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I shrug, feeling secretly pleased. “Cynthia’s the boss. It’s her name on the company.”
“But it’syourhard work. She shouldn’t be palming it off as her own.” He takes a step closer to me, invading my personal space again. “Those were your design concepts, weren’t they, Amber?”
Yes, I want to scream.Yes. Yes. Yes. They were mine.
But I can’t say that. Cynthia would never forgive me if word got out that she’d stopped designing for high-profile clients. The company might never recover from it and that would effectively mean the end of my career. So instead I ask, “Why does it matter?”
“Because you deserve the credit for them. Those concepts are amazing.”
“You’ve done nothing but complain about them,” I say, eyebrow raised. “Every day there’s something else you want to change. That doesn’t sound amazing to me.”
His cheeks colour slightly and he raises his hands in defeat. “They’re not complaints. Just a few tweaks. I just need this to be perfect.”
“And you think I don’t?”
“No, of c—”
“Maybe Cynthia takes credit for things she shouldn’t. But she alsolets me do my job.” For the most part anyway. “You could learn something from that.”
He opens his mouth, then seems to think better of whatever it is he was going to say, and closes it. He swallows and then gives me a sharp nod. “Noted. And since we’re giving each other constructive criticism?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“It’s only fair.”
I cross my arms over my chest, bracing myself for whatever insult is sure to come.
“Don’t stay with someone that makes you feel small. Eventually, you’ll start to believe it. I learned that the hard way, and I hope you don’t have to.”
That is…That isnotwhat I expected him to say. He doesn’t give me any time to try to think of a response before he steps away and makes a start down the road.
“I think I’m going to head back to my hotel for a while,” he says with a grimace. “Have a lovely weekend, Amber.”
I don’t know what makes me do it — maybe it’s the weird warmth blooming in my chest or maybe my Greek salad was kind of funky — but I yell out his name and make him stop in his tracks. “You asked earlier what restaurant I would’ve chosen for today.” I point down the road in the opposite direction. “There’s an amazing pizza place about ten minutes that way. Little hole in the wall kind of place calledRosa’s. The best pizza in London, hands down, or I owe you a beer.”
He grins brightly, and it’s so infectious I think I start to smile too.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
9
FINN
I feel like a dick.Hell, Iama dick.
I’m sure Cynthia thought she was hiding it well, but her barely concealed jabs at Amber didn’t go unnoticed by me. The way she took credit for Amber’s hard work and then not so subtly tried to put her down ignited a strange fury in me. But it was less about what she was saying and more about how Amber reacted to it.
Or how shedidn’treact.
In the short time I’ve known her,docileis one word I’d never considered using to describe Amber. She seems to take pleasure in the quick-witted barbs she throws back at me, and she’s certainly never had any problem with showing how she really feels aboutme. So it was strange to see her almost crumble in on herself in front of Cynthia. The way she let the older woman fling spiteful attack after attack at her without even an attempt to defend herself.
I didn’t like it.
Not one bit.
But worst of all, it’s no surprise that Amber doesn’t like me if what she says is true. That I’ve been hovering over her, picking at her work, and tearing it apart all under the guise of soothing my anxiety about this project.
I’m no better than her boss —ormy uncle — and the thought makes my skin crawl.
