Collateral Damage: A Small Town Romance

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “I don’t want your money,” I finally said.

  “What?”

  “I’ll help you out tomorrow, but I don’t want any money for it. Let’s just call it helping out a friend.”

  He shook his head slightly. “No, that wasn’t the agreement.”

  “Well, that’s the agreement now. Robert, I don’t want your money. I mean, I was tempted, but it doesn’t feel right.”

  He grabbed my hand, but I quickly pulled it away. I didn’t want to be drawn into him. “Anna, that was the deal. I’m not trying to buy you off or anything. I want to pay you for helping me.”

  “You told me to name my price,” I said incredulously.

  “Yes, because I really need your help. I’m not lying about that. And you’ll see tomorrow when you meet Rebecca. You’ll understand why I need you.”

  “And I’ll help you, but I can’t accept your money.”

  I turned and headed for the guest room, not even bothering to ask if I could use it. I had to get away from him. The way his eyes pleaded with me for help and the way he had come to me, needing me, left me with feelings that I shouldn’t have. We may be different people now, but that didn’t mean that everything I felt for him was gone. And if I wasn’t careful, I would get lost in him just like I had thirteen years ago.

  I got ready for bed and laid down, but I couldn’t fall asleep. I kept thinking of how much I didn’t belong here. I could hear Robert moving around in the other room, and I wondered what he was thinking about. What was it like to live in a place like this and feel on top of the world? As I stared out the window, I could see how he liked it here. The skyline was brilliant to look at, but the apartment felt cold, and it had nothing to do with the temperature. This wasn’t a home. This was a place to hang your hat at the end of the night. But this wasn’t a place you lived.

  I shoved the covers off and opened the door to grab a glass of water. Robert was in the living room, a glass of scotch beside him as he looked over a notepad. There were papers scattered all over the table in front of him and legal pads everywhere.

  “When do you sleep?”

  He didn’t look up as he jotted down some notes. “When I’m done working.”

  I sat down beside him and glanced at all the paperwork. I didn’t understand any of it. Everything was written in legalese, something that I wasn’t familiar with.

  “So, how will I know what to say tomorrow?”

  He picked up a pad from the table and handed it over. “I made a few notes for you. But mostly, I just need you to sit there and empathize with her.”

  I took it and scanned through the pages. Wow, he had really made a lot of notes.

  “Do you want a scotch?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m too nervous about tomorrow.”

  “Do you want some help going through all that?” he asked.

  I glanced up and could have sworn that for just a moment I saw a look of hope on his face. The truth was, it was probably best if he explained all this to me before we went into the office tomorrow. If I said the wrong thing, that would only hurt him.

  “Sure.”

  We spent the next three hours going over all the notes he made for me. There was so much information, but as he explained it, I found myself really getting into all the legal information. It was interesting how he had laid it all out to work in his client’s favor. And I had to admit, I found it sexy that he was smart enough to do all this. There were many times that I stopped to stare at his mouth as he explained the laws to me or told me about his intentions for the case. I had to keep turning away so that he didn’t catch me staring. And after he was done going over the notes, I knew I had to get out of there before I did something stupid, like kiss him. That would be bad. Very bad. Right.

  I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed. I wore black pants that were faded and a nice enough top that I didn’t look like a bum. I was going to embarrass him in that room today. Everyone was going to look at me and laugh, and while I didn’t care what they thought of me, I didn’t want to ruin this for Robert. I should have said no. Like he said, he would lose his job if he didn’t come through. Maybe I should save him the embarrassment and let him walk away with his dignity.

  “You ready to go?” Robert asked as he knocked on my bedroom door.

  I turned and grimaced. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  He looked me up and down, his gaze lingering on my breasts. “You look fine. Besides, we’re not there to impress them with how you dress.”

  That was probably the most reassuring thing he could have said to me. But when we walked into his office a half hour later and his boss saw me, I wasn’t so confident in his statement. His boss pursed his lips and held a door open for Robert.

  “A word?”

  Robert nodded and grabbed me by the elbow, leading me down the hallway to a door. “Here, just wait in my office. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  My stomach flipped as I stepped into his magnificent office. He had a great view of the city. Everything in his office was clean and modern. Stale. I couldn’t imagine coming to work every day and sitting in here, even if the view was great. I ran my hand along his desk as I took in the room, but there was nothing to distract me from what was about to happen. God, I felt so nauseous.

  The door opened and Robert walked in with his boss in tow. “Anna, I’d like you to meet my boss, Mr. Mosley.”

  I held out my hand and attempted a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  He held my gaze shrewdly and took my hand, squeezing limply, like it wasn’t worth his time. “Robert tells me that you can help us. What are your qualifications?”

  Shocked, I looked at Robert. Hadn’t he told his boss anything? Now I was on the spot and had no idea what to tell him. So, I just laid it out for him.

  “I run his brother’s office back in our home town.”

