Page 48 of Consumed By Desire

“That’s right,” Logan says. “It is.”

“When will you be back?” Elena says as she hurries down the hall with us.

“What does that matter?” Logan calls over his shoulder as he strides on ahead. “It’s not like we’ll be stopping by.”

‘We’re going to try everything we can to put a stop to this ridiculous article,” I tell her. “We’ll be gone for as long as it takes. It’d be best if you aren’t around when we get back.”

She nods, clearly distressed. A glimmer of doubt about whether she was just using us tugs at my mind. She did, of course, but maybe there was some more to it than that.

Not that it matters. I stab at my phone as we reach the elevator. We could never trust her again. I couldn’t. Gathering from the stormy expression on his face, neither will Logan.

I’m still talking to our legal department as the car pulls us up to the office. “Are you absolutely certain we can’t serve them with any kind of an injunction to prevent them from running it?” I ask. There’s got to be a way. I’m grasping at straws, I know. I won’t stop until it’s over.

“We’ve tried everything we could. I got in touch with a judge I know to call in a favour, but there’s no legal way to stop it. The best they’ll do is pull it down later if they’re forced to after a hearing. Sorry, boss.”

It’s not the answer I want to hear, but I’m not surprised. “Right. Thanks.”

I end the call. As we head upstairs, I check through the messages that have accumulated while I was on the phone during the drive. Nothing helpful there.

Logan’s speaking with someone in low tones. He ends the call when we reach our floor. “Nothing new from PR. I think the best they’re going to manage is damage control after the fact. By then, it’ll be too late.”

There’s got to be something. All of our years of work can’t go up in smoke just like that.

Chapter 22

Elena

Somehow I have to fix this. The only thing I can think of is to go down to the office and try to talk Zan into pulling the feature.

I get downstairs and my frantic search for an Uber still hasn’t come up with anything available. I can’t afford to waste another moment. I’ve got to try and get a cab. Once the new edition goes live, there’s no turning back.

I spot a flash of yellow and I sprint across the lobby. Bursting out onto the sidewalk, I slam straight into a someone that I didn’t even see.

“Whoa,” he says. “Slow down.”

I grab at my purse before it falls as I start to apologize and it registers that something’s not right. I recognize that voice. My stomach drops as I look straight up into Owen’s face.

He set his hands on my shoulders and he’s not taking them away. Even though it might’ve been an automatic reaction to being bumped into, he’s holding onto me way too long. I take a step backward, stunned that he’s here.

“Elena. Where are you off to?” Owen asks.

“What are you doing here?” The cab I wanted is already pulling away with the people that snagged it before I could. Damn it. I glance down the street. There’s nothing else coming yet but fortunately this is a busy area as far as cabs go.

“I came to see you,” he says. “I didn’t think you’d be running into me like this.”

“What are you talking about?” My eyes track a cab that’s slowing down but it doesn’t pull over. I can’t be wasting time talking to my ex but this is too much of a coincidence to let it slide. I have a bad feeling that he’s not just here out of the blue.

“I need to talk to you, and you’ve blocked me everywhere. So the only thing I could do is come to your place.”

“What do you mean, my place?” He can’t have found out where I’m living. Another two cabs fly by before I can flag them down. I can’t let Owen distract me. I start to walk to the corner and he follows me.

“Your place.” He gestures back at my building. “Where you live, Leen.” He’s using that condescending tone that I just cannot stand. He knows perfectly well I hate it when he does that.

“What makes you think I live there?” He might be fishing for info and if he is, I have no intention of giving it to him. The last thing I need is for Owen of all people knowing where I live.

He frowns impatiently. “Of course I know you live here.”

“How? I never told you where I was moving to.” I curse myself silently for even engaging with Owen. I turn away and fix my gaze on the street.

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