Chapter 3

The villa was actually in my name. Had Eugene really just handed it over to her?

I couldn’t sit on it any longer, so I found a moment to call Eugene.

He picked up almost right away. “Hey, honey. Miss me already?”

“Yeah. I started interning at the company, but I haven’t told anyone who I am.”

Eugene sounded surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve arranged a position that suited you better.”

“Is there anything you want to tell me?” I asked.

He never mentioned Tessa. Instead, he gave me his usual update on work, told me how the deal was going, and even sent me his flight details.

But almost right after that, Tessa got a call too. One look at the panic on her face told me all I needed to know. So there really was something going on.

*

Soon enough, the weekend arrived.

I followed Tessa into the villa. She moved around like she knew the place by heart, which meant she had definitely been here more than once.

The staff had even prepared dinner for her ahead of time.

Holding a glass of wine, she looked at me smugly. “Anna, bet you’ve never been somewhere this fancy before.”

I let out a cold laugh. “You’re right. I hardly ever come here.

“Oh? Is Mr. Gibson really that stingy with you? Can't even spare a decent bottle of wine?”

I glanced at the wine cabinet. We were drinking the cheapest bottle in the whole collection.

Tessa bristled. “What are you talking about? Of course he’s not stingy with me. You, go get the second bottle from the left.”

One of the coworkers immediately jumped to do her bidding, grabbed the bottle, and opened it.

“See this? It’s a Romanée-Conti Grand Cru. Consider this your lucky day. Most people never get the chance to taste something like this.”

“Seriously. We’d never get to drink wine this expensive under normal circumstances.”

“Mr. Gibson really does spoil Tessa. I bet he bought this whole place just for her.”

I held my wineglass and looked around, hoping to spot something I could use as evidence.

Before I could, someone shoved me from behind. My hand slipped, and red wine splashed across the painting on the wall.

They all rushed over at once.

“Anna! Are you so excited your hands are shaking?”

“That painting has to be worth a fortune. Good thing it’s covered, or you could never afford to pay for it.”

I was beyond annoyed. “Then why don’t we pull the cover off and take a look?”

It was actually an oil portrait of me. I hadn’t been happy with how it turned out, so I had it covered and planned to have it redone later.

I reached up to pull the cloth down, but Tessa grabbed my hand. “What do you think you’re doing? Did I say you could touch it? My darling said it’s a portrait of his grandmother. No one’s allowed to touch it.”

Eugene really could lie with a straight face.

Just then, Dot, the little dog I kept there, came running out.

The second she saw Tessa grabbing my hand, she started barking at her like crazy.

Tessa jumped back in panic. “Where did this nasty little dog come from? Get it away from me!”

“Who are you calling nasty?”

The louder she screamed, the harder Dot barked.

Then one of the coworkers muttered, “Tessa, if it’s just some stray, beat it to death.”