Once we were seated and our drink orders were taken, I finally broke the silence.
"We need to make this a quick lunch. I told Janet I wouldn't be long," I said, pretending to be worried. Janet wouldn't care if I was late, especially if I told her Grey took me to lunch. In reality, I didn't trust myself to be alone with him for too long.
"This won't take long," he responded. The waitress dropped off our drinks and took our lunch orders.
I sipped my water and looked around at everyone in the restaurant, except Grey. I could sense his gaze on me, but he remained silent until the waitress returned.
"Can I get you anything else?" The petite brunette batted her eyelashes at Grey, clearly very interested in what he needed.
"No, I'm fine," he said.
I finally looked at him. He raised his eyebrows in question.
"Oh no I'm fine, too," I said, turning to the waitress who smiled at me curiously. I imagined she was wondering what the hell my problem was.
I was happy to realize her interest in Grey wasn't bothering me. I chalked it up to getting a better handle on my attraction for him after having the weekend to stew over it. It had nothing to do with the fact he didn't even look at her.
I inhaled deeply, the scent of pepperoni and cheese filling my nostrils. I was absolutely famished. I hadn't eaten breakfast and my appetite over the weekend had been spotty at best. I'd decided on an Italian grinder, so I could eat it on the go if I needed to make a quick escape.
"I'm sorry for ambushing you the other night and for the way I acted after." He looked at me sincerely. God his eyes were entrancing. "The things I said to you, about my brother, I had no right. I don't know what I was thinking but you have to understand, I've never felt like this about anyone before. Not even about the woman I almost married."
"What happened? Why did you just almost get married?" I asked, leaning in.
"She didn't show up to the wedding," he whispered, his gaze moving down to my hand and the silver necklace I was twirling.
"It was Ashley, wasn't it?" I asked gently.
He nodded in affirmation. "I wondered after I saw that picture of you together. Why do you keep it?"
"I guess I didn't have a chance to get rid of it. I left right after everything happened."
"She's the reason you went to Japan?"
"Yes, the joint venture had been in the works for months before and there were a few potential candidates to go and oversee the project, but I needed to get away. I was on a flight a week later, and I hadn't been back until the day we met."
"Why did she change her mind?"
"I suppose it was an extreme case of cold feet. Looking back, there were signs. She didn't feel as if I was ambitious enough. When my father named Gregory as CEO of G&G, we got into a huge fight. She wanted me to challenge the decision, but I'd never wanted the job in the first place. Like I told you, the family business was never my dream. I joined out of necessity and I'm glad I did, but I was never suited for Gregory's role. I need more freedom than that."
"Can I ask you one more thing about her?" He nodded. "Is she dating Chad now?"
"No, he wouldn't do that. I think I mentioned our families are close when we saw her at dinner?" He looked to me for affirmation.
I nodded.
"Well, in addition to being G&G's former CFO, Ashley's father is my dad's best friend and her brother, Josh, is our current CFO. My family isn't the type who would write her off because my relationship with her didn't work out. That's another reason I left. To make it easier on everyone. Let the wounds heal."
That was why Joshua Slade sounded so familiar to me. He was Ashley's fucking brother. My positive feelings about him chasing after Bridget dissipated entirely. His sister was obviously a complete bitch. She had to be to leave Grey standing at the altar, so the odds were good he was a complete asshole.
Grey stopped to push around the pasta on his plate, but he didn't actually eat. I was tempted to ask him what they talked about after the gala. I was more tempted to ask if they did anything more than talk right before I lost my appetite.
"We all grew up together and my parents always loved her like a daughter. I think they were just as hurt as I was that day. My mom never thought we were right for each other. I think she was almost relieved when Ashley didn't show up."
"Was there someone else?" I asked.
