“That makes sense. What company is it?”
“R&R Enterprises. As in Rapture and Rogue.”
“Oh. Wow, so your friend owns all of that?”
“Yes, she built it from the ground up.”
“What’s her name?
“I doubt you’d know her. Gianna Revisi.”
He nodded, stepping closer and kissing her softly. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Anyway, I’m happy for you. This is going to be great.”
***
The next morning, Taren drove to Rapture before heading to her office. She had to ring the bell to get in since the bar wasn’t open yet.
“Can I help you?” the woman in the intercom asked.
“Taren Rauley to see Gianna Revisi,” Taren replied.
After two minutes of silence, the lock on the door clicked. Taren swung it open and walked around to the elevator. When the doors parted, she nearly ran headfirst into Gi who was exiting.
“I didn’t expect you to come down,” Taren said.
“If you’re here, I’m assuming you’ve decided to take the job,” Gi replied, nodding towards a table. “Either that or you wanted to see me again.” She grinned.
“If I do this, Gi, we have to have some ground rules,” Taren said, all business.
Gi shrugged.
“I’m not getting back with you. Our past has nothing to do with this.”
“If I wanted you back, I’d have you by now.” Gi folded her hands together in front of her and locked her blue eyes on Taren’s face. “What else?”
“Ken has no knowledge of my college days.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Gi murmured, a little hurt.
“I’m serious. He can never know anything about our past together. In fact, no one can.”
“Your lesbian indiscretions are safe with me,” Gi said, rolling her eyes.
“How did you get out of going to jail when the ring was busted?” Taren changed the subject. The question had been weighing on her mind since she’d first seen Gi at Rapture.
“Oh, you heard about that?”
“It was in the statewide news.” Taren crossed her arms, remembering when she read the story about it in the paper.
“Well, you know my family is well connected…”
“Are you serious? The mob got you out?”
Gi laughed. “You were always so gullible. I loved that about you the most.”
“Get to the point,” Taren huffed.
“I wasn’t involved anymore. I’d already sold the business to Jackson William.”
“You knew the heat was coming and you got out to save your own ass.” Taren deduced, remembering Gi’s uncanny ability to thwart the authorities. “Typical Gi.”
“I sold him a business that was completely off the grid. The cops tried to figure out who was behind everything when I was running the operation, but they never had a chance. I stayed two steps ahead of them.”
“Why get out then, if it wasn’t because you knew the cops were close? That business was your baby.”
Gi pulled her eyes away and stared blankly at the booth a few feet away.
“What made you leave?” Taren urged.
Ice cold blue eyes bore into her as Gi turned her head. “You,” she murmured.
“Me?”
“You broke my heart, Taren. I didn’t care about anything after that.”
Taren felt the coolness of Gi’s eyes all the way to her spine. Gi rarely called her Taren.
“I don’t believe you,” Taren replied. “You’d say anything to make me feel guilty for leaving you.”
Gi shrugged. “I’m past the point of caring about why you left or what you did afterwards.”
“If there was no heat, why did Jackson get busted?” Taren asked, pushing further.
“He got greedy and started allowing people in off the street that weren’t checked out first. He let a wired nark inside and they got him.”
“What about your friends? You let them go to jail, too.”
“I didn’t let anyone do anything, Taren. I told them I was getting out. It’s not my fault they stayed!” she growled angrily. “Who gives a shit? It’s over now. You moved on to play house with Ken, and I…well, I moved on, too. Those who stayed, it was their choice,” she sighed.
“Leave Ken out of this, please.”
“You can’t possibly be attracted to him.” Gi shook her head.
“You have no idea who or what I’m attracted to,”Taren exclaimed. “Anyway, he’s off limits.”
“Off limits?” Gi raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not going to work here if you’re constantly bashing my relationship. My personal life is none of your business. This is a working relationship between you and me, or it’s nothing.”
Gi sighed and nodded. “Waste your life with that flimsy old goat if you want. I don’t care anymore.”
Taren pinned her with a glare. Gi shrugged. “You brought up the past, not me.”
“I’ve talked myself in and out of taking this job at least a hundred times. I’m probably making the biggest mistake of my life.”
“Then why the hell are you here?”
“I don’t know,” Taren sighed. “It’s a great opportunity and despite our past, I’d be stupid not to take it.”
Gi nodded. “Where does this leave us?” She checked her watch.
“I need to give Nicholson my notice, but I can start after that.”
