Secrets (Lords of the City)

by Alice Ward

  “There’s really not a lot to tell,” I insisted. “And I’d rather not have to tell it twice.”

  Piper frowned. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.” She sighed and put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

  “What did you do last night?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

  “I took advantage of having the house to myself. I took a long bubble bath, lay around in my robe, and watched a Bridget Jones marathon,” she said as we swiped our train passes and moved through the terminal.

  “You know…”

  “I know,” Piper interrupted with an impatient wave. “Bridget Jones is just a modern interpretation of Pride and Prejudice and if I wanted to feel the true emotions of the story, I should have watched the original. Like I said, I was taking advantage of having the house to myself.”

  We boarded our train just before it pulled out of the station. The car was nearly empty and we settled into the seats nearest the door.

  “So, what exactly am I barging in on this afternoon?” Piper asked. “I know we’re hitting up all of the baby boutiques. Any chance of stopping for food? I would have eaten at home, but we both forgot to go to the market this week.”

  “Actually, our first stop is brunch at Lula’s,” I answered, making a mental note to stop for groceries on our way home.

  “Thank God,” Piper sighed. She pulled her tablet from her bag and engrossed herself in a romance novel for the rest of the trip. That was one of the many things I loved about Piper. When she knew I didn’t want to talk, she didn’t push me.

  The train finally pulled into Manhattan. We stepped into the busy terminal and followed the crowd onto the street. We walked the three block’s to Lula’s Diner, where Stacey was already halfway through a large stack of pancakes.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” she said, standing to greet us with hugs. “I felt like I was about to starve to death. It’s good to see you, Piper.”

  “You too, Stacey,” Piper replied as we all settled into the booth. “Congratulations on the baby. I hope you don’t mind me tagging along today.”

  “Thank you. And the more the merrier,” Stacey assured her, slicing her fork into another bite of pancake. “So what’s new with you two? Chelsea, have you heard from Drake?”

  Before I could answer, a sweet, grey haired waitress arrived at the table. “Good afternoon, ladies. Can I get your order? Or do you need a few more minutes with the menu?”

  Piper glanced at the menu while I ordered corned beef hash with a side of biscuits and gravy. I poured myself a glass of orange juice from the table carafe while Piper asked for a short stack and bacon. The waitress disappeared and Piper looked across the table at Stacey with a scandalous smile.

  “Drake’s been texting Chelsea nonstop since you guys got back from the Hamptons. They went out yesterday and Chelsea didn’t get home until an hour ago,” she confided.

  Stacey’s eyes widened and her white teeth peaked out from her curled lips. “Really? How did it go? I need all of the details.”

  I slumped my shoulders and stared down at the pink linen tablecloth. “I think I fucked up,” I confessed. “Drake’s so charming and easy to talk to. I let things go too far. We had sex last night and he couldn’t get away from me fast enough this morning.”

  “Oh, Chelsea, I’m sure it had nothing to do with you,” Stacey quickly assured me. “He’s had a huge problem come up in Hong Kong, didn’t he tell you?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “How did you know that?”

  “Because he called Oliver first thing this morning. They may have to fly over there this week. I’m sure that’s all that was bothering him.”

  “Let’s rewind,” Piper interrupted. “Go back to yesterday, Chelsea. When you left the apartment, you insisted that you were going to take things slow. What happened to change your mind?”

  “We went on a tour of the city,” I explained for Stacey’s benefit. “Last weekend, I admitted that Drake’s buildings aren’t really my style. He asked me to show him my favorite architecture. He’s so smart, so charming. He took me to his Central Park apartment and we had dinner on his terrace… or we started too, at least.”

  Piper nodded. “And that’s when things went too far. That’s completely understandable, Chelsea. It’s not like being romanced by a billionaire is something that happens every day. If I’d been in your shoes, I’d have done the same thing.” She squeezed my hand under the table and I suddenly felt much better. I looked up at Stacey, who was too busy smiling to finish her meal.

