“But how?” asked Kat, horror clouding her face. “How? I’ve done nothing.”
“I know,” was my slow reply. “But that’s the thing. Thorn told me that there have been leaks within his company. Secrets getting out, and each of the leaks were traced to cities he’d been in. Atlanta. Dallas. Boca Raton, Florida. He suspected me of them.”
“Oh baloney,” said Kat disdainfully. “Millions of people live in those cities. That’s a bunch of hooey he fed you to get you out of his life.” Her voice was cruel this time, slicing into my heart, but I made myself go on.
“I didn’t understand it either back then. He pointed to my laptop, and specifically, to my laptop camera. Thorn said that I’d been passing secrets, stating outright that I was the leak. I didn’t listen back then,” were my slow words, “because I thought he was pulling reasons out of thin air to get rid of me.”
“He was!” protested Katrina. “Making like we’re some top secret super spies? Please. We’re working class girls from Queens. How in the world are we on par with the Secret Service or the KGB? Please. This is just pure bullshit. He’s awful, Holly,” she said sympathetically. “You’re better off without Thorn Evans.”
But I shook my head regretfully, almost unable to look my friend in the eye now.
“No Kat,” was my quiet voice. “He was right all along. Like I said, we’ve been used by Nick Ryver, you and me both.”
“What?” she asked, her voice scalding. “Get off your high horse, Holly. It hurts to be dumped, but don’t go around blaming my guy for your problems. He bought you your return ticket, don’t forget that.”
I nodded.
“All in the hopes that I’d get back together with Thorn so that he could continue spying.”
This time, Kat lost it.
“Whatever it is you want to say, just say it,” she spat. “I’m not afraid. Nick Ryver can handle you.”
“He can,” I acknowledged with a sad smile. “And you too. Because like I said, we’ve been used. Nick asked you to take those photos when we were on video chat because he realized that Thorn leaves papers everywhere. Personal and confidential items,” I said sadly. “Documents that were stamped in red across the top holding business secrets. And when you had those photos, he probably took them to his tech department, and had the snaps blown up and scrutinized, thereby getting a glimpse into Thorn’s world.”
“What a load of horse crap,” Katrina scoffed, her expression angry now. “So he asked me to take photos. But you know what? That was a long time ago, and Nick never even asked to see them. I was doing it because Mr. Ryver was thinking of buying a plane, but he forgot about the whole thing. He’s never seen your blasted Elite Air pics.”
I nodded.
“But didn’t he buy you a new laptop, Kat?” I asked slowly. “I swear, you told me that on one of your calls.”
“Of course he did,” she said airily. “Nick wants me to have the best, and a new laptop is part and parcel of his generosity. He got me the best of the best, that’s why our video chats were always in high def.”
“Did he give it to you wrapped? Still in the box and all that?”
“Of course!” she huffed. “Brand new! What, you think he got me a refurbished one? No way.”
“No, it’s not that,” I continued, my words laced with pain now. “What I mean is that he probably bugged your laptop, Katrina. Every time you called me, he probably had a live video stream straight to his intelligence ops. So whenever there were papers in the background, or even Mr. Evans’s laptop, they were getting feeds of our chats.”
Katrina exploded again.
“But why would he ask me to take snaps?” she protested angrily. “If he had a live feed this whole time, why would he want me to take pictures?”
“It’s just a cover-up,” I said, suddenly tired. “This whole thing about buying a plane was a cover-up for corporate espionage. He fed you that story so that you’d keep on chatting, taking photos while the whole time, you were being used as a mole. I’m sorry, Kat,” was my sorrowful reply. “We’ve been used, you and me both. It’s terrible but true.”
But my friend wouldn’t hear of it.
“No,” she said, menace lacing the word. “You’re the one who’s nuts. You’re the one who’s off the reservation, drowning in the deep end. You’ve gone psycho what with getting dumped and not seeing a soul for the last three months. You’re crazy, Holly, and you have two hours to get out of here. Nick pays the rent on this place, and there’s no way he’d let you stay knowing of these baseless accusations.”
