“And after what he did...” Jesse trailed off, shook his head. “It’s okay to feel betrayed. I’m still in shock myself.”
“You think he did it?” Guilt oozed through her chest, black and sticky. Wes had already lost so much. Viv hated to think he’d lost his best friend, too. Because of her. Because of her cowardice.
“I mean, I don’t want to, but it all fits. Still, Soteria was his baby.”
Viv flinched, ignoring the squeeze in her abdomen at the choice of words.
“I’m as sick about it as you are. But I can’t give up without a fight. Especially not after the big press conference this morning. Paperwork’s all gone through. I’m officially the bigwig in charge of Soteria Security.”
The announcement blindsided her, and her gut ached for Wes.
Jesse’s friendly smile dimmed. “You don’t look happy for me.”
“Just a little taken aback. Congratulations, Jesse. Truly.”
“Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you. As my first official act as CEO, I’ve got a meeting at Whitfield Industries this afternoon.” Jesse straightened his tie. “Hoping I can convince Max to see reason and keep Soteria on his payroll, now that the guilty party is behind bars. You work for him.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “How do you like my chances?”
He hadn’t heard she’d quit, either. And for reasons she couldn’t explain, now didn’t feel like the time to volunteer that information. “I’ve always found Max to be a reasonable man,” Viv offered, a little off balance at the whole exchange.
“Well, I hope you’re right. If I can keep even a few high-profile clients, then maybe I can stay solvent enough to take the company public. Wes would have wanted that.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Despite everything, we were friends. Wes dedicated everything he had to Soteria Security. The least I can do is keep it afloat.”
Vivienne had shot a hole right through the hull of Wes’s dream, and this was the result. Jesse was doing everything he could to right the sinking ship. And now it was up to Vivienne to prove Wes’s innocence and put everything back to normal.
“Are you heading back to Whitfield? I can give you a ride back to the office if you want.”
“Oh. Thank you. That’s really sweet of you, but I actually... I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour. So...”
She could have sworn his gaze dropped to her stomach, and a shiver slid through her.
“Nothing serious, I hope.”
Viv shook her head. “Just a checkup.”
“I see.” Jesse’s expression cleared and he took a step back. “Then I’ll leave you to it. It was good seeing you, Viv.” He reached out, gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze. “If you ever need to talk about Wes, about what he did, you know where to find me.”
Vivienne forced a smile as he left, trying to shake off the weird vibes of their interaction. She’d known Jesse for years, and he’d never made her uncomfortable before. Obviously, her guilty conscience was tainting everything, from interactions with old friends to Wes’s whole life. Still, she watched until Jesse disappeared from view before she turned in the opposite direction and walked directly out of the store. She needed to get out of there before she ran into anyone else she knew.
An hour and a half later, Vivienne walked into her condo, hands laden with take-out bags. The Thai food she’d promised, because she knew it was Wes’s favorite. Which felt like the least she could do, under the circumstances. She made a quick stop in the kitchen to set the burden on the counter, before she continued into the living room.
Wes stood up abruptly at her arrival, stepping in front of the coffee table. To her dismay, he was still bare chested. And as if that wasn’t enough on its own, his dark hair was shower damp and his lean hips were swathed in nothing but a white towel.
She really should have bought a couple of those T-shirts before she’d fled the department store. Viv dropped her gaze from the delectable sight under the guise of hunting through her purse for her phone. “I know that they confiscated your razor in the clink, but you could have opened the pack in the bathroom.”
“This is what unemployed people do, Vivienne. They grow beards.”
She glanced up as her hand closed around her device, and she checked to make sure she hadn’t missed any calls about Wes’s case. “And clothes? Do unemployed people not wear clothes?” She set her bag on the couch and toed off her shoes.
“My wardrobe has been seized by the US Government.” Wes crossed his arms, and she did her best not to notice all his muscles, or the way they flexed beneath his damp skin.
“I bribed your door guy to take the only suit I own to the dry cleaner with my last hundred bucks. And my unmentionables are currently in the dryer.”
More guilt, this time over her aborted shopping mission, swirled in her gut, but she tamped it down. She’d gotten him out of jail. And let him stay here. And she was going to make sure that she got the charges dropped so that he—
Her train of thought was disrupted by a soft, familiar whir.
Vivienne watched with astonishment as her Roomba appeared from the direction of the bathroom, chugging its way down the hall and back toward the couch, where it stopped as abruptly as if someone had ordered it to. Wes’s ankle monitor sat atop it, its green light flashing rhythmically.
Her gaze cut to Wes. “What have you done?”
He kept his attention on his robotic henchman.
“If you’re asking about the monitor, tamper-proof is just code for a challenge. You know that. As for the Roomba, the feds get suspicious if you don’t move around a little.”
“You programmed it to go to the bathroom?”
“And the kitchen.” His eyes grew dark with determination. “I told you. I’m going to clear my name.”
“What about my name?” The words ripped from her
