the past two years and could reasonably understand how it works.”
The betrayer’s name was on that list—she knew it like she knew her own face. How else would Gage’s additional information about Fyra’s yet-to-be-released product offering be so accurate? It was the only explanation. Now she just had to find a way to prove it. And convince the others to give her more time.
Trinity’s chair squeaked as she swiveled it toward Cass. “So the article is too vague to involve the authorities, but when your old boyfriend shows up with more detailed information, that’s not enough to go to the cops?”
Heat flushed through Cass’s cheeks. Blushing? Really? She never did that. Thankfully, Harper’s color-correcting foundation should hide the worst of it. “I’m working that angle. In case he’s involved.”
“Oh.” Light dawned in Trinity’s expression. “I thought that whole consulting thing was weird. I was convinced Gage was hanging around in hopes of swooping in for another chance to break your heart. It never occurred to me that you were the one working him. Good for you.”
Alex’s brows snapped together. “What, like you’re sleeping with him to find out if he coordinated the leak? That’s horrible.”
A squeak of denial almost escaped Cass’s clamped lips.
But she couldn’t deny it. That was exactly what she was doing, but hearing it from Alex did make it sound horrible. Something sad crawled through her chest and she couldn’t breathe.
Why? They were just fooling around anyway. Nothing serious was going on, so it wasn’t as if he was going to get his heart broken. She wasn’t even sure he had one to break.
And how in God’s name had her friends figured out so quickly that she and Gage weren’t strictly business associates this time around? Somehow this whole conversation had become a cross-examination of Cass’s sex life.
“It’s brilliant,” Trinity insisted. “Men do stuff like that all the time and no one thinks anything of it. About time we turn the tables. Screw him and then screw him over, Cass.”
Finally Trinity was defending her, and if only she hadn’t been so enthusiastic about Cass’s new status as a ballbreaker, it might have made Alex’s accusations more tolerable.
“It’s true,” Cass admitted. “I’m keeping my eye on him from close quarters just in case he lets something incriminating slip.”
“Was that before or after he seduced away your good sense?” Alex asked derisively. “You’ll forgive me if I find your investigative techniques suspect. No one can fully separate business from sex. It’s impossible.”
Not for me.
Cass started to say it out loud, to defend herself against Alex’s blatant charge that she’d compromised Fyra due to her personal relationship with Gage, such as it was. She should tell them unequivocally that she wouldn’t allow a naked man to distract her from what she knew she needed to do.
But she couldn’t say it. What if Gage was involved in the leak and she missed it because she was too busy daydreaming about him magically transforming into someone she could count on? That very possibility was exactly the reason the board meeting had descended into girl talk about the man Cass was boinking—because everyone thought she might be compromised.
Ridiculous. She was compartmentalizing just fine. The person responsible for the leak was keeping a low profile, that was all. If Gage knew anything about it, he’d trip up before long.
“Give me a few more days,” she pleaded. “I know what I’m doing.”
Throwing her pen down on her pad with considerable force, Alex shook her head. “No. We don’t have a few more days.”
Heart in her throat, Cass evaluated the other two girls, who glanced at each other. Trinity shrugged. “I’m game for it. I kind of want to see what happens with lover boy.”
Harper narrowed her gaze and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. “Gage Branson treated you like dog food in college, Cass. While he’s lighting your fire, don’t fool yourself into thinking he’s changed.”
Red stained Harper’s cheeks, likely as a result of holding back her legendary hot temper, which Cass appreciated. Alex’s hostility was heartbreaking enough without adding another longtime friend to the other side of the fence.
“I’ve got that under control, too,” Cass assured them, ignoring that sad ping inside that had only gotten worse the longer the conversation went on.
