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My eyes flicked to him before I thought better of it, giving me away, and I resisted the flinch that followed. What the fuck did he want withme? I ran my thumb over the rough edge of the lock on my mace and tried to walk by him, but his friend blocked my path to the door. I was about to step off the curb into the street when the second lifted his phone in my face.
Rearing back, I thanked all that was holy my voice held strong. “If you approach, I will engage.Back. Off.”
“Ms. Rhodes, we’re here withEmerald Dailyand thought you’d like to make a statement about the allegations against Greyson Hart.”
My heart leaped into my throat. Turning his way, I scanned his face for a bluff but found a lifted chin, eyes sparkling with victory.
What fucking allegations? I hadn’t heard shit about any allegations. And I all but ran the PR team.
“No comment,” was all I said.
“This is going to be the story of our generation, Ms. Rhodes. The Titan of Emerald Bay embezzling from his own company? You have a unique opportunity to be the first quote to hit the web—you’ve worked with Greyson Hart for about two years now, correct?”
“No comment,” I repeated, stepping into the road and skirting past his buddy as the first one barked a laugh.
“A word to the wise, Ms. Rhodes. Burn the bridge before you go down with the ship.”
Nice jumbled analogies, you idiot.
I sucked down a breath when security buzzed me into the building, my heart booming against my ribs and throat. They were so damn certain, but…
My instincts were reeling.
Roiling.
Revolting.
Nothingabout his comment resonated with my intuition.
While Hartless was a complete prickto me, this company was his life—his family’s legacy—and he loved nothing in the world like he loved Ollie and Mattie. He might have the personality of a rattlesnake, but…I couldn’t picture a world where Greyson would intentionally hurt Mattie or the empire he fought topreserve for her. And stealing from Ollie and their shareholders would undoubtedly destroy their plans for her.
She was why he lived and breathed this business. Why he was the first person in the building—second only to me if I was feeling spiteful like I was this morning—and the last to leave. Hell, I’d driven by well after midnight on a Saturday and spotted his illuminated office window—like a lonely beacon in the darkness.
In a full storm of cognitive dissonance, I rushed to my office, dropped my things, and made my way to his, finding it mercifully empty. The thing about being his right hand for the last two years was that there were few aspects of his life I didn’t have full access to. His passwords and accounts were all locked in a vault inside my mind. Bluntly, there were few personal parts of his life I wasn’t uncomfortably privy to.
I just stared at his sleeping computer monitor for a moment, fighting through a tsunami of denial in order to think of this pragmatically. Growing up as the middle of twelve had its benefits—like being able to read situations better than most because I was used to gaugingthirteenother people when shit was going down. Years of bruised ego might’ve encouraged me to tell Hartless that karma was a bitch and to kick rocks. The bully on the playground was finally getting laid out by somebody bigger.
But…that honed gut instinct said this accusation was baseless.
God damn my conscience.
Blowing out a heavy breath, I woke the monitor, mentally going through the crisis protocol as I keyed in his password. Never in my wildest dreams over these last few years would I have ever assumed I’d be going into war mode for Greyson.
Three buttons on the desk phone had me ringing up Ollie—we’d need him in here either way—and a few rapidly pressedkeys on his computer would have security headed my way. The Harts would need them to get through the paparazzi without an incident. Maybe the Capitol entrance would be a better plan.
Despite gearing up to give him hell today, I prayed for Ollie, Beau, and Matilda’s sake that our only problem would be a brewing defamation case.
Sliding my phone from my bag, I pulled up my best friend’s thread and fired off a text. Never in my life had I been more grateful the man had used his geeky childhood tendencies for good, and now worked in cyber security. Hopefully, it would get me what I needed and quickly.
Alice
Morning, Maxi. I’m phoning a friend.
Max
What game show are we winning?
Alice