  “A legal office?” he asked hopefully.

  “No, construction.”

  “And what makes you qualified to speak with our clients in any way?”

  I laughed. “Absolutely nothing. I have no legal experience, I have no college degree, and frankly, I think this whole idea that I could help your client in any way is ridiculous. But Robert asked for my help and he thinks I can accomplish something, so I’m willing to try.”

  “So, you’re basically a secretary with a high school education and you expect me to hand over my most important client to you and expect a winning outcome?”

  “No, in fact from what Robert has told me, I’m pretty much supposed to sit there and look pretty. I’m to empathize with her and make her feel less like she’s surrounded by pompous assholes. Oh,” I said conspiratorially. “Don’t forget that I also got pregnant right out of high school. By him,” I said, jerking my head in Robert’s direction. “Yet, I still somehow managed to survive in a world of jackasses who think they’re better than me simply because they wear fancy suits and drive fancy cars.”

  He fisted his hands and turned to Robert. ”If she screws this up for us, you’re out.”

  Robert smirked as his boss walked away, like he didn’t have a single worry about any of this. I wasn’t feeling quite so optimistic.

  “Your boss is a jackass. I don’t know how you work with him every day.” I whispered to Robert. “Because frankly, I was ready to tell him exactly what I thought of him.”

  He chuckled slightly and turned to whisper in my ear. “Let’s leave that for after the deal is done.”

  Robert got out of the car and then opened my side, holding his hand out for me. The restaurant we were parked in front of reeked of money. And here I was in my simple black pants and blouse, hoping that I didn’t look like the poor person at the table. Robert handed his keys to the valet and placed his hand on my back, leading me into the restaurant. The hostess looked me up and down, obviously finding me lacking, but didn’t say anything.

  “Reservation for Cortell. I’m meeting a friend here shortly.”

  “Of
course, Mr. Cortell.”

  She turned and led me back to a private dining room, which I had reserved specifically so we wouldn’t be overheard. The last thing we needed was someone spying on us and running back to her husband. It would ruin the whole deal.

  “Remember,” Robert whispered. “You’re in love with me and think I’m the greatest man in the world.”

  He pulled out my chair and waited for me to take a seat. When he sat down and I was sure nobody was listening, I leaned over to whisper, “I thought I was supposed to be your fiancé?”

  “You are.”

  “Then I think we have to revise your story, because frankly, you look like a jackass for not giving me a ring.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black box, holding it under the table out of eyesight. His eyes flashed up to mine and he grinned slightly. “I didn’t forget.”

  He took my hand in his and slowly slid the ring onto my finger. It was simple and beautiful and I couldn’t help smiling at it. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s just on loan. I borrowed it from a friend, so don’t lose it.”

  “It’s on loan?” I gasped. “You’re letting me wear someone else’s jewelry?”

  “It’s not even real,” he murmured. “It’s a very good replication of a diamond, but she’s not going to be able to tell. And I didn’t want her to see you with anything bigger, because I didn’t want her to think that I value money. It’s all part of the act.”

  It may have been part of the act, but the ring was spot on. Who cared if it was an actual diamond? Diamonds didn’t mean a thing if there wasn’t love involved, and even then, it was just jewelry. I would take a simple band over a diamond any day.

  “She’s here,” he said, jolting me out of my admiration of the ring. I slid my hand onto his thigh, and went into lover mode. I could do this. I had once been obsessed with this man. It wouldn’t be hard to make it believable. When she approached the table, I smiled and stood along with Robert, holding out my hand to greet her.

  “Rebecca, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m Anna, Robert’s fiancé.”

  She glanced at me for a moment, her eyes taking me in. “I see. And did he bring you along to convince me that he’s a good man and I should listen to him?”

  I laughed lightly. “Of course. In a man’s world, the woman is always the one doing the behind the scenes work.”

  She smiled and Robert tightened his hand around my waist. I’m sure he didn’t like my answer, but if everyone kept lying to this woman or telling her what she wanted to hear, there was no way she was going to sign with him.

  “My Anna has always spoken her mind.”

  I glanced over at Robert, seeing the sparkle in his eyes. “Not always, but I’m getting there.”

  His eyes were glued to mine for a moment, almost like a challenge, like he was waiting to hear the next thing that would come out of my mouth. I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t at all the girl that he remembered, that I had changed so much, but he already knew that, and reminding him of that now would only ruin the illusion.

  “How long have the two of you been together?”

  “Forever,” Robert said at the same time that I said, “About a year.”

  Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she pursed her lips at Robert.

  “We met in high school,” I supplied, remembering our time together. “He was the love of my life, even back then.” My gaze slowly slid over to Robert’s. His eyes were on me, holding me to him, begging me to tell him what he already knew. “We were just kids, but we loved each other very much. He used to sneak out of his house every night to come rescue me.”

  “Rescue you from what?” Rebecca asked curiously.

