Page 50 of One Taste
Veronica slides her glasses off her nose and levels me with a stare. “Darla Faust’s fiancé is none other than Edmond Cartwright Jr., oftheCartwrights. You know, only the most cutthroat family in finance. I doubt junior was all too thrilled to find those photos of you and his fiancée all over the internet.”
“They got their revenge,” I point out. “Faust pulled his account from us. He was one of our largest clients. What else could they want from us?”
“Bankruptcy,” Veronica deadpans. “Look, I’m not saying this is fact. I’m just saying that I want to look further into them considering the family has made millions in hostile takeovers and by selling off businesses to the highest bidder. Either junior is tucking tail and hoping the embarrassment is forgotten or he could be seeking to ruin you. Either way, I’ll figure it out. I’m having my people look into some things. I have an associate who has done work for the family. I’m trying to convince him to dig around. It’s not always easy to get people to cross prominent men.”
Fuck.
I honestly had no idea how deep this chick ran. Yet, I still don’t understand how her being a cheating whore is my fault.
Looking at my sister, I see the fear in her eyes. God, I hope this hunch Veronica has is wrong. If it is the Cartwrights behind this, maybe they’ll be happy with dethroning me from my own company.
“Mr. Brooks.” The intercom breaks the thick moment of silence in the room.
“Yes?”
“You have a call on one,” Marla says. “Mr. Bendenberger.”
“Thank you. Please, send him through.”
Veronica takes that as her cue, looking toward me. “I’ll keep you informed, darling. Would you rather I call you on your personal phone if I find anything instead of disrupting your workday?”
No fucking way am I giving this lady my personal cell phone number.I have a feeling she’d be harassing me constantly, just to tell me she didn’t find anything.
“It would be better if you called the office or stopped by.” I fake a smile.
“Anything you want.”
I cringe at the seductive way she adds a wink to her words.
Veronica is just another reason I need this shit figured out and wrapped up quickly. All of this, including her, is just too fucking much.
Devin
“Imet the girlfriend today,”I tell Brielle as she walks through the door.
She looks at me puzzled. “Who?”
“Sebastian’s girlfriend.”
“She’s actually his girlfriend?” she asks as she removes her boots and drops her backpack. “He confirmed it?”
I shake my head. “No, but she was calling him darling and sweetie and kissing up on him.”
Her mouth gapes and she plops herself down on the couch next to me. “They were making out in front of you? How trashy can you get?”
“They weren’t making out in front of me,” I clarify. “She just greeted him with a kiss. One that probably would’ve landed on his lips if he hadn’t turned his head.”
She rolls her eyes. “I still think you’re being an ass for not just asking him. You can’t be this upset over him having a girlfriend if you’re not going to confirm it’s true first. What do you care anyway? I thought you were going to ignore everything about him that didn’t relate to business?”
This is the part about my friendship with Brielle I hate. She will never hesitate to call me out on my shit. Why can’t she just trash talk Sebastian like a normal friend? “Why would I give him the satisfaction of knowing he even crosses my mind? All he would do with that is make my life more terrible.”
She laughs. “Or fuck you silly.”
“Brielle,” I snap. “I’m not going to have sex with him again. What happened to ‘fuck that big dicked bastard’? You’re supposed to be my friend.”
“Dev,” she sighs. “I am your friend. But when does the denial end? You spend so much time thinking about him and the fact he may have a girlfriend, just ask him and find out for sure. Then maybe you guys can bang it out of your system and give your vibrator a rest, or you’ll know he really is a giant asshole.”
As much as not knowing who this Veronica woman is, I can’t see myself asking him. Not only because I don’t want him to know he still occupies a part of my mind, but what if he does? I was the other woman then and I don’t want to think of myself as someone who was a part of something shitty. I may not like the woman, but it doesn’t mean I want to be part of causing her pain. Even if there was a chance I did.
