by Karen Booth
“Nobody needed to tell me. I saw it with my own eyes.” Liam took a long slug of his drink to ward off the mental images of that night, but they were coming right at him, one after another. “You two in his study. Drinking. Laughing. Toasting. Your skirt up to the middle of your thighs. And then you hop off his desk and kiss him. I can’t believe you would do that, especially in the house he shared with my mother. She welcomed you into her home and that’s how you treat our family?”
For a moment, Teresa did nothing more than nod and look him square in the eye. It was almost as if Liam could see the cogs turning. “Laughing and toasting? I kissed him?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head emphatically. “No. That was the day I got the job with MSM Event Planning in Santa Barbara. Your dad arranged the interview with Mariella Santiago-Marshall, which was an impossible ticket to get. Every future event planner in the world wants to train with her. That’s why we were toasting. That’s why I kissed him. On the cheek, I might mention. I never, ever kissed your father on the mouth. It would be rude. And strange. He was my mentor.”
Liam wasn’t sure he should believe her. Teresa was clearly a fast thinker and, of course, anyone who was trying to save their current job could fabricate a story to explain their past misdeeds. “You realize I don’t have any reason to believe you. I saw what I saw.”
“No, you saw something that was purely innocent. I swear. Me being mystified at your attitude toward me earlier today was genuine. Now you know why I had no idea why you were angry. Honestly, I thought it was because I turned you down, which seemed a little absurd since it was seven years ago and...” She turned and eyed him up and down. “Look at you. You can have any woman you want.”
Liam could admit that he had been hurt by the way she’d dismissed him all those years ago, but perhaps that was because she was the only woman who’d captured his imagination in no time at all. “Now you’re trying to deflect.”
“I’m not. You’re easily one of Seattle’s top five most eligible bachelors. I’m sure your bed is plenty busy.”
“That’s an awfully big assumption.”
“No, it’s not. I know men. When anything is theirs for the taking, they take.”
If only it was that easy. Liam had never had a relationship that lasted longer than a few weeks. It was simply too difficult for him to be at ease with someone. To trust. He found himself questioning everything and everyone. “My tastes are discerning. I won’t fall for just a pretty face.”
“Of course not. I’m sure you want the whole package. Long legs, great boobs, beautiful hair.”
Like you, Liam nearly said. “I’m not opposed if that’s what you’re asking.”
Teresa knocked her knee into his leg. “I’ll keep that in mind. This single girl doesn’t want to stay that way forever. For now, I want us to get along. Frankly, I need us to get along if I’m going to be helping you with the announcement of this big secret project of yours.”
Liam drew in a deep breath. Perhaps Teresa was right. Perhaps Matt was, too. With his private investigator on the case, Liam would discover the dirt on Teresa St. Claire. He didn’t have to take her word for it. And in the meantime, that one-hour time slot on Saturday morning during the retreat was immensely important to him. He needed to wave the white flag of surrender, at least for the moment. “Fine. We will declare a cease-fire.”
“Not a truce?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure I trust you enough for that.”
Teresa stirred her drink again then looked over at him, their gazes connecting. Liam felt as though she was drawing electricity from thin air and sending it right through him. “Then we’re even. Because I don’t trust you, either.”
Six
Nadia had been back in the office for a little more than a day after her tryst with Matt at The Opulence. It had been a lonely return, and not just because it was the inevitable crash back to reality. Matt had a business emergency in Miami and had left straight from the resort that next morning. They’d made love before he left, just a quickie, but it had been truly bittersweet. She’d had no choice but to remind him afterward that it couldn’t happen again. He’d only said that he understood before leaving her with a parting kiss that lingered on her lips for hours.
Matt was set to return today and that left Nadia a jumble of emotions. She was always excited to see him, but she was also quite certain that people in the office were talking about them. Those not-so-discreet whispers would likely become harder to detect when he was back, but Nadia was certain they’d continue until she and Matt gave the office busybodies something else to talk about.
She was finishing up an email when her phone beeped with a text. She turned and glanced at the screen, seeing a name she hadn’t thought about in quite some time—Hideo Silva. She and Hideo had been close friends in high school but hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in at least four years.
In Seattle today for a photo shoot. Would love to grab a drink. I miss you!
Hideo was a top-tier male model, traveling the world, appearing in countless magazines and regularly dating Hollywood starlets. It was part of the reason he and Nadia rarely spoke. He was off living a jet-set life she couldn’t keep up with. I have a party to go to for work. Do you want to come with me? I miss you, too!
I would love it. Can’t wait to catch up. I’ll call at 6 and we’ll make a plan for me to pick you up?
Perfect. See you then!
Nadia returned her phone to her desk, wondering how Matt would react to this development. There was nothing romantic between herself and Hideo, and there never would be. But he was devastatingly handsome and most men did not react well to being around him. Nadia had witnessed it dozens of times in high school. But perhaps the timing of Hideo’s visit was perfect. She and Matt needed to get back on a more professional track. As amazing as their night at The Opulence had been, it was a startling example of how little self-control she had when it came to him. She’d gone there determined to end it and she’d done exactly the opposite. Even worse, her resolve had lasted only a few hours before they ended up in bed together again. She’d told herself “one more time,” but that wasn’t the way it had happened at all. They’d spent all night making love. They ordered dinner in. Nadia hadn’t spent more than a minute in her own room.
