Still, she was the one who’d picked the restaurant, and dinner for the two of them had cost a small fortune. She didn’t want Prescott to foot such an extravagant bill.
“Let’s just say you owe me a meal, all right? Next time you get the chance, you can treat me.”
Prescott couldn’t argue with Niamh.
He might always address her as “Miss Rivers,” but that didn’t mean he refused to acknowledge her status as Mrs. Thomas.
As Niamh swiped her card to pay, Prescott couldn’t help but wonder:
Where was Niamh getting her money?
After her messy split with Jonathan, he hadn’t given her another cent. Even now, working for The Thomas Group, her salary was nothing more than what you’d expect for an ordinary designer.
Yet watching her pay for a meal that cost several thousand, she didn’t look like someone putting on airs.
Jonathan had his own doubts about Niamh’s finances, too.
She could afford a dress that cost half a million, owned a priceless collection of violins, and had recently dropped several million on a set of photographs.
He’d once thought the money might be coming from Julian.
But now that Julian was grounded and completely cut off from her, how could he possibly be giving her money?
If not Julian, then where was it coming from?
After visiting Marina at the hospital, Jonathan had his assistant look into Niamh’s bank accounts while he was on his way back to the office.
But Niamh’s accounts were protected at the highest level–he had no rig‘
access them, not even as her husband.
Three years of marriage, and this was the first time Jonathan had felt genuinely curious about Niamh.
But that curiosity was quickly replaced by his own assumptions.
Sitting in his office, staring at the quarterly sales report, Jonathan frowned.
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The Thomas Group’s new brand had once again been beaten by FY.
“Peter…”
He took a sip of coffee.
It tasted weaker than usual.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Marina had just been discharged. Her complexion was even worse than when she’d been admitted.
After Jonathan left, she’d thrown a furious tantrum in her hospital room.
Her plan had been flawless.
Riverside Properties and The Thomas Group had a joint project. She’d used Joker to get in touch with Daniel, asking him to invite Jonathan and Niamh to dinner under the guise of business. The plan was for Daniel to drug Niamh’s soup, and then, after Niamh had eaten, Marina would stage a car accident. Knowing how anxious Jonathan would get, he’d be sure to rush to the hospital.
With Jonathan distracted, Daniel could take advantage of Niamh.
Joker had arranged for a photographer in advance, ready to snap incriminating photos of Niamh and Daniel in bed.
Once those photos came out, Niamh would be far too disgraced to remain Jonathan’s wife. There was no way the Thomas family would accept a woman with
that kind of scandal.
Everything had gone according to plán, right up until the photos were taken.
But then the photographer suddenly demanded an outrageous price–ten times what they’d agreed upon.
He’d discovered the rumors swirling around Jonathan and Niamh, and realized these photos were worth far more than the original offer.
Marina had hesitated for just one night.
And then, this morning, Joker told her the photographer’s computer had crashed. The photos were gone. Completely wiped.
Without the pictures, she’d lost her trump card against Niamh. All her scheming,
wasted.
Marina was furious.
She wanted to scream at Joker for hiring such an idiot, but she still needed his
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help. All she could do was fume alone in her hospital room.
She’d called her coworkers, who told her Niamh was back at work, acting as if nothing had happened.
As much as she’d enjoyed Jonathan fussing over her during her hospital stay, he still spent most of his time at the office, and Marina didn’t trust things to run smoothly in her absence.
The next day, when Marina returned to work, the entire office lined up to welcome her back, showering her with gifts–flowers, expensive perfume, even designer jewelry. It felt less like sympathy and more like a calculated attempt to curry favor.
Niamh hadn’t given her anything at all.
Everyone knew about the tension between the two women, so Niamh saw no point in putting on a show.
In the break room, Niamh had barely stepped inside when Marina walked in right behind her.
