The Secret Between Us

Chapter 1 — The Man I Couldn't Stand Betany Waltan had three rules. Never trust a man who smiles too much. Never let anyone take credit for her work. And most importantly— Never get involved with Liam Castella. Unfortunately, she was about to break the third rule. The elevator doors opened on the thirty-second floor. Betany stepped out, clutching her laptop and a folder against her chest. She had been awake since five that morning, spent an hour fixing a presentation that her manager had suddenly decided needed to be "completely redesigned," and had arrived at work twelve minutes late because of traffic. Today was already terrible. Then she saw him. Liam Castella. He stood near the glass windows overlooking the city, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. One hand rested casually in his pocket while he spoke to two senior executives. At twenty-five, Liam was already the CEO of Castella Group. Young. Successful. Unreasonably confident. And, in Betany's opinion, extremely annoying. Their eyes met. His conversation stopped. That faint, knowing smile appeared on his face. Betany immediately looked away. No. Not today. She walked toward her desk. "Good morning, Miss Waltan." She stopped. Slowly, she turned. Liam was walking toward her. "Do you need something, Mr. Castella?" "Actually, yes." "What?" "You forgot something." Betany looked down at herself. Her ID card. Her laptop. Her folder. Everything seemed to be there. "What did I forget?" Liam held out a sheet of paper. "Your signature." She took it from him. Her eyes narrowed. "This is the proposal I submitted yesterday." "I know." "You rejected it." "I improved it." "You changed half of it." "Because half of it needed changing." Betany stared at him. "You really enjoy annoying me, don't you?" "Not particularly." His eyes remained on hers. "I just find your reactions interesting." She folded the paper. "Find someone else to entertain yourself with." She turned away. "Betany". She stopped. Liam's voice sounded different this time. Serious. She looked back. He was holding a photograph. An old photograph. Her heart suddenly stopped. She couldn't see the picture clearly from where she stood. "What is that?" Liam looked at it for a moment before putting it back inside his jacket. "Nothing." "Then why were you looking at it?" "I wasn't." "You clearly were." A brief silence passed between them. Then Liam smiled again. "You're very curious." "And you're very suspicious." "Maybe." He walked away. Betany watched him disappear into the conference room. Something about that photograph bothered her. She couldn't explain why. She had seen hundreds of photographs in her life. But something about the way Liam had looked at it— As if it meant something to him. As if she meant something to him. She shook the thought away. There was no reason for Liam Castella to have anything to do with her past. Especially not that part of her past. Seven years ago, Betany had lost her older sister, Elise. A car accident. That's what everyone had told her. A rainy night. A slippery road. One terrible moment. Elise had died. Betany had survived. But the strangest thing was that Betany remembered almost nothing about that night. She remembered rain. Headlights. Her sister's voice. Then darkness. Whenever Betany asked her parents about it, they changed the subject. Eventually, she stopped asking. She had learned to live with the missing pieces. Or at least, she thought she had. Until now. "Everyone, take your seats." Mr. Harrison's voice pulled Betany back to reality. She entered the conference room with her laptop. Liam was already there. Of course. She took the chair furthest from him. Mr. Harrison placed a thick folder on the table. "As you know, the Blackstone project is one of the biggest contracts we've taken this year." Everyone nodded. "We need someone capable of handling the project from beginning to end." Betany opened her notebook. She was ready to take notes. Then Mr. Harrison said something that made her pen stop. "Liam will oversee the project." She looked up. Fine. That wasn't surprising. Liam was the CEO. Then came the next sentence. "And Betany will be working directly with him." Her eyebrows lifted. "What?" Liam glanced at her. There was the smallest hint of amusement in his eyes. Mr. Harrison continued. "You'll be working together for the next six months." Betany stared at Liam. He looked completely calm. "Six months?" she repeated. "Yes." "With him?" Liam raised an eyebrow. "Do I have a problem?" "Several." Someone at the table tried not to laugh. Mr. Harrison sighed. "Can the two of you behave professionally?" Betany answered immediately. "Absolutely." Liam nodded. "Of course." They looked at each other. Neither believed the other. Mr. Harrison handed Betany another folder. "Start reviewing the documents this afternoon." Betany nodded. The meeting continued. But she couldn't concentrate. Because Liam had been staring at the same page for several minutes without turning it. Finally, she whispered, "Do you have a problem?" He looked at her. "No." "Then stop staring." "I wasn't staring at you." "Then what were you looking at?" His eyes moved to the folder in front of her. "Your name." Betany frowned. "What about it?" For the first time, his expression changed. Something almost like sadness crossed his face. Then it disappeared. "Nothing." He stood and left the room. Betany watched him go. Something wasn't right. She opened her folder. A few minutes later, she found a sticky note tucked between the pages. Her stomach tightened. There were only six words written on it. ASK LIAM WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. Betany stared at the message. Her hands went cold. Nobody at work knew about the night Elise died. Nobody. She slowly looked toward the conference-room door. Liam was gone. But suddenly, Betany wasn't thinking about the Blackstone project anymore. She was thinking about a rainy night seven years ago. A night she couldn't remember. And a man who somehow seemed to remember it for her. Who was Liam Castella? And why did he know about Elise?