  “This is fantastic, Chelsea,” she gushed. “I’m sure you’re wrong about what happened this morning. Ollie says that Drake is one of the most focused people he’s ever met. I know he’s worried about the project, I’m sure that’s why he was distracted.”

  The waitress arrived at our table with our food and a fresh pot of coffee. She filled our mugs, waited a few moments to make sure we were happy with our meals, and then disappeared again.

  I wanted to believe Stacey’s theory and give Drake the benefit of the doubt, but I couldn’t. I popped the yolks of the eggs covering my hash and mixed the food together on my plate.

  “I’m sure Drake was distracted, but I’m not sure work was the reason. He couldn’t look at me, Stacey. He brought me a cup of coffee, told me he couldn’t drive me home, and warned that he might not be in contact for a while. And to top it all off, he left this in my purse.”

  I pulled out the check and laid it on the table. Piper stared down at it, her mouth open in shock. Stacey seemed surprised too, but by my attitude instead of the amount written on the paper.

  “I don’t get it, Chelsea. You’re mad at him because he gave an incredibly generous donation to the historical society?” she asked, her brow furrowed.

  “No, she’s mad because he slept with her, dismissed her, and then wrote a big check so he could feel like a good guy,” Piper jumped in.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “What she said.”

  I devoured half of my food while Piper and Stacey debated Drake’s character. They had drastically different opinions and were both very vocal in expressing them. Stacey insisted that he really was interested in me and thought I should let him work through the Honk Kong issues before passing any judgment. Piper reminded us that she’d never trusted him to begin with and suggested I tear up the check and mail back the pieces.

  “She will do no such thing,” Stacey insisted. “I’m sure the society could put the money to good use. And to send it back would just be… impolite.”

  “I haven’t decided what to do with the check,” I broke in. “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do about any of it. Could we just change the subject? How about something happier, like the baby shower Mom’s throwing in Florida,” I suggested. “I talked to her on Friday. She said she moved up the date?”

  Our parents had insisted on flying Oliver, Stacey, and I in for a shower with all of their friends.

  Stacey nodded. “My doctor insisted that it’s safe for me to fly until my third trimester, but your parents want to do it much sooner, just to be on the safe side. That’s why it’s so important that I get my registries online. Thank you so much for coming with me today. I could have done it on the internet, but turning it into a girls’ day seemed like so much more fun.”

  “I’m happy to be here,” I assured her.

  And I’m happy that we’ve changed the subject.

  “Have you picked out any names?” Piper asked.

  As Stacey and Piper talked about baby names, cribs, and nursery décor, I sat back in the booth and tried to shake the memory of Drake’s lips from my mind.

  ***

  “All right everyone, good work today. You’re dismissed,” Pete announced, wrapping up our weekly staff meeting. Piper and I pushed our seats away from the conference table and rose to our feet. The meeting had run long and we were dangerously close to missing our train home.

  “I had a feeling Pete was feeling long winded today,” Piper whispe
red as we squeezed past our coworkers and into the hallway. “I’ve already locked my office.”

  “I just need to grab my purse…”

  “Chelsea, impressive feat, booking such a nice venue with such short notice,” Charles interrupted. We turned and found him approaching from behind.

  “Thank you, Charles,” I replied shortly. I gave him a dismissive nod and Piper and I resumed our walk to my office. But Charles wouldn’t be dismissed so easily. With long strides, he moved past us and blocked the hallway.

  “And to have it donated, that’s even more impressive,” he continued, his eyes flicking quickly down my body. “You have to tell me your secret.”

  “It’s really no secret,” I assured him impatiently. “I just knew who to ask. If you’ll excuse us, Piper and I are late for our train.”

  Charles leaned against the wall, refusing to budge. “I was hoping I could talk you into having a drink with me,” he said with an exaggerated pout.

