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“Like you went behind my back to get Susan to sign the contract?”
“It’s not the same thing!”
“Oh, really?”
“What I do know is that I can’t trust you—”
She gasped. “How can you say that after the last two days?” Her eyes were wet with tears.
“So because I showed you the islands, had sex with you, you thought you can do things behind my back? I really thought you were different. But you’ve just been using me. You never wanted to do this job in the first place but saw it as an opportunity to further your career. Hell, you even went so far as to sleep with me. But guess what? This is over. You’re fired. Forget the contract, you’re free to leave. I can’t work with someone who does things behind my back, and I definitely can’t be with someone who’s only interested in what I can do for her.” He snarled and opened the door.
“You’ve found a reason,” she said softly.
Furious, he glanced back at her. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’ve had enough of me, you were looking for a reason to end this and now you’ve found one.”
“That is not what this is about!” he shouted.
She shrugged. “It’s fine, Dale. You’ve never wanted me to work on this project to begin with. Why you insisted Susan sign a contract is something I’ll probably never understand. Whatever else there has been between us is obviously over. As you’ve told me before, I’m not even your type. I’ll leave as soon as I get a flight.”
Dale stared at her for another heartbeat. Somewhere inside him a little voice shouted that he was making a mistake, but she’d gone behind his back, damn it. Before he could change his mind, he stormed out of her room. He needed distance to think.
*
Zoe stood silentlyand waited for the door to slam behind Dale’s back. The sound reverberated through her room. A sharp pain edged in just below her heart. She was right, she knew it. The plan on her computer was just an excuse. He’d been looking for a reason to leave; he got one. She should have known. Why would he stick around?
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. Why was she crying, for goodness’ sake? He wasn’t worth it. No man was worth it. The first thing to do was to book a plane ticket home. Slowly she sat down on the bed.
Her phone rang. It was Caitlin. Don must have finally told her what had happened.
“I’m fine,” she said before Caitlin could utter a word.
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m so angry with all of you! Don has only told me a few minutes ago you’d been hurt. I can’t believe you all kept this from me, even Mom. Are you really okay?”
Zoe smiled and wiped her tears away. She didn’t want to upset Caitlin.
“You’re pregnant, Sis. You have enough to worry about. I’m really fine. I’m a little bruised up but have nearly healed completely.”
“Is there an ongoing police investigation?” Caitlin asked.
“We spoke to them, but they don’t have much to go on really. Hannah has left for Mauritius, and I didn’t really know what to tell them. I didn’t see anything. I think the hotel’s security people are also looking into it.” She wasn’t sure how much Don had told Caitlin and didn’t want to add Hannah’s notion that Hannah was the person who should’ve been hurt.
“If you’re feeling fine, why are you crying?” Caitlin asked. “What else happened? Did Dale do something?”
Zoe sniffled. She never could keep anything from her older sister. She promptly burst into tears. “He… really hurt me, Caitlin, but I’m okay.” She hiccupped. “I’m coming back and have to book a plane ticket, but I can’t concentrate and I—”
“I’m in front of my computer, I’ll book the flight for you. You pack, someone will take you to the airport, I’ll be waiting on this side.”
