Free Club Nova Vol. 4 (Brad Grayson) by Elizabeth Nelson Page B

with wide eyes, hoping he’d give her some direction, but he only shrugged, giving her a look that said, “I don’t know, say something.” Not now. Don’t do this to me now when I need you the most. She sighed.
    “I . . . I don’t have a plan. I was hoping you could help me with that.” She forced a nervous laugh. Her stomach knotted. Something was really off about this. She could feel it in her gut. What exactly? She couldn’t say, but her intuition never failed her. This was not going very well. Not at all.
    “I’m sure someone as alluring as you can convince Brad to miss his meeting with Peyton.”
    “Believe me, if I had that kind of power—”
    “Don’t discredit the power you hold over him.”
    “I’ve tried that already.”
    “And it didn’t work?”
    “No.”
    Brad cocked his head and gave her a questioning look. She dismissed him with a wave of her hand, shaking her head.
    “And what has he told you?”
    “Only that he won’t be long, and that once it’s done, he and I will celebrate, that we’ll go away for a while,” Victoria continued, remembering Philip’s suggestion to make him believe she trusted him. She would tell him little secrets and he would open up a little more. With each door that opened, they would begin to see where his true loyalties lay.
    “Hmm.” There was a long pause, and for a moment Victoria thought maybe he’d hung up. The line was dead silent. Then, finally, the silence broke. “That’s interesting.”
    “Is it?” she asked innocently.
    “I was led to believe Brad promised Peyton the exact same thing—a promise to celebrate their closing of this deal.”
    Victoria let out a small cry of disapproval. It was a mistake. She let her emotions take hold. She showed him her cards and she couldn’t take it back. She could only hope he wasn’t paying close attention.
    “Ah, you didn’t know.” She could hear the smile in his words and her gut twisted.
    “Know what?”
    “Don’t play stupid with me!” he shouted.
    “I’m not. Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    His voice calmed. “A special weekend for just the two of them.”
    She squinted her eyes shut and hung her head. She didn’t want to hear it. All of these lies and fake promises and plans and deals were making her sick. Why couldn’t everyone act like professional adults and just do what was right and expected of them? Why did this have to be such a huge mess? She hated all of this.
    “So tell me, Victoria,” he continued, “which one of you is Brad lying to?”
    Victoria rubbed her temples, refusing to look at Brad. She couldn’t take it. She didn’t want to have this conversation. Not about the man she’d given everything to.
    “I don’t know,” she whispered.
    “Liar!” His harsh accusation made her flinch and she fought hard to not throw the phone across the room. She didn’t want to do this anymore. This wasn’t who she was. “I was right about you, wasn’t I? You are his weakness.”
    “Yes,” she said so softly she wondered if he heard her.
    “Ah, so then he’s lying to Peyton.”
    “I don’t know.” She began to cry. What good would come from this? She began to doubt herself. Doubt their plan. How could telling him all of Brad’s secrets and lies help them? If anything, she was ruining it. Ruining him and destroying the future of Club Nova. This man was controlling the conversation and her emotions.
    “I assumed as much.” The man sighed the most awful of sighs. A sigh that sounded more like a growl as a result of the computer he always disguised his voice with. “How far are you willing to go to stop this deal?”
    “As far as I have to.” She lifted her head, wiping the final tears away from her eyes, and met Brad’s gaze again. He looked at her with so much love and concern her heart constricted. She really meant what she’d said. She would go as far as she had to in order to make sure Brad was safe and to ensure Peyton didn’t get