“Yeah, well why don’t you plan your threesome later and focus.” Her laughter dies when she realizes I’m serious. “I’m done.”

Pilar gives me a blank look. “Done with what?”

“I’m done playing this game with you. We’ve done what each of us said we would do. There’s no need to take it any further.” I can’t keep up this pretense any longer. I don’t want to. It’s painful, spending time with Pilar. I can hardly stand her. Plus, I’m trying my best to protect Violet.

She’s becoming my weakness, as much as I don’t want to admit it. If Pilar knew this, she’d know just how to get to me.

By hurting Violet.

“So you just want it to … end.” Pilar sounds surprised, which she probably is.

“It’s time to sever our ties, don’t you think?” I scrub a hand along my jaw, frustration making it tight. This is harder than I thought, ending everything with Pilar. I need to do what’s right. And what’s right is for me to stand by Violet. Without Pilar knowing, of course.

She laughs and shakes her head. “You’re so funny, darling. Like I’d cut you loose. You can’t get away from me that fast.”

“Yeah, I think I can.”

“No. I think you can’t.” The thin smile on her face tells me I’ve irritated her. She won’t let me dismiss her. I don’t understand why. “You really believe I’ll let you cut and run? You could use this against me somehow.”

“What? And throw myself under the bus, too? I’m not that stupid.” I’m almost insulted that she’d think so.

“Men do strange things when under Violet Fowler’s spell.” She arches one perfectly sculpted brow. “I wouldn’t expect you to be any different.”

“I dumped her. Or did you forget?” My voice is tight. My blood is boiling. I’m tempted to walk out before I say something stupid and ruin everything.

“I haven’t forgotten. And I thank you for it. Truly I do.” The serene expression on her face is a total ruse. “I need you to do more.”

Unease causes my stomach to pitch. “There’s nothing more I can do.” The possibilities don’t settle right. I don’t know what she wants, but I know it can’t be good.

“Liar. You could do plenty more. Didn’t you take any dirty pictures of her naked? We could make it look like Zachary took them and send them out via the company email. Something that scandalous could make Violet leave Fleur for good and never, ever come back,” Pilar murmurs, her eyes flashing with pure hatred.

“What the hell did she ever do to you?” I ask incredulously. Her unwarranted anger takes me aback. I don’t get it.

“She was born with the last name Fowler.” She tilts her head, a smug look on her face. “Isn’t that enough?”

“She can’t help who her family is. And why do you think getting rid of her will help you get ahead here? There’s still Rose to contend with. And you never know, Lily could straighten up and come work here someday,” I point out. Pilar is downright vicious when it comes to Violet and I don’t get why.

“Violet is her daddy’s favorite,” she practically spits out, the disgust written all over her pretty face, making her look rather … ugly. “He never stops praising her. She can do no wrong in his eyes. With her out of the way, he’ll need to focus on someone else. Rose doesn’t have the chops. Lily is a fucking mess who will never work a day in her life. Violet’s the only one with true focus. The one the fucking grandma believes in.”

“The fucking grandma? You mean the woman who founded this company?” That she speaks of Dahlia Fowler with such disrespect when she’s revered by everyone at Fleur surprises me.

And that she speaks of having conversations about Violet with Forrest Fowler so casually surprises me as well.

“Whatever. I’m sick of all the nepotism that goes on around here. I deserve a fair shake.” She slams her fist on her desk. “I’m damn good at what I do and it’s about time someone recognized it.”

“Christ, Pilar.” I say her name softly, startling her. She’s ruthless. One has to be to get as far as she has in this business. She’s determined and a hard worker and she’s never backed down from a challenge. Hell, I think she relishes them.

She’s also a troublemaker and she’d fully admit that. She has no problem having a tantrum, either, kicking and screaming and making unreasonable demands until she gets what she wants.

I wonder if that’s worked for her on someone else lately. Like Zachary. Or …

Forrest Fowler.

“What? You act like this is a big surprise. You know I should run Fleur someday, and the only way it won’t happen is if Forrest hands over the reins to Violet. So I’ll get rid of her and the obstacle is out of my way. It’ll be easy, especially with your help. When she realizes that we’ve been working together against her all along …”

Fear races through me. I’m trying to trick a tricky bitch. Everything is riding on how I handle it.

And how Violet handles it, too.

Chapter Twenty-five

Violet

“You don’t know how happy you’ve made me.”

I offer Zachary a tight smile but say nothing. I’m afraid if I talk too much I’ll blow my cover. Or worse, accuse him of being an asshole cheater, then run out of the restaurant.