“That’s the plan.” Zoe pictured her cot in the back room of the retail space she’d rented a year earlier. That was before legal fees had consumed her divorce settlement and jeopardized her dream of running a consignment store that helped victims of domestic violence get back on their feet financially. “I just need something I can afford.”
“Sure.” Tonya went on to ask questions about what sort of work Zoe did and what she saw herself doing for the campaign.
While Zoe answered Tonya’s questions, her gaze was drawn toward the large glassed-in office at the back of the campaign headquarters. From this angle, Zoe could see Susannah working on her computer. Zoe’s gut tightened. She was dreading her first meeting with Susannah, knowing she was going to do everything she could to cause the woman harm.
Guilt gouged her conscience. She’d been so focused on getting through her divorce and being angry at everything Tristan had done to her that she’d barely considered the damage her bargain with London and Everly would do to an innocent third party. Zoe gave herself a mental shake. She couldn’t start thinking like this or she’d never be able to go through with what she planned. Instead, she focused on Everly’s justification that Ryan deserved to feel the sort of pain and frustration Everly had gone through because of what he’d done to her sister.
While she shied away from dwelling on the ethics of what she and her coconspirators were up to, Zoe heard the front door open behind her and noted how the energy in the room ratcheted up several notches. Tonya’s attention shifted past Zoe and her expression relaxed into a relieved h
alf smile. Alarm bells began to ring in Zoe’s mind. Had she been found out? Was someone coming to haul her away? She balled her hands in her lap and dug her fingernails into her palms to fight down panic. Letting her imagination run amok wasn’t going to make her job any easier.
“Hi, Ryan,” Tonya said, her smile turning supernova. “How are you doing today?”
Learning that Ryan was the person who’d just arrived didn’t calm Zoe’s nerves at all. She’d bolted after meeting him the day before, determining she was too rattled by her sharp reaction to their brief encounter to stick around and pretend she was just an average campaign volunteer.
Now, feeling Ryan’s approach in a rush of tingles over her skin, Zoe contemplated the younger woman and realized that Tonya had a crush on the handsome businessman. This gave Zoe a little breathing room. At least all eyes wouldn’t be on her for now.
“I’m great,” Ryan said in his velvet voice. “How are you doing, Tonya?”
The woman rolled her eyes significantly. “Way better than yesterday. The news about Lyle was such a shock. But of course Susannah calmed everyone down. She’s so amazing.”
The hero worship in Tanya’s eyes might have amused Zoe if her own heart wasn’t pounding so hard in reaction to Ryan Dailey.
“She is that,” Ryan agreed as he stepped into Zoe’s line of sight. “You came back,” he said, a warm smile curving his sculpted lips. “That’s great.”
Zoe’s gaze drifted upward over his light gray suit, white shirt and peach-colored tie. Her mouth was practically watering by the time she noted the faint stubble on his chin that gave him a slightly rakish air.
While preparing to take down Ryan Dailey, Zoe had done extensive online research. Despite his wealth and business success, the man wasn’t much for stepping into the public eye. She’d had only the headshot of him on his company’s web site to recognize him by. That photo hadn’t prepared her for the man’s compelling presence.
By contrast, his sister enjoyed being in the spotlight. She was on the board of several charities focused on children’s issues. With her husband at her side, she attended all sorts of events. Although Zoe had seen her many times over the years, they ran in completely different circles and never crossed paths. Zoe couldn’t imagine what she could possibly say to engage such a brilliant, successful lawyer.
Whatever interests Ryan Dailey pursued in his personal life, he kept a tight lid on his activities. Zoe had found no trace of his love life in the media, but she suspected like so many wealthy and powerful men, he liked arm candy. Beautiful and sexy women that were meant to be showed off. They accentuated a man’s virility.
But Ryan Dailey didn’t need help in that department.
Zoe cursed as she noted her breathlessness. “Everyone seemed really busy yesterday,” she explained.
“I’m glad you came back.”
The fact that he sounded sincere combined with the keen interest in his gray eyes sent a shiver of awareness through her.
To Zoe’s dismay, she recognized what lay beneath the shrilling of her nerves: attraction. It sizzled through her like lightning, awakening a fever she’d never known with her husband. Their marriage hadn’t been a love match. He’d chosen her for reasons he’d made clear in the months following their wedding and in the beginning she’d been both flattered that he’d found her desirable and naïve enough to believe that feeling affection for her husband was enough for her to be happily married.
She’d never make that mistake again.
Zoe wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted out of her next long-term relationship, but she’d never be with anyone who trifled with her emotions or damaged her self-esteem in any way.
“I am, too,” Zoe said. “Tonya was just filling me in on some of the things I could do to help out.”
“So you’re going to be a regular?”
“I’d like that,” Zoe said, glancing Tonya’s way to escape his intense scrutiny.
The turmoil raging inside her from her subterfuge, her guilt and her body’s chemical reaction to Ryan was a volatile mix. Zoe set her palms together and slid her hands between her thighs to hide their shaking.
“And we’re happy to have her,” Tonya said, her attention remaining fixed on Ryan.
“Hey, Tonya, could you come here a second?” a man called from across the room.