“Not yet, but there’s something you should know.” I considered how best to phrase it. “Ronan is trying to dig up dirt on you. I don’t know if he wants to use it for blackmail or something else, but his cyber guys are on your trail.”

To my surprise, Tom laughed. “Of course he’s trying to unearth the skeletons in my closet. I’d do the same thing in his situation.”

Something bubbled in my stomach, hot and unpleasant. I’d expected him to be grateful for the warning, or at the very least to be pleased I finally had something to report. Instead, he didn’t seem to care at all.

“Is there anything for him to find?” I asked. “Shouldn’t we try to head it off so we can protect the company?”

“He won’t find anything,” he replied, not exactly answering my question. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. The best thing you can do is return the favor. You have access to his systems. Surely you can find something useful. Now, is that all?”

My stomach sank. I couldn’t believe he’d dismissed me so easily. But maybe he didn’t realize how dire the situation was.

“I’m pretty sure someone has been following me,” I confessed. “Do you think I should be worried?”

“It’s probably Ronan.”

“It’s not,” I replied. After seeing his expression when I’d accused him of it, I knew that much.

He made an impatient sound. “Maybe you’re imagining it.”

I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t cry. I shouldn’t be surprised. It served me right for thinking he might have my back. “I don’t think so.”

“Then perhaps you have an admirer.”

I shook my head, stunned that he’d wave away a very real problem by implying it was either in my head or that it was a misunderstanding.

“Remember to let me know if you find anything that’s actually useful.” With those parting words, he ended the call.

For the rest of the day, I doubled down on scouring King’s Security intranet for useful tidbits of information but still didn’t find a damn thing. When I got home, Sage took one look at me and guided me to the sofa while she made a batch of cleansing herbal tea.

“What’s going on?” she asked as she handed me a mug and sat beside me. “You look like there’s a lot on your mind.”

I gave her a brief rundown of everything that had happened earlier. Her expression stayed neutral as I outlined my conversation with Ronan. When I mentioned Tom, her eyes narrowed but she remained silent. That was the good thing about Sage. She never interrupted. She let you say your piece and then said hers.

“Do you have feelings for Ronan?” She intertwined her fingers around a mug of tea. “I know you used to have that crush on him. Is it possible you’re angrier with him than the situation warrants because you want him to be the guy you think of him as?”