I nodded, but my heart was merely a lump of cold, dead coal in my chest. Because why did I care about Nick Ryver? The truth was I didn’t. These breakthroughs only made me realize what truly mattered – that in fact, Thorn Evans’s accusations had been right. I’d been an unsuspecting honeypot, giving away the billionaire’s secrets without even knowing it.
And with that, I turned from my friend to pack, her growing hysterics ringing in my ears.
“Wait until I tell my boyfriend!” she shrieked. “Wait until I tell Nick what you’ve said!”
“Go ahead,” was my listless reply, throwing a couple shirts and pants into a ratty duffel. “Go ahead. He doesn’t care Katrina. Now that we’re onto him, it just means that this avenue for spying is closed. He’ll find another way. Nick Ryver’s been around for decades, and is an expert at this stuff. You and I just presented a novel opportunity.”
“You’re saying that he just wanted me for information?” Kat shrieked at the top of her lungs. “You’re no friend of mine!” she hurled. “And after all I’ve done for you.”
I stopped, looking up at my pretty blonde friend.
“That’s not what I’m saying,” were my quiet words. “But I can’t be a part of this anymore. I can’t tell you what to do, or not do, but something here is rotted to the core. And I have to get out. Whether you stay is up to you, but for me, this charade is over.”
And while my friend watched, steam pouring from her ears, I zipped up my duffel, slinging it over one shoulder.
“Thank you,” I said, stopping by the door and looking into her flickering blue eyes. “I don’t blame you for what’s happened. After all, we’re eighteen year old girls, nothing more than pawns used by powerful men. But for me, this game is over.”
And without another look, I made my way down the rickety stairs, stepping out onto the crowded, bustling street below. It felt strange, to be sure, once more in the world of people. I’d been sequestered for so long, that even the city air filling my lungs tasted odd, a mixture of steam, sweat and unbridled humanity. But it was worth it. The mystery had been solved and knowing the truth now set me free. Because I wanted to confront Thorn with my findings … and maybe, just maybe, we’d find a way through this.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Thorn
It’s been a couple of long months, that’s for sure. Without Holly in my life, the world’s grown dim. People come in and out, lackeys reporting on this or that, but I’m not really listening. Instead, my head nods, my eyes focused on something in the distance, and the underlings scurry out once more, mumbling about this or that.
It doesn’t matter. Gravity Holdings has been around for decades now. I have good people on staff, and they make sure this ship runs even if I’m only nominally at the helm now. Because Holly’s occupied all my thoughts, every waking moment filled with memories of the curvy girl.
Suddenly, my secretary buzzed from the outside.
“A woman here to see you,” said Annie in a quiet voice.
“Who?” I growled, my tone uncompromising. People don’t usually drop in on the CEO unexpectedly.
“Someone I think you want to see,” Annie said again, her voice insistent despite its low tone.
And I shrugged because my secretary knows me well. She’s been with me for decades now and despite her busybody ways, I trust Annie’s judgment. So my head nodded curtly.
“Show her in.”
An
d when the door opened, the air in my lungs disappeared within seconds because suddenly, she was here. The beautiful brunette, ripe as ever, stood in my office, those brown eyes searching.
“Thorn,” came that dulcet voice. “Hello again.”
I couldn’t speak at first, a million emotions hammering through my soul.
“Holly,” I finally managed in a choked voice. “What brings you here?”
The brunette approached my desk, swaying with every step. Oh god, she was gorgeous. Unbelievably so, better than a thousand memories put together.
“I have news,” she said in a low tone. “And I’m here to apologize.”
Keeping my breathing even, I looked into those caramel eyes.
“For what?”
This time, she looked away, her gaze drifting to the floor to ceiling windows behind my massive frame. The view was amazing for sure, the Freedom Tower rising to the skies with the ribs of the Oculus soaring from left field.
