by Vi Keeland
“Code for what?”
“I didn’t want people to know that I was going out on a date with Max. And before you say anything . . . I know for a fact that the company does not have a nonfraternization policy.”
What?
A rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins. The car came to a screeching halt as my foot hit the brakes in the middle of Manhattan traffic, a couple of pedestrians nearly getting hit in the process.
“What?” I spewed, even though I’d heard her loud and clear.
Horns were blaring behind me, but I barely noticed.
She repeated, “Max and I are going out tomorrow night. And you’d better move this car before you get us into another fender bender.”
She was right. I needed to pull over.
Parking illegally in front of a Dean & Deluca, I put my hazards on.
It was quiet for a few moments before I turned to her and looked her dead straight in the eyes. “You’re not going out with Max, Charlotte.”
“Why not? He’s—”
“Charlotte . . .” Her name exited my mouth in a warning tone. My ears felt like they were burning.
“Yes?” She smiled.
My anger seemed to be amusing her.
It was like a jealous beast that could no longer be tamed had ripped its way through my body. “You’re. Not. Going. Out. With. Max.”
Without any real justification for my actions, I waited for her reaction. I couldn’t articulate the reason why she was forbidden from dating my brother because I didn’t even truly understand my rage. I just knew that I couldn’t handle even the idea of Charlotte and Max.
I was expecting a big argument, one that included her insisting that I had no right to tell her whom to date. But she surprised me when she said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll cancel my date with Max on one condition.”
My pulse rate began to slow down. “What is it?”
Whatever it is, I’ll fucking do it.
“Tomorrow night is also the last tryout at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. I’ll cancel with Max if you go.”
Christ. You’ve got to be kidding me. Now Blondie was an extortionist?
“You’re bribing me?”
“Bribery makes more sense than the unwarranted alpha-male behavior you’re exhibiting against me with no explanation right now, don’t you think?”
There was no way I was going to sit back and do nothing while she went out with my brother, so I gave the only answer I could.
“Fine.”
“Fine, you agree with my statement on bribery, or fine, you agree to go to the tryout?”
“Fine. I agree to go to Brooklyn. But I’m going alone. Got it?”
Charlotte looked all too pleased. “Yes.”
“Good.”
I put the car in “Drive” and pulled out into traffic as we continued our ride back to the office. A slow and satisfied smile spread over her face as she leaned her neck back on the headrest before closing her eyes.
How the hell this car ride had gone from talking about Dorothy’s grandson to my suddenly agreeing to try out for the choir was beyond me. But this was typical Charlotte. Typical annoying, insistent, sometimes clever but always . . . beautiful Charlotte. Fucking beautiful Charlotte. Fucking beautiful Charlotte who was not going anywhere near my brother.
I could keep her from dating Max—perhaps for now—but I had no right to dictate her life. My need to do so had to end. I needed a distraction from this woman, and I had to figure one out, and fast.
When we returned downtown, Charlotte seemed to be in a rush as she headed back to her office. Meanwhile, I headed straight down the hall to talk to Iris about something that had been on my mind since we’d left the business lunch.
She had just gotten off a phone call when she looked up at me.
“Grandmother, good. You’re here. I thought you might still be at your appointment.”
She stood and walked around to the front of her desk. “I didn’t have an appointment.”
Did she forget she’d given that excuse as to why she couldn’t drive Charlotte back from lunch? It was then I realized she’d likely made up having the appointment to get me to drive Charlotte. I didn’t feel like getting into it with her. So I left it alone.
“Did you just arrive?” she asked. “I figured you’d beat me back here. What took so long?”
“We just walked in. Charlotte and I ran into a little snafu.”
She smirked. “I see. That seems to happen a lot with you two.”
Yeah.
Taking a seat, I was happy to change the subject. “Listen, we need to talk about Dorothy.”
“Yes. I haven’t been able to think about anything else all day.”
“We need to call her out on the stealing. She can’t get away with it.”
“I know, Reed, but—”
“Hear me out.”
“Alright.” She looked worried about what I was going to say next.
“While I think she needs to know that we figured it out . . . I don’t think we should fire her. She’s going through too much. And she’s been a loyal employee up until this happened. I can see how someone in her situation could act in a desperate way. People do strange things when their loved ones are in danger. She stole from us, but I don’t think she meant any harm. To her, it was a life-or-death situation.”
A look of relief washed over her face. “I agree, and I’m happy and proud of you for seeing it that way.”
From the moment I understood what was happening, I knew what I wanted to do. Iris was a charitable person and had always set a good example for me in that regard. It felt good to not only be able to help this family but also make my grandmother proud.
“I’d like to pay for the balance of her grandson’s treatment myself.”
She seemed taken aback. “Are you certain? That could be a lot of money.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I couldn’t imagine having a child or a grandchild who was dying and not having the finances to help save him. I mean, is there anything you wouldn’t do for a sick grandson?”
My grandmother paused as she looked me in the eye.
“No. No, there isn’t.”
CHAPTER 17
CHARLOTTE
Out of breath and frazzled when I returned to my office, I pulled up Max’s cell-phone number as fast as I could.
