Page 68 of Silver Fake

A messenger for something Lisa has been hiding from me.

But I refuse to let Victor rattle me.

"That's a nice little fairy tale you've got going there," I reply. "But I find it hard to believe that Lisa would be planning to quit without telling me. Besides," I continue, holding his gaze defiantly, "I would have to approve the transfer, and I've never received that request."

Victor chuckles, his smirk only widening at my words. "I'd advise you to reacquaint yourself with the firm's handbook," he counters smugly. "Transfers to the managing partner, namely me, are exempt from that rule."

A wave of nausea sweeps over me, threatening to consume me whole.

"I can't wait to get her under my wing, too," He says. Then he nudges me and winks in a way that tells me I won't like what's about to come out of his mouth next. Not that I've liked anything else he's had to say so far.

“There are some very...interestingrumors circulating around the firm about you and Lisa." He pauses for effect, seemingly relishing the moment. "Apparently, you two have been spotted arriving to the office together quite often. And she's been seen in your office, with the door closed, more times than one could simply dismiss as professional meetings."

The wave of nausea hits me again, this time with an intensity that echoes the disillusionment settling in my mind.

Victor leans closer, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "It's only understandable, really. A woman like Lisa would undoubtedly want to put herself out there, to... climb the ladder, so to speak." Victor chuckles again, a chilling sound that grates on my nerves.

"You know," he says, a malicious glint in his eyes, "I can't exactly blame you. Lisa's quite the catch." He pauses for a moment, clearly enjoying the discomfort his words are causing me. "But now that she's coming to work for me," he continues, his gaze locking onto mine, "I plan on taking full advantage of her talents."

Then the motherfucker bites his bottom lip, and it takes everything in me not to break his face with my fist.

Victor either doesn't notice how I'm glaring at him, imagining his jaw breaking under my punch. He just stands there, smiling like he's waiting for my response.

I don't say anything because if I move or open my mouth, I'm the one who's going to need an attorney.

After a moment, he must take the hint because his obnoxious smile drops from his face, and he straightens up and turns, walking towards the door out of the room.

With his hand on the doorknob, he looks back. "When you talk to Lisa, tell her I'm looking forward to hearing from her soon."

My teeth feel like they might crack because I'm clenching my jaw so hard. I take a step forward. Victor must see something in my body language that clues him in to the fact he fucked up because his eyes widen and he is out the door faster than I've ever seen him move.

The door shuts just before I get to it, and it's probably a good thing.

I stand there in silence, staring at the closed door, still caught in the shock of Victor's revelation.

Lisa, leaving me for Victor? The thought is laughable at first but the more I dwell on it, the more it starts to gnaw at me.

Would she really choose him over me?

I know working for me doesn't translate into the kind of paycheck a managing partner can offer but surely,surely, she would have told me if that was the issue. I would have done anything to make sure she was adequately compensated. I would have fought for her, just like I have always done.

But the question that echoes in my mind, ricocheting off the walls of my skull with a deafening echo, is this: would she really choose her career overus?

The hollow feeling in my chest grows, turning into a deep, bottomless abyss as I consider the possibility. I feel the sudden urge to call her, to confront her, to hear it from her.

But instead, I find myself rooted to the spot, my mind spinning with confusion and a deep-seated fear that Victor's words might, just might, hold a grain of truth. Victor's smug face is imprinted on my mind, his words echoing in the silence that has now descended upon the room.

"Fuck!"

I slam my hand against the door in front of me and drop my forehead against the cool wood, closing my eyes. Lisa's face is right there; she's all I see, and I open my eyes again. It feels like my world is crashing around me. The one person I opened my heart to just plucked it from my chest and stomped it into the dirt, then walked away laughing like I never meant anything to her.

God, I'm such a fucking idiot.

There is no way I can stay here and work with clients today. Not when I want to destroy everything around me right now just to make someone or something feel an ounce of the pain and anger wrapping around me.

Grabbing my phone from my inside jacket pocket, I cancel all my meetings for the rest of the day, then shove it back in my pocket. I can't go home either. If Lisa shows up with my parents, I don't want them to see me right now. All I know is I've got to get out of here.

Now.

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