But Holly was on a mission. Those wide pools turned back to me, determined to be heard.
“For everything,” she said slowly. “Every word you said that last day was true. The corporate secrets getting out from every location we were at. All that was true. But I didn’t know,” she added in a low tone. “I was being used, as was my friend Katrina.”
“So you figured it out,” came my gravelly intonation. “You finally figured it out.”
“It took three months to put things together,” she acknowledged. “And it was my fault. I fell into a deep depression, speaking with no one, shut off from the outside world. It was only when I saw that my plane ticket from Boca was paid for by Nick Ryver’s company, did I realize the scope of the wrongdoing. He set up Kat,” came her grim words. “He set her up so that with every call, we were being recorded. That’s how he got his hands on your business documents, zooming in with the latest technology. And I’m sorry, Thorn,” she said, her words quick now. “I had no idea. If I’d known, I’d never have let it happen.”
I was silent for a moment, steepling my fingers in thought. But suddenly, Holly interrupted, her gaze shocked.
“So you knew all this,” she whispered, eyes alight. “You figured this all out.”
“Of course I did,” came my neutral tone. “We figured you were being manipulated by Nick Ryver. That guy’s a canny fuck, and he’ll go to any lengths, even if it means using two unsuspecting girls.”
Holly paused, her expression stumped.
“But if you knew I was being used, why did you blame it on me? If you knew I was an unwitting participant, why didn’t you reach out? Why did you eject me from the plane with nothing but my passport?” she asked in a hoarse, pained voice.
And this is where it got hard. Because the emotions I’d felt were new to me. The initial suspicion that the curvy brunette had betrayed me cut to the core, making me double over in pain. And that’s what shouldn’t have happened. Corporate espionage? Par for the course. I’ve been at the helm of Gravity Holdings for decades now, growing it from an upstart into the behemoth it is now. We’ve seen everything under the sun, so we were prepared for the leaks. Hell, it’s nothing new.
But what gripped me by my balls were the feelings I had for Holly. At first, pain wracked my very being when she was fingered as the traitor. But it shouldn’t have been like that. I don’t feel for women. I’m the one who uses them, and Holly should have been no exception.
So her betrayal caught me by surprise. One, because it came from someone close to my heart. And secondly, because the female had somehow wormed her way into a place that hurt. It shouldn’t have been like this. Being a corporate titan meant that I’d insulated myself, and this was a massive breach to the wall around my soul. It meant that I’d failed in a major way, letting emotions tangle with cut and dried business matters.
So like a robot, I’d excised the woman. I’d thrown her out of my life, unceremoniously booting her from the flight with nary a backwards glance. Except I’d been the one who’d miscalculated. My intentions of being one and done with the situation had gone massively wrong, and I’d thought of nothing but the brunette since that fateful day.
And here she was now, looking at me with eyes filled with pain.
“You knew,” she whispered on a choked voice. “You knew I had nothing to do with it.”
“I knew,” came my low growl. “You’re nothing but a sweet eighteen year old girl. How could you have pulled off something like this, much less acted as mastermind? No, it was Nick Ryver the whole time.”
And suddenly, the brunette stood, brown eyes flashing, curves quivering with rage.
“So you knew, and yet you let me hurt,” she whispered, her eyes filled with anguished pain. “All this suffering the past three months. You knew and didn’t do anything about it.”
Her words caught me by surprise. Yes, I hadn’t contacted her. I hadn’t reached out, that was true. But it was because I’d been grappling with my own emotions the entire time, trying to understand how this situation had gotten so out of control. Because it wasn’t the leaks that troubled my soul. It was the fact that I’d fallen for this girl, head over heels, completely taken unawares. And that’s what made me stop short.
But it was too late because Holly rushed out of the office, running to the elevator.
“Wait, stop!” I called, rising from my desk. “Sweetheart, let me explain.”
