Simon knew Heather needed time to sort through her feelings. Which was why when he showed up to work the next day, he did his best to keep his distance.

The familiar routine frustrated him. It was like they were locked in the steps of a dance they couldn’t get out of. There was always this push and pull between them. The routine drove him insane. But it also thrilled him. Made his desire for her even worse. He felt like an addict with no way to kick his habit.

After a late-morning meeting in one of the conference rooms Heather lingered while the engineers filed out of the room, and Simon couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Don’t go,” he said from his seat at the table, once they were alone.

She approached the door and shut it firmly. Then she turned around to face him. “It’s almost lunch time.”

“I know. So I’ll make try to make it quick.”

Heather crossed her arms and leaned against the door. “Well, what is it?”

“I hurt you.” He sighed. “I didn’t see it. And I’m sorry that I didn’t see how much pain I caused you.”

“You’re not a mind reader,” she murmured.

“No, I’m not. But I could have asked how the breakup made you feel,” he said.

“It was so out of the blue,” she said. “I think that’s why it hurt so much. We decided to be together, but then you blindsided me. I know you thought you were freeing me, but it still hurt.”

He searched her eyes, trying to see if what she was saying was genuine. Trying to see if she was just playing him. “If I had known that’s why you ended up with Gary, I would have handled things better.”

“Gary.” Her voice was laced with bitterness. “At this point, I’m so angry with him I hope I never see him again. Which is so unfair to Finn.”

“What you’re feeling is normal,” he said gently. “Gary didn’t deserve you.”

“He always said I’d never do better than him,” she murmured. “That nobody would want me. I was too uptight. Too reserved for a real man.”

“That’s nonsense.” Simon surged to his feet, fury making him ball his hands. “I want you.”

Damn it. He did. Even though his trust in her was slipping away, he still wanted her.

Simon crossed the conference room and stopped in front of her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he said, “I’ve always wanted you. Even after I left, I missed you, Heather. I never meant to cause you all this pain. I broke up with you because I wanted the best for you. I thought I was helping you move on from me.”

She sighed. “I don’t blame you for leaving. You were going after your dream. There’s no way I would have been happy if you had stayed behind for me. You had every right to have ambitions. I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise.”

“After yesterday, I thought you’d never talk to me again,” he said, releasing her.

“I needed time to cool down,” she said. “I’ve kept things bottled up inside for so long that I kind of just exploded.”

“I’m sorry if I made you feel like you were overreacting, because you weren’t.” It felt like a lie, because he didn’t truly know what Heather’s reaction to their breakup was. If Heather was heartbroken, he understood her pain and her right to feel angry. But if her pain and anger had led her down a path to destroy Dover, he’d never forgive her. It was one thing to take her anger out on him but taking it out on Dover was inexcusable. Thousands of employees were counting on the company to do well.

She bit her lip. “Do you still want to talk?”

“Of course I do.” He kept his gaze on her, searching for anything that would give away what she was really thinking. Really feeling.

Everything he had just said to her had been said with his real emotions. But part of him had said those things to keep the charade going. If he pretended that all he was interested in was a relationship, she’d never catch on that he was trying to get the truth out of her.

But as her hazel eyes looked back at him, shining with unshed tears, guilt gnawed at him. What if Heather was innocent? He would have had this conversation under false pretenses. Which meant nothing he had just said to her was pure no matter how much he meant it.

His stomach started to churn. He felt sick over his deception. If Heather was playing him, he was playing right along with her.

“Can it wait?” she asked. “I need a little time.”

“I completely understand,” he said. “Do you want me to maybe check on how you’re doing in a few days?”

“I’d like that. Thank you, Simon.”

“Thank you for sticking to your promise,” he said. “I know it can’t be easy with all the craziness that’s been going on.”

“Working at Dover has made things easy. It’s been good to have a job I enjoy.” She flashed him a smile, and his stomach knotted at the sight. Because he wasn’t sure if her smile or her words were genuine, and that was killing him.

“Glad to hear it,” he forced out.

“Coming to work keeps my mind off my problems,” she said. “Gary is still trying to take Finn away and that’s been so stressful.”

“I’m sorry I drove you into being with him,” he said.

“Don’t blame yourself. You were right. It wasn’t fair for me to blame you for my decision to be with Gary.” She ran her fingers through his hair. The touch was so intimate. And unusual for her during work hours while they were at Dover headquarters. Which meant Gary was either putting her under considerable pressure and she needed to reach out, or she was faking it all to keep Simon under her spell.

He covered her hand with his. “Heather.”

“Not here,” she whispered.

“You haven’t even heard what I was going to say.”

“I’ve seen that look in your eyes before. I know what it means.” She smiled knowingly. “We can continue this in a few days.” Something seductive flashed in her eyes. “It’s time to get back to our offices.”

He forced back a groan and reluctantly pulled his hand away. “You’re right.”

Minutes later, he stepped into his office to get ready to go out for lunch. Heather would more than likely eat in one of the cafeterias, while he was going to be taking a business lunch with an investor. With the media frenzy, he still had a lot of work to do to regain the trust of Dover’s investors. Simon tried not to remind himself that some of that work might mean exposing Heather, but deep down he knew that was the only way to save both Dover and his job as CEO. He had to find the spy, no matter the cost.

