Page 154 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
“Iris…” Her gaze drops to my empty left hand, and she presses her lips together. “I’m so sorry.”
The sympathy is becoming exhausting —from Tony, Yuna, now Elizabeth. It would’ve been easier if they hadn’t done anything to be sorry about in the first place. “You know Iris isn’t my name,” I say, taking a seat opposite her.
“Yes.” She exhales softly. “The background check we ran on you revealed Iris Smith from Almond Valley died nine years ago with her parents in a car wreck.”
So that part about Iris Smith is real. It’s just that I’m not her. Wonder why Sam bothered to give me her persona when it’s obvious my background isn’t like hers at all. My car wreck killed the girl, not me or my parents. Is it because our names are so similar?
“Why didn’t you say something?” I ask. “Wouldn’t that have been enough to fire me?” I can’t think of a single organization where it would be okay for an employee to give wrong information—intentionally or otherwise—about who she is. And that’s especially true of a place that handles the kind of money the foundation does.
“Immediately afterward, Sam pushed you into the pool, and it sort of slipped my mind.”
“You mean Anthony asked you to lie.”
“It was my choice.”
She could’ve thrown him under the bus, but is taking the blame in the situation. I can respect that. But I would’ve respected her a lot more if she’d been honest with me from the beginning, regardless of what Anthony wanted.
Elizabeth hesitates for a moment. “Is there a name you want me to use instead of Iris?”
Finally we’re getting to that, weeks too late. “Ivy. Ivy Smith is my real name.”
“I see. I’ll do that.”
“Thank you,” I say hollowly.
“Are you going to quit?”
If she’d asked me last week, I would’ve been horrified. But now I only feel a mild numbness. “Do you want me to?”
“No!” She sounds stunned. “You know I care about you and value your contribution.”
She does…just not enough to be honest. It’s so hard to take people seriously when they lie but at the same time claim to care about me. “Then I won’t, but only because I believe in what the foundation is doing. But if there’s a better opportunity, I’ll be leaving.”
“That’s fair. Thank you, Ivy.” She looks at me almost mournfully.
I’m not sure if she’s thanking me for the warning or for staying. Regardless, nothing changes. I return to my desk and throw myself into work, because that’s all I have left.
