“How did you explain coming up with the money?”
“I didn’t, and Basilio didn’t ask. Does it matter? I’m broke, Carlina’s safe and the two of you can have a happily ever after.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” I replied sadly.
GG
I needed to move. Homes, cities, maybe countries.
I’d never feel safe here again.
An hour before Scott started his incessant buzzing, I’d woken to the cold blade pressed firmly to my throat. Not firm enough to draw blood, but enough to send a message that someone could break into my unit. Come into my bedroom. Attack or even kill me before I even knew I wasn’t alone.
As soon as the masked intruder left, adrenalin gave me the strength and energy to push my dresser the dozen metres from my bedroom to my front door. I yanked out any clothes, filling each drawer with heavy books until it would take more than one man to push past.
I checked the windows and stacked the window frames with kitchen utensils to stop them from sliding open.
It wasn’t until after barricading myself in the bathroom, long after I’d stopped talking to Scott, that I could stop shaking. At least I knew how they’d found me. Pulling together all my towels and blankets to set up a bed in the bathtub, I tried to go back to sleep. Only, each time I closed my eyes all I could see was the masked man laying a photo on my pillow.
With trembling fingers, I uncrumpled the photo.
Blurry, but the three men were easily recognizable.
My ex-husband, ex-lover, and Jarryd. Turning it over, I still couldn’t get my head around the size of the number written on the back. With the distinctive dollar sign that could only have been written by one man; Basilio Calibri. Another face from my past. If he was reaching out, it could only mean one thing. Matt was in over his head and it had suddenly become my problem to fix.
Bloody Scott!
I cried into my make-shift bed, willing for sleep to come. Except my phone still blinked with unread and unplayed messages.
It didn’t matter how sorry he was, Scott had betrayed me.
“GG, Carlynn, you need to talk to me eventually.”
No, I really didn’t.
Up until now, my life had been defined by three men—Basilio, Matt and now Scott.
Each one of them rich, powerful and irresistible. Basilio tall, dark with Mediterranean looks and charm. Well-connected family and when we’d walked into a room, I’d received the respect that Basilio commanded. He’d been everything my family warned me against. The whole living on the edge, with bodyguards and police raids.
Basilio had loved me and I thought I could live with our entourage. Except, his father had made his feelings clear. Basilio would marry a traditional bride with values from a shared culture. An Australian woman who could hold her own at a card table wasn’t suitable for the Calibri family.
I wasn’t suitable. I could end things gracefully, or Basilio’s father would end things permanently.
Had I loved Basilio? Maybe a little, but it was never a lasting kind of love. We’d broken up and both moved on.
I’d never loved Basilio the way I’d fallen for Matt Hargraves. From the first time he walked into the casino with all his preppy mates, I became his smitten kitten. Unable to see his faults or even his flaws. What was the old saying, marry in haste and repent at leisure?
We’d bought out every bad indulgence in each other until I couldn’t even look at Matt without loathing not only the man he’d become, but the couple we’d turned into.
Leaving Matt had been necessary. We both needed a clean break, an opportunity to put all the shit behind us and start again. My family had tried to surround me in their love and protection, but Matt’s demons kept finding me.
Until tonight, I’d thought my uncle’s warnings had been an overreaction.
Until tonight, I’d hoped that changing my name and moving cities had been an unnecessary precaution.
If anything, I should have changed countries, and my profession.
Scott.
I traced the blurry outline of his lips with my broken fingernail. Remembering how his rough stubble had taken me to ecstasy only days ago.
Memories and regrets.
Damn him! Of the three men, it was Scott I wanted a lifetime with.
Scott’s intellect challenged me to think smarter, to be better. His wit had me laughing, even when I wanted to cry.
And when he’d held me—damn him—when he’d held me, GG could lay down her mask and I could be Carlynn.
I’d trusted him. Yes, we’d been going through a rough patch, but neither of us had been ready to give up. We’d been biding our time until the report got finalized and accepted by the Softli board, and Scott realized I wasn’t out to get him.
Tonight changed everything. Scott might as well have invited the intruder to my doorstep and showed him the way to my bedroom.
Scott. Either intentionally or not, he’d made sure that Matt and Basilio knew my new name and how to find me.
Half a million dollars.
The number of zeros didn’t change, no matter how many times I checked.
Even if I pooled all my funds, tapped out my family’s ready cash, I’d still fall short. Yes, the cards had been kind, but a couple of months hadn’t been long enough to build that kind of bankroll.
As dawn broke, I finally felt safe enough to leave the bathroom and crawl back into bed. If they’d wanted to kill me, they’d had their chance. Basilio wouldn’t risk losing his only chance of getting paid.
Why did I fall in love with gamblers?
Why did I have to fall in love with Scott? A man I couldn’t hate even when I should.
Four of a kind
Scott
“Hi, glad I caught you before the meeting.”
I’d timed my approach perfectly. Relying on Carlynn’s good manners not to walk away or ignore me as we waited for the board meeting to start. Darius kept the other members corralled near the coffee trolley, giving me time and space to catch Carlynn from the elevator.
