19

Wednesday, July 2

 

David walked around his apartment after Natalia left. The memory of her laughter and their incredible sex lingered like an echo or a scent.

He hadn’t planned on this happening, and it couldn’t continue. This was pure insanity. The countdown continued around the clock.

Through dummy corporations and brokers, he and HC now owned enough Investum shares that someone must be starting to wonder. So many unknown shareholders, so much activity—it really should be setting off alarms, summer holidays or not. There couldn’t be more than a week, ten days max, before someone raised a red flag. It didn’t matter. They had known it would show up on the radar sooner or later. But with only twelve days left, less than two weeks, before they went public in the press, what he had just done was insane. Although it didn’t feel insane.

It felt fucking fantastic.

David stopped in the living room. He looked at the photo in the gold frame. He hadn’t thought about that. Had Natalia seen it? Had she wondered?

Probably. He should have realized when she’d started talking about infidelity.

There was so much he couldn’t tell her, that she wouldn’t understand, and that made him feel dirty, unworthy.

He liked Natalia; she wasn’t some interchangeable stranger. She was a good person and an astoundingly, unbelievably sexy woman. Whom he couldn’t seem to break up with even though there were so many reasons that he should.

He grazed the happy blonde’s face with one finger. He had to call her, call Carolina; she was already mad that he’d pulled away. He had to take back control. This craziness with Natalia had to end.

That was the only right move.

Fuck.