Page 50 of Executive Privilege

"The leak came from inside Hartwell. Their own employee sold strategy documents to competitors to pay off gambling debts. I sent Nicholas all the evidence this morning."

Frankie is quiet for a moment. "And he hasn't called you?"

"Nope."

"Sadie, what the hell happened between you two?"

I consider how to answer that. How do you explain that you fell in love with someone so damaged by past betrayal that he'd rather destroy his present than risk being hurt again?

"He's not ready for what I was offering," I say finally.

"And what were you offering?"

"Everything."

After we hang up, I sit in my apartment staring at my phone and waiting for some sign that solving Nicholas's crisis has changed anything between us. That proving my innocence has made him realize how badly he misjudged me. That saving his client relationship has shown him I'm not the enemy.

At 5 PM, my phone finally buzzes with a text from Nicholas: "Thank you for the Hartwell analysis. Very thorough."

That's it. "Very thorough." Like I'm a contractor who delivered a satisfactory report, not someone who spent twelve hours saving his business after he accused me of sabotage.

I type and delete a dozen responses before settling on: "You're welcome."

He doesn't reply.

At 6 PM, I get a call from Diego.

"Sadie, I'm worried about Nicholas. He came by the studio again today, looked like he'd been hit by a truck."

"I tried, Diego, I really did. He's not speaking to me."

Diego is quiet for a long moment. "That man is an idiot."

After Diego hangs up, I pour myself a large glass of wine and sit on my couch trying to figure out what happens next. I proved my innocence, saved Nicholas's client relationship, and demonstrated exactly the kind of loyalty and competence he claims to value.

His response was a two-sentence text message.

My phone buzzes with another call. Emma.

"Please tell me you have good news," she says.

"I solved Nicholas's business crisis and proved I had nothing to do with industrial espionage."

"That's great! So he apologized and realized he was being an idiot?"

"He sent me a text saying 'thank you for the thorough analysis.'"

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Emma is quiet for a long moment. "Sadie, I think it's time to consider the possibility that Nicholas Blackwood is never going to be emotionally available. I'm sorry I pushed you into thinking it might be possible."

"I'm going to accept that some people are too broken to be fixed by love alone. And I'm going to stop trying to save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

"Does that mean you're done fighting for him?"

I think about Nicholas sitting in his office, staring at evidence that I'm exactly who I claimed to be—someone who cares enough about his success to spend my personal time solving his professional crisis. I think about him choosing to respond with polite distance instead of acknowledgment or apology.