Compromising Positions (Invested in Love)

by Bayley-Burke, Jenna

  He’d spent the first half of his life wanting to be just like Lance Strong and the second half wanting to be nothing like him. As if I had a choice. His stomach sank. If he was like his father, what did that mean for Sophie? He shook his head hard to dispel the thought and picked up the folder from his desk. Handing it to his father, he let out the breath he’d forgotten he held.

  “What’s this?” Lance asked, flipping through the file. The two men were exactly the same height, their weight within five pounds of one another. Lance’s hair was graying, though his hairstylist kept most people from noticing. The only telling differences were the deep lines on Lance’s face and the color of their eyes. Lance’s steely blue gaze locked on to David.

  “A buyout agreement,” David answered, thankful he had prepared everything in advance.

  “For what?” Lance asked, still smiling.

  “My company. The one you’ve been milking.” There. He’d said it. It was out. Game on, old man.

  Lance didn’t even flinch at the accusation. Instead, he kept his face loose as he read over the pages in the folder. “I assume you’ve been generous.”

  “Always.” He fought his quickening breath. No denial? No apology?

  “How much did you find?”

  “You’ve embezzled two-point-six million since April.” David struggled to control his breathing. How could he just stand there so calmly?

  “Borrowed.” Lance tapped a finger against the pale paper. “This says a shareholder’s draw.”

  “Now that I know about it, it is.” David snorted.

  “I’m impressed.” Lance smiled wide, as if there was something happy and warm about this moment. “You found it all.”

  “I wasn’t looking to impress you. Let’s make that clear.”

  “How will this affect the prenup?”

  He closed his eyes and drew in a wistful breath. If this wasn’t his father, David would be swinging by now. “The majority of your assets at the time of the marriage were hidden within the company infrastructure. This agreement pays you for your remaining share of the company, minus the draws you have already taken. It will be an arguable issue at a divorce hearing. The prenup set an alimony payout, but she could try for more. But this agreement also states you won’t be investigated for any financial issues that may come up.”

  Lance shook his head slowly as he walked toward David’s desk and set down the folder. “Did you finance my buyout personally, or is it through the company?”

  It was none of his damned business after what he’d done. “Personally.”

  “Good, good.” Lance picked up the folder again. “Where exactly do I sign?”

  “Dad, you should have a lawyer go over it. Retain counsel you can trust with the facts of the situation. Then, we’ll—”

  “I didn’t put you through law school so you could give me some get-a-lawyer bullshit. I’m sure it’s fair. Let’s get this over with so we can go grab some lunch.”

  “We? I’ve completely lost my appetite.” He didn’t want to share anything with this man. “This is really how you’re going to handle this?”

  “Were you looking for a denial or an apology?” Lance asked, the wild scratch of pen on paper echoing through the room.

  He didn’t know. He’d played this conversation in his head a hundred different ways, but not this one. He wanted to hear it was all Tessa the Terrible, that the old man needed help exorcising her from his life. “I deserve an explanation.”

  Lance shrugged. He walked to the couch and sat down. Slumped back into the cushions, he loosened his tie and then closed his eyes. “Why does anyone do anything? Love and money. I’m in love with a woman who spends too damned much money.”

  Brutal honesty, but it still didn’t add up. “You make a lot of money. A lot.”

  Lance looked at David and shot him one of the trademark Strong grins. “I thought so, but I have alimony payments and a young wife with a penchant for real estate.” He rolled his eyes and leaned his head back again. “I assume the press release will say I retired?”

  David nodded. “Voluntarily. I’m not bringing this before the board. It’s a personal buyout, so there is no need for their approval.”

  He smiled. “You’ll have such a majority you won’t have to vote on much of anything. Majority ownership is what you’ve always worked for.”

  The man actually looked proud. David felt a tug from the part of him that still lived for that look. “You could have told me. I would have helped, if you’d needed money.”

  Lance dismissed the sentiment with a wave of his hand. “I asked you to buy me out twice. You refused, as long as I was married to Tessa. Who else knows?”

  “Just me, and a friend of mine. She reviewed the books as a favor. No one else has to know.”

  Lance’s eyes opened wide as he sat up straight. “A female friend you let see the financial statements? I didn’t know you were serious about anyone.”

  He suddenly felt sixteen again. “I’m not. She’s a forensic accountant. Or was, anyway. We’re just friends.”

  “Was? What does she do now?”

  “She’s a yoga instructor. We’re not talking about me.”

  “Isn’t that hypocritical?” Lance said with a smirk. “You issue a blanket rule that I cannot date employees, but you take up with one?”

  “Sophie doesn’t work here. She has her own club.”

  Lance leaned forward, his blue eyes sparkling. “The girl from the gossip column? I want to meet her. Call her, invite her to lunch.”

  “No.” He folded his arms across his chest. There was no way. “She doesn’t need to be put in the middle of this mess you made.”

  Again, Lance waved his hand through the air. “You can’t hide her away forever. Has Kelly met her?”

  He’d always admired the way Lance could do that, deflect conversations. “Dad, you’re making this into something it’s not. She’s a friend. I don’t do relationships.”

