Chapter 307
McNeil’s phone had gone straight to voicemail.
Violet’s mind was running wild with images of McNeil in the shower. Was that why she couldn’t reach him? Were they… busy right now?
She couldn’t stand not knowing. If McNeil wouldn’t answer, she’d get to the
bottom of it another way-so she dialed Victoria.
Victoria, at that moment, was pressed up against the wardrobe, her towel yanked away, right in the heat of things with McNeil.
“My-my phone’s ringing.”
She barely managed to gasp out the words between his feverish kisses, but McNeil wasn’t about to let her go. He held her close, staggering with her over to the room’s only table, lifted her onto it, and, without looking, grabbed her phone, swiped to answer, and brought it to her ear.
“Pick up-“
Victoria glanced down at the screen. Ms. Marchand.
She hesitated, looking at McNeil for help, but his next move left her trembling so hard she nearly dropped the phone.
With the phone pressed to her ear, Victoria managed a shaky, “Hello—”
She’d barely gotten the word out before McNeil’s lips found hers again. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as sounds escaped, not realizing that Violet could hear the strange noises on the other end. When Violet tried to listen more closely, though, the line went silent.
“Where’s McNeil?”
Victoria looked up at the man pinning her beneath him, completely confused as to why Violet would be calling her of all people.
“Ms. Marchand-“
McNeil’s hand slid up to her pale neck, his kisses leaving her breathless. The phone slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. Without missing a beat, McNeil scooped her up and carried her to the bed. She tried desperately to retrieve her phone-damn it, the call was still connected.
McNeil leaned in, and Victoria couldn’t take it anymore, her muffled moans slipping out, low and intoxicating.
On the other end, Violet’s face went bloodless as she realized exactly what she was hearing.
No wonder McNeil’s phone was off—Victoria was seducing him.
Clothes were soon forgotten. McNeil, bathed in the soft light from the window, took his time drinking in the sight of her. He picked up her phone, holding it in one hand. “Your friend enjoys eavesdropping? Maybe ask her tomorrow if she heard enough.”
And with that, he shut the phone off right in front of her.
Victoria barely made it out of bed the next morning, her whole body aching from a night that never seemed to end.
When she finally opened her eyes, she realized she had less than ten minutes to get to work.
She scrambled out of bed, rushed through her morning routine, and threw on her clothes as fast as she could.
She arrived at the office just a minute late, took the elevator up to the tech department, and was greeted by sly grins all around.
“Victoria, did your husband ever finish his shower last night?” someone teased. Her cheeks flamed instantly.
“Alright, knock it off. What happens between a married couple is none of your business,” another co-worker scolded, though the whole department was snickering.
Victoria just kept her head down and headed to her desk. George walked in, took one look at the group, and barked, “Enough with the party-get to work! We’re slammed today, and if you don’t finish, you’ll be staying late. Ms. Marchand won’t hesitate to keep you all in meetings till midnight.”
The mention of Violet’s name was like a magic spell. The laughter died at once- nothing killed office chatter faster than Ms. Marchand.
Ten minutes after she’d settled in, Victoria’s phone rang. It was Ailie.
“Victoria, what happened with you and McNeil last night? The whole company’s talking about you two!”
Ailie’s usual outrage was replaced by a gossipy, almost gleeful curiosity, as if she were relishing the latest scandal.
Victoria rolled her eyes. “Nothing happened. He was showering during a conference call, so I went to get his clothes, and I guess the call picked up some background noise.”
Ailie dropped her voice to a conspiratorial squeal. “Wait, wait-you two are back together, aren’t you?”
Victoria didn’t want to think about last night. Together? That barely covered it. They’d had her phone on the entire time, letting Violet listen in for nearly twenty minutes.
If McNeil hadn’t picked up her phone and switched it off, she’d never have known Violet had such a penchant for eavesdropping. She was certain Violet had heard everything, yet for some reason, she refused to hang up.
Victoria was anxious on her way to work-not because she was afraid of Violet, but because the whole thing was so humiliating.
Oddly enough, Violet hadn’t sought her out at all. Victoria was technically McNeil’s wife, but she felt like the one sneaking around, terrified of being caught.
Ailie kept her on the line half the morning, too nosy to let go. Victoria finally had to come up with an excuse to end the call, or Ailie would have kept her gossiping all day.
Right then, Curtis’s assistant stopped by, letting her know Mr. Garcia wanted to see her in his office.
As she walked past Violet’s office, she noticed it was empty. Looked like Violet hadn’t even come in today.
At Vertex Dynamics, Violet strode through the halls in heels, her chest tight, every step heavy.
“Ms. Marchand?”
Colleagues greeted her with the usual respect, though this time there was an edge of awkward amusement in their voices.
Everyone assumed Violet was Mr. Langford’s favorite, but after his secretary let slip that the big package of umbrellas he’d sent to the office was actually for a junior manager at Quantum Core Technologies, the gossip mill had gone wild.
Violet caught their odd glances but didn’t care. She hadn’t slept all night and felt completely drained.
McNeil’s office door was half-open. Without knocking, Violet walked right in. “Where were you last night?”