Page 57 of Devious Lies (Cruel Crown)
I held up a palm to stop her. “I know. Spare me the lecture. She had a catering gig last night. We won’t hire them again.”
“What?” Her head shook until Rosco nipped at her neck to stop her. “No, that’s not it. Why would you think that?”
I pushed aside my laptop, ignoring the last question. “Spill.”
She cocked a hip against the wall and rubbed at Rosco’s belly, a nervous habit of hers. “Reed called me.”
Already, I knew I’d hate the punchline to this story.
Not because I hated Reed. I didn’t. The opposite. He was the one who hated me, and I didn’t blame him. I deserved the hate, definitely more than I deserved Eastridge’s naive adoration.
Didn’t mean I accepted it.
“Spit it out, Lowell.”
“I owed him a f
avor. He cashed it in. He wanted me to get Emery Winthrop a job for the company under Emery Rhodes. That was before I knew about the S.E.C. investigation. If I’d known it would cause problems, I wouldn’t have done it.”
This was the thing I admired about Delilah. She possessed the rare ability to admit when she was wrong. Her confidence was unmistakable. The humility required to pinpoint and admit her mistakes didn’t lessen it.
“Where is she working?” I asked, wondering if I could fire an entire department without a settlement.
“The design department as an intern.”
Fitting.
She’d always had her head buried in a sketchbook.
I pulled out my phone and shot a message to Durga.
Benkinersophobia: How would you treat someone who fucked your family over? Who hurt your family so badly, it’ll never recover?
Durga: Assuming I like my family?
Benkinersophobia: Clearly.
Durga: Like dirt.
Durga: Like less than dirt.
Great minds think alike, Durga.
Delilah continued, “It’s for the duration of the Haling Cove project, and the upper half of the floors are mostly designed based off old schematics. The budget is tight because we had to grease too many fingers to get the zoning and plans approved so fast. We took the money from the design budget.” When I didn’t speak, Delilah asked, “What aren’t you telling me?”
I hate Emery Winthrop.
She epitomized everything I stood against. Also, she’d known about her dad’s embezzlement and had done nothing about it. To think I ruined my relationship with my brother over her.
I didn’t say any of that.
Instead, I pressed the shin Delilah’s heel had pierced against the desk’s leg until the pressure drew more blood. “I got stuck in the elevator last night.”
“Stop changing the subject.”
“I got stuck in an elevator last night with Emery,” I amended.
“Fuck.”
