Page 70 of Return on Love

Yeah, right! By sleeping with the enemy. I picture him with Priscilla and my blood boils. Would he? Could he? I bite my lips. Why does it hurt so bad? Till barely a few weeks ago, I hated him. He can sleep with whoever he likes. I don’t care. I go to bed, but sleep is difficult to come by and even when it does I have dreams, no — nightmares—about Priscilla ensnaring Ryan, Bernard, even Alex.

Chapter 21

“Let’s keep a little optimism here.”—Han Solo

The next morning, I have a mild headache when I wake up. There’s an email from Nora and Gabriel talking about how YodaPrincess posted a video of their game. A lot of her followers and the followers of other players who’ve given an excellent review are already taking to the social media asking about the game launch date.

I smile. At least something good. I long for a good cup of coffee and some scrambled eggs. The image of Ryan smiling as he hands me over a plate of delicious breakfast comes to my stupid mind, followed by the sense of being punched in the gut.

I lumber out of bed. I need to reach the office early so I can ensure that my document reaches the partners before Priscilla’s presentation. I don’t even know how I’m going to do it. Or whether it’ll have any impact, other than getting me fired. I remember the lunch date with Dad and hope I can pretend all is well in front of him. I might cancel at the last minute, citing illness or work obligations. Anyway, first things first.

I open my wardrobe and curse Ryan again. The dress I’d planned to wear today is still in his hotel room. Great way to start the day! I pick up another one, a gray skirt and blazer paired with a black top and sandals. Picking up my laptop, I walk out of the building. I’m barely outside when I smell a scent that has become so familiar over the past few weeks. I turn around to see Ryan, leaning by the wall of my apartment building, two cups of coffee in his hands.

“Thought you might need this,” he says, extending his hand.

I don’t know what to say, so I just remain quiet.

“Can you please come with me to the office?” he says, gesturing to a parked taxi nearby. “I really have to talk to you. Please.”

I look up at him. There are dark circles under his eyes which look exhausted. I don’t think he’s slept at all. Maybe he was busy doing things with Priscilla all night. My anger rises again and I feel like snatching the coffee and pouring it on his head.

Perhaps he senses it, because he places the cups on the hood of the car, steps forward and holds my hands.

“I met Priscilla.” Why does he need to tell me this and rub it in? “But only to help you. I agreed to her deal, but I haven’t given her anything in writing. I don’t intend to go with it. Please, Eva. Trust me.”

His pained expression weakens my resolve but I remind myself to stay firm.

“Please. Give me a chance to at least explain myself. If not for me, and not for us, do it for Bernard. I can get you the proof you need.”

“How?”

“I have to meet Priscilla before the meeting to sign the documents. I can copy the virus then. We can surely find some proof in there.”

I close my eyes. I need access to Priscilla’s system to find proof of money transfer. This is an easy way to do it. Of course, that also means he’ll go there and sign the document to throw me under the bus.

I nod. “Sure. For Bernard. But I’m not getting in that car with you. We’re done. And you better not be lying again.”

“I’ve never lied to you.” He opens the door of the car and takes out a box of scrambled eggs. “I got this for you. Figured you must not have eaten.”

He hails another cab for me and gestures for me to go in, then hands me the coffee and the eggs. Once I’m settled, he goes back into his taxi and drives off.

Why does he do such opposing things? His Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior is seriously putting me in a quandary—the perfect, caring gentleman one moment and a traitor the next.

Ryan has already reached the office by the time I exit the elevator on my floor. He’s in Priscilla’s cabin. In a few minutes, he comes out and sends me a message.

“Can you distract her while I take control of her system and find the relevant files?”

I don’t want to work with him, but I have to do it for Bernard. He’s better at this computer stuff than me, and this is probably the only chance we’ll get.

I call him up and tell him exactly what he needs to search for, given the information I’ve found about Richard King, then I put it on mute and place the phone in my blazer, so I can warn him if she goes near her screen. Then I march over to Priscilla.

“I didn’t think even you could fall to such levels, Priscilla,” I hiss as I stand by the door to her room.

She looks up from her system, then steps away from her desk and walks over to me.

“Are you coming to hit me now?” I say, hoping Ryan will get the hint that she’s away from her desk.

“You chose the wrong side, Eva. You’ve always been on the wrong side, the losing side. But today, I’ll give you one last chance. I’ll keep your communication with Bernard a secret and all you have to do is tell James to unfreeze the amount that he has raised through crowdsourcing.”

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