Chapter 35 : Between Two Fires

Chapter 35 : Between Two Fires

Cole leaned back in his chair, flipping the page of the report Emma had given him the next day. He tapped the paper once, then looked at her.

“Explain this again,” he said. Emma sat straighter. “The Cooper account has repeated charges that don’t match the invoices.

The numbers aren’t random, someone’s pulling information and probably feeding it somewhere else.”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. “Feeding it how?”

“By leaking details from inside. These transfers don’t make sense unless..”

“Unless what?” His voice cut across hers.

She swallowed. “Unless someone here is giving Chloe access.”

Cole stared at her for a long moment, then leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “That’s a serious claim.”

“I’m not claiming anything,” Emma said quickly. “I’m showing you the numbers. They don’t lie.”

He tilted his head. “What makes you sure someone didn't plant this to make it look that way?” Emma hesitated. “I don’t know, but I know what I saw.”

He didn’t look away. His gaze was sharp, unrelenting, like he was testing her.

“Convenient,” he said slowly. "What do you mean?” Emma asked, her voice tightening.

“That you happened to be the one to find it. That it landed on your desk. That you’re the one bringing it to me.”

Emma’s chest tightened. “Are you suggesting I had something to do with it?”

Cole didn’t answer right away. He just leaned back, watching her, the silence stretched too long.

The office door opened without warning.

“Cole!” Chloe’s voice rang out, bright and confident as she swept inside.

Emma jerked her head toward the door. Chloe stood there, perfect as always in a cream blazer and heels that clicked against the floor.

She didn’t even glance at Emma at first. Her eyes went straight to Cole. "You didn’t answer my text,” Chloe said, smiling like she belonged there.

Cole didn’t smile back. “I’m in the middle of something.” Chloe’s gaze flicked to Emma finally, cool and dismissive. “So I see.”

Emma pressed her hands against her knees under the desk. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to speak, but she could feel Chloe’s eyes on her like knives.

“I’ll come back,” Emma said quickly, pushing her chair back. “No,” Cole said sharply. “Stay.”

The word hit the room like a stone. Emma froze, halfway out of her chair, and Chloe’s smile faltered.

“Oh?” Chloe tilted her head. “Since when do assistants sit in on confidential meetings?”

“Since I say so,” Cole replied, his tone flat.

Chloe let out a small laugh, the kind meant to cover irritation. She stepped closer, her perfume trailing behind her.

“You’re tense, Cole. You need a break." Cole didn’t look away from her. “What do you want?”

Her eyes flicked to the papers on his desk. “Just a moment of your time, surely you can spare that.”

Emma’s stomach knotted. Chloe wasn’t even pretending to hide her interest in what was on the desk.

Cole noticed too. He put his hand on the papers and slid them into a drawer, shutting it with a quiet click.

His eyes stayed on Chloe. “I said, what do you want?”

Chloe’s smile wavered. “I wanted to see you, that’s all.”

“In the middle of the day? At the office?” Cole asked.

“Why not?” she shot back.

Emma kept her head down, wishing she could melt into the chair. The tension between them was sharp enough to cut.

“Maybe I should step out..” she started again.

“I said stay,” Cole repeated, his voice harder this time.

Chloe turned on her then, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you here, Emma?”

Emma swallowed. “I’m just doing my job.”

“Looks more like you’re playing detective.”

Emma’s hands curled tighter on her knees. “I was asked to go through the accounts. That’s what I did.”

Chloe’s lips curved, but there was no warmth in it. “And you just happened to dig up something useful, how convenient.”

Cole cut in, his voice low. “Chloe.”
“What?” she asked, feigning innocence. “I’m only saying what we’re all thinking.”

“No,” Cole said. “You’re saying what you’re thinking. Don’t put your words in my mouth.”

The room went dead quiet. Emma didn’t breathe. Chloe’s face shifted, still smiling, but her eyes burned.

“You’ve changed, Cole,” she said softly. “You never used to let anyone get between us.”

Emma’s pulse hammered. The words hung in the air, heavy and sharp.

Cole didn’t blink. “Get out.”

Chloe stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Cole said. “Get out. I’ll talk to you later.”

Her eyes darted back to Emma, full of venom. “This isn’t over,” she said, her voice low enough that only Emma might have caught it.

Then she straightened, turned on her heel, and walked out, her heels striking the floor with angry precision.

The door slammed behind her. The silence she left behind was thick and uncomfortable.

Emma stared at the desk, afraid to look up.

Cole leaned back in his chair, his face unreadable. He didn’t speak for a long time, and the only sound was the faint hum of the air conditioning.

Finally, he said, “Ignore her.”

Emma’s throat was tight. “That’s not exactly easy.”

“Do it anyway.” He said.

She nodded, not trusting herself to say more.

Cole tapped his fingers on the desk once, then said, “We’re not finished. Pick up where we left off.”

Emma blinked at him. After all that, he wanted to just, but go back to the numbers? She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her hands shook slightly as she pulled the papers closer again.

“Yes, Mr. Harrington,” she whispered.

Cole didn’t look away. He just watched her, silent, his expression as sharp as before.

Emma sat stiffly in her chair, staring at the papers on Cole’s desk though she wasn’t reading a single word.

Cole leaned back in his chair, arms folded, watching her. He hadn’t spoken since Chloe left, and the silence was unbearable.

Finally, Emma broke it. “She doesn’t like me.”

Cole didn’t blink. “That’s not your problem.”

“It feels like it is,” Emma muttered.

“It’s not,” he said flatly.

She glanced up at him. “You didn’t exactly defend me.”

“I told her to leave.”

Emma pressed her lips together. “That’s not the same thing.”

His gaze sharpened. “What did you want me to say?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that I’m not the one trying to sabotage your company?”

Cole didn’t answer right away. He tapped a pen against the desk, slow and deliberate. Then he said, “You’re very defensive.”

Her jaw tightened. “Because you keep looking at me like I’m guilty of something.”

“Am I wrong to?” His tone was calm, but his words cut.

Emma’s stomach sank. She forced herself to stay steady. “Yes. You are.”

Cole leaned forward slightly. “Then prove it.”

Her throat went dry. “Prove what?”

“That you’re not hiding something.”

Emma froze, the words sticking to her tongue. She wanted to say she wasn’t, but the truth was that there was a whole life she was hiding sat like a weight in her chest.

“I’ve done everything you asked,” she said instead. “Every late night, every file, every detail. I’ve done it all.”

Cole studied her, his face unreadable. “And yet Chloe walked in here, and I saw the way you froze.”

Emma blinked. “What?”

“You went pale,” he said. “Like she had something on you.”

Emma shook her head quickly. “No. That’s not..”

“Emma.” His voice was sharp.

She snapped her mouth shut.

Cole leaned back again, his eyes narrowing. “You need to understand something. In this office, I don’t have time for lies. If you’re right provide the evidence. If not..”

Emma’s chest felt tight. “You don't believe me?”