"Are you asking if she ever cheated on me or if I cheated on her?" he asked, pinning me with his intense gaze. "So we're clear, I would never do anything like that. Ashley was unfaithful, one time I know of, a few weeks before the wedding. She confessed right away, swearing it was the biggest mistake of her life. She said she was just scared about getting married, and I was foolish enough to forgive her and try to work through it. I think subconsciously she was trying to end things without really having to end them."
"What about the guy? Did you know him?"
I didn't know why I kept pushing on what was obviously a painful subject. There was no way in hell I would share all of my bullshit so openly. I admired him for it and for some reason, I wanted to know all of it.
"I don't know who she cheated with--I never wanted to know. I never told any of my family about it, although Elsa had her suspicions and asked me flat out. She never liked Ashley. She thought she had a thing for Gregory when we were teenagers, but my brother only ever had eyes for Elsa after she transferred into our school in the eighth grade."
"Jesus," I said, sitting back in shock.
It was an odd reaction for me. I knew men were cheaters by nature, although I doubted Gregory's propensity for it more each day. Granted, I had yet to bring my A game where he was concerned, but he hadn't given me any real signs of interest.
I also knew women could be just as disloyal as men. Still, it was hard to believe a woman would cheat on a man like Grey. I reached for his hand across the table and then stopped myself, realizing I would be sending the wrong message. Again.
He noticed my hand but didn't say anything.
"What about you? Is that why you're so antirelationship? Did someone cheat on you?"
I laughed. "No, I've never given anyone the chance." I took a bite of my sandwich.
Hearing him talk about Ashley, I wasn't worried about her anymore. Why was I worried about her in the first place? Grey wasn't my boyfriend, and I'd told him there was no chance with me. What did I expect him to do?
"So something when you were younger--your family?"
My heart started to pound and the food in my mouth was impossible to swallow. I took a big gulp of water to wash it down and waved for our waitress. "Can I get a box and the check, please?"
"Claudia, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." Grey leaned forward with a desperate look in his eyes.
"It's fine. I just need to get back to work." I pulled out my credit card.
"Let me buy you lunch, please?"
I nodded as a swirl of strange emotions ran through me. Part of me wanted to open up and tell him the things I never talked about, not even with my closest friends or my sister. The prospect terrified me, and it was an incredibly foolish notion. A few weeks from now the job would be over and depending on its outcome, Grey could end up hating me. There was no getting around it. For the tiniest fraction of a second, I thought of confessing everything and asking him for things he wouldn't want to give while making promises I knew I couldn't keep. I had to get away from him.
"I'm sorry, Grey. I just--I need to go," I blurted as I stood and grabbed my purse.
Fuck the stupid sandwich. I wasn't hungry anymore anyway, and I couldn't stand there another minute.
"Wait, Claudia, at least let me give you a ride back." He stood, his posture full of the intent to chase me down the moment I fled.
"Grey, please, I just want to be alone for a few minutes. I'll grab a cab. Stay and enjoy your lunch."
I needed to put some distance between us as fast as possible. With the things I was thinking, I couldn't trust myself to be alone with him.
He must have seen how much I meant what I was saying because, despite the tension in his body saying it was the last thing he wanted to do, he sat back down and let me walk out.
❖
After my near meltdown at lunch with Grey, I was desperate to get the answers Elsa needed and move on with my life as quickly as possible. The rest of the day working with Janet dragged along, and I didn't see Gregory once the entire day.
Back at Homewrecker Incorporated, things didn't look much better. None of the surveillance turned up anything we could use to figure out what, if anything, was really going on with Gregory. Bridget was still working to find out Mystery Kristen's, as she liked to call her, last name and whom she was working for. I was embarrassed to report I hadn't made one iota of progress with Gregory on my end.
Other than the mystery woman and Elsa's photos, nothing pointed toward Gregory currently cheating or that he was looking to start, but we didn't have a definitive explanation for any of it to verify he wasn't cheating either.
"Any of you want to go grab a drink or something?" I asked as we were packing up for the night. It was nearly seven and I didn't want to go home just yet.
