My Coldhearted Husband’s Regret

Niall's fingers froze above her keyboard when Maverick brought up Veronica's name. For a split second, she wondered if he had developed feelings for the other woman.

There was no denying Veronica's beauty. But the conversation Niall had accidentally overheard at the auction, combined with Maverick's current demeanor, made her realize she had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Her face remained blank as she answered, "Not particularly. What makes you ask?"

Maverick's eyes drifted toward where Veronica and Dario were working together. "From what I can tell by her conversation with Dario, she appears competent enough."

"I wouldn't know," Niall said with complete indifference. "Though I believe she only holds an undergraduate degree."

"Just an undergraduate degree?"

"Yes."

The pieces fell into place for Maverick. Veronica's educational background paled in comparison to Niall's credentials, and she certainly lacked Niall's magnetic presence. No wonder she felt threatened by the possibility of losing Dario to someone superior.

Maverick found Veronica's insecurity about Dario understandable to some degree.

However, the instant hostility toward any woman she perceived as competition, the automatic assumption that every attractive female was plotting to steal her boyfriend - that kind of paranoid behavior was deeply unappealing.

Maverick's previously neutral feelings toward Veronica curdled into something closer to distaste.

Across the office, Dario took advantage of a brief lull in the work to peer through the glass partition separating them from Maverick and Niall's conference room.

After studying the pair for several moments, he bent close to Veronica's ear. "Is Maverick interested in Niall?"

Veronica was deep in concentration, analyzing a particularly complex data set. She needed a beat to process his question and identify who he meant. "Most likely," she replied without inflection.

The romantic entanglements of their colleagues held zero interest for her. Having provided her assessment, she firmly guided Dario back to their task, warning him against wasting time on office gossip.

The faster they completed their work, the sooner they could escape this place.

"Terrible judgment on his part," Dario muttered, but he dropped the subject.

When Maverick noticed Dario stealing glances in their direction, he assumed the man was staring at Niall. The sight of Veronica's irritated expression as she physically redirected Dario's attention only reinforced Maverick's belief that she was jealous of his obvious fascination with Niall.

Niall encountered a complex coding problem that brought her progress to a halt.

She considered asking Dario for assistance, but when she looked up, she discovered that both he and the entire Stellar engineering team were hanging on Veronica's every word with rapt attention.

The reverent way they watched her speak - if Niall didn't know any better, she might have mistaken Veronica for some legendary tech guru.

The observation made Niall quickly look away.

Veronica and Dario maintained their intense focus until well past five in the evening before declaring their portion complete.

Dalton ushered both of them into the conference room, offering refreshments and a chance to decompress.

The TechPulse and Stellar contract negotiations had reached their conclusion as well.

Noticing that Maverick's team had also wrapped up their deliverables, Dalton suggested, "Since we're all finishing up around the same time, why don't we grab dinner together?"

Maverick's pulse quickened as he turned expectantly toward Niall.

Without acknowledging his hopeful stare, Niall declined politely. "I appreciate the invitation, but Cullen is collecting me from Dennis Group shortly. We have prior commitments, so I'll have to pass. Please enjoy yourselves."

The moment Niall declined the invitation, Maverick's enthusiasm for the dinner evaporated completely. "Actually, I have some pressing matters to attend to as well. Perhaps we can arrange something for another evening."

Niall felt no surprise at his predictable response, maintaining her composed expression.

Dario was becoming increasingly certain of Maverick's romantic interest in Niall with each passing interaction.

The man's transparent decision to skip dinner solely because Niall wouldn't be attending made his feelings embarrassingly obvious.

With both declining his invitation, Dalton found himself in an uncomfortable position and turned to his remaining guests. "What about you, Mr. Reid?"

Dario tapped his teacup gently against Veronica's and flashed a cheerful smile. "Our evening is completely open, isn't that right, Ver?"