He picked up on the first ring. “Well, hello. To what do I owe this—”
“Max!” I interrupted. “Listen. I need a favor. You haven’t spoken to Reed since the lunch meeting this afternoon, have you?”
“No. I never ended up going back to the office. I went home. What’s up?”
Covering my chest, I let out a sigh of relief.
“I lied to your brother. I told him that I had a date with you tomorrow night.”
Max’s laughter filled my eardrum. “Um . . . okay. Let me get this straight. I’ve been trying to get you to go out with me since day one. You turn me down every time, but you’re telling people that we’re dating?”
“Well . . . yes. But just Reed.”
“You’re a trip, Charlotte. What . . . were you trying to get a rise out of him? You two have a strange-as-fuck dynamic.”
“I was trying to teach him a lesson—sort of. It’s complicated. Anyway, he forbade me from going out with you.”
“What a dick.” He chuckled.
“If he mentions anything to you, will you go along with it for a little while? I’ll probably tell him the truth at some point.”
“Anytime I can get my brother riled up and out of his funk, I’m happy to do it. Can I tell him you were the one who pursued me if he confronts me?”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
He was laughing in my ear. “Okay.”
“I made a bargain with Reed. It’s not something I’m at liberty to talk about, but my end of the deal was cancelling the date. So I’m cancelling it.”
“You’re cancelling the date that never existed. Gotcha.”
; “Yes. And thank you, by the way. I owe you one.”
“How about dinner next week?”
“You’re relentless.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
After we hung up, I sat at my desk, thinking about the Eastwood brothers. Max was a carefree playboy, but he was a good guy, and I knew he cared about Reed a lot. Max was definitely the crazier brother. And some might even label him the better-looking one, depending on their taste. He was wilder, too, for sure. But in my opinion, brooding, intense Reed was far sexier. In fact, I’d never found him sexier than in his car today when he turned to me and demanded that I stay away from Max. Todd never gave me that kind of single-minded attention; it felt good to be recipient of it. While some women would have advised me to smack him upside his head in that very moment, I couldn’t help but be turned on by Reed’s protectiveness. It didn’t hurt that the sun was blazing into his beautiful, espresso-colored eyes when he made the demand, or that the car was filled with his intoxicating Ralph Lauren cologne.
My body begged for him to take that intensity out on me in other ways. But there was clearly an invisible barricade that Reed had put up between us.
The next morning, I entered my office to find a blue note staring me in the face atop my desk.
From the desk of Reed Eastwood
Charlotte:
Congratulations on setting a precedent. See the employee manual on the server for the addition of Eastwood/Locklear’s new nonfraternization policy. Additionally, I would think long and hard before bribing your boss again. That’s grounds for termination, too. P.S. You’re late. I got my own coffee, which means it wasn’t laden with too much cream for once. Try better to be on time from now on.
Reed
Fuming, I decided not to give him the benefit of a reaction, so I kept to myself most of the morning and knocked off the items on my to-do list.
After I cooled off in the early afternoon, I ventured down to his office to feel out his mood and to offer moral support since tonight was his tryout at the Tabernacle.
To my surprise, a gorgeous woman with auburn hair was in there with him, not across from his desk like most visitors, but right next to him. She didn’t work here, so she must have been a client. She was leaning into him and laughing at everything he was saying.
Wearing those expensive red-bottomed heels and with a string of pearls wrapped around her neck, it was evident she was well off. Her body was against his as he showed her properties on his computer.
The memory of walking into Todd’s office and finding him in that compromising position flashed through my mind. It was a horrible feeling to be blindsided and to discover that your entire relationship was just an illusion. That experience would always serve as a reminder that things could change in an instant. The fact that I was experiencing a familiar sense of dread was very telling in terms of my feelings for Reed. We weren’t even together, yet I was feeling a hint of betrayal.
My stomach suddenly felt sick as I knocked, making my presence known for the first time.
“Hi,” I said. “I was just checking in to see if everything is still on schedule with your appointment tonight and if you needed anything.”
Reed looked up. “Yes, it is. And no, I don’t need anything.” He then turned his attention back to the woman and ignored me.
“Very well, then,” I said, basically talking to the wall.
Taking a few steps forward, I introduced myself to Reed’s guest. “I’m Charlotte, Reed’s assistant. You are?”
“Eve Lennon—a private client of Mr. Eastwood’s. He’s going to be showing me a few properties today.”
Reed finally addressed me. “Charlotte, while I have you, can you call ahead to Le Coucou and let them know I’ll be coming there in about fifteen minutes? Have them set up a table for two.” He turned to her. “We’ll go to lunch first.”
I forced a smile. “Of course.”
After I lingered at the doorway for a bit, Reed abruptly took off his glasses, looked over at me, and in the rudest tone said, “You can go.”
Was he kidding?
He was giving me permission to go? How nice of him!
After begrudgingly heading back to my office to make the reservation, I ventured into the kitchen for some much-needed coffee to cure my splitting headache. Still reeling from the way Reed had spoken to me, I was dropping things left and right—first the open sugar packet, then the stirrer.
