Page 85 of Ice To Meet You

He shook his head, like I’d completely lost the plot. “And you think I’d choosethisas the way to do it? To humiliate you?”

I ran my eyes over his face. He blinked, his long lashes forming a curtain around his eyes. My shoulders loosened. “No. You wouldn’t do that to me.”

He sent me a half-smile, his eyes filling with warmth. “Exactly. I’d never purposely hurt you.”

The tiniest glow filled my chest. “Then who?”

I looked at the few people left in the gallery. I hadn’t even heard most of them leave. Lola and Bruno stood in the beam of an exhibition spotlight, looking decidedly sheepish under the glare of a furious looking Maurice.

“Lola,” I whispered.

I counted to three before I headed towards them.

Her eyes widened as I approached. “What the hell have you done?” I asked, my voice sounding oddly foreign. Like it didn’t belong to me.

Lola grimaced. “It was an accident, I promise.”

I pointed to the wall. “How wasthatan accident? Do you have any idea how many careers—how many lives—you may have ruined? Where did you even get the video?”

She pouted and folded her arms. “It came up on Bruno’s FYP.”

I sucked in a breath. “My bottom came up on his FYP?”

He avoided looking at me, staring at the floor.

“Well, he didn’t know it was you … at first.”

I tightened my eyes. “So, once he realised that fact, he showed you? And then you chose to share it with my clients? My friends and potential investors?”

She shook her head, her face paling. “No. I don’t know how it got onto the screen. I promise.”

Bruno shifted on his feet and Maurice stepped forward. “I think that’s a lie, don’t you, Lola? I just checked, and somebody had added that footage to the original montage.” He turned to me. “I should’ve made sure nobody else touched the video. I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. “But why would you expect any of this to happen?”

He shot me a pained look, and my heart went out to him. He adored Lola—had for years. The thought that she could be capable of such a nasty move must have cut deep.

I turned to face her, lead in my chest. She’d been my first employee, but there was no justification for what she’d done. “Leave,” I said. “And please, never come back. You don’t work for me anymore.”

Her eyes grew, but Maurice took her arm, leading her and Bruno away.

Matteo ran his fingers down the back of my shoulder, reminding me of his presence. At his soft touch, my heart thudded, and blood sang in my ears.

“Did you know about the video?” I asked.

Matteo looked at his feet before returning his eyes to mine. “I knew I’d been tagged in something yesterday, but we were so busy, I hadn’t watched it.”

I pulled in a breath, my head swimming. “You were tagged in the video?”

He winced. “Si,many times.”

I processed the information. “And you didn’t think to check what it was?”

He shook his head, as if I was crazy. “I get tagged in videos every day. I’ve been so busy here; I didn’t take the time to watch it. I’m sorry.”

I took a shaky breath. He’d been so wrapped up in what I’d asked him to do—all the little tasks—all the times we’d snuck away and shared private moments. I couldn’t blame him.

I briefly closed my eyes before finding his face again. “I understand that you didn’t watch it, but how many peoplehave?”

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