Flawless Ruin

“Are you having a stroke?” she demands over me, shining the flashlight from her own cell phone into my face. “What are you doing sneaking around down here? This level is off-limits.”

“I thought—” I blurt breathlessly. “I could’ve sworn—did you see anyone? I thought someone was following me.”

She rolls her eyes. “Are you serious? There’s nobody here. Except, you know, a dozen security guards and the entire janitorial staff…” She brushes off her spotless cream suit. “What a drama queen. A little power outage and you let your imagination run away.”

Drama queen? I bite back the rest of the story, about the knife, and the threatening note, and oh yeah, the person stalking me through the empty building. “Are you sure you didn’t see anyone strange?” I ask again instead.

“Positive.” Olivia sighs. “Now, can we please get out of here? I was supposed to be stopping by to sign paperwork, not hiking down a dozen flights of stairs in my brand-new Louboutins.”

I nod, still shaken. “Let’s go.”

I walk down the last ten flights with her, relieved to have the company—even if it is from the woman who’s single-mindedly trying to destroy everything Caleb has ever worked for.

“So, he kept you dangling, huh?” Olivia’s voice breaks my thoughts.

I don’t answer.

“You must have some impressive skills,” she adds, her voice bitchy. “He doesn’t usually keep his little playthings around this long.”

My pace falters.

“But I’d keep that resume dusted off, if I were you.” Olivia says, with a flip of her hair. “He’ll tire of you soon. He always does. It’s absolutely impossible to hold Caleb Sterling’s attention for more than one season.”

I grit my teeth. If I respond, it’ll only make things worse.

“Not that anyone should be getting too comfortable,” she continues. “Who knows what restructuring Sebastian Wolfe will do once he takes over? Sell the company for parts, I expect.”

Her tone is so flippant, I can’t help the words that fly from my lips. “Why are you doing this?”

Olivia turns.

“Your parents worked so hard to build this company,” I say. “And Caleb’s, too. Don’t you care about that legacy? And all the employees depending on you?”

Her gaze turns cool. “You don’t know anything about my parents,” she says, her voice brittle. “Yes, they loved this company. They loved it so much, I never saw them away from this place. You know they sent me to boarding school, starting when I was seven years old? God forbid I get in the way, and distract them from their precious gemstones.”

Her eyes are narrowed, and I can see the years of resentment burning there.

“That doesn’t give you the right to punish everyone else now,” I reply. “Especially not Caleb.”

At his name, her mouth twists in a sneer. “Look at you,” she smirks. “You’re so in love with him, you can’t even see him for who he really is.”

“No,” I say, although whether I’m trying to deny my feelings, or defend him, I’m not sure.

“You’ll see,” she says ominously. “This doesn’t end well for you, Juliet.”

She turns and keeps moving, and I follow, until we reach the lobby—and find it full of bustling activity. The security guys, maintenance men, a couple of cops waving their flashlights around… I pause a moment, wondering if I should report what happened upstairs.

But what did happen? I thought I heard something and freaked out. Nobody hurt me.

Everything’s fine.

Olivia stalks away without a parting shot, but she’s said enough. Whatever the reasons for her betraying Caleb and the company like this, she won’t be swayed from her agenda.

“Can I call you a cab?” one of the security guards asks. I shake my head.

“Thanks, but I drove.”

“Then let me walk you down,” she says. “You don’t want to be wandering around this place in the dark.”