  “Friendship is a relationship, my boy.” Lance’s pearly white grin gleamed beneath the fluorescent lights.

  “You, of all people, know what I mean.” David was flabbergasted. The man was stealing from the family company, couldn’t hold on to a wife, and he wanted to give him advice?

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m not wired for long-term relationships. I’ve learned from you they can be very expensive. You know, alimony, child support, embezzlement.” It was low, but his father deserved it. It was the truth.

  Lance put his hands on his knees, and his shoulders slumped. “And here I was thinking there was hope for you now that you got what you’ve always wanted. I’m disappointed.”

  “I don’t think you get to be disappointed today. You only get to be relieved I was able to save your butt from jail time by catching on to your scam before anyone else and covering it up. A cover-up that could very well backfire on me someday.”

  Lance shrugged. “There’s nothing illegal about a shareholder withdrawal. It’s only money, David. I’d much rather my son wasn’t such a cynic.”

  He shook his head. “I am what you made me, Dad.”

  Looking at Lance had always been like looking into a time machine for David. Most of his life, he hadn’t only wanted to be like his father, he’d wanted to be him. A man who, it turned out, could steal and not even feel any remorse.

  “Me? I am forever an optimist.”

  “With five marriages in your wake.”

  Lance breathed a soft chuckle through his nose. He stood and walked to where David leaned against his desk.

  “You’ve never been in love.”

  He narrowed his eyes at his father. “Excuse me?”

  “Love. It is an incredible sensation. An amazing gift. All consuming and yet as light as a whisper. Once you’ve been in love, you don’t ever want to find yourself out of it.”

  “If love means robbing your kids, I’ll stay away from it, thank you very much.”

  “I’m not saying I wen
t about it the right way, but robbery is a bit harsh. I never jeopardized the company, just got a little creative with the accounting. Love can make you a tad blind to reality.”

  David rolled his eyes. How could someone have so little remorse? His anger bubbled inside. “Is this the way you handled your divorces, too? Just a ‘too bad’ and a few flimsy excuses? If that’s your idea of love, it’s no wonder you can’t stay married.” He flinched at the sound of his own words. He knew he’d gone too far.

  Lance shook his head furiously, swallowed hard, and stared at the floor. “I never married thinking I would get divorced. I loved your mother so hard and so desperately that when she died, I thought I would never marry again. But I wanted you to have a mother. And Karen was great, but once she had Kelly, I couldn’t stand the way she treated you differently.”

  “Don’t blame all your divorces on me.” For one, he shouldered the blame; that was more than enough.

  Lance met his gaze. “I’m not. I want to make you understand. I was loved once, in a way that makes it hard for any other woman to measure up.”

  “And don’t blame my mother, either. She probably wouldn’t have fared any better than the rest of your brides.”

  Adrenaline shot into his veins as his father crossed the office in two long strides and placed both hands on his shoulders. “If your mother was alive, I would still be married to her today. If you don’t believe anything else about me, you can believe that.” Lance loosened his grip, but he didn’t let go.

  “Life is short, my boy. One day I had every man’s dream, and the next moment, it was every man’s nightmare—a dead wife and a crying child who needed me so much I couldn’t just end it all and go with her. I would have, if not for you.

  “I know I’ve failed you in so many of ways. If I’ve scared you into not allowing yourself to love, I will never forgive myself. That brief moment of being loved is worth any pain you have to endure at losing it.”

  David felt a tempest of emotions as his father wrapped his arms around him. His father hadn’t hugged him in years. College graduation, maybe? And where was all this coming from? Some sort of emotional penance for firing him? “Dad? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” Lance said, pulling away and wiping his eyes. “I’m going to go home and make love to my wife. Let me know when my retirement party is.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Your boyfriend is weird,” Laurie announced as Sophie followed the last of her students out of the mat Pilates class.

  Sophie eyed the cello-wrapped tower of citrus on the reception desk, and felt her cheeks tighten in a grin. Oranges.

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” she forced herself to say. Someone here had told Daphne about his earlier visit; no doubt they’d tell her about this, too. “If you know they’re from him, there must be a card.” Which they’d read. Nothing was sacred around here.

  Laurie handed her the tiny white envelope. Sophie soaked in the moment. A tiny triumph. He was thinking about her.

  Sorry about Colin’s Column.

  It won’t happen again.

  David

  A little disappointing, but he wasn’t the type to wax poetic. Maybe he knew Daphne was suspicious, and he didn’t want to upset her further. She shook her head, her smile fading. She was reading too much into this. It was fruit, not flowers.

  Slicing the plastic with a pair of scissors, she unwrapped her gift and plucked an orange from the pile. “Help yourselves, ladies,” she offered, marching back to her office.

  What she wouldn’t give for the message behind a dozen long-stemmed red roses, or a bunch of grapes. There was something to be said for instant gratification.

  …

  “Where are we going?” Sophie asked, turning in her seat to face him.

  “To get your thank-you present.” David downshifted as they hit traffic. He was trying hard not to look smug. She was going to love it. It was exactly what she needed, what she wanted.

