Page 113 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

"So I'm, uh, I'm not really Cordelia Dole. My real name is Annalise Stratton, and I've been working here under a false name because I wanted to prove myself by my actual work and not just my last name. At my last job,people either hated me or kissed my butt because of my pedigree. And between those two things, there was no room for anyone to actually see me for who I really was, for me to just do my job to the best of my ability despite how hard I worked, and I—"

I was now officially babbling, so I stopped myself from speaking any more, instead watching Veronica carefully while trying to judge her expression. But it didn't take a genius to see that she was pissed. Beyond pissed.

"How on earth did you manage to fool us all like that? Even HR?"

Oh, crap. I hadn't thought of poor Nina. But Veronica sure did, picking up the phone and telling Nina to report to her office immediately.

This was not good. Not good at all. My heart took off racing even more, my breathing shallow, sweat pooling in places it shouldn't.

I wasn't sure what I'd expected, but it sure felt like I was about to get the ax. Despite bringing in Venus, the biggest project we'd ever had, all of that meant nothing in the face of my deception.

While we waited, I apologized profusely, telling Veronica how sorry I was, that I never wanted to hurt anyone else in the process, just wanted to get out from under the shadow of my name.

But her expression was the definition of icy, making me wish I'd never confessed at all. I should have simply resigned and disappeared as Cordelia Dole. What a colossal mistake this was.

Seeing the writing so clearly on the wall, I could have stood up and walked out, but I didn't want to leave Nina to fend for herself. She'd been nothing but kind and accommodating to me, and the last thing I wanted was for her to face Veronica's wrath.

Wishing I could warn her, she stepped inside the office a moment later, her gaze darting back and forth between Veronica and me. It only took a second before the confusion on her face transformed to understanding.

Taking a seat next to me, the other hot seat, she let out a sigh as Veronica pierced her with a glare.

"You knew about this, right?" Veronica began, jerking her head in my direction. "About Annalise's false identity?"

"I did," Nina said calmly.

How she could be so calm was beyond me, but I wouldn't let her take my punishment.

"Please don't blame Nina," I interjected, drawing Veronica's cold glare. "This is one-hundred percent my fault, and I deserve all the blame."

Veronica blinked at me a few times, her nostrils flaring as she did so. "You do deserve the blame. Both of you do. I should honestly fire both of you right now."

I sensed a 'but' there, but I didn't dare hope or voice anything.

"However, the Venus deal is tied to you," she went on, looking directly at me.

Momentary relief swept through me that I might be saved by Venus, but what did that mean for Nina? That relief was extremely short-lived, the shortest life ever for relief unfortunately. Because I would rather have spared Nina than myself.

She turned her attention to Nina once more. "So you knew about both Maxandthis?"

Wait, just a minute. So Veronica knew about Max? And Max didn't think to tell me that?

"I did," Nina admitted.

"Max was one thing, but two people doing this at the same time?" She shook her head. "That borders on ridiculous. This is not a soap opera. This is a well-respected publishing house."

Just then, Veronica's phone rang, and her assistant's voice came through the speaker. "It's Max Sterling on the line for you."

What the fuck? Really? The timing of it all.

Veronica thought for a moment as Nina and I both watched, the air in the room suddenly stifling. Had Veronica turned off the air conditioning? It was terribly warm in here.

I squirmed in my seat as she pressed a few buttons on her phone—please not speaker, please not speaker—and Max's voice rang out loud and clear in the room.

"Veronica, I hope this isn't a bad time."

"No. Actually, it's the perfect time."

Did Nina feel like a criminal right now too? Oh, my God, was what I'd done an actual crime? Could I go to fucking jail for this?

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