to believe it.”
“Yeah. I know what you mean there.” Her stomach plummeted.
There went that sliver of hope she’d hung onto, the one that sent her to Weiss Enterprises that afternoon. Kai wasn’t the man he pretended to be, and now there was no more denying it.
“Why did you come here?” Brie asked. “What was your plan?”
“I was going to ask him straight about the emails,” Diane croaked.
Brie sucked in a sharp breath. “Where are those emails?”
“I…” She tried to remember. Had she stuffed them into her purse or left them on Kai’s desk? Where she had placed them after reading them seemed such an inconsequential detail. She hadn’t bothered committing it to memory.
With no warning, the door opened and Kai entered the office. Brie jumped to standing, but Diane didn’t have that kind of strength. Not when she struggled to merely stay conscious.
“Hello.” Kai looked between the two of them.
“Hi.” Brie pulled off a smile that looked amazingly natural. “How did the meeting go?”
“Very well.” Kai grinned broadly.
“I’ll give you two your privacy.” Brie squeezed Diane’s hand. “Unless you want to walk out with me, Diane?”
“No. That’s okay.” She squeezed back. “Thanks.”
She appreciated Brie throwing her a lifeline, but there would be no more running away. It was time to face the situation head-on.
“All right then. You know where to find me.” With that, Brie slipped out.
“I’m sorry I had to run off to that.” Kai crossed the room and took the seat on the couch next to Diane.
“It…it’s okay.”
His head tilted. “Are you not well? You’re pale.”
“Am I?” She looked at her lap. He’d taken her hand without her even noticing. Was that how messed up she was? Was she not even present in her own body?
“Do you feel feverish?” He reached over to touch her forehead, and she jerked back.
Kai’s hand froze in the air, and they stared silently at each other.
“Diane?” He dropped his hand.
Suddenly, the switch flipped. One second she sat on the couch and the next she was on the other side of his office.
“How dare you?” she hissed.
He rose slowly, danger in his eyes. “How dare I what?”
“Lie. Lead me on. Lead everyone on.”
“Diane. I assure you, I haven't the least clue—”
“You lied about stock prices,” she says. “And you…did other things.”
Shoot. She should have talked this through with Brie first. Actually, she shouldn’t be confronting Kai at all. It was the police she ought to be talking to.
His thick eyebrows pushed together. “Where did you hear such a thing?”
“I didn’t hear it. I read the emails myself.” Her hands shook violently, and she crossed her arms, tucking her fists under her elbows in the hope that would make them stop.
His eyes widened. “Diane. I’m flabbergasted. You read what emails? Surely you misunderstood.”
“No, I didn’t.” She edged closer to the door. Kai had never displayed any rage, but she had too much to lose and there was no telling what he might be capable of if pushed to his breaking point.
Which was really one of the many reasons she should have left the room with Brie.
“Something happened,” Kai said. “This isn’t the mood you were in when I left for my meeting. What were you and Brie talking about?”
Face turned down, Diane shook her head. “I have to go.”
“What?” he exploded. “You can’t just leave without explaining yourself, Diane. You’re the one who came to me.”
“I know.” Tears blurred her vision. “And I shouldn’t have.”
She beelined for the door, but he stepped in front of her.
“Please,” he said.
“Goodbye, Kai.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Her heart had already broken over him once. She might not survive it happening a second time.
She darted for the door, but he reached out for her. Sidestepping his touch, her purse started to slip off her arm. She snatched it up before it hit the ground and yanked open the door handle.
“Diane, stop. We need to talk about this.”
“I don’t think we do, Kai.” She paused in the doorway, her back to him. “Goodbye.”
He didn’t chase after her. He didn’t call her name again.
She made it all the way to the elevator with the tears clinging onto her eyelashes. The second the doors closed, though, she let them fall.
Chapter 20
Kai
Kai stared at the door as it swung shut behind Diane, his mouth agape, his hand stretched out toward her.
He needed to yell out. To stop her. To demand an explanation for what she was talking about. To take her in his arms and kiss her until