  “Funny, I was going to ask her the same thing.” Panic and relief coursed simultaneously through my body at the sound of Drake’s voice. He stepped out of my office doorway, pushed past Charles, and put an arm around my shoulders. Drake had called and texted dozens of times since Sunday and I’d ignored him. But I wasn’t about to pass up on the chance to make Charles think I was unavailable.

  “I didn’t expect to see you today,” I said, staring up at Drake with a forced smile.

  Piper stood on my other side, clearly confused about how she should react. She looked from Drake to Charles, back to Drake again, and then folded her arms across her chest. I was hoping she’d be struck with a brilliant way to save me from both men. Instead, she seemed to think that doing nothing was the best course of action.

  “I had a meeting in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d surprise you,” Drake explained. He planted a kiss on my forehead and extended his hand to Charles. “Drake Waters, nice to meet you.”

  Charles accepted his handshake with a scowl. “Charles Mann. It’s nice to meet you too. I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend, Chelsea.”

  I wrapped my arm around Drake’s waist and smiled up at him again. “Oh you know how it is, Charles. I like to keep my personal life out of the workplace. If you’ll excuse us,” I said again.

  Charles flattened his back against the wall. “Of course,” he agreed, raising his arms in defeat. We moved past him and the three of us filed into my office.

  “You must be Piper,” Drake said once we were inside. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too,” she replied, her curt tone betraying her friendly words.

  “Chelsea, I was hoping we could speak alone for a few minutes,” he continued.

  Piper stared at me, her eyebrows raised, clearly prepared to stay if I wanted her to.

  I glanced down at my desktop clock and back to her. “If you leave now, you can still make the train. There’s no need for both of us to be stuck in the city for the next few hours.”

  “I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” Drake assured her.

  She eyed him critically for a few long moments before turning towards the door. “Call me if you need me, Chelsea,” she said as she stepped into the hallway.

  “I will,” I called back just before Drake shut the door. He turned the lock, dropped his shoulders, and turned to me with a sigh.

  “You’ve been ignoring me. I want to know why.”

  I straightened my back and turned away from him, suddenly fascinated by a notebook on my desk.

  “You’re the one who couldn’t look at me Sunday morning. I know how to take a hint, Drake. I didn’t see any reason to drag things out by talking about them,” I explained as I took a seat in my leather office chair. Drake collapsed into one of the club chairs across from me.

  “I know you were disappointed that I had to leave so suddenly, but I thought I explained everything. When emergencies come up, I have to jump and run, Chelsea. That’s just a part of my life.”

  I shook my head, still refusing to look at him. “I’m not upset that you left. I’m upset by how distant you were. It’s pretty obvious that you’ve gotten all you want from me. I don’t know what you’re doing here.”

  Drake balled his hand into a fist, took a deep breath, and then relaxed it with a sigh. “Maybe I was a little distant on Sunday. I’m sorry, Chelsea. We had an amazing night together and then I fucked it up. If you can believe it, I was a little scared.”

  His words surprised me and I finally looked up. Drake’s eyes were narrowed, his face lined with embarrassment.

  “You were scared? What could you possibly have been scared of?” I asked, my voice loaded with skepticism.

  “I was scared that you’d change your mind again,” he confessed. “You spent a solid week insisting that we could only be friends. You’re not like other women, Chelsea. I can’t read you at all. And it takes more than my money to impress you. I woke up early Sunday morning and watched you sleep. It dawned on me that you could wake up and decide that being with me was a mistake. The thought was… unsettling. You’re unsettling, Chelsea, in the best possible way.”

  “So, you ran away so fast because you felt insecure?” I asked with a snort of disbelief. Drake Waters was the most confident man I’d ever met. He wasn’t just confident, he was cocky. There was no way I’d shaken his solid self-assurance.

  “No, I ran away so fast because I had a multibillion dollar deal on the verge of falling through,” he corrected me. “But yes, I was distant with you because I was insecure. If you repeat that, I’ll deny it,” he added with a tentative wink.

  I smiled, despite myself. I was flabbergasted that I could have that kind of effect on a man like Drake Waters.

