Chapter 42

Nathan's fury propelled him out of his seat, his footsteps echoing through the restaurant as he pursued the departing couple.

Gregory matched his pace. "See? I told you! No man takes a woman to a place this expensive without booking a hotel suite afterward."

He clapped Nathan on the back. "Let it go, man. You already know what kind of woman she is."

Nathan shoved Gregory's hand away, his jaw clenched as he stormed toward the hotel entrance. The divorce papers were barely dry, and already Evelyn was entangled with Dominic Kingsley from Kingsley Industries while cozying up to her coworker.

Had she always been this way, or had the divorce unleashed something in her?

The elevator doors slid open. Trevor stepped inside first. Just as Evelyn moved to follow, an iron grip closed around her wrist.

"We need to talk." The voice was dangerously low.

Evelyn's scoff was ice-cold when she recognized Nathan. "Don't you have companies to run, Mr. Sterling? Some of us have actual work to do."

Nathan had appeared at the worst possible moment—just as she was about to enter a hotel suite with Trevor. For half a heartbeat, she wondered if it was intentional.

No. That was ridiculous.

"You two chat." Trevor's smirk was infuriating as he pressed the elevator button. "I'll be waiting upstairs, Ms. Carter."

Evelyn's glare could have melted steel as the doors closed. If that bastard thought he could manipulate her, he had another thing coming.

Nathan's grip tightened until her bones protested. She wrenched free. "Spit it out or leave."

"What could you possibly want from scum like him?" Nathan's eyes were thunderclouds.

Trevor's reputation in Pamore was legendary—and not in a good way.

Evelyn arched a brow. "Since when do you care?" Her mocking smile hit its mark. "The divorce was finalized months ago. I'll sleep with whoever I please."

Something flickered in Nathan's expression—regret? Anger? It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"You think becoming Dominic Kingsley's lover bought you that promotion?" Nathan's laugh was bitter. "But Trevor? What's your angle there? I could give you ten times whatever he's offering—"

The slap echoed through the lobby. Evelyn's palm stung, but the pain in her chest was worse. Three years of pouring her soul into Sterling Enterprises, and this was how he saw her?

Nathan touched his split lip, tasting copper. He didn't retaliate.

Evelyn squared her shoulders, the mask of indifference sliding back into place. "My reasons are none of your concern." She stepped into the elevator, jabbing the close-door button.

As the elevator ascended, she imagined grinding Nathan's pride beneath her heels.

Trevor's door swung open before she finished knocking. "Took you long enough," he purred, eyes roaming her body.