Page 53 of Unmasked

“Don’t say that.” Imogen frowned. “You are special.”

“Not enough, apparently. If I was that great, he would have wanted me for more than a weekend.”

Corinna looked at her pointedly. “Did you ask him for more?”

Lainey bit down on the inside of her cheek. “Well, no... I mean, he knew I was leaving. There was never any discussion about it.”

“Then why would he suggest more if he knew you had this amazing career opportunity overseas?”

Lainey wanted to scream at her friends to stop giving her hope—to stop inviting her to leave room for that tiny, blissful bubble of what-if, because it wasn’t going to happen. If she went to Damian now, heart on her sleeve, he would break her. Ruin her.

Aren’t you already broken? If you were fine, you wouldn’t be sitting on the floor crying over an old photograph. Whether you tell him or not, you’ll never escape how you feel.

“What if I go to him and it was just sex?” she whispered.

“Does that change anything in the grand scheme of things?” Corinna cocked her head. “I mean, if you’re leaving anyway, isn’t it better to know?”

“Cori’s right,” Imogen said. “You can’t get closure if you’re still wondering how he really feels.”

Lainey had no idea which option she preferred. Leaving now without seeing Damian would mean a lifetime of asking herself what might’ve happened. But if she went to him and he rejected her...

Wouldshe be able to move on? She honestly didn’t know.

Lainey caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror across the room. Her hair gleamed like scarlet silk, rich and bold and vibrant. It wasn’t a colour one wore to blend into the background, even though it had been intended as a disguise. Pushing up from the floor, Lainey went to her handbag and pulled out the compact.

“That damn compact.” Corinna laughed and shook her head. “How did I not figure it out then?”

This one little item had brought her back to Damian after that fateful night. What might’ve happened if she’d never dropped it in the limo? They might not have spent last weekend together. She might never have known that they were perfect together. That they were perfectly balanced. She ran her fingertip over the LK embroidered in the flowers.

Do it.

The voice in her head started as a whisper and grew until the words pounded in time with the rush of blood in her veins.

Do it. Do it. Do it.

She sucked in a breath. Her friends were right—there was a difference between going to England and leaving Australia. She didn’t want her doubts following her to a new country. It was confession time.

She loved Damian McKnight and had for as long as she could remember. And now she was going to tell him.

* * *

Damian couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face as victory pumped through his veins. He’d been staring at the email for a full five minutes, revelling in the knowledge that he’d won. Jerry McPartlin was going to sign as a client.

They’d met earlier this week, and Damian had pulled out all the stops. He’d worked with his top consultant, the two of them dazzling McPartlin & Co. with all the ways they could improve the business—cost-cutting through efficient processes, giving him more money without the need to lay off employees, not to mention implementing a talent-retention program to lower their turnover rate, thus keeping the people they’d invested in. The pitch had required back-to-back all-nighters, meaning Damian had slept on the couch in his office. But it’d been worth it.

Victory.

He couldn’t wait until his phone lit up with Ben’s number. His old boss would be livid. Served him right—karma was going to bite that bastard where it hurt.

The strange thing was, Damian’s natural instinct made him want to call Lainey, to share his good news with her, to thank her for her role in helping him land the biggest deal of his career. Because his hard work would have meant nothing without her by his side—she’d charmed the McPartlins, played the perfect sweet and sassy balance to his harder personality. All without judging him, without making him feel bad for chasing his career with an insatiable hunger.

She got him. Understood him. Had never once tried to change him.

He scrolled through the contact list on his phone until he found her name. But before he had a chance to call her, his intercom buzzed.

“Damian, your 4:00 p.m. conference call has been pushed. Stacy said they needed another twenty-four hours to get the information you’ve requested for the case study.” The sound of fingernails clicking against a keyboard filled the pause. “And Lainey Kline is here to see you, but she doesn’t have an appointment.”

“That’s okay.” His heart thumped. “Send her in.”

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