LATE THAT NIGHT, Natalie opened her condo door in her bathrobe and was shocked when she found Alex on the other side. He looked awful and reeked of alcohol. He waved at her, swaying slightly, and gave her a lopsided grin.
She took his arm, helping him inside. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Not enough.” He fell onto the couch. His head rolled and rested against the back. “You look good, Natalie.”
She stood in front of him and crossed her arms. “Thank you,” she said dryly. “Is everything all right?”
He laughed. “You tell me.”
She sighed. Whatever had prompted him to get wasted like this, there was obviously no point in talking right now. “I think you should sleep it off. Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He gave her an exaggerated frown. “I don’t feel too sleepy.”
“You can go to sleep, or I’ll call you a cab. I don’t approve of drunkenness.”
“Oh, I forgot. The Rodales would never get drunk, huh?”
An internal alarm went off. Had he found out that Charlie was his half-brother? Or was it something else?
“Cat got your tongue?” A nasty little smile twisted his lips. “Got anything to tell me?”
She fidgeted under his gaze. Finally, she blurted out, “I’m not pregnant.”
It took a while to penetrate. “Well! That certainly is a relief. Nothing to bind us now.”
She blinked furiously as tears suddenly stung her eyes. He couldn’t possibly mean what she thought he did.
He shrugged and muttered, “Probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”
Her insides grew cold. “Why are you doing this, Alex?”
“Don’t you know?”
“I don’t like playing games.”
“Games?” He rose, his eyes growing alert and sharp. He reached out, framed her face roughly with his big, warm hands. “I hate you so much it hurts,” he said between clenched teeth.
Natalie couldn’t breathe. It was as if she’d suddenly been transported into a nightmare.
“What did Emily promise you? Is Charlie going to marry you for betraying me? Gonna get yourself a big piece of that Rodale pie?”
How did he know Emily and Charlie had asked her to help them?
“How much are they paying you to sell
me out?”
“What?”
“Don’t pretend. You’re the one who’s been spying for them all along. You gave them the bid figures.”
“No!” She couldn’t believe this. “Is that what this is all about? Of all the stupid things to—”
“Don’t lie to me!” He pushed her away from him, making her stumble. “The NSA bid file you worked on wasn’t even real! We know the bid Rodale submitted. It was just enough to beat the numbers you gave them.”
Suddenly, it was freezing in her condo, and Natalie hugged herself. Alex thought she’d betrayed him. She remembered Ethan giving her the manila folder right after Alex had gone to Hong Kong, how he’d insisted that she work on it alone. Humiliation suffocated her as she recalled how she’d given herself to Alex so wantonly. “You faithless bastard! You were planning this even before we slept together!”
“I’m the faithless one? You’re a good actress, and a hell of a lay, but don’t think that’s enough to fool me.”