But it was too late. The high-speed elevator that goes directly to my office was already dinging closed, my secretary watching with shocked eyes.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Evans,” Annie stammered, halfway standing from her desk. “Should I have stopped her?”
We both stared as the elevator lights flashed, carrying the love of my life away. And my hands opened and closed uselessly on air, gripping at nothing.
“No Annie,” came my low voice. “It’s fine. I’ll get her back.”
Because no way was I going to let Holly Nelson out of my life again. The first time had been painful enough, booting her off the plane with every intention of erasing her existence from my brain. But much good that had done. Instead, I only wanted her back. My thoughts had circled around the sweet brunette again and again and again, unable to stop. Heck, I’d contemplated therapy just to put the kibosh on these endless ruminations.
But now, the answer was clear in my mind. I was in love with the brunette. She’d never been a spy, and I was the dumbass who’d taken a wrong turn. I should have approached her and made amends the minute I’d gotten a hold of my emotions. I was the one who should have apologized on bended knee, seeking her grace and favor, and not the other way around.
So grabbing my jacket, I turned to my secretary.
“All calls on hold,” was my rumbling command. “All meetings cancelled.”
Annie nodded, her expression pale.
“For how long?” she asked. “Just the rest of the afternoon until you’re back?”
But my head shook even as I entered the stairwell. Fuck, it was gonna be a long ways down by foot, but worth every second of the effort. Because I had to get my girl back come hell or high water, and every calorie expended, every bead of sweat on my brow were infused with need for Holly.
“Naw,” came my grunt as the emergency door swung shut behind me. “All calls and meetings on hold until I say,” was the rough command. “I’ve got more important matters at hand to take care of.”
And with that, my big form began the chase. Because the sweet brunette is everything to me, and I wouldn’t stop until she was back in my life. And if I had my way … this time it would be for good.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Holly
Oh god, what now? After leaving Thorn’s office, I made a beeline for my hotel. Sure, Kat had kicked me out, but that was no problem. With the money I’d earned working for Elite Air, there was plenty in my bank account. So I’d headed for the city immediately, intent on confronting Thorn.
It was easier that I’d imagined. Gravity Holdings is a famous corporation,
occupying a huge skyscraper on Sixth Avenue. So I’d slipped into the building, bypassing security and pressing the button for the top floor. After all, where else would the CEO sit? Thorn had to rule the roost from the most expensive floor of the most expensive building.
But that’s when things took a left turn. Because Mr. Evans was exactly as I’d remembered. Dark, handsome and imposing, his office was an aerie in the sky with a breathtaking view of the New York skyline. All my previous emotions came flooding back then. Adoration for this man. Love welling in my heart. And sadly, the need to be in his arms again, safe and sound within that muscular circle.
But Thorn Evans always gets the best of you. Because as I’d blurted my apology, his expression remained neutral and curiously still. After I was done, the big man had nodded, uttering a simple, “I know.”
That caught me by surprise. What in the world? The CEO knew that I wasn’t complicit in this farce? He realized that this whole time, I’d been used as a pawn by another billionaire, doing someone else’s bidding without realizing the true nature of those videoconference chats?
But the flicker in Mr. Evans’s eyes told me everything. It showed that these revelations were nothing new to him, and that he’d known the entire time that I was just one small player in this larger game of manipulation, with no idea of the ramifications.
Unfortunately, that’s what hurt the most. The alpha had known the entire time that I wasn’t responsible. That I’d never tried to hurt him or his business. That I was innocent in every respect, unaware of the evil machinations going on. So why had Thorn thrown me off of the plane? Even more, why had he forced me to suffer these past three months, clueless while trying to put together the puzzle pieces myself?
And that’s why I can’t forgive him. Thorn knew. The alpha knew the whole time that I’d been used and desperately hurt, undeserving of this pain. Yet he did nothing, refusing to lift a finger. I meant that little to him, and the realization broke my heart, shattering it into tiny shards that sliced into my flesh from the insides.
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