Walking in without her usual swagger, a soft grey suit hugging her perfect hips. And what had she been thinking, wearing a silk blouse the same color as her nipples?
A sign?
Or only in my imagination.
She looked better than I felt. I hadn’t eaten a full meal in days. Torn between relief she was safe and anger at her betrayal. I’d tried to move on, but the whole financial report episode still stung. Without the time or chance to clear the air, I didn’t know whether to kiss her, or kick her to the curb.
Or tie her up and kiss her senseless.
“I can’t believe you told them,” she hissed, eyes glaring.
“Something we should definitely talk about, so you can scream, yell and throw things at me.” Instead of looking for her condemnation, I kept my gaze on the hovering male board members. As CFO, I had every right to have private conversations before meetings, explain the finer points of the papers and make sure no one made a rash decision out of ignorance.
No one needed to know why Carlynn shook when she spoke to me, or why her anger knew no bounds. She needed a release, and I needed to give her a safe space to unleash.
“I guess you don’t want me to blurt it out in there?” Carlynn nodded towards the opening door.
“If you think it would help you forgive me, go for it.” I answered with faked confidence. “Or you could let me take you out for dinner, back to Pedro’s where it all began?”
“So I can abuse you in a public place, privately?”
There! Out of the corner of his eye, I felt her soften or at least one of her walls crumbled. “Whatever I feel about you and Mason, I would never have done anything to put your life at risk.”
Mason’s secretary started herding the other Board members into the room. Chloe would leave me until last, knowing I’d spend every second rounding up votes.
“Your ex-husband loves you.” I hoped the feeling was no longer mutual, holding my brea
th until Carlynn became GG and lightly touched my arm.
“Something we can discuss over dinner?”
Perhaps the color of her blouse had been Freudian, perhaps a sign. As long as it ended up on my bedroom floor, I didn’t give a shit.
Scott: Pick you up at 8?
GG: Why so late?
Scott: You don’t normally eat until late
GG: How about you clear the air while we walk. Then dinner if we both want to.
Scott: This meeting should be finished by 4
GG: So?
Scott: Go straight to my car. Don’t pass Go and don’t collect $200
Only GG the card player would understand my sense of humor, but could she understand how messed up Carlynn’s actions had been? Or understand the depths of the betrayal?
“Mr. Alexander, are you with us or contemplating the financial fate of the universe?” Mason certainly wasn’t his normal, charming self today. “Unless your messages are more important than this meeting, could you please go through last quarter’s financial statements.”
“Certainly, I apologize for being distracted. I’m expecting a shareholder announcement from BL Soft. Apparently three of their executives were shown the door earlier today. It may be material for our share price.”
“Nicely covered, but let’s focus on the agenda.”
Verbally, Mason let me get away with my distraction, but his eyes lacked the friendly fire of past meetings. No. The trust was gone. He’d at least put our personal stuff aside and backed down long enough for me to quickly go through the financials before passing to Darius. Of course, Darius was able to link Carlynn’s report to his multi-million-dollar investment in some sort of tech wizardry that had Mason smiling and my cashflow projections needing rework. By the end of his sales pitch, there was no doubt Carlynn’s report would be endorsed. I still didn’t trust the man but had to appreciate how Darius could make any meeting seem about him.
At least his filibuster gave Carlynn and I cover to continue our own conversation.
GG: The report didn’t scare the horses.
Scott: Because they haven’t realized how much their life is gonna be turned upside down
GG: They will. Mason wants me to explain the second recommendation. Leave no room for doubt.
Scott: Wish I felt the same.
GG: ?
Scott: You turned my life upside down.
Scott: You made me doubt.
GG: ?
Scott: I miss us
GG: I wish I didn’t
Scott: I miss you
All I had to do was forgive her for not breaking Mason’s confidence. Forgive her for doing her job and not telling me about the second report. If I could find a way to get over my hurt ego and pride, surely, we could start again?
“Thank you for a wonderful evening.” Carlynn tried to hold my hand as we left the restaurant, the night air hitting us with another dose of reality.
I refused to accept her hand or that our night was over. Decisions hadn’t been my strong suit lately.
“Do you want to go somewhere for coffee?”
“We just ate dessert and had two coffees.”
“We still have a lot to talk about.”
I wanted to give her time to apologize. Two little words and I’d be able to forgive her and we could move on.
Carlynn had turned up to dinner looking like my favorite dream. Short taupe skirt with a split up her thigh giving my cock its own life support. Her matching crop top showed off her flat stomach that was designed for drizzled honey. Sexy turned sensual with a matching long jacket.
She’d pulled out all stops except the one that mattered.
I needed to trust the woman I loved, otherwise, what was the point? And Carlynn needed to trust me.
All night, we’d talked and laughed. About Jarryd and how he could become obsessive about his players not going off to other games. Sharing anecdotes and insights into the Softli executive. We even talked about the economic opportunities coming out of the pandemic.
Each conversation ended the same, we got close to moving on and then there would be a question or statement about trust.
And we couldn’t.