  “So, you forgive me?” Drake asked hopefully.

  “I forgive you,” I agreed and took a small step closer to him. “Do you forgive me for ignoring you?”

  “I do,” he nodded, suddenly distracted. “Now that that’s out of the way, can I ask you something that’s been bothering me since I stepped out into the hallway?”

  “Sure,” I replied, readying myself to explain Charles.

  “Chelsea, you’re a beautiful woman. But what the hell are you wearing?”

  I blushed, realizing that this was the first time Drake had seen me in my drabby work clothes. I smoothed the front of my boxy high necked blouse and frowned back at him.

  “This is my vain attempt at keeping Charles and his kind at bay,” I explained.

  “Well, it’s obviously not working,” he said with a grin. “He should back off, now that he knows you’re unavailable.”

  My heart raced and a blissful warmth spread through me. “I’m unavailable?” I asked, hoping my face didn’t look as incredulous as I felt.

  “Yes, Chelsea,” he said, his eyes moving to my lips and back up. “If it’s my call, you’re completely unavailable. What are your thoughts on that?”

  “I think I’m unavailable,” I replied with a grin.

  Drake held his arms open and I moved from my seat to his. I settled into his lap and he stroked my thigh as our lips met. After a few sweet moments, he pulled away from me and scratched at my polyester slacks.

  “I think we need to throw these clothes out and start over,” he suggested. “I don’t mean to sound ‘elitist’, but now that we’re together, people will expect you to present yourself in a certain way. Why don’t you let me take you shopping this weekend?”

  “Just who are these people and what are they going to be expecting of me?” I asked, pretending to be irritated. Drake saw through my act and rolled his eyes.

  “You know what I’m talking about. If you look me in the eye and tell me that you like what you’re wearing, I won’t say another word about it.”

  I scrunched my nose. “I hate what I’m wearing. I hate most of the clothes in my closet,” I confessed. I’d always covered myself in baggy clothing as an effort to be taken seriously. But with Drake, I could be sexy and smart at the same time.

 
; “It’s settled then,” he insisted. “I’ll make all of the arrangements. Pack an overnight bag and be ready to leave at eight o’clock Friday night.”

  “An overnight bag? Where are we going?”

  He grinned and I could see what he looked like when he was a little boy. “Let me surprise you, Chelsea. Can you clear your weekend?”

  “I think I can manage that,” I agreed, thinking of my big plans to sit home and reread Middlemarch.

  Drake pulled me against his chest and we held each other in silence for a few moments. “Will you do me a favor?” he asked softly.

  “Anything,” I quickly agreed.

  “In hindsight, I see that slipping that check into your purse wasn’t the most tactful way to make my donation. But would you please deposit it tomorrow? I really do want the gala to go well for you.”

  I traced his eyebrow with my thumb. “I’ll take it to the bank tomorrow,” I promised.

  CHAPTER 6

  e

  “How do I look?” I asked Piper as I stepped into the living room. It was Friday night and Drake was due to pick me up any minute. He hadn’t told me where we were going, just that I should dress comfortably and pack comfortable shoes. I’d had to go shopping to have anything to pack for our shopping trip.

  “You look great,” she assured me. “Casual but elegant. I love those pants.”

  I smoothed the cream colored linen and turned in a circle. “They aren’t too tight?”

  Piper rolled her eyes. She wasn’t thrilled that I’d forgiven Drake so easily, but she didn’t lecture me about it. “No Chelsea, they just feel tight because they actually fit. If there’s one thing I’m thankful to Drake for, it’s getting you out of those God awful granny clothes.”

  Before I could reply, a knock echoed through the living room. I rushed to the door and found Drake waiting in the hallway. He looked devastatingly handsome in black running pants, a white t-shirt, and tennis shoes.

  “Hi, baby,” I greeted him with a kiss.

  “Hey… you look amazing,” he replied, wrapping an arm around me. “Piper, it’s nice to see you again.”