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“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Seriously? You’re supposed to be the smart cousin, but the way your woman ran out of here after seeing you kissing Angelique Devore…”
Oh fuck. She didn’t.
Geoffrey clicks his tongue at me like I’m a naughty child, but I’m already across the lobby tapping the elevator button.
Screw it, the stairs are faster.
My legs take the steps two at a time, and I burst into my room and through the connecting door into Izzy’s room.
It’s empty.
Her luggage is gone. On the bed is a handwritten note scrawled on a piece of resort stationery, but what squeezes my heart as though it’s being crushed in a vise is the engagement ring sitting atop it.
The ring falls to the carpet as I snatch up the paper.
Cameron,
I’m sorry, but I can no longer pretend to be in love with you because, for me, it’s no longer pretend.
While my heart insists it belongs to you, you and I are from different worlds, and it’s too painful to be constantly reminded that your heart will never be mine.
I played the part, and I think your grandfather is convinced, so maybe all you’ll have to do now is persuade him you’re a jilted, brokenhearted lover and your plan will still work.
Yours,
Izzy
P.S. Keep the severance. Keep the glowing reference. I’ve taken the rental car.
My breath leaves my lungs and my stomach sinks like the Titanic.
She left me.
Chapter14
Izzy
The distance from the subway station is minimal, but the early March weather is brisk. I pull my coat tighter around myself as I use the short walk to give myself a mental pep talk.
You’re doing the right thing. You have to do it, Izzy. He deserves to know.
When I reach the chrome and glass structure that houses RJ Conglomerates, I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and try to shore up my courage before walking through a door I’ve entered and exited over a thousand times.
My heart taps a staccato rhythm against my rib cage, and I stride across the lobby surrounded by an air of false bravado. My head’s held high, but my fists are clenched tightly and my nerves are jangled.
I no longer have an employee identification badge, so I stop at the front desk. The young man behind the desk must be a recent hire.
“Hello.” I use my professional tone. “I don’t have an appointment, but I was hoping you could call up to the CEO’s office and let him know that Izzy Miller is here. I’m a personal friend, and I have something very important to discuss with him. Please tell him I won’t take up too much of his time.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but Mr. Steele is not in the office today.”
My shoulders fall. Darn. I should’ve called first, but I figured telling a man he’s a father-to-be needs to be divulged face-to-face. My teeth gnaw on my bottom lip.
The receptionist gives me a sympathetic smile. “His wife had a minor emergency and he was needed at home. You can reach him there, or he’ll be back in the office tomorrow.”
Wife?Cameron got married?
