A Vengeful Affair Read Online Free PDF Page A

washed from his face, and a hint of sour smile touched his lips. “Is that why you were in my office? If I had killed her, did you think you’d find evidence there?”
    “One never knows. People slip up sometimes.”
    She was counting on Javier to slip. It was a long shot, but one worth taking. After all, the whole evening had escaped her control. Her desire to bring him down was the last secret she could keep.
    He narrowed his eyes. “Who did you call?”
    “Someone who knows where I am in case something happens to me.”
    “What is your connection to Molly?” He leaned over the table, his body betraying his interest in her reply.
    “We were best friends,” she said with pride. “She was like a sister to me.”
    He nodded. “My condolences. But I didn’t have anything to do with it.” He straightened his shoulders, and the look on his face told her the subject was closed.
    Vivian forced laughter. “You didn’t? You slept with her.”
    He shrugged. “That’s hardly a crime.”
    “No. I suppose sleeping with you was just a bad judgment call on her part.” Vivian cleared her throat. “What about having her watched and followed?”
    “I paid a private investigator to find out who she was selling information to,” he said coolly. “In case you don’t know, your beloved friend was involved in industrial espionage. She tried to steal insider information and was probably planning to sell it to the highest bidder.”
    Investigated. Stalked. Threatened. It’s just a matter of semantics for him, isn’t it? A man like Javier Rivera doesn’t simply confess to a crime.
    “Is that why you hired those two men to follow her everywhere? Is that why one of them physically threatened her?”
    “What men? I didn’t hire anyone to scare her,” he said firmly.
    “Are you telling me your private investigator acted on his own without your knowledge because you didn’t care to know the details?”
    His eyes were hard now, flashing with annoyance. Perhaps he’d started to realize that backing down wasn’t an option for her. She didn’t know if that was good or bad, safe or dangerous.
    Their orders arrived—lobster in the shell with avocado sauce for her and a tender fillet braised in red sauce for him. She couldn’t eat with the tight knot forming in her stomach. She had to keep going.
    The waiter left, and Vivian pressed Javier. “The day she died, she called me. We were supposed to meet the next day. You said on your voice mail that she would pay.”
    He let out a long, deep sigh. His eyes left hers for a moment as he thought about his answer. Or plotted a way to change her mind. “I meant professionally. She was done working for me or any other reputable company if I had any say in it. And I had every right to be mad at her.”
    Vivian shook her head, unsatisfied with his answer. “I’m determined, Mr. Rivera. You won’t get rid of me easily.”
    “I don’t want to.” Javier traced long fingers on the rim of the wineglass. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, isn’t that how it goes?” His voice had turned husky, his eyes sweeping over her face.
    “What do you mean?”
    He cut into the meat. “After what you just told me, I won’t let you go around telling these lies about me. I could sue you for defamation, but I’d rather keep you close until I can convince you that you’re wrong about me.”
    “An enticing prospect, but I can’t give you my entire life.”
    “The weekend. If you aren’t convinced I didn’t kill Molly by Monday, I will let you go.”
    No doubt Monday was the day he would sign his merger deal. It made sense. They were in Paris. He wanted to avoid any scandal until his merger went through.
    She’d considered making a scandal of her own, once. But after much consideration, Vivian had changed her mind. Going to the media against a big shot like Javier wouldn’t do her any good. She had tried the police, but they couldn’t help her because Javier had an alibi