Not yet.
Going after my financials had hit my personal and professional integrity. I’d spent years building my career and reputation. Having my integrity questioned by Mason burned more with each day. Having my girlfriend, or woman I’d been sleeping with, help him and not tell me?
I wanted to hate Carlynn as much as I loved GG. I tried to separate the two women in my head, but the woman standing in the middle of the footpath had GG’s legs and sex appeal, and Carlynn’s grace and intellect. GG’s wicked sense of humor, and Carlynn’s ability to make me look for the good in humanity.
I loved her. I hated her.
If only love was enough.
“Don’t you think we should leave, wishing we could stay?” Carlynn’s eyes had the soft sadness of goodbye.
“Why leave at all?”
Not my most convincing argument. If she made the decision, it meant I didn’t have to.
“You don’t trust me, and I don’t trust you.” If posed as a question, I could have countered with logic, if I wanted to change the outcome.
“You betrayed me.”
“I was doing my job.”
Her words the absolute opposite of an apology flamed my rage. Simmering for weeks, she triggered my reaction. “You fucked me over. You and Mason.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Which is why you haven’t apologized. Hell, I apologized for giving away your new name, even though you didn’t trust me with the truth.”
“Firstly, thank you for a night I’ll never forget. What woman wouldn’t want to wake up with a knife at her throat!”
What?
“Secondly,” she continued before I had a chance to respond, “What would I apologize for? Bruising your fragile pride?”
“How about all the lies.” My arms trembled with rage. Damn it, and damn her. I was out of here. I’d head to the mountains this weekend. Nothing like throwing myself at a rock face to rid me of the distractions in my head.
“I never lied.”
“Bullshit.” Why couldn’t she just say the words, even if she didn’t mean them?
“I didn’t really lie, I just never told you all the truth.”
The woman didn’t care. Nothing in her voice or face showed she gave a damn at the impact of her betrayal.
Her actions triggered my deepest fears and insecurities. Things she knew but didn’t care. Every time she’d looked up with love in her eyes, she’d been hiding the truth.
“That poker face came in really handy for you, didn’t it? I never had a clue about what a deceitful bitch you could be.”
I wanted to stop, to take a breath and have this conversation tomorrow. After loving all night and after eating breakfast in bed. We could fight and sort things out, tomorrow. But we’d been on a crash course for weeks.
“You’re going to have to get over it sometime—I didn’t do anything wrong.” Carlynn stood, hands folded across her chest. A teacher scolding a child. Thinking she was right.
“That’s the thing, you truly believe that.”
“I was doing my job.”
“You were right the first time, better to leave wishing we could stay.”
Carlynn probably thought I was getting us a cab to share. Half an hour ago, she’d have been correct. But when I handed the driver a fistful of notes, gave her address and slammed the door shut, I didn’t bother to look for the shock on her face. As easy as it would have been to climb in the back seat, take her back to my place and bury my head between her legs, I couldn’t reconcile the beautiful, sexy woman I loved, with the woman who didn’t even think she’d betrayed me.
Lied by omission. Evaded the truth.
Her arguments were technicalities.
I felt betrayed.
She’d felt she couldn’t trust me.
; Perception became our reality.
A life with GG would be spent second-guessing whether she meant what she said, looking for hidden meanings.
GG: What the hell just happened?
Scott: Dinner was a mistake.
GG: The only mistake is you being too stubborn to admit you are wrong.
Scott: Only about us.
GG: I was doing my job. I’d do it again.
Scott: And that’s why dinner was a mistake.
GG: I can’t accept that.
Scott: Try.
“It had nothing to do with us, I was just doing my job.”
Carlynn’s excuses continued to reverberate days later. But dinner had been the trigger. Allowing me to step back and see her with fresh eyes—to actually see the deceit.
I deserved better.
So did she.
“Miss Rush is on the phone again,” Layla had tried all her charm to get me to take Carlynn’s calls. Too bad. The Board had accepted her report and her job here was done.
“If it’s work-related, she can talk to my team or Mason.”
“And if it’s not?” Layla knew me too well.
“I’ve said all there is to say, and if she turns up in person, either you can call security, or I will.”
I couldn’t win a trick. Either I was trying to convince Carlynn to listen to me, give us another chance, or I’d given up and she was in full flight.
If only she’d been as willing to talk to me, before. Now she couldn’t stop. My phone filled with text messages.
Basilio was another ex. Figured. It explained the summons to his office and knife on the table.
Matt had been the love of her life, until he wasn’t. They’d been happy and in love until Matt dove headfirst into gambling hell. If Carlynn thought giving me a recap of past relationships could clear her way back to my bed, she was wrong.
Very wrong.
Impossibly wrong.
I wished.
If only I could bring myself to block her number as easily as I’d banned her from my office.
GG: Mason asked me to investigate. If it wasn’t me, he would have asked someone else.
GG: I didn’t go deep enough. He wanted me to go further and didn’t believe me when I said you were clean.
Reckless Gamble: a billionaire high stakes suspense romance (City Sinners Book 4) Page 21