Iris was there and must have noticed my slippery fingers.
“Charlotte, is everything okay? You seem frazzled.”
Stirring my coffee, I asked, “Who’s Eve Lennon?”
“The Lennon family has been a client of ours for years. Why do you ask?”
“Eve is with Reed in his office, and I got the impression that maybe there was something going on with them. She was all over him. Anyway, it’s none of my business.”
Understanding filled Iris’s eyes. “But it is . . . your business . . . because you have to work with him every day, and you work with all facets of our lives. Reed is very much your business, Charlotte.” She paused. “You have feelings for him, don’t you?”
“Not in that way . . .” I hesitated and let out a breath, realizing I didn’t really need to put up a front with Iris. “I don’t know. Things are just weird between us . . . all of the time. He’s so hot and cold with me. I don’t really understand him. You know what he said to me when I went into his office while she was there?”
“What?”
Deepening my voice, I gave my best Reed impression. “‘You can go.’ Just like that. ‘You can go.’ He can be so condescending.”
Iris seemed upset to see me so bothered by him. She nudged her head for me to join her at one of the tables.
She leaned in. “With my grandson . . . it’s a battle between who he really is and who he thinks he should be . . . between what he really wants and what he thinks he deserves. He has his reasons for how he acts sometimes. But one thing I can tell you is that Eve Lennon doesn’t hold a candle to you. And if Reed is shooing you away and letting that woman near him, he’s using her as a human shield from something he otherwise can’t resist.”
CHAPTER 18
REED
I was goddamn rude to Charlotte, and it was eating me up inside.
She’d left my office like a dog with its tail between its legs. She normally bit back at least once. Not this time.
It was bad enough that Eve had been all over me when Charlotte walked in. Even though there was nothing going on between Charlotte and me, I could tell catching me with Eve made her uncomfortable. But I’d volunteered to usher Eve around to three properties for that very reason, hadn’t I? To show Charlotte that I had no interest in her and to try to steer my dick into a different direction. After my freak-out over her date with my brother, I’d felt a major diversion was necessary. That diversion was currently trying to rub her foot against my leg under the table at Le Coucou.
I wished I wanted Eve. Because she was exactly the type of woman I needed in my life—one I knew would want nothing more from me than sex and expensive things. One who didn’t want inside of my head and heart, one who didn’t want anything long-term.
Eve had two divorces under her belt and had no desire for marriage and kids. Perfect. But as I sat across from her at lunch, I was more than preoccupied.
“So which property are we going to see first?” she asked.
My eyes met hers, but her words hadn’t registered. “Hmm?”
She repeated, “Where are we going first?”
“Right. I was thinking the Tribeca loft since it’s the closest to here.”
She flashed her bright white teeth. “Great.”
When Eve got up to go to the ladies’ room, I decided to check my phone. Out of habit, I clicked on Instagram and pulled up Charlotte’s profile. There was nothing new from today, so I scrolled mindlessly through photos from the past week, coming across one from a week ago that showed a shot of her television while
her feet were up on a coffee table. She was wearing fuzzy slippers. The photo was captioned, It’s 9:00 p.m. on a Wednesday night. You know what that means! Blind Date. Best show on TV.
Everything started to piece together in my brain. The nine p.m. entry of “Blind Date” in her schedule. The fact that Max hadn’t waltzed into my office the first chance he got to tell me that he’d snagged a date with Charlotte. I’d thought that was so unlike him, and I’d been too angry to even confront him long enough to feel him out.
Charlotte had lied.
She’d completely fabricated the date with Max to get me to agree to go to the tryout tonight. I didn’t know what was worse, the fact that she’d conned me into agreeing to go or that she’d known what kind of reaction threatening a date with Max would garner from me.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur as I ushered Eve to the three showings when all I could concentrate on was confronting Charlotte.
After dropping Eve back at her condo, I slogged through rush-hour traffic, hoping to catch Charlotte if she hadn’t left the office yet.
Her office was dark, the only light coming from a small desk lamp. Mostly everyone had left for the day, but Charlotte was sitting at her computer, looking like she was surfing the net rather than working.
When she noticed me standing in the doorway, she jumped a little. “Shouldn’t you be heading to Brooklyn? The tryouts are at seven. You need to head out there.”
“No,” I said as the door latched behind me. “I won’t be going to Brooklyn.”
Charlotte got up from her chair and crossed her arms. “I thought we had a deal.”
“What kind of a game are you playing with me, Charlotte?”
“What do you mean?”
“You lied to me . . . why? So you could see me lose my mind? You knew what kind of a reaction you were going to get. Is that how you get your kicks?”
The guilt on her face was apparent. “How did you know I lied? Did Max tell you?”
“He’s in on this, too? Great.”
“No . . . I just asked him to . . . um . . .” She lost her train of thought.
I took my phone out of my pocket, opened it to her Instagram post, and placed it in front of her face. “Figured it out. ‘Blind Date at nine.’ Plus, Max would never keep something like that quiet. He’d look for the first opportunity to rub it in my face. It all makes sense now.”