"Sorry, I have a date tonight," Lydia said, which was no surprise. When she wasn't on a job, she stayed plenty busy with a slew of casual sexual partners around Chicago.
I looked to Bridget and Grace.
"I've been fighting a killer headache for most of the day. I just want to lie down and call it a night," Bridget replied without really looking at me. Something was up with her, but I didn't push. I had more than my fair share of secrets.
That left Grace, who smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, Claud, I can't go out for a drink, but I'll have a glass of wine with you at home before my date."
Now that was news. Grace hadn't had a date, an actual date, with a man who wasn't a mark in at least a year.
"Holy shit! Who do you have a date with?" It was official. I was turning into the worst friend ever. Two of my friends had major things going on in their personal lives, and I'd been too wrapped up in my own shit to take any real interest.
"Just a guy I met at the gala. He called earlier today and asked me to dinner," she said, her expression happier and lighter than I'd seen in a long time.
I should have known. I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't the first time she was seeing him since the gala. Grace wasn't like me. Despite everything she saw with our work, she still believed in love. For the first time, well, ever, I found myself wondering if she might be right to still have that hope. What the fuck was happening to me?
"I suppose it will be a celebratory glass of wine, then," I said, trying to shake off the nagging and unfamiliar feelings plaguing my thoughts.
As promised, Grace and I toasted with a nice glass of a Chardonnay we'd discovered on a tasting in New York. She practically floated around the apartment in all her excitement and anticipation as we sipped wine. It was infectious; at least it would have been if I were in better spirits.
Once she left for the evening, I headed to the other apartment where I'd decided to stay most nights until we finished Elsa's case. Inside the sparsely decorated space, I was left alone with my thoughts. I started on my third glass of wine as I racked my brain for a way to move things along with Elsa's case.
I started paging through the file on Gregory I'd grabbed before I left the penthouse, looking at the logs Bridget put together from the daily video feeds from G&G. I examined the few photos our surveillance came up with on him and double-checked the printed calendar we'd pulled from the network.
It wasn't long before my search shifted, and I was looking for Grey's name in the video logs, studying pictures of him. There was one of him and me at our lunch earlier, which I'd explained away easily as a business lunch he'd asked for to discuss a gift for his brother--my boss. I was surprised by how at ease and pulled together I looked, knowing I was on the verge of falling apart when the photo was taken.
I jumped when there was a knock at the door.
Since I'd already slipped into my pajamas, I grabbed a robe from the bag I'd packed and threw it on over the somewhat sheer nightgown.
The only people who knew this address were the girls, Janet, and Gregory's driver. I knew none of the girls would be stopping by unannounced, and I couldn't imagine any reason Janet would. That only left one possibility. My heart sank as I approached the door. It was going to be Gregory. That's what I wanted. That was the whole point, wasn't it? Still, if Gregory were standing on the other side of that door, I knew I'd do my job and it wouldn't just be Elsa's heart that was broken by the end of the night.
❖
"I'm sorry to sneak up on you like this," Grey said through the door as I peered through the peephole. I felt a brief wash of relief. "I just want to talk for a minute, please."
I seriously contemplated climbing down the fire escape before I accepted the fact I needed to face him.
"How did you get my address?" I asked and slowly opened the door.
Grey's eyes went down to my body, and I thanked God for the robe, although it was a bit on the sexy side, just not nearly as bad as the nightie it covered. I needed to make this conversation quick and concise without losing my head and doing something stupid again. I told myself that while my eyes practically devoured Grey's appearance as he leaned against the jamb of my door. He was in a pair of faded jeans with a gray Cubs T-shirt tucked in sloppily. It was the most casual I'd ever seen him. Well, next to being naked. Apparently he was sexy in anything.
"I might have bribed my brother's driver for the info." He flashed me a crooked, but unsure grin. "I was discreet. He won't say anything."
