Page 136 of The Price of Scandal

“I’m going to tell the world that you’re behind this. Let them rip you to shreds.”

“Oh, too bad. I was expecting something a little more creative from you. Besides, I already told Emily this is all your fault. You came on to me. I bravely resisted. Because I’m the loyal friend. You stole the formula from the lab. You do have sticky fingers, don’t you? Once a thief. Always a thief. And Emily and I have history. We’ve been together since the beginning.”

“You’ve been biding your time and waiting for your opportunity to destroy her since the beginning.”

“And look how patience pays off. I have my choice, either be CFO of La Sophia’s American market or, as of half an hour ago, the Flawless board members wisely offered me CEO. Isn’t that a conundrum?”

She’d choose Flawless. Just to sit in Emily’s chair.

“It sounds like you’re getting just what you deserve.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” She gave a girlish giggle.

“That was sarcasm, you abominable twat.”

“My first act of business will be dissolving your contract with Flawless. Your services are no longer needed seeing as how I’ve destroyed your girlfriend who probably isn’t taking your calls after those pictures of us surfaced. You certainly are photogenic.”

“What’s she saying?” Roger hissed from the opposite end of the table.

“He called her an abominable twat,” Rowena whispered back. “I don’t think it’s going well.”

“You won’t get away with this, Lita.”

“Did you know that reporter who’s been following her around like a puppy was there when the news broke? There’s no way you can fix this. No way to spin it. Emily is going down finally. You should have accepted my offer, Derek. I’d let you be on top.”

I should have decked her in that restaurant.

“If you wanted to be CEO, why did you tank the stock offering? More money in your pocket,” I asked.

She laughed mirthlessly. “I didn’t want CEO. At least, not specifically. I wanted her to fail. The IPO will be pushed back. After the requisite investigation, I’ll be the one finally reaping the rewards. And there’s no way for you to fix this.”

“You haven’t earned any of this, Lita.”

“I’ve been there since the beginning. Flawless is mine.”

I disconnected the call and dialed Emily again. No answer.

I needed to think. I needed to fix this. I needed Emily.

“What in the fucking fuck did you do, Price?” Jane stormed into the office with her hand on her stun gun.

“Oh, shit,” Roger whispered.

“Jane, I don’t have time to fight with you right now. You can stun gun me later.”

“How fucking stupid are you?” she demanded, ignoring my belated stun gunning offer. “You had to know Lita was up to something!”

“I didn’t know it was stealing formulas and staging affairs,” I yelled back. Frustration and anger and, worse, helplessness warred inside me. I should have known or at least suspected. I’d underestimated her to be just another greedy, jealous viper. “Did you?”

“Of course not,” she shouted. “I would have stuffed her in a trunk and fed her to Steve if I realized what she was up to. You need to fix this!”

I didn’t know if I could. I could spin things and threaten lawsuits. But how could I ever win back Emily’s trust? It was such a delicate, tenuous thing. And I’d walked right into the trap.

“What are you doing here?” I asked wearily.

“I have Nina Nowak’s address. Thought you might want to tag along and see why she suddenly decided to destroy the woman who fixed her face. Maybe if I don’t like what she says, I could mess it up again.”

At least there was something I could do for her. Something I could fix. And something I could prevent Jane from going to jail for.