Page 26 of The Rival's Obsession
Something heavy. Still festering.
And then it’s there—uninvited.
The silence of a gasp. A door slamming. The deep thud.
Blood on white porcelain. The way it had pooled with such impossible calm.
I blink.
The room rights itself and Eve is still watching me.
I bury the memory beneath concrete. Reinforce the vault.
Not now. Not with her sitting right in front of me.
She shifts gears like it’s nothing. “How long have you known Corrine?”
I blink, not expecting Corrine to surface as a focus. “Our families go back a long time.”
She hums. “So… not since prep school, then?”
I narrow my eyes. “Why the interest in Corrine?”
“She’s the CFO,” Eve says casually, though her gaze is anything but. “But something in her bio made me think your history goes back farther. More personal.”
I study her a beat longer. She’s sharper than I gave her credit for.
Eve leans back, crossing one leg over the other. And yes, I look. “Men and women aren’t often just friends. Not without an attraction somewhere in the mix.”
The shift in tone is deliberate. She’s circling something.
“Did you two date?”
“No.”
“Ever want to?”
I keep my face still. “No.”
“Fuck?”
“No.”
“Never?” Her head tilts. “Not once?”
She’s relentless. And not just for the sake of curiosity. She’s testing me.
“I don’t sleep with coworkers,” I say coolly.
“Do you fuck women?”
“Yes.”
“Men?”
I say nothing.
The corner of her mouth quirks, like that’s an answer all its own.
