Page 116 of Silver Fire
“It could be infatuation,” Sophie defended. “With Adam—”
“Adam does not factor in here, Sophie!” Beth said angrily. “What you felt for that man was not real, you were manipulated, brainwashed even. Do not even mention what you feel for Derek and that man in the same breath. It’s an insult.”
“Beth—”
“I’m serious, Sophie, do not fuck this up,” Beth said. “Derek’s been doing everything right by you. The man is stupid in love with you, and I’ve known Derek’s reputation for years.”
“You know almost every time we go out we run into one of his exes.”
“Unavoidable.”
“You’re supposed to be feeling sympathetic toward me!”
“Girl, you get with a man like Lockwood, that’s unavoidable. Told you if I were straight, I’d do him.”
“Oh god, I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you.”
“You sorted out?”
“No!”
Beth sighed. “Take your time, Sophie. You’re right. I’m just so excited for you and that you’re finally moving on from that man.”
“Well, if you would have let me finished, I could have told you I’m finally accepting that what I felt for Adam was an infatuation gone bad.”
“Thank Christ!” Beth exclaimed. “And you didn’t need a shrink to get you to see that. Just Derek fucking Lockwood or should I say fucking Derek Lockwood.”
Sophie shook her head in amusement. Things had certainly gotten better between Beth and her. It was nice being on leave for a few weeks. There was construction in the lab to outfit the area to process the zefinium for MDI, using a chunk of the money from the partnership. The design of her house had been finalized and construction would start in a week. Through this all, Stephen was managing everything flawlessly.
A dark-colored sedan with tinted windows parked right in front of them. Sophie felt herself tensing and Beth froze beside her, gripping her arm. Things were certainly better, but both of them were still jumpy.
“You can’t park there!” Beth called out to the driver.
The back passenger window slid down to reveal the gorgeous face of Marissa Cole.
“Who the fuck is that?” Beth whispered breathlessly.
“CIA,” Sophie mumbled through the side of her mouth.
“Hi, Sophie.”
“Ms. Cole.”
“Call me Marissa, please. Sophie, I need to speak with you privately.”
Sophie felt ridiculous speaking across the sidewalk and got up and walked toward the car, ignoring Beth’s attempt to stop her.
“What do you want?”
“Same thing you want, Sophie, but we need your help.”
Marissa scooted over, indicating that she was not having a conversation in front of Beth or in public.
Sophie looked back at Beth. “Do not tell Derek who I left with. I will tell him myself.”
“What do I tell him if he comes looking for you?”
“Make something up.”