He grabbed his jacket and stepped out. Down the hall from his office he saw Heather walk over to her ex-husband, who was heading out of the elevator.

Heather glanced over her shoulder, as if she was suspicious of being caught with her husband. Without thinking, Simon ducked back into his office. If she caught him watching her, she might get even more suspicious.

Simon cursed under his breath, hoping like hell she hadn’t spotted him spying on her.

For whatever reason, Heather didn’t want anyone to see her with Gary. And that felt like another piece of the puzzle falling into place. Heather had often mentioned her fractured relationship with her ex-husband, but for all he knew she could have been exaggerating all that. Even outright making some of it up.

If she had been so ready to lie about her identity during her job interview, there was no telling what else she might be willing to lie about. Which meant there was a chance that her ex-husband was in on her scheme as well.

~~*~~

SHE EYED HER EX-HUSBAND suspiciously. “What do you want now, Gary?”

“I thought I’d take you out to lunch today,” he replied.

After she had walked out of the conference room with Simon she’d gotten a text message from Gary, announcing that he was waiting for her downstairs in the lobby. Out of curiosity, she had relented and given permission for him to come upstairs, but she was already regretting it.

A smug smile played on his lips and that irritated her.

“Why on earth would I want to go anywhere with you?” she demanded, barely able to contain her disdain.

“We haven’t gotten the chance to catch up in a long time,” he said. “Besides, can’t I have lunch with my ex-wife? I thought we were trying to be friends.”

“You can’t keep showing up unannounced like this,” she hissed. “Security could have you removed after the stunts you’ve pulled.”

Some of her coworkers was milling around, staring in her direction, their withering gazes making her realize she was on the verge of making a scene. Which was probably why Gary had insisted on coming upstairs. He was trying to push her buttons and make her look as bad as possible.

“Fine, I’ll go to lunch with you, but you have to promise to leave quietly,” she said in a low voice.

“You got it.”

It took every ounce of remaining strength not to roll her eyes.

When the doors of the elevator slid open minutes later, she stepped out into the lobby with Gary close behind her. She followed him to his car and he drove out onto the street.

Her ex-husband grinned. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She crossed her arms. “What do you want? Why the hell did you come barging into my office like that?”

“We need to clear the air, Heather,” he said. “I know we’ve been communicating through our lawyers, but that just didn’t seem right, you know?”

“Talking through our lawyers was your idea,” she snapped. “Don’t try to act like you got forced into this or something.”

“You’re pissed about this situation with Finn,” he said. “I get that.”

“Is that why you lied about me to the press?” she asked shrilly, fast losing control of her temper. “Is that why you told the entire world I was still seeing Simon?”

“Are you seriously telling me that you’re not seeing him?” Gary scoffed. “I saw the way that guy looked at you. There’s no way he let you go that easily.”

She laced her fingers together, trying to keep her hands still. Trying not to give anything away. When Gary had originally told those reporters that she was still sleeping with Simon, that had been a lie. But after she had spent the night at Simon’s apartment, she didn’t know where things stood with them. Their argument in the art gallery hadn’t made things any clearer.

Worse, they hadn’t told the board about spending the night together. Everett knew about the photograph, but she doubted he knew more than that. A kiss could be explained away but staying at Simon’s place wasn’t something that they could easily gloss over.

“None of this is actually your business,” she said.

“Maybe not, but I’m sure my lawyer and the judge have the right to know if you’re the kind of mother who sleeps with her boss,” Gary said.

She bit back a retort and stared out the window. Right now, she had gone the extra mile by agreeing to have lunch with her ex. She refused to let him get under her skin and push her into a heated argument.

After minutes of strained silence, they pulled up to a deli and walked inside. She grabbed a seat in the corner while Gary went up to order some drinks and sandwiches.

He soon appeared with their lunch.

She took a bite out of her roast beef sandwich, mulling over what to say to him to avoid an argument. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Us.” He bit into his club sandwich and smacked his lips in satisfaction.

That annoyed her so much she reached for her glass of fruit juice and took a huge sip. How had she spent so many years married to him, when just about everything he did annoyed the hell out of her?

“What about us?” she muttered.

“Us. Our family. I haven’t seen Finn in a long time,” he said.

“And whose fault is that?” she snapped. “Every time it’s your turn to step up and spend time with him, you bail. But you have the nerve to take me to court on top of all that?”

“I have to protect my son,” he said. “Every moment I spend away from him is so that I can make money to take care of him.”

“Oh, please. You spend most of your time with your new girlfriend.” She tore off another bite of her sandwich, knowing that her anger was starting to get the best of her.

“I’m a good father, okay?” He narrowed his eyes. “I know I don’t see Finn a lot, but I pay the child support.”

“Because you’ll go to jail if you don’t,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, well, everything is going to change,” he said. “When I get full custody I’ll be able to see Finn whenever I want. I won’t have to pay a bunch of child support and I won’t need to make phone calls to you asking for permission to see him.”

