How dare that woman hurl such a charge out there like this? What proof had she apart from hearsay from assistants long departed from the company? Anyone could put a name on a list.

But why would they? a little voice nagged at the back of her head. What benefit was it to them to do so? The list had never been made public. If it was part of some spiteful vendetta, the allegations would be all over the media. But no—this list had been tucked in the back of some handbook, passed from assistant to assistant to keep them safe.

Elena’s stomach lurched again. It couldn’t be true. She refused to believe it.

But if it was false, why would Madeleine tell her such a lie?

Her PA’s accusation wrenched the rug out from under her. Had it been anyone else, she’d have known immediately their aim had been to hurt; that all this was about an ulterior motive. But Madeleine didn’t seem to want to hurt her. She didn’t have any motive. Indeed, Madeleine didn’t seem to want to hurt anyone. She didn’t have a malicious bone in her body. Elena frowned. This…cruelty was out of character for her former assistant.

But wasn’t it true that everyone had a vicious streak when pushed? A darkness, when one was attacked, that led one to do and say things designed to injure. Everyone. Even an eternally smiling young woman who once presented her with exotic gifts while stuttering out speeches about how Elena was her inspiration.

She glared at the streets of Surry Hills and wondered at the strange disquiet she felt. That Madeleine had been the one to betray her with these allegations had caught her completely off guard. And that was what hurt most of all.

CHAPTER 16

Sweet Amour

Birds had the perfect life, Maddie mused, sitting on a park bench around the corner from her work (ex work). Pigeons swooped and strutted about, mooching for food. Humans complicated everything that should be simple. Like Maddie. She hadn’t even managed just going into work, working, and going home. No, she had to get herself entangled in a silly bet that had gone thermonuclear.

She’d been sitting here for an hour, waiting for the sick dread to leave. Having Elena’s rage directed at her for the first time was like being gouged and clawed. Her look of hurt and disbelief, though, was far worse.

Felicity’s defeated expression, after she admitted selling her soul for her career, was burnt into Maddie’s psyche, too. The woman wasn’t entirely wrong, either. Maddie had no job, limited savings, and given she now lived alone, she could barely afford rent. Morals wouldn’t keep her warm and fed.

Her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

“Madeleine?”

Maddie’s heart stuttered at the familiar pronunciation, then sank at the less familiar voice.

“Natalii?”

“Oui. Good. I need you. Vite!”

“What? How did you get my number?”

“Your Simon gave it to me. We are the Facebook friends.”

“You’ve got a nerve.” Maddie peered at a few kids playing on a slide on the other side of the park. “Your stupid stunt really pissed off my boss.”

“Well, I have it worse than you! My Adèle, she saw the pictures on the internet. I am now fini!”

Maddie groaned. “So we’re both fini.”

“No, no, I do not accept this. You will come to my hotel now. I have the Skype; you will explain to Adèle that it was all just in fun. She knows I am crazy when I drink. Tell her it was our silly way to make your lady jealous.”

“Why would Adèle believe me?”

“Ah chérie, if you could see the way your face alights when you describe your Elena! Adèle will see this too. I know it!”

Maddie snorted. “Well, there will be a lot less glowing now. Elena fired me an hour ago.”

There was a startled intake of breath. “Non!”

“Oh oui. She shredded me, then tossed me out. So, yeah. I doubt Adèle will see much more than my anger.”

“Was it because of the kiss? Oh Madeleine, I am sorry.” At least she sounded genuinely remorseful.

Maddie sighed. “No. Okay, it’s not like I’m doing anything productive here. I’ll come and try.”

“Merci, merci, merci!”

“Don’t thank me yet. My bad mood is hard to hide.”

“Madeleine, I will not forget this. So—I will see you soon?”

“Yeah, sure.”

* * *

Adèle turned out to be a rather severe-looking punk rocker, with electric-blue streaks in her black hair and cheekbones so fine they could cut glass. She was striking and cool rather than beautiful, but Maddie could see why Natalii was so taken with her. Right now, though, she was glaring through Natalii’s video link with blazing eyes.

“So you bring the pute to mock me?”

Maddie wasn’t sure exactly what a pute was, but given it was said in the same biting tone as Véronique’s “gutter wench” the previous night, she could guess.

“Ma chérie, non.” Natalii uttered a string of pleading French. After a few minutes, she turned to Maddie and gestured to the webcam, an expectant look on her face.

“Uh hi,” Maddie said to the stony face watching from Paris.

“So,” Adèle said in heavily accented English, “my Natalii claims all this was for fun. For small revenge to make your boss crazy by putting her assistant into the gossip papers. Because your boss sent so many of the flowers to Véronique.”

“Revenge?” Maddie shot a look at Natalii, who looked shamefaced and guilty. “You… All this was revenge?”

“Just a little.” Natalii did not meet her eye. “It was too tempting not to. But it was not the only reason—”

“And she claims she was drunk,” Adèle continued, “and that you were innocent as a kitten, because you are feeling great love for your boss.” She shot Maddie a sceptical look while misery etched Natalii’s features. Adèle leaned forward and stared hard. “So, Australian, make me believe it. Tell me what is this Elena Bartell to you?”

Maddie closed her eyes, trying to rewind to before the horrors of the morning and thought about all the times Elena had studied her with interest and made her heart beat faster. Before she cut it out and stomped on it and…shit, no…back to the day we met. Yeah.

She opened her eyes. “The first time I met Elena, she insulted me. She implied that I was badly dressed. She even threatened to fire me over it. But she did it in such a way, it made me want to know more about her. I’m not sure how she did that. I spent weeks watching her. I discovered what she was really like. She’s curious about things and people who intrigue her. And smart. She has a really dry sense of humour she doesn’t share often. She likes to hide behind her scary persona and pretend she’s a corporate machine. She’s so much more.”

Maddie paused as she thought about her, and a smile warmed her face. “And then one night we had this real conversation. She looked so interested. And…it meant a lot. After that, one chat became many chats, and it was all I could think about. I looked forward to it so much. Well, before…I came here. And now…”

She stopped again, as all the recent memories washed over her. “I know it’s ridiculous. I mean, I know she’s married and straight, but whenever she gave me glimpses of her real self, when we were alone and it was late, I felt special. Like she thought I was interesting enough to get to know. I started to believe that. But it was a mistake.”

Maddie rubbed her eyes and gave a bitter laugh. “One day, she called me in and tore me apart. She made me doubt who I was. She told me I wasn’t a journalist. I cared too much. Then she fired me and tossed me an assistant job instead. You’d think I would hate her for that. But no, even after everything, I still love to watch her at work. I love to watch her. I won’t get that again, though. Hell.” She choked on her words and stared at Adèle through tear-glazed eyes. “Did I mention Elena fired me today?”

Adèle peered back at her uncertainly.