Page 37 of The CEO's Revenge

“Bon appetit,” he said, opening his napkin and putting it on his lap.

“Same to you,” I said, forking a green olive into my mouth.

“So, how much did he stiff you on?”

It grated on my nerves when he falsely accused Max of stiffing us, but I tried to look past it. “Costs may go up one-third more than projected…”

“Hmmm. That’s a lot of money. But that’s doable for me. It would be a good tax write-off.”

I looked at him hopefully. “So, you’ll make the donation?”

“Sure. And my word can be trusted unlike some others.”

Robert dabbed at his lips, before filling his mouth with a bit of rocket salad. He seemed oddly preoccupied so I didn’t say anything either and we ate in silence. I felt awkward as I forced the food past my lips.

“Robert?”

“Yes?”

“You are fine with donating the money in case we need it, aren’t you? I mean, we might not even need it.”

“Oh, God. Of course. Forgive me, I was thinking about a different problem, but you know what. I am here with a beautiful woman and I’m going to forget my little problems and enjoy her company.” He raised his glass. “To relationships based on trust.”

I raised my glass and echoed his words.

Robert’s subsequent effervescence and his attempts to make it seem as if we were more than casual friends having lunch was mildly irritating, but my strong response to his attention puzzled me. I had never let his attention bother me before. It was easy to ignore his overtures. Not today. Today it bothered me. Perhaps because at every turn, I was comparing him to Max. And he was coming up severely lacking. There was something I never really noticed about him before. Beneath a veneer or charm he was shallow.

“Earth to Savvie.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

“You were so far away. Did you hear anything I said just now?”

I shook my head and smiled contritely. “Sorry, I was envisioning the renovated lab,” I lied.

He smiled. “Ah, yes. A noble endeavor, indeed. Naturally, I want to do my part in helping you to accomplish that goal, but I’ve just had an interesting idea.”

My antennae went up at his use of the word ‘but’. Nothing good usually came after that word. I swallowed hard. “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that you should take Max up on his offer of a relationship.”

That was a quick 180 degree turn from ‘over my dead body’. I kept my voice calm. “Why? You just said you’d give us the money.”

“And I will. As a matter of fact, I have my checkbook here and I’m ready to write the check. I’m even willing to double the amount you need, but?”

There’s that dreaded word again. “But what?”

He flashed a suave smile. “But I need a favor.”

My heart sank. So strings attached to his ‘donation’ too. “I see.”

“It’s not a big thing, really.”

“What’s the favor?”

“Before I tell you that I want you to understand something first. Max is angry with me because he thinks I took great delight in his downfall, but that was not at all the case. It suits him to paint me as the heartless bad guy who drop-kicked him to prison, but I was gutted when the auditors proved to me he was the one siphoning money out of the accounts. I had a responsibility to our clients and shareholders so I had no choice but to do what I did. For his part, I get why he keeps saying he is innocent and I framed him for embezzlement. That muddies the water and puts doubt in people’s minds about his guilt.”

I reached across and placed my hand over Robert’s in sympathy.

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