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“I didn’t tell your uncle anything. At least not anything you wouldn’t be okay with me sharing. And he didn’t pay me.” She grits her teeth like that little fact makes all the difference.

“You brought listening devices into my home? And you think somehow I’m going to be okay with it because He.

Didn’t. Pay. You?” My voice rises, and Ryan shuts the door.

“I cared about you.” This woman makes me want to rip my hair out.

“Like a fool, I trusted you. A woman I hired. I trusted. And you… you!”

“I what, Jack? What the hell did I do?” The vein in her forehead pulses, and she clenches those perfectly manicured hands into fists at her sides.

“Your Uncle Mark asked how you’re doing.

He cares. Why the hell is telling him how you’re doing problematic?

I never told him anything you wouldn’t tell him yourself. ”

Ryan’s hand falls to my shoulder, and he tugs me back. I whip around to face him. I rail against her, but it’s not like I would actually give in to the desire to throttle the conniving bitch.

“She might not have known.” He grits his teeth, and his lips barely move, but I hear him.

And the truth filters in. It glimmers in Ryan’s hand as he examines it on his palm.

Separated from her stack of trash, the bracelet looks expensive.

It’s probably worth more than the car she was driving. That should have told me something.

“Mark gave that bracelet to her. She didn’t know.” Patrick’s expression is cold. He addresses Ryan. “Check the opened Eiffel Tower pendant.”

“Did you disable it?” Ryan asks.

Patrick shakes his head. Ryan’s hands fumble with the charm.

“You didn’t know?” I ask.

Her eyes grow impossibly wide, and she shakes her head.

“I didn’t know. And yes, he asked me to keep an eye out on you, but only to let him know if I had concerns.

If I thought you weren’t in a good place to run the company.

That was it. He didn’t pay me. I went to meet with you as a favor to him because he’s Patrick’s partner and because he’s our principal investor. ”

I hear the truth in her words. My mind slowly processes it all. We could never find a payment to her. All of her bracelets glimmered in the moonlight on the bedside table the night I opened up to her.

“Mark may have a surveillance team watching all of you,” Ryan says. “With enough money, anything is possible. I’d bet he listens in on Patrick’s phone calls at a bare minimum.”

Patrick’s lips purse. He’s completely still.

“I needed for you to know the truth.” Ava’s soft tone draws me back to her. I so readily believed she deceived me. “I couldn’t let you think I would do that to you.”

Her gaze falls to the ground, and she moves to Patrick’s side, returning her hand to the crook of his arm. She has said what she needed to say, and she’s ready to leave. I am numb.

Ryan’s hand goes to his ear, a sign of something coming through in his earpiece.

“Time to mingle. Senator Talbot has arrived.”

My mind whirls over this new information. She didn’t deceive me. I am a fool, but not in the manner I believed.

“Can I give you a ride home, after the banquet?” I need to process this. Zero emotions are surfacing, but my gut tells me I can’t end things like this. I said hurtful things to her. “We need to talk, but I have… there’s more going on here.”

Ryan’s ice-blue gaze directs me to fall in line. It’s game time.

“I need to… after this is over?” It’s an incoherent request, but I’m rattled, and my brain short circuits.

If I didn’t have a team of men outside and a wire strapped to my chest, I’d say screw it, and haul her back to my house to deal with this.

But no, I have a list to complete. Tonight is important.

“You don’t owe me anything. We don’t need to speak later.” Her voice shakes, and those enormous eyes glisten. Stirring sensations chip away at the numbness that had set up residence.

“Please?”

Ryan opens the door and glances at his wrist. Seconds pass.

“There’s nothing else to say.”

“Ava. Please. I have plenty I need to say to you.”

Those dark eyes hesitate, but she gives me a brief nod, and I’m out the door.

When I glance over my shoulder, Ava’s arm is on Patrick’s, and he’s still frozen. I wonder what else he’s pieced together from this, but the hum of voices rises, and if I’m going to stand a chance of catching the senator’s attention before he’s seated at a table of twelve, I need to move.

As I walk, the gaping wound in my chest eases. The fog of rage that has clouded my thinking lifts. We round the corner, and I slow as my uncle shakes Senator Talbot’s hand.

The man orchestrated illegal deals to ensure we continued to increase sales. The growth of our family company trumped all. What about the senator? Is power his reason? Or are these two simply acquaintances? There’s only one way to find out.

Let’s get this done .

I paste on a cordial smile and stride toward the two men, leaving Ryan to fend for himself. Uncle Mark greets me with a familiar expression. It’s the same expression he used when I presented at my first board meeting as CEO.

Pride seeps from my uncle’s pores. He believes he successfully groomed me into a cutthroat business titan.

A man who sold his soul for company dividends.

He doesn’t comprehend how his accusations about Ava gutted me.

Or maybe he does. Maybe she served a purpose when I didn’t care for her, but once I did, her presence in my life became disadvantageous to the company.

It’s clear he keeps Patrick, his so-called partner, a secret from the public and his family.

“Jack,” the titan says. “Good to see you.” With a slight twist, he addresses the senator. “My nephew is receiving an award tonight.” Then, with expert maneuvering, his commanding attention is back on me. “Jack, I believe you know Senator Talbot.”

“Jack, good to see you again.” The man’s sweaty palm presses against mine in a slimy shake, and I cover my cringe. Just get through this .