“You can see him whenever you want now,” she pointed out. “All you have to do is show up when you say you’re going to.”

“Oh, like you showed up to our home to screw your boss?”

“Keep your voice down,” she said. “People might recognize us.”

“That’s all you care about,” he said coldly. “Hiding the truth so everyone thinks you’re a perfect victim. You know what people are saying about me online? They think I’m a jerk because I told the media the truth about you.”

Anger flared in her. “You blabbed to the media to try to get Finn away from me. Don’t pretend like you did that for ethical reasons.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not finished with you, Heather.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she choked out, dread suddenly creeping down her spine.

“You need to learn a very valuable lesson about the real world, Heather,” Gary said harshly. “Your boss doesn’t want you. Not really. You’re just a thrill to a guy like him. And when the thrill is gone he’ll toss you aside. I’m the only man who ever really wanted you.”

“That’s not true.” Her entire body was shaking with fury. “Simon wants me.”

“I knew it,” he shot back. “You’re still screwing him. Exactly like I said you were.”

“Why did you come to see me today?” she demanded. “To hurl accusations at me?”

“No. To get ammo to use against you,” he snarled. “Your boss isn’t the kind of guy I want you seeing, and the judge will agree with me.”

“Why? Because Simon proves you wrong?” she asked. “Because he wants me and that makes every insult you ever tossed at me a lie?”

“Enough.” He scowled at her. “This is the first guy you’ve been with since me. In fact, in your whole life, you’ve only ever been with two guys. You have no idea how to handle a real relationship. And Finn needs a mother who is careful and knows what she’s doing.”

She might have only been with two men, but at least she had loved Simon once. Maybe she didn’t love him now, but she cared about him deeply. Her connection Simon was more than physical now. There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think of Simon. And she was tired of feeling guilty about that.

“At first, I really thought you were coming after me because you were jealous of Simon or something,” she said. “That might be part of it, but you’re more than jealous. You never thought I’d amount to anything without you, and it’s killing you to see me try to get some happiness now that you’re out of the picture.”

“Watch what you accuse me of, Heather,” he warned.

She crossed her arms. “Are you threatening me?”

“I don’t need to,” he said. “As long as I have a chance to get my son away from you, you’ll do as I say.”

“No, I won’t.” She didn’t know if she’d end up regretting her defiance, but she was too angry and disgusted to keep her anger inside. Their marriage had been a disaster, but he didn’t have the right to keep trying to control her like this.

“Reporters have been coming after you, and that puts my son in danger,” he said. “Which is why I’m sure the judge would love to hear what a danger you and your rich boyfriend pose to Finn.”

Her hands balled up into fists so tight her nails dug into her skin. This was the angriest she had ever been at Gary, and if she could have tossed the glass of juice in his face without drawing attention she would have. “Simon and I have done everything to shield Finn from reporters.” To the point where Simon had invited her to stay at his apartment, so they wouldn’t be followed to her place by overzealous photographers. Simon barely knew Finn, but he’d stepped up to try to protect her son. Which was more than she could say about Gary.

“I don’t need to hear another word of this,” Gary muttered.

“Why? Because this isn’t going the way you planned? Did you think you could force me to listen to your threats and lies?” She narrowed her eyes. “That’s why you wanted me in a public place. You wanted me to be so afraid of making a scene that you’d either get me to say something incriminating to placate you, or you’d say something that scared me so much I’d give up on fighting for custody.”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way,” she snapped. “I know my moving on has destroyed all the lies you tried to bully me with when we were married. You claimed I was nothing without you.”

His face was turning bright red, his eyes bulging. No doubt he hated to see her stand up to him. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have had Finn.”

“You’re right, Gary,” she said, choking back tears. Her anger was giving way to hurt. Hurt that a man she’d been married to for so long could be such a hateful, spiteful person. All because she was starting to see that all the horrible things he had said to her might not be true. All because she dared to find happiness without him. Hot tears stung the back of her eyes, but she refused to cry in his presence. “Without you, I would never have had Finn. But now you’re trying to take Finn away. Not share custody with me. Flat out take him away from me forever. You’re using him as a pawn against me. You no longer have any control over me, but the one thing you can use against me is our son. And you don’t even the decency to be ashamed of yourself.”

“I don’t need to listen to any more of this.” He got to his feet. “I’m out of here.”

“You’re the one who insisted on seeing me, remember? Besides, you drove me here,” she pointed out. “How am I supposed to get back to work?”

“I thought you moved on from me,” he spat out. “Figure out how to get back to work on your own.” He glared at her and then stormed out of the deli, leaving her behind.

Tears threatened to fall, but she had to hold it together in public. If someone recognized her and took a photo of her crying, she didn’t think she’d be able to handle the humiliation.

She had to get out of here. Get back to Dover and focus on work to distract her from her anger and pain. Then get home and talk to her lawyer about her argument with Gary. If she was going to protect Finn, she had to make sure her lawyer had as much information as possible.

But first, she actually had to get back to Dover. Hands shaking, she reached into her handbag and grabbed her phone to call the one person she could count on to help her out of here. Simon.