Out of the corner of her eye, Nadia spotted Shayla, the head of PR, marching down the wide corridor outside Matt’s office. On the surface, Shayla was drop-dead gorgeous, with long silky black hair and a flawless complexion. Her tastes were discerning and expensive. Only the finest designer clothing, shoes and accessories would do. But once you knew the real Shayla, it cast her assets in a distinctly different light. She was ruthless. She scared the crap out of the interns in the office, and most of the admins for that matter. With a single pointed glare, she could send a person running to the bathroom in tears. But Shayla was excellent at her job, one of the best in the world. She was also one of Matt’s original employees, and thus afforded herself all of the snobbery that she could claim from having been around longer than anyone else.
“If it isn’t the beauty queen,” Shayla quipped.
“Please don’t call me that. I know you don’t mean it as a compliment.”
“Fine then, Ms. Gonzalez. We need to have a chat about a few things.” Shayla wrinkled her nose. “Things I’d rather not bring up with HR.”
Nadia felt like the bottom of her stomach fell out. She fought back her inclination to bark at Shayla that HR ultimately took orders from Matt, and Matt was not going to let Nadia get in trouble. But she wasn’t entirely sure that was true. She’d only known Matt for fourteen months and she’d spent every minute of that time with a monster crush on him. She’d seen sweet, affable Matt Richmond throw very good people under the bus. “Okay. Shoot.”
Shayla perched herself on the edge of Nadia’s desk and took a long gander in both direct
ions before speaking. Shayla never wanted anyone to catch her saying something horrible, and she’d said plenty of ugly things to Nadia. “I’d like to get the lay of the land here, just so I can be prepared to deal with it if the press comes to me. Did you start sleeping with our boss right away or did you spend a few months wagging that curvy bum of yours in his face before he had a weak moment?” Shayla admired her manicure as if she’d asked Nadia the most innocuous of questions.
Nadia felt her whole body get cold. “This was a recent thing.”
Shayla nodded, but there was so much snide skepticism on her face Nadia wondered how she could hold her head up straight. “Recent like a month ago? Right before he gave you that new car as a bonus?”
Nadia was horrified at Shayla’s suggestion, but she knew very well that it could be misconstrued that way. “That was for a job well done. I worked hard for that car.”
Shayla raised an eyebrow. “I bet.”
Nadia wasn’t going to have this conversation. Shayla had shown her cards too soon. “Can I help you with something? I have work to do.”
“No. Just wanted to let you know that I don’t appreciate having to clean up your messes. Or even worse, having to take the heat for it. If you’re going to carry on like this, at least take the time to be discreet. You didn’t bother to stay in your own room at The Opulence? How obvious can you be?”
“That’s not true. I had my own room.”
“Nobody slept in your bed.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, but I do. I have connections everywhere in this company. From the highest executives all the way down to Housekeeping at our management properties.”
Nadia was really going to have to watch her back. There was no telling how much gossiping Shayla might do. She was tight with a lot of people in the company. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t devote so much time to digging up dirt on me.”
“Don’t tell me what to do with my time. You are on very thin ice here. You’re already past your expiration date with Matt.”
“Expiration date?”
“You’ve worked here for fourteen months. He’s never kept an admin for longer than a year. I think he gets tired of the scenery. Wants a change of pace.”
“He’s not like that.”
“Oh, no? Matt is an unimaginably wealthy, powerful and handsome guy. He can have any woman in the world. You think you’re so special because you won a beauty pageant when you were a teenager? That was a long time ago.”
“I have my job because I’m good at it. And that’s the reason I’ve kept it, too.”
“Then I suggest you focus on that. You can start with that party Gideon Johns is hosting tonight. I know you and Matt are both going to be there. Maybe try not to play footsie with Mr. Richmond while you’re there.”
“For your information, I’m bringing a date.”
From down the hall Nadia could hear a chorus of voices saying, “Good morning, Mr. Richmond.”
Shayla hopped off Nadia’s desk. “We didn’t have this conversation.”
Nadia didn’t bother to reply. Anything she said would be turned against her.
Matt strolled up to them, all smiles. As serious and hard-nosed as he could be, Matt was always warm and pleasant with her. He made her heart melt a little bit every time she saw him. “Ladies,” he said. “Are we having a meeting of the minds this morning?”
“Nadia and I were talking about Gideon Johns’s party tonight. Should be fun.”
“Oh. Right. I forgot about that.”
“I’ll see you both later this evening,” Shayla said, slinking back into whatever hole she’d climbed out of.
Nadia rose from her desk and took Matt’s jacket from him. “Party starts at seven. No dinner, just heavy hors d’oeuvres. Mr. Johns booked one of his favorite bands.”
“Of course he did. The guy is a music junkie.” Matt took several strides into his office, but stopped and turned back. “You coming?”
