Page 103 of Sinner

Then my eyes glazed over the mention of my name. What the hell? I pulled back, blinking a couple of times, forcing myself to read it again. And again. All the while, I was certain I was going to throw up.

“According to Jessica Waldrop, currently top designer with Sindom Entertainment, a direct competitor of the Blackwell Group, once the merger between Sindom and what was thought to be the defunct Merrick Corporation goes through, the newly formed and cash-infused company will easily be able to rival Blackwell, even beating them at their own game. As she stated, the acquisition couldn’t come at a better time.”

Holy fuck. What the hell? There was more.

“However, upon further investigation on my own, I’ve learned Ms. Waldrop, while accepting the position of vice president of creations with Sindom, has also been vying for a highly coveted executive position with Blackwell. I must admit her game-playing skills are obviously better than my own. I wonder which side she’ll land on or if she hopes to build a following of her own.”

The fucking son of a bitch was playing me by pitting me against both companies. “Sam. This is bullshit.”

He sighed but said nothing.

“I had an incident with this man the other night and he’s pissed. I said nothing to him. I wished I’d had him arrested for what he did.”

“I don’t need to hear any excuses, Jessica. I trusted you. I provided you with an opportunity I believed would be good for both of us.” His laugh was bitter. “You. Betrayed. Me. All of us in this company. My wife. My family.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He spun around to face me. I felt even sicker inside. “Do you know what’s worse than the feeling of being betrayed? The fact my employees were sent a copy of the article, half of the troops reading and absorbing it prior to me coming in this morning.”

I took a deep breath. That sounded like Sindom, Blackwell, and my reputation had been targeted. Was it possible Xander had anything to do with this? No; how would that help him? With the accusations, no matter how untrue they were, the company would take a hit. People were fickle that way. Back a winner. Condemn a loser.

“Reporters are assholes. I know firsthand they’ll lie, cheat, and sell off their mothers for a great story. But no one else knew about the promotion you were offered or the merger. I was planning on announcing both on Friday. You have no idea what you’ve done. And it’s apparent I can’t trust you any longer. I’m very saddened about that.” His voice was so quiet it was extremely unnerving.

I put the iPad on the table and stood. “Sam, I didn’t say a word to anyone. I swear to God on my mother’s grave, and you know how I miss her.”

He studied me and his features softened. “There’s no other way someone like Dorn could have found out otherwise. None.”

“I didn’t tell my family, my friends. No one.”

“What about Xander Blackwell? Aren’t you close with him? Didn’t you attend the celebration gala they had just this past weekend? Pictures don’t lie, Jess.”

My God. There were photographs of us? How much had Sam learned about me? Maybe good ole Dorn had made a phone call or sent an anonymous email. Bastard. If he was playing both sides, he’d want the highest return. Xander would never allow money to be exchanged for a blackmail attempt. I honestly wasn’t certain about Sam and that hurt. “Yes, I went to the gala with a friend as her plus one.”

“Interesting. Did you apply for a job with the firm?”

How was I going to lie to the man? “Yes, but it’s not for the reason you think. I’ve been planning revenge on Xander and his company for years. It was the only way I could get close to him and?—”

“Just stop, Jessica. Please. I have a headache from all of this and I don’t think there’s anything you can tell me that will change the situation. This could ruin us.”

“Sam. I swear to you I’d never intentionally hurt you.”

“I thought I believed that. You’ve placed me in a situation I never expected to find myself in. I’m going to have to let you go.”

“What?”

“You’re fired, Jessica. Please gather your things and leave.”

CHAPTER 30

Xander

“However, upon further investigation of my own, I’ve learned Ms. Waldrop, while accepting the position of vice president of creations with Sindom, has also been vying for a highly coveted executive position with Blackwell. I must admit her game-playing skills are obviously better than my own. I wonder which side she’ll land on or if she hopes to build a following of her own.”

Reading the words for the third time created a burn deep within my soul. I pushed my iPad away, slowly turning my head to stare out the window.

Dorn would soon be dead by my hands.

And Jessica…

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