I rolled my eyes. “Come on then. Let’s go to the breakout area. You seem very familiar with it.”

Kerry reddened. I knew it was a cheap comment, but I couldn’t help it. I sizzled with betrayal and, in turn, Flynn thought I had betrayed him. That thought twisted inside me, like a knife, over and over.

No sooner had we arrived under the spot lit ceiling of the breakout area than Kerry’s eyes brimmed with guilty, fearful tears. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry.”

I dragged an exhausted hand through my tangle of curls. “What on earth did you think you were doing? I thought I could trust you.”

She gulped back a sob. “I should have told you about Athena, but she was having another go at me, telling me to up my game.” She dashed a tear from her cheek. “She started going on about what a mistake she had made giving me this opportunity and that I was letting her down.”

She let out a sob-laden breath. “I got so angry. All I kept thinking about was being able to prove her wrong; to show her I wasn’t useless.” Kerry swallowed. “I happened to be passing by here and I overheard you talking to a good-looking guy with dark hair.”

Flynn.

Her chest heaved with guilt at the memory of it. “You were both having a heated discussion and then I heard him say something about his grandfather being the people’s artist.” Kerry cast her eyes downwards to the petrol-blue carpet. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When he’d gone, I checked out the visitor signing-in book down at security and it listed his name as Flynn Talbot.” Kerry flushed deeper claret at her deception. “I wasn’t going to say anything to Athena at first, but then I kept going over what she had said to me and something snapped.” She pulled her watery green eyes away from me. “I just wanted to prove my aunt wrong and show her that I’m not some naïve no-hoper.”

“Well, congratulations to you. You’ve just gone and bagged the exclusive of the year, if not the decade. What a Christmas present. You must be thrilled.” She dropped her head and sniffed. “You have indeed managed to find out who the elusive Chandler is and in doing so, you have well and truly dropped me in it now,” I whispered, my frustration evident. “Not only does the man I have grown to care so very much about now think I’m a cheap liar who would sell her own granny to get a story, I’ve got to try and come up with a plan to stop this exclusive being printed.” I puffed out my cheeks. “If it does go to print, it’s going to damage people that I have grown very fond of.”