Nadia was stuck, frozen, unsure what to do. This was the first time they’d been together in the office since sleeping together. She normally wouldn’t think twice about following him into his office. Now she was worried about who was watching and what sorts of signals she might be putting off. The fact that the walls of his office were entirely made of glass wasn’t helping the situation. The instant someone lowered the privacy shades, everyone would start to gossip. She knew very well how the rumor mill worked. “Of course.” She crossed the threshold and closed the door behind them. People might be able to see, but she didn’t want them to be able to hear.
Matt got situated behind his desk, taking out his laptop and plugging in his phone to charge. “Have you heard from Liam by any chance? I’ve been trying to reach him, but I just get his voice mail. I want him to rethink coming to Gideon’s party tonight. I think he’d have fun.”
“I’m not sure, but I can certainly try to get him on the phone.”
“Thanks.”
Nadia took a step closer to his desk, feeling awkward and intimidated. “Matt, I hate to bring up personal stuff at work, but I just want to make sure we’re both on the same page with what happened at The Opulence.”
He nodded, sat back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach, bringing to mind the feel of his muscled abs beneath her hands. Damn, she was going to miss that. “We agreed it was the last time, right? I mean it’s a real shame, but I get it. We should just be glad that tabloid story didn’t blow up in our faces.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk about. It sort of has. At least for me. People are whispering when I walk by and one person actually said something to me about it.”
Matt raised both eyebrows, creating those adorable crinkles in his forehead. “What happened?”
Nadia didn’t want to get too specific. There was no divulging Shayla as the source without it later coming back to haunt her. “Let’s just say that I got a few snide comments about sleeping with the boss. And an assumption that it might be tied to the car you gave me as a bonus.”
He shook his head. “No. You earned that car. Fair and square. That was a good month before anything happened.”
“I know that. You know that. But you can also imagine how it looks. I can’t afford for anyone at work to see me in a light that’s less than professional. I need this job. It’s important to me.”
“I’m not going to fire you. You’re the best admin I’ve ever had, by far.”
“And you know that it isn’t just your decision. All sorts of outside forces can come into play if a particularly bad story gets out. The board of directors. Stockholders. You have to answer to people, Matt. You aren’t an autonomous ruler.”
His lips pressed into a thin line. She hated that look of concern on his face. It didn’t suit him. “Don’t remind me.”
“I’m just saying that for both of our sakes, we should agree that we had fun together, but now we’re back to the way things were before.”
He blew out a breath and took a glance out the window. “Agreed. I don’t like it, but I agree.”
She wasn’t sure what about it he didn’t like—the idea of not getting to have sex with her anymore? But she wasn’t going to press for additional information. She had what she wanted. “Great. I’m glad we agree.”
He turned back in his chair. “When you say you need this job, do you mean you really need it? Like things would get bad if you lost it?”
Nadia nearly laughed. Matt was very down-to-earth, but he’d grown up with extraordinary wealth. The man had never wanted for anything. “Yes. Things would get bad. I need to earn a living, Matt. Just like almost everyone.”
“What kind of bad? Because if we aren’t paying you enough, I can fix that.”
“This is not the time to give me a raise.”
“You didn’t answer my question, though. What kind of bad?”
>
Nadia didn’t like to talk about her personal life at work, but she couldn’t deny that she and Matt had a strong connection. He was sweet and caring. He was interested in people’s lives. “My parents rely on me to help make ends meet. My mom got sick right before I came to work here. Breast cancer. She’s okay, but my parents didn’t have great insurance. My mom is a teacher and my dad owns a coffee-roasting business and a handful of coffee shops. Money was always tight. So, I stepped in to help, just so they wouldn’t have to risk losing their home. That house is a big piece of their retirement. I wasn’t willing to let them lose that.”
“I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Nadia shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Because it had nothing to do with my job. I mean, lots of people have burdens. I’m helping my parents pay off some medical bills. I’m helping with my sister’s college tuition. It’s not a big deal. I have a budget and I stick to it and it’s not a problem. I’m not wanting for anything.”
“But if you lost your job, all of that would fall apart.”
“Well, yeah.”
He nodded solemnly. “Okay. I get it. We can’t allow ourselves to get into a situation where any doubt could be cast on your abilities. We’ll focus on work and leave what happened in the past.”
Matt had just said everything she’d wanted him to say. This was the smart course and Nadia prided herself on being sensible. So why was she feeling so profoundly sad? “Just a memory.”
“An incredibly hot one.”
Nadia shook her head. Matt was going to be the death of her. “Do you need anything right now? If not, I’m going to get back to my desk.”
“No. I’m good.”
Nadia headed for the door.
“Oh, uh, Nadia. You’re coming to Gideon’s party tonight, right? Do you need a ride? I can have my car come by and scoop you up.”
She smiled sweetly while digging her fingernails into the heels of her hands. “I am going, but I don’t need a ride. I’m actually bringing a date.” The instant the words left her lips, she felt a deep urge to explain herself. She didn’t want to hurt Matt, no matter what. But she also had to be strong for once. If she had a means of putting up walls with him, she should do it. It would be better for both of them in the long run.