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“So, I would do this?” He was the palest I’d ever seen, his eyes bloodshot, the wrinkles on his forehead amplified. “I wouldn’t. I didn’t.”
“The report says otherwise.”
I leaned back in my chair, propped my elbows on the armrests, and folded my hands together as I studied him. Somehow, Robert looked smaller, weaker, and smarmier than he did when he walked into the room, as if the revelation of what he’d done was making him smaller by the second. How had I trusted him so much? How had I allowed myself to believe he cared about Sparks as much as I did? How had I ever seen anything in him?
“I have all the evidence I need,” I said. “It’s all here.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing, Landon. You’re making a mistake—you’ve been manipulated.”
“You’re right. Ihavebeen manipulated. But not by the people I thought.” I let out a rueful laugh. “And from here on out, I’m never going to let something like this happen to me again. Not to me, not to my company, and most of all, not to her.”
“Landon,” he begged, “don’t make any rash decisions. Don’t make a judgment call without all the facts.”
“Admit it,” I said. “It will be easier if you do. I know everything—the computer you used, the software you hacked, the way you tried to make it look like someone else.”
His expression faltered, and I saw a hint of fear cross his face. “But I...”
“I knew it.” I stared at him for a final moment. This was it, but I made this decision before he walked into the room. There was only one way this conversation could end. “You’re fired, Robert. Get the fuck out of my office. You have one hour to clean out your stuff.”
One down, one to go.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
REBECCA
Two weeks after I snuckout of my condo, I went home.
The media frenzy had died down, and I knew I would have to face real, regular life at some point, anyway. I couldn’t stay in Rockbridge forever, even if I wanted to—it wasn’t practical. I had a mortgage to pay, income to earn, and a life to get back to. Hiding couldn’t happen forever, no matter how much I wanted to do so.
But I still timed my homecoming for the evening—arriving back at my place after eight and slipping into the underground parking lot under the cloak of darkness. When I parked, I called Olivia on the phone’s intercom system.
“So, you’ve decided to speak to me again?” she asked when she picked up the phone. “The radio silence has ended?”
“Yes.” I sighed. “And I’m sorry. I was upset. You were the only person who knew where I was, so I knew you had to be the one to tell him I was at the condo.”
“What can I say? He was charming and when he came by here, he seemed earnest.” She paused and I thought she might be biting back a smile on the other line. “You can’t blame me for doing what I did. I only want the best for you.”
