"Viola's got the wrong idea. Clear it up for her. Right now, to her face."
Adela was quick. She clapped her hands together and let out a dramatic groan. "Oh my God, that was me! I'm so sorry!"
"I was even joking with Mr. Shaw about it in the car—I said the wrapper looked like a condom packet. I just tossed it aside and totally forgot to throw it away!"
"Viola, come on. You trained me yourself. How could I possibly go after your husband?"
She sidled up to me with a sheepish grin and took my hand. "Viola, I'm your eyes and ears at the company. Your most loyal person."
I looked at her. Held her gaze. Said nothing for a long time.
Maybe once, that had been true. But now I knew with absolute certainty that it wasn't.
Adela had joined our company straight out of college, back when Panorama was still in its infancy. I'd taken her under my wing personally—taught her everything I knew. Finance. Management. HR. Sales. If I had the skill, I passed it on.
Because I saw myself in her. A girl from a rural town, no parents to speak of, who'd clawed her way forward on sheer will alone.
So I invested more in her than I had in anyone.
And to her credit, she was smart. She knew how to show gratitude.
Earlier this year, after I'd gotten pregnant, I suffered a hemorrhage from a low-lying placenta. Derek happened to be away on a business trip.
Adela was the one who saved me.
"I'll remember what you've done for me for the rest of my life."
I truly treated her like a little sister. Every few days, I'd buy her gifts, clothes, send her cash. The apartment she lived in was mine.
Later, when I was put on bed rest to protect the pregnancy, I gave her my position as the CEO's executive assistant and granted her enormous authority. Men change when they get money—that was her reasoning when she offered to keep an eye on Derek for me.
What I never expected was that her "keeping an eye on him" would land her in his bed.
I looked at the two people standing before me—two people I had once trusted completely—and felt my heart being scorched in hot oil.
Adela smiled and handed me the flowers, then pulled two small gold bracelets from her bag. "These are gifts for the baby. Just a little something—I hope you don't mind."
When she saw I was still in low spirits, she added another line.