Every Last Secret - A.R. Torre Page 0,58

us.”

“Don’t put your insecurity in the way of something I’ve worked four years on.” He reached for my hand and gripped it, leveling me with a stare that would intimidate anyone but had never worked on me.

“We’ve worked four years on,” I corrected him. “I was right there beside you. Supporting you. And if I thought Neena’s presence had a single iota of an effect on WT’s success, I—”

“She has an effect. It doesn’t matter if you don’t see it.”

I pulled my hand free, looking away as the waiter set the sizzling presentation before us. She didn’t have an effect, not on Winthorpe Tech and not on him. Three months of team building and employee quizzes didn’t replace thirteen years of marriage.

“Cat, let’s focus on what’s important. We’re about to get the device in a marketable place, and then I can work less. Focus on our family. A family I want to move forward with, even if it is through adoption.”

Even if it is through adoption. A substandard solution, but acceptable in order to achieve his end result. He was always a businessman at heart and oblivious to the knife he wielded with such careless accuracy. Was I a crucial element to this equation, or a component that could be easily replaced if faulty? I used to swear on our allegiance. Now, with his refusal to fire Neena, his constant attention to his phone, his increasing detachment from me . . . I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything.

I smoothed my napkin on my lap and tried to fit my thoughts into neat boxes that would make sense.

“William, I’m excited that you’ve warmed to the idea of adoption, but I feel like you’ve been growing apart from me. Neena is wedging herself in between us. You think it’s all focused on Winthorpe Tech, but it’s more than that. Her interest in you . . . it’s unhealthy.”

“That’s your insecurity and paranoia talking. She gives the same amount of focus to every other team member.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really? She’s jogging with the biologists? Is she popping into any other employee’s house with their favorite cookies? You don’t understand. She’s going after you.”

“Just stop.” His voice was louder than it should have been, and I glanced sharply at the other tables, worried his voice had carried. “Can you focus for a minute? I’m trying to talk to you about our future.”

“Look, if you want to start the adoption process, then I’m in.”

His features calmed, and I hurried to finish the thought.

“But the minute we have FDA approval, Neena’s done at Winthorpe. Give her a big parting bonus if you have to, but I want her desk cleared and her security badge returned. I want to go back to a normal relationship with my neighbors, one where she stays on her side of the hedges and we stay on ours. Okay?”

He beamed at me. “Sure.”

“I’m serious,” I warned. “She’s gone after FDA approval.”

He laced his fingers through mine and pulled me in for a kiss. “Deal.”

It should have felt like a win, but it didn’t.

CHAPTER 31

NEENA

Something had changed with William. I sensed it in our morning team meeting, the way his gaze stubbornly stayed at different points around the room but never in my direction. I saw it in his doodle along the edge of his notebook during my group visualization exercise. I felt it in the silence that followed my text messages, his chatty behavior suddenly reduced to a stony quiet.

I watched him warily and tried to understand the source of the chill. Was it Matt? Guilt over our kisses? Cat? I pulled up her social media profiles and scanned the posts, looking for a hint. Club events. Charity galas. Professional-quality photos of her morning coffee, their gardens in the back. A new pair of heels, the angle not-so-innocently including a glimpse of their walk-in closet, the racks of color-coordinated shoes lit and displayed like jewels on velvet shelves.

“I need to see you in the boardroom.” William spoke from my office doorway, his tone curt. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked down the hall, heading for the private conference room.

Closing the internet browser, I grabbed my phone and notebook and followed. I glanced both ways down the hall, making sure no one saw me, then went in.

“Close the door behind you.” He stood by the windows, his hands in his pockets.

I did, then moved hesitantly into the room, preparing for whatever he was upset about. My best defense,