When she turned away from the window to look at her friend, a lock of brown hair fell across her forehead and into her eyes. Rhea swiped the irritating swatch away. Then she smiled at Ashley.
“Oh, I was just imaging the look on Lydia’s face when she found out I was going to Peru instead of her.”
Ashley’s green eyes lit up with mischief. “Ha! I bet that heifer nearly blew a gasket! She didn’t deserve it anyway. You’ve done most of the work on this project, and she always seems to get recognition for it.”
Rhea swished her hand through the air. “Aw, Ashley. I don’t care. All that matters to me is finding a cure for cancer. This is the biggest break we’ve had in five years. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”
Ashley’s eyes narrowed with skepticism. Her full, peachy lips curled into a perceptive smile. There was no mistaking the amusement in her knowing grin.
“Yeah, but I bet that back-stabbing, over-made-up whore nearly fell out of her chair when Steve gave her the news. You think it was before or after he decided to quit sleeping with her.”
Rhea hid a stab of jealousy behind a low chuckle. The whole department knew about Lydia’s affair with the lab manager. And Rhea’s past association with him wasn’t a secret either.
Steve had been her first true love. Or so she’d thought. That was, until Ms. MacDonald came aboard the lab crew.
Rhea chewed the inside of her jaw, willing the painful memories of deceit to disappear. She didn’t know why finding him in bed with Lydia had been such a surprise. The signs were all there—unreturned phone calls, unexplained late nights at work, the lingering smell of women’s perfume on his coat. And yet, she was the last one to find out about his affair.
Of course, she treated it as no big deal. Laughed it off with the rest of her co-workers as nothing. But deep down inside, it had really hurt.
