“I hoped I’d be wrong,” he said quietly. He lifted his cup, took a sip, and set it down again. “I wish the world worked the way you believe it does.”
I watched steam coil from my coffee, wondering if I should cry or laugh or punch something. “It’s so…stupid. I played by the rules.” I sank back in the rigid metal chair. “Right school. Right internship. Crossed every T, dotted every I. It’s hard enough for a woman in business, and I did everything I was supposed to do. And this is where I end up.” I shook my head. I don’t get it.”
Luka studied me, then leaned back, arms folded, gaze lifted to the unfinished ceiling. His black turtleneck pulled tight across his shoulders. “You trust other people too much,” he said. Then he looked at me—a knowing, piercing gaze. “I should know.”
My stomach dipped. “What do you mean by that?”
He fumbled with the seam on his jeans. I’d never seen him hesitate. “You never asked me why I picked you up that first day.”
“I ordered a ride,” I said slowly. “I assumed you were nearby. Algorithm magic. Luck of the draw.”
He let out a humorless laugh. “No,mila.” His eyes held mine. “I chose you.”
My pulse skipped. “How?—”
He cut me off with a small shake of his head. “I chose you because you were a senior executive working with the Hallstrom Group in a prominent business district in London.” He grippedhis cup and said the rest to his hands. “I chose you because I thought you might have valuable information.”
My throat went dry. “Valuable how?”
He shrugged. “People tell all sorts of things to drivers. Especially in the business world. We’re invisible. That’s how I get some of my highest-value information.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of the table until the metal bit into my palms. I forced them to release, one at a time.
“Your ride request came through the app. I was nearby. I looked you up.” He finally looked at me. “That’s why I accepted the ride. But?—”
I held up a hand. “Stop.”
I had no idea what I was feeling. Betrayal? Shock? Relief? Nothing?
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “You could have kept it to yourself. I never would’ve known.”
He shook his head. “Because you trust too much,mila. And I’m honored that you trusted me.” A beat. “But I want your trust to be earned.”
“Who says I trust you?”
“You did.” His voice didn’t waver. “Your actions did. Unless you didn’t mean them.”
I pressed my lips together. “How much money did you make off me?”
“My cut of the fare for that first ride. And your tip.”
“No. I mean?—”
“Nothing more.” His gaze was piercing. “That stopped before the night was finished.” He lifted his mug to his lips. “I could have made a fortune off what I found on Richard Montgomery.”
My stomach knotted at the name.
“But I haven’t. As I promised.”
I grabbed my coffee cup and took a slow drink, eyes tracing the hairline cracks in the ceramic rim. Setting the cup down, Ilooked back up at him. “Why not? You could be lounging on a private tropical island by now.”
“Yes.” He glanced down at the table, jaw tightening. “But it would be lonely.”
My pulse surged into my throat. I forced it back down. “Why did you come here—really?”
“Would it be enough to say I wanted to see you?”
“No.”