Page 41 of Discretion at Its Finest

Maybe it was nothing. It was a coincidence I’d seen her. And it was just coffee… a harmless gesture between colleagues.

But my stomach was already in knots, my fingers clenching around the folder in my hand. I stared at the closed door for too long. It was something about the way she comfortably walked in. It was too natural… and it gnawed at me.

“Were you planning on delivering those sometime today?” came a voice behind me, low and cutting through the silence.

I didn’t have to turn to know who it was. I swallowed, tightening my grip on the folder before slowly pivoting to face him. He stood far too close. Not enough to touch, but enough that I had to tilt my head to meet his gaze.

Whatever corporate persona he tried to put on in the beginning had begun to falter. This Reid, the disheveled one with no tie, suit jacket forgotten, buttons undone was who I was used to. Only thing I wasn’t used to these days was his gaze. His eyes that seemed to focus more on me, on every step, flaw, every move I made.

But in that moment, he wasn’t just focused on me.

He’d seen her too. His attention flicked toward Gregory’s door, then back to me.

I forced myself to speak. “I was just on my way to see Alexander.”

He arched a brow, clearly not buying it entirely. “Oh… For a second there you looked… occupied.”

“It was nothing,” I said, too quickly.

“Sure, it’s only the second time you’ve seen her interacting with a man who’ll barely give you the time of day. The jealousy just hasn’t settled yet.”

“I’m not—” I began, breathing gently as he quirked one of his stupid eyebrows. “I am not jealous.”

“Of course you aren’t. You don’t love him.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you,” I said finally, stepping past him. But he followed, every step in sync with mine like he was tethered to me.

“No… it’s not jealousy. Anger, resentment… regret maybe?” he continued as if we were talking about the weather. “Any reasonable man could tell those little moments are because she wants him. Meanwhile you’re still trying to convince yourself you still want him and beating yourself up because you know you never did.”

“Why do you enjoy this?” I asked, annoyed. “Punishing me like this? Humiliating me?”

“Only time you can’t hide behind your lies. Can’t pretend to be happy when you’re reminded you’re not.”

Stepping inside his office, I glanced around for Alexander, half-hoping the conversation would die in his presence. But the room was empty.

What wasn’t empty, however, was the sofa.

A row of garment bags hung neatly along the back, the tags still attached, and several boxed heels sat beside them, tissue paper pulled and torn from a few, like someone had already begun inspecting the contents.

His voice came from behind me, close to my ear as I could feel the heat radiating off him. “Your dress is in the third one.”

I turned toward him slowly. “My dress?”

“For tonight.”

I blinked. “Tonight?”

“The investor gala, Genevieve.” His gaze flicked over me, slow and assessing. “You didn’t think I was going alone, did you?”

“You want me to go with you?”

His brow lifted. “Youaregoing with me.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m always serious.”

I let out a sarcastic laugh, stepping forward. “You want me to show up to a black-tie investor event on your arm? While I’m still engaged to your brother?”