Chapter 159

• VALENTINA
• The elevator doors slid shut and the ride up felt like it took forever. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed tight, trying to push last night’s pictures out of my head. Gustavo standing at that high-top table. The woman in the red dress laughing too close. Her hand on his arm. Then the office talk about Gabrielle—late lunches, her in his car after hours. It all mixed together until my stomach hurt. I told myself it was just anger. Just frustration. Not anything deeper. Not love. I wasn’t going to give him that.
• When the doors opened, the office noise hit me—phones ringing, keyboards clicking, people talking over each other. I walked straight to my desk and dropped my bag. Reports waited on my screen. Export projections. Numbers I could usually lose myself in. I clicked open the file and stared at the columns. Nothing stuck.