"And how exactly did you figure out which apartment was mine?" I stepped back to let him in so I could close the door. I didn't move from the foyer, hoping the conversation would be short and not give him any ideas about getting comfortable staying.
"Charmed the doorman"--that damn grin of his turned confident and sexy--"and gave him five hundred dollars."
I turned away from him to hide my smile and walked to the kitchen. I pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and offered it to him before grabbing a second for myself.
When I faced him again, I saw the wheels turning in his head. He ran his hand through his thick hair and his smile slipped.
He looked fucking adorable trying to figure everything out. I put my bottle of water on the table next to me. I considered opening the door and telling him to leave, instead I did something incredibly stupid.
"Look, can we just--"
I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him down to meet my lips as I stood on my toes. The bottle of water he'd been holding bounced on the floor and his arms snaked around my waist before he pulled me closer. I moaned as his tongue slipped between my lips and my arms drifted up and around his neck. I didn't know what I was doing, but I just needed to kiss him that moment. I was so weak around him, which I loved and hated at the same time. I wanted to ease the confusion and frustration he was feeling and maybe ease the same emotions in myself. Being close to him seemed to be the only way to do that. I broke the kiss and laid my head against his chest. Hearing his heart beating as he held me, I felt the urge to cry. I didn't want to break his heart, but I knew if I let things continue with him the way they were, that was exactly what would happen.
"Listen, Grey," I said, finally pulling away but keeping my arms around his neck. "I can't deny I'm attracted to you, but this is something I just can't do any more, even if I wanted to. I just can't."
I pulled my arms down and took a step back.
"I meant it when I said I don't want to do this because of work," I said, which was true, just not the work he thought. "But you were right before, when you said something must have happened with my family. I'm just not capable of being in a relationship. I warned you this would happen--that you would regret me. It's just how it is. As much as I might want you, it just can't happen."
"You're wrong. Even if I never see you again, I wou
ldn't regret you." He took my hand. The simple touch sent a shiver across my skin. "What happened with your family?"
"It's not something I talk about," I said, pulling my hand away. "But I need you to respect what I'm telling you and stop trying to make this thing happen."
"Then why did you just kiss me?" That was a good question.
"Consider it a good-bye kiss, Grey."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "Bullshit, Claudia," he said, moving closer. "I get you have some shit to work through, but I'm sick of you pushing me away when it's clear you feel more for me than you're willing to admit, and I refuse to let this be the end for us."
I shook my head, opening my mouth to persuade him it had to be, but he didn't give me a chance to say anything.
"Don't say anything yet. I'm going to ask you one question but before you answer, understand I won't allow you to push me out of your life completely. Do you understand?"
I shook my head.
"If you aren't comfortable being in a relationship, what would you be comfortable with?"
What the hell did he mean? What else was there? The only people in my life were my sister and my friends. Shit. I looked at him. Could I be friends with a man? With Grey? I guessed there was one way to find out, and it seemed to be my only way forward at the time.
"What if we tried being friends?" I bit my lip.
He watched me for a moment. "With benefits?" He grinned.
"Don't be a smart-ass." I put my hands on my hips.
"Okay, friends. For now." Grey extended his hand for me to shake. I took it and he pulled me into his arms, hugging me tight. "Hey, friends hug, but I promise I won't push you for more."
I sighed, letting him hold me as my suggestion sunk in.
Friends. I'd never had a male friend. It was an intriguing idea. No, it was a fucking terrible idea, but as much as I'd tried to convince myself I needed to, I wasn't ready to say good-bye to Grey, and appeared he wasn't going to let me anyway.
Chapter 12
"Kristen Page." Bridget slapped down a small manila folder on the table triumphantly. She'd called a lunch meeting back at Homewrecker Incorporated to reveal her latest discovery. "And, after sifting through mountains of corporate charters and bullshit, I found the company she works for. Arrow Components."
Homewrecker Incorporated Page 14