“What? Not public enough for you?”
“Is there a problem?” someone asked, and Heather turned to see Colin Whitman, one of the firm’s founding partners, watching from the hall.
“No problem, sir,” Noah said, pale blue eyes radiating fury. “Just a slight misunderstanding.”
“Perhaps you could take that misunderstanding into your office,” Colin Whitman said pointedly.
“Not necessary, sir. Miss Hamilton was just leaving.”
“Miss Hamilton isn’t going anywhere,” Heather said.
“This is where I work,” Noah reminded her, his voice flat, like the dull side of a knife. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“I’membarrassingyou?”
“Should I call security?” the receptionist asked.
“That won’t be necessary,” Noah said.
“By all means, call security,” Heather instructed, spinning around. The waiting area was filling up with people, eager to see what the commotion was all about. “You want to know what’s going on here?” Heather asked them. “Don’t be shy. Come on in. I’ll tell you what’s happening. You should know about the kind of man you have working here.”
“Heather, for God’s sake—”
“He’s a lying scumbag. That’s what he is. I mean, you probably shouldn’t be too surprised. You’re lawyers, so you’re pretty much all a bunch of lying scumbags, but Noah’s special. He cheated on his live-in girlfriend with her cousin.” She heard a gasp. “And how do I know that, you may ask? Because that would be me! I’m the cousin! Oh, hello, Bryce,” she said, waving toward Bryce Palmer, whom she recognized from their recent dinner. “How are Brianne and the kids?”
Bryce Palmer looked toward his shoes and said nothing.
“Well, be sure to say hello,” Heather said, spinning back toward the others. “Anyway, it was my father’s eightieth birthday party on the weekend and my cousin, the one he cheated on, was at the party, and it seems that she and Noah reconnected in a rather big way.”
“Heather—”
“But you don’t have to take my word for it,” Heather continued over Noah’s objections. “Check out YouTube. The truth is there for all to see.” She shook her head. “Isn’t it awful? You can’t do anything nowadays without someone recording it. There’s just no such thing as privacy anymore. You’d think a cheating scumbag would know that.”
The elevator door opened and a security guard appeared, his hand hovering over the gun in his holster, his eyes casting about nervously.
“Oh, hi, there. Just finishing up. I’ll be right with you,” Heather told the guard. “The reason I’m so upset is that Noah, my boyfriend and your esteemed colleague, told me that my cousin was the one who came on to him. But the video clearly shows that wasn’t the case. And since allmycolleagues have been laughing behindmyback, I thought it only fair to return the favor. So, there you have it. The whole truth and nothing but.” She smiled, walking toward the security guard and putting her arm through his, relishing the stunned looks on everyone’s faces. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”