Heather opened her office door, to find Simon sitting at her desk. She blinked in surprise. “Simon? What are doing in my office?”

“Your office? Not for long,” he said derisively.

“Is that a joke?” she asked in confusion.

“No.” His blue eyes focused on hers, all the warmth she always saw in them gone. Staring into his eyes now was like staring at a glacier.

A chill ran down her spine. “What’s wrong? Did the photo get out?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’d want that photo to get out,” he snarled.

“Why would I want something like that to happen?” She swallowed hard. “Something’s wrong. What happened? Talk to me.” She took a step towards her desk.

He held up his hands. “Don’t come any closer.”

“What?” Her breath caught in her chest when she saw the rage on his face. His entire body was shaking with barely-contained fury. She’d never seen him like this.

“If you come closer, I’ll believe whatever lie you tell me,” he spat out. “I’ll look into your eyes and do whatever you ask. I’m helpless when it comes to you. And I one thing I can’t be is helpless.”

“Simon, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that I found the photos you and your accomplices took,” he said.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” she said desperately. “Please, help me to understand.”

“Lies! Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie.” He glared at her.

“No—”

“During your first interview, you told me a pack of lies,” he said. “You kept your real identity a secret. Then you fed me some nonsense about having to lie because you didn’t want it to get in the way of your work. That wasn’t true, was it? You lied so I wouldn’t know what you were up to.”

“Of course, it was true,” she insisted. “I mean, I did lie about who I was, but not for any nefarious reasons. I swear. Just talk to me.”

“You’ve been working for VLA this entire time,” he said icily. “You’ve been spying on me for them.”

“I—”

“Do you deny it?” he demanded.

Her secret was out. He had figured it out. She hadn’t told him everything about her time at VLA, because he never would have hired her. And because if she had told him the truth and VLA found out, her former employers would sue her to within an inch of her life. Whatever money she still had from her grandfather and from her VLA severance package had to go to taking care of her son and her mounting legal bills. If VLA got a hold of her money, she’d lose Finn forever.

“I don’t deny it,” she said, her lower lip trembling. “I agreed to be part of VLA’s layoffs because I refused to spy for them. Executives thought I’d be a good spy because of my history with you, but I flat out refused. When I found out they were paying people to take layoffs, I took the chance. I was disillusioned by then, and I didn’t want to work for a company that was capable of spying like that.”

“More lies,” he snarled. “You’re still spying for them. Tell the truth for once.”

“That is the truth,” she said sharply.

“If it’s the truth, why didn’t you tell me that VLA had come to you with a shady offer like that?” he asked. “Why didn’t you explain how you’d refused to go along with their scheme?”

“Because I signed a non-disclosure agreement,” she said. “I couldn’t tell you even if I’d wanted to. Now that you’ve figured it out, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“You’re still working with them, Heather,” he said. “I saw the photos of my servers on some internet forum.”

“What? No. I never took photos of your servers,” she said. “What are you talking about?”

“Someone got into my apartment and took photos of my servers,” he said harshly. “The only people who know about those servers are you and me. I didn’t take the photos. So that only leaves you.”

“When? How?” Her head was spinning. “How could I have taken those photos?”

“When you came over to my apartment and seduced me,” he said.

“Seduced you—”

“I know you’ve only been screwing me to get what you wanted for VLA,” he said. “You don’t give a damn about me.”

“I do,” she insisted. “I’ve told some lies, but I didn’t take that photo. And my feelings for you are real. I care about you, Simon. More than I’ve ever cared about any man before.”

“You don’t care.” His eyes narrowed. “You told me all these sob stories about you and Gary and your son, so that you could get my sympathy. My trust. I don’t know you at all.”

A lump formed in her throat. Each accusation was like a shot to her heart. “You do know me.”

“Who are your accomplices?” he demanded. “Is anyone else at Dover in on this?”

“I don’t have any accomplices. What are you talking about?” she asked desperately.

“So, you hacked into my system on your own, then...” Pure contempt flashed in his eyes. Simon didn’t look like himself. She’d never seen him look so cold. So uncaring. How could he believe she was capable of something so terrible? “I should have known.”

“I don’t know how to hack into anything, Simon,” she said. “Anyone who would be able to hack your system would have to be a genius. Someone smarter than you. And I don’t know anybody smarter than you.”

“Flattery isn’t going to save you,” he said. “I know why you did this.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you. Please believe me,” she begged.

“You never got over our breakup,” he said. “That’s the motive, isn’t it? You’re still angry about that.”

“I’m still hurt, but I’m not angry enough to do something like this,” she said.

“It’s been ten years, Heather,” he said. “Ten years of you holding a grudge. I don’t know what kind of person gets so hung up on someone that they cling to them for over a decade. It’s pathetic. I left. Get over it. It’s like I’m being punished for moving on with my life. It’s not my fault you didn’t make something of yourself and got knocked up by some bum.”

Her vision blurred with tears. He was right. She was pathetic. Holding on to some teenaged fantasy of her high school sweetheart. She had been so devastated that she’d had to change schools. Not that she would confess that to him now, because it would only confirm his worst suspicions about her. Only a truly pathetic person would let a breakup hurt them badly enough to transfer out of school.

Gary had been right, too. A man like Simon could never want her. Maybe Simon believed the worst, so he’d have an excuse to dump her. That way he’d never have to admit he was bored with her. He’d have a damn good reason to toss her aside without any of the guilt attached to it.

“I know my life is so petty and small compared to yours. But that’s only because I refused to get over you. Every choice I made was a reaction to my broken heart.” Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “I might be pathetic, and I might still be hurt about the past, but I swear I didn’t do this. I’m not going to let you define me for another decade. I’m done. No more. If you can’t believe me, then that’s on you.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said. “When Everett first came to me about his suspicions, I stood up for you. Now I see what a mistake that was.”

“Everett suspected me?” she asked. “For how long?”

“Long enough.”

“So, all those things you said about wanting to be with me....” She forced back a sob. “You had suspicions about me when you said all those things?”

“I did.”

“So...all those things you said about wanting a relationship were a lie,” she said. “You had sex with me even when you thought I was capable of doing something like this. You seduced me. Why? To get what you thought was the truth out of me?”

“I don’t know why.”

“You used me.” Raw pain gripped her heart. All those tender things he had said to her back in his apartment had been lies. None of it had been true. He had never really cared for her. Just like Gary had warned her.

She turned towards the door, ready to flee and never come back.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.

“I’m leaving,” she said. “Dover is no different from VLA. You chew employees up and spit them out. I’m not going to stand here and put up with these accusations. I’ve lied, but I’m not what you say I am. I thought you were different, Simon. I thought you cared about the people who work here. The truth is, all you see is your own ego. I used to think you didn’t have people in your life because you kept them at a distance. Now I see it’s because people keep their distance from you.”

Heather didn’t wait to hear what he said next. She opened the door, stepped out of her office, and rushed towards the elevator without a backward glance.