Page 56 of Executive Privilege

Nicholas runs his hands through his hair, and I can see him fighting some internal battle. "What did say to you?"

"That you used her for professional gain and then destroyed her reputation when she called you on it. That you pursue women for business advantage and discard them when they're no longer useful."

"And you believe that's what I'm doing to you?"

Nicholas stares at me for a long moment, something raw and desperate in his expression. Then he reaches into his desk drawer and pulls out a thick file folder.

"This is everything about Victoria Sterling," he says, setting the folder on his desk. "Security reports, client interaction logs, communications records. Everything that proves she used our relationship to steal proprietary information and sell it to competitors."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because I want you to understand what really happened. Not her version, not my defensive reactions, but the documented truth."

I open the folder and start reading. What I find is a comprehensive record of Victoria's activities during her relationship with Nicholas—accessing files she shouldn't have had, meeting with competitors during times when she claimed to be working late, communications that clearly show her passing Event Horizons' strategies to rival agencies.

"She was stealing from you," I say, looking up at him.

"From the beginning. The relationship, the intimacy, all of it was designed to gain access to confidential information."

"And when you found out?"

"I confronted her. She denied everything, said I was paranoid and emotionally damaged. Then she tried to turn it around—accused me of using her for professional gain, said I was a manipulative sociopath who couldn't maintain real relationships."

"So you had her investigated."

"I had the security breach investigated. Victoria's involvement became clear during the process."

I continue reading, and the evidence is overwhelming. Victoria Sterling systematically stole information from Event Horizons over six months. The financial damage was significant enough to nearly destroy the company.

"Nicholas," I say quietly, "why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because talking about Victoria means talking about the fact that I was completely fooled by someone I thought I loved. It means admitting that my judgment about people is so fundamentally flawed that I can't trust my own instincts."

"So instead of risking that vulnerability, you assume everyone who gets close to you is planning to betray you."

"Yes."

The simple admission is heartbreaking. "Even me."

"Especially you."

"Why especially me?"

Nicholas looks at me with an expression that's completely unguarded for the first time since I've known him. "Because you matter more than she ever did. Because what I feel for you ismore real than anything I felt for Victoria. Because losing you would destroy me in a way that losing her never could."

The confession hangs between us, raw and honest and terrifying in its completeness.

"So you'd rather push me away than risk finding out whether I'm genuine."

"I'd rather protect both of us from the inevitable disappointment."

"What if it's not inevitable? What if some people are actually capable of loyalty and love and all the things you've convinced yourself don't exist?"

"What if they're not?"

"Then you'll be exactly where you are now—alone and safe and convinced that isolation is better than vulnerability. But at least you'll know you tried."

Nicholas stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the war playing out in his expression. Fear versus hope. Self-protection versus the possibility of genuine connection.