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Desire and hatred warred within me, and it took sheer self-control to keep my expression in check and focus on the senior managers and investors around me.
Corey almost broke me when he came forward.
I didn’t know how to react to the emotions welling up in his green eyes. There was no hatred or rage in his expression, just a forlorn sadness.
I was glad to have Tom and Greg with me into the boardroom. They stood solidly between me and Corey, helping me hide behind them until I could compose myself again.
“We’ll start with showing you the workspace for our staff,” said Mr. Keating, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I gave a nod. “Sure.”
“Why don’t you start by showing her the office complex for the senior management?” a familiar voice spoke from behind us.
Turning around, I came face-to-face with Corey and Caleb. They wore identical grins, sending my stupid heart into a flutter. Five years passed since I last saw them but my body reacted to them as if no time went by.
“Your father planned the tour,” said Mr. Keating. “I’m simply following his directions.”
“No wonder it sounds boring,” said Corey. “Come on, Mr. Keating. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than walking around this place. How about we show Miss...Mi—Azalea around?”
“I’m fine with him,” I forced myself to say. “Besides, we need to go over some business plans for another meeting.”
“Come on, Milla,” said Caleb, looking at me with a serious expression. “Don’t treat us like strangers.”
I swallowed a choke.
His words reminded me of the time they saved me from a group of hockey jocks that attacked me outside the library. They’d both taken care of me that night and made sure I was okay.
Why am I thinking about that now?I questioned my stupid brain.
Mr. Keating looked between us. “Do you know each other?” he asked. “I did hear Brian mention you all attended Silverlake University.”
“It was a long time ago,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound strained.
“We were friends, Milla,” said Corey. “Don’t punish us for what Noah did.”
Mr. Keating was listening in closely now.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said in the coldest tone I could muster and turned away. “Mr. Keating, we’re wasting precious time. There’s still a lot of meetings I need to attend after the tour.”
“Ah, yes, of course,” the elderly man bleated.
I didn’t wait for him to catch up and started walking down the corridor.
Emotions swirled inside me, threatening to rip me apart.
I wanted to hate Corey and Caleb as much as Noah.
They hurt me as much as him. Maybe they didn’t take it as far as Noah, but they were still his brothers.
Don’t trust them, my mind warned.
Maybe their friendly stance was just a ruse.
Noah probably put them up to it long before knowing I was Azalea Amhurst.Be friends with her and find out all her secrets, I could almost hear Noah instructing them in my head.
With our history, Caleb and Corey probably thought I’d be an easier target than a stranger.
I let out a long breath, realizing how close I came to let them get to me. How could I be so stupid and silly? Hadn’t I suffered enough at the hands of the Amhurst brothers to know better?
