Page 82 of Hate Notes

“Oh, hell yes,” Kora said, pulling up another file. “Look at this. They’re already drafting advertisements for the location to drum up a client for the hotel builds. The snakes even have the addresses in here. It’s our smoking gun, Ember. Show this to Davenport, and he’llnevergive Cole his business.

My phone buzzed. A text from Orion.

Orion:We need to talk. There's something you should know about the Davenport contract.

I stared at the message, my throat tight. It was as if he could sense my own realization about his intentions. It was a bittersweet feeling. An hour ago, I felt like the worst person on Earth for what I did to him. Now? I felt like I had company. If Orion had really been planning something like this, I thought he was even lower than me.

I wondered if he was hoping to confess and ask my forgiveness. I remembered the way he had closed the door on me when I cried outside his mom’s apartment and felt my heart harden. If he knew he was hiding something like this, how could he just let me confess my own lies like that and say nothing?

"Ember?" Kora touched my arm. "You okay?"

"No," I admitted. "But I know what I have to do."

I pulled out my phone and dialed Eleanor's number. She answered on the second ring, her voice warm despite the late hour.

"Miss Hartwell? Is everything alright?"

"I need that meeting with Davenport. Tomorrow if possible." I glanced at Kora's screen, at the evidence of what would happen to those factories—Davenport's legacy—if either company got their way. "And I need to tell you both something you're not going to like."

"I'll make the arrangements," Eleanor said. "But Ember? Whatever you're planning... be careful."

I ended the call and looked at Kora. "Make copies of everything. I'm going to need proof when I blow this whole thing up."

"You realize this could end your career, right? Not just at Foster Real Estate, but anywhere in the industry."

"Maybe." I thought of Orion's text waiting for a response. "But some things are more important than careers."

"Like what?"

"Like doing the right thing," I said. "Even when it hurts."

Especially when it hurts.

For now, though, I had work to do.

39

ORION

Iwalked to work with Remmy early in the morning, my thoughts a chaotic mess. Last night, I should have told Ember I had my own confession. I knew it even then, but the gut punch of hearing her admit to betraying me had knocked the sense out of me for a couple minutes. My opportunity to come clean had passed.

I wasn't sure how things would go today at the office, or if she would even show up. But I knew I needed to fix this.

"You're extra broody this morning," Remmy said. "Something to do with your little lover's spat last night? I know you stormed out and went home when I asked at dinner, but will you at least tell me what happened now?"

So I did, glossing over certain details a brother shouldn't share with his sister. I was surprised it only took me a few minutes to summarize everything to her.

"So let me get this straight," Remmy said, eyes narrowed. "She finally came clean about everything, and you just... let her walk away? Without telling her your own secret about Davenport?"

"It wasn't that simple."

"Really? Because from where I'm standing, you both kept secrets. She owned up to hers. You chickened out."

I adjusted my tie, a nervous habit I thought I'd broken years ago. "The situations aren't exactly comparable."

"No? She took a job under false pretenses but ended up genuinely caring about the work and the people. You planned to exploit an old man's trust and destroy his legacy, but changed your mind because of her influence. Sounds pretty comparable to me."

Sometimes I hated how easily Remmy could cut through my defenses. "Fine. You have a point."

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