Page 38 of Married to My Master

“Oh,” Edward piped up. “One other thing. Some reporter, Charlene Padilla, withThe New York Times,is sniffing around, putting her nose where it doesn't belong. Keep giving me trouble, and I might just serve you up as the scoop of the year.”

“You wouldn't dare,” Emily said. “I had nothing to do with it.”

“Think anyone in the public gives a shit about that? You, with your good looks and your famous little pedigree? The press would latch onto you like a fat tick on a dog. They'd suck you dry and toss you aside before anyone knew the difference, swarming like sharks smelling chum.”

She shook her head slowly. “This is all your fault, though,” she said, almost disbelievingly.

Edward laughed. “You think anyone gives a flying fuck anymore? They just want to see someone tarred and feathered. They don't care who it is.”

Emily considered her options as she watched Edward recline in his chair like a mad dog that could strike at any moment. She could stay with BioSphere, but knowing what she knew now would certainly make her complicit in their crimes. Dane had been right about that part, at least. Or, the other option was to just leave. But, that still meant they could pin everything on her, and she'd have no way to see what was coming, or to be able to collect evidence for her own defense.

But, she realized, maybe there weren't just two options. Maybe there was a third way. “Fine, Edward, you win. You're probably right about my not being able to get rid of you.” Then, she turned, opened his office door, and stepped out into the eerily silent office floor.

Dozens and dozens of eyes were on the Ice Queen as she re-entered her realm for the first time in a week. Men and women alike scurried out of Emily's way as she stalked to her office, her heels like gavels on the office carpet.

Good. They needed to be afraid. Fear was a weapon, just like any other. And, maybe, if they feared her enough, that would give her some breathing room to do what she needed to. She entered her office and shut the door behind her. She flew to her desk and powered up her computer, her fingers drumming nervously on the chair's arms as she waited for it to go through its boot cycle.

She just hoped Edward didn't figure out what she was trying to do before she could manage to put it into action. She typed in her password on her computer, thanking her lucky stars Edward hadn't made a more overt move, like changing her credentials or password information. After her system logged in, she went to the files she'd found earlier, with Dane, and pulled them up.

Miss Charlene Padilla at theTimeswould have a field day with the amount of information Emily was about to cram down her throat. Emily just hoped she didn't choke when it mattered most.

She was just about to hit print on the files when Edward walked into her office without knocking.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he announced, as he made his way inside, that damn shit-eating grin of his on his face.

“Haven't you ever—”

“I just wanted to let you know the conference was a huge success,” he said, still as cocky as ever. He must have seen how intently she was focused on the screen, though, because his demeanor changed instantly. “What are you doing, anyway?”

“Just getting some paperwork together, about some of the things we discussed in the last meeting. Because of the, uh, car wreck, I haven't been able to work much. But the headaches are getting somewhat better.”

“Headaches, huh?” he asked, as he came around to the side of her desk.

She quickly canceled the print command and began to email the documents to her personal home email instead. She just hoped they would send quickly enough, and not set off any alarm bells in IT. “Yeah,” she said, standing up from her desk as the email went off, files attached, to begin its zipping trajectory through the internet, “I hit my head during the accident, and they start to come on at the weirdest times.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, but Emily just shook her head.

“I should probably just work from home for the next few days,” she said. “Doctors said to take it easy, and I guess they were right for once.”

“Yeah,” Edward said, nodding in agreement. “Guess so.”

She turned and powered down her computer.

“So, about what we discussed earlier,” Edward said, as she grabbed her briefcase.

“Yes? What about it?”

“I think we should discuss how we're going to get Hymalete back on the market. Before the board starts to worry about their revenue, of course.”

The audacity of this man! To think he could threaten her like this, and knowingly try to make her complicit with putting it back on the market! Eyes narrowed, Emily shot him a look as he finished speaking. “Give me a couple days to think about it, Edward. I'll get back with you.”

Then, without saying another word, she left her office and headed to the elevator. Her mind was swimming with all of the possible ways she could get screwed over all of this, and trying to formulate a way for her to get out of it with her integrity, and her career, in one piece.

# # #

Dane

Holding Jas hostage was much easier than he'd thought it would be. He hadn't even needed the pistol, or any threats of violence. She seemed as interested in sticking around as he did with keeping her.

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