  “Give me a hint.” She slid out of her cross-trainers and tucked her legs beneath her.

  As traffic came to a halt, he turned and, unable to stop himself, reached out and ran a finger down her face. He felt her whole body shudder from head to toe, which made his spine tingle. “No.” Surprised by his reaction, he turned back around, placing both hands firmly on the wheel. How did she do that to him?

  “I can think of a really great present, and we don’t have to go anywhere to get it.”

  If only. “No.”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw her teasing smile. “Come on, play fair. Twenty questions?”

  No way would she guess. “I thought most women liked surprises.”

  “I keep telling you I’m not most women. You can’t control everything. Just a hint, please.”

  He inched the car forward, remembering just why he lived on the waterfront. Crossing any of the bridges joining the two sides of town was tedious. “Twenty questions.”

  She tucked a wayward curl behind her ear as her face suddenly got serious. “Animal, vegetable, or mineral?”

  “Mineral. That counts as three. You’re supposed to ask yes or no questions.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “Is it bigger than a breadbox?”

  “Yes.” He smiled as her eyes widened, glistening with anticipation. Disappointment filled him as traffic began to move again. He would have to watch the road instead of her. Which was good, because they were friends, nothing more. His meeting with his father had proved he couldn’t be more than that to her. It just wasn’t in his DNA to be the kind of man she deserved. If he allowed himself to get in any deeper with Sophie, she’d wind up hurt, and he’d never forgive himself. This was it, his thank-you and his good-bye.

  “What could we possibly need that’s bigger than a breadbox?” He heard her whisper to herself. His hands tensed at the “we.” This isn’t leading her on; it’s thanking her for her help, he reminded himself.

  “Can you play with it?”

  “I suppose so.”

  “Did you pick it out?”

  “Yes, but I haven’t seen it.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “The internet is amazing, especially when you are too distracted to work.”

  “Oh. How did it go with your father?”

  He tried to block out what kind of man his father was, and what that meant for Sophie if he tried to have more than a friendship with her. “Yes or no questions, remember?”

  “David, you know how I feel about your rules,” she said, taunting him.

  “They don’t apply to you.”

  “Finally, you see it my way,” she teased.

  The silence stretched out as he wove through traffic, crossing the river and continuing on. “I thought we were playing a game?”

  “David, I’ve been trying to play with you for weeks. You keep turning me on and turning me down.”

  He groaned. “We’re almost there. If you’re going to guess, you’d better hurry.”

  “I think I’ve figured you out.”

  He almost choked. “Really?”

  “You only want a woman you can’t have. The thrill of the chase is what does it for you. I’ve made it too easy.”

  “You haven’t made anything easy,” he said, turning into the parking lot.

  “Why are we at a car lot?” Sophie asked as she pushed on her shoes.

  He slid out of the car. Two salesmen with matching greasy hairstyles attached themselves to him before he could answer.

  “It’s over here.” He broke free from Thing One and Thing Two and waved her closer.

  “What is?” she asked.

  With his hand on the small of her back, he propelled her toward the tiny car, ruby-red—the color of her toenail polish.

  “It’s the Honda Civic Hybrid. You said you were thinking about electric. You can go six hundred miles without having to find a gas station.”

  She spun around, wrapping her arms around his waist and locking him into place. “You bought me a car?�
��

  He nodded, throwing in a devilish grin for free.

  She shook her head. “It’s too much. I can’t accept it.”

  “Yes, you can. If I’d had to hire someone to look through the accounts, I would have spent much more. And it would have gotten very messy.” He held up the key. “Say ‘you’re welcome,’ and we’re even.”

  “But you don’t have to. Really, it’s too much.”

  “Let someone be nice to you for a change, Sophie.” He let go of the key, and she instinctively caught it on the drop.

  Giggling, she stepped back and reached for his hand. “Let’s take it for a test drive.”

  “Go ahead.” He smiled.

  “Come with me.” She tugged on his hand and stepped closer to the car.

  He laughed at her enthusiasm. He knew she’d love it. “Sophie, that car is as small as you. I’ll never fit.”

  She looked him up and down as her face fell. It was the truth. He rarely fit in cars without having the seats retrofitted. “You want to buy me a car you don’t fit in?” There was an edge to her voice he didn’t recognize.

  He shrugged. “It’s what you want.”

  The keys banged into his chest right before she spun on her heel and marched back to his car.

  “Sophie.” He caught up to her as she pulled her backpack out. “What?”

  She only glared at him as she began to walk away.

  It was almost comical, her trying to walk away from him. Her short legs had three strides to his one. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going home,” she huffed.

  “You can’t walk home from here.” He grabbed her arm and held her in place. When she tried to wrench away, he tightened his grip.

  “I don’t want it,” she said, pulling at his fingers.

  “I’m getting that,” he said, not letting her go. “Come back with me and I’ll drive you home.”

  “I need some room right now, David,” she said, still wrestling with his fingers. “Let go of me.”

  “You’re not walking home from here. It’s too far, and it’s not safe.”