  My eyes slid back to Rebecca’s and I cleared my throat. “My mother was an alcoholic. I didn’t like to be at the house with her. She was a hard person to be around. So, Robert would sneak me out and we’d lay out under the stars at night, dreaming of a better life.”

  “But it didn’t work out,” Rebecca supplied.

  I shook my head slowly, giving her a sad smile. “Life happened. Robert went away to college and I went to live with my aunt and uncle across the country. I came back to our hometown after my mother died of alcohol poisoning, and I’ve been there ever since.”

  Robert’s hand slid across my shoulders and he squeezed the back of my neck lightly, almost like he was trying to comfort me. I found myself actually tearing up from the tender touch. God, I still missed him so much.

  “So, how did you reconnect?” Rebecca asked, taking a sip of her water on the table.

  “I needed a job. I was working at the gas station in town, just trying to make ends meet.”

  Rebecca’s gaze snapped to Robert’s, a cruel expression crossing her face. “So, you were scraping by and your ex was living the high life. How very cliche.”

  “Cliche?” I said, tilting my head. “No, Robert has always worked hard to get where he is. Life just took us down different paths. But when his brother needed an office manager, he asked him to hire me, knowing I needed the money. I didn’t have any experience, only a few college courses.”

  “He could have given you money.”

  “I wouldn’t have taken it. It’s just not who I am. He helped me the only way he knew how. And he slowly wormed his way back into my life, never giving up until he had me back.”

  “Wow,” she said sarcastically. “You’re just a regular Cinderella story.”

  I laughed. “No, far from it. But Robert has always been my best friend. It just took us a while to find our way back to each other.”

  “Thirteen years,” he said quietly as he stared at me. His thumb brushed against my neck in small circles, sending tingles down my spine. Sitting here with him now, I knew that every word I said was true. He was still my best friend, the only person I felt I could count on, even if time had torn us apart. The connection was still just as strong.

  “I’m not sure if we should be toasting to the dissolution of my marriage or to the two of you finding each other, though I’m guessing it won’t last.”

  I quirked my head at her. “I’m sorry to hear about what you’re going through. It must be extremely difficult.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “I have some idea. Betrayal always feels the same, whether it’s cheating or something else.”

  “Is that what happened with you? Betrayal?”

  I glanced at Robert and then back to her. “What happened between us is in the past. Robert and I were seventeen years old when we broke up. There’s a difference between our relationship now and what it was then. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand the hurt.”

  “Rebecca,” Robert finally spoke up. “I want you to reconsider what we’ve discussed about going forward. If we don’t follow that path, you risk losing everything.”

  “What does she have to do?” I asked curiously, though I already knew.

  Rebecca laughed humorlessly. “He wants me to move my family, along with the whore nanny, to a new home in New Hampshire where we’ll play house until he can get my divorce settled.”

  “Wow, that’s asking a lot.” Robert’s grip tightened on me momentarily. “What happens if you get a divorce here?”

  She slid her thumb across the top of the glass, wiping off the lipstick mark that was left behind. “If I divorce here, I’ll lose half of everything, and I’ll have to pay him alimony.”

  “Why would you pay him? Wouldn’t he be responsible for taking care of you?”

  I already knew all this, but I wanted her to talk it out with me.

  “My husband hasn’t worked in over a year. He took that time to ‘build a company’, which was actually him spending my money on the nanny. See, in your relationship, Robert has all the money and power, but in mine, I hold the keys to the family fortune. I’m the one that risks losing it all.”

  I nodded and leaned back in my seat. “Wow, your husband sounds like a real douchebag.”

  “That’
s one way of putting it.”

  “So, you’ve been out working, earning all the money, and he’s been spending that money on his whore.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I gotta say, I’m with Robert on this one.”

  Her jaw clenched in anger. “You think I should give up my home, my life here, and move with him across the country? Do you know what that’ll do to me? To watch him with that woman, knowing that when I’m out building a new life, he’s fucking her?”

  I grinned at her. “And while you’re building your new life, making even more money than he could ever dream of, Robert will be dismantling his life piece by piece. I have to say, I’m not very vengeful, but if my husband did that to me, I would want to make him suffer. I would want him to feel relaxed and comfortable, thinking that his life was going great. And then, just when he’s thinking he’s won, I would pull the rug out from under him and leave him with absolutely nothing.”

  Robert picked up his drink and grinned. “Remind me to never piss you off once we’re married.”

  “You’d better think about that now,” I smiled back.

  “If I do that, I’d be taking my kids away from the only place they’ve ever known. I’d be relocating my business offices, starting fresh in a new city. That takes time and effort.”

  “But you would have the money to do it,” Robert cut in. “If he takes half your assets, he not only takes the money, but the ability for you to make those decisions. He would sit on the board of your businesses unless you bought him out. You would lose complete control. If you don’t do this, he wins.”

  “He wins anyway. He’ll spread lies to my children. He’ll turn them against me.”