“They’ll fire you, so you might as well start tomorrow.”
“No they won’t,” Taren retorted.
“Most companies get rid of anyone who has financial access or handles important documents as soon as they give notice. You should know this.”
“I doubt they’ll let me go.”
“Okay, suit yourself. My assistant will set you up with an office, as well as the door code. Give her a call when you’re ready to start. I’ll give you the computer codes myself.” She stood and pushed the chair back in.
“Is that it?” Taren asked.
“Yes. Welcome to the company and all that. I need to get to a meeting.” Gi noticed the odd expression on Taren’s face. “What? Do you need a hug or something?”
“Hell no,” Taren said as she stood up.
They walked out together and Taren was barely in her car when she saw Gi’s sports car careen out of the parking lot. She couldn’t believe she’d actually taken the job. She prayed that it wasn’t a mistake and reminded herself that she was the one who walked away from Gi, not the other way around, although it was starting to feel like it the more she was around her. She wondered if she was going to be able to work alongside Gi effectively and keep the past in the past. She wasn’t exactly lying to Ken by not telling him about her past, but she hated adding another barrier between them.
Chapter 9
Taren punched in the door code and waited for the lock to click. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she entered the ground floor of Rapture. No one was downstairs at 7:45 a.m. She was three days into her new job and so far she’d barely seen anyone except the receptionist and occasionally Gi’s assistant. She hadn’t seen Gi.
“Good morning, Ms. Rauley,” the receptionist said when Taren stepped off the elevator.
“Sam, you can call me Taren. I won’t bite your head off.” Taren smiled.
“Oh, yes she will. Don’t let her fool you,” Gi teased from a few feet away.
Taren spun around.
“Do you have a minute?” Gi asked.
“Sure. I was wondering when I’d see you,” Taren replied, walking with her down the hallway.
“Miss me?” Gi teased.
“No. I’ve been sitting in limbo for the past two days.”
“I should’ve known you’d want to hit the ground running.” Gi opened her office door and nodded for Taren to step inside. “I had some offsite meetings to go to. I told you they’d let you go when you gave notice.” She sm
iled.
Taren didn’t comment as she took a seat across from Gi’s desk. Gi walked around, sat in the wingback chair and turned on her computer monitors.
“How’s your office?” Gi asked while she waited for the system to start.
“Fine.”
“What is it?” Gi asked, noticing the questioning look on Taren’s face.
“Nothing.” Taren stared at the large window behind Gi. “With a company this large, I’m surprised you don’t have more employees.”
Gi pulled her deep blue eyes from the monitors to look at her. “Trust is not something I come by easily, you know that.”
Taren nodded, remembering how the two of them had run the entire gambling operation together, something Gi had previously done alone because she’d trusted no one, until Taren.
“I actually have an operations manager who oversees the inventory, supply orders, and hiring for both bars. You haven’t met because he’s working on our newest project. He’s also fairly new to the company.” Gi typed for a moment and the printer began chattering. “Here are your codes. Memorize them and shred this. You are the only person in this company, besides me, who has access to everything.” Gi met her eyes with a serious expression.
“You’re trusting me with a lot,” Taren murmured, taking the printout.
“Trust was never an issue with us,” Gi explained. “Anyway, you’ll be able to look at each establishment separately, then as a whole, from day one until today.”
“Is this a test?” Taren asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“What do you mean?”
“Am I supposed to go through all of your financials to see if I find the illegal side of the business? Or am I simply the guinea pig that’s going to unknowingly cover everything up for you?”
“Taren…” Gi sighed. “We’ve been down this road. My company is legit. I left the illegal activity behind me. I hired you because the company is growing quickly. I need help and I trust you.”
Despite her objections, Taren knew Gi had never lied to her, and she didn’t see a reason for her to start now. She folded the printout in half and slid it into her briefcase.
Gi watched Taren squeeze her eyes shut, before opening them and pinning her with an unmasked gaze. It was the first time since they’d reconnected that Taren had looked at her with the same naked eyes she’d used when they were together. Gi felt her chest tighten.
“I trust you, Gi,” Taren murmured honestly before pulling her eyes away and standing up.
***
Taren spent the rest of the week getting to know the computer system. Gi’s company worked on multiple platforms with a high level of security which was both smart and a pain in the ass. Before she left on Friday, Taren created a new spreadsheet format which had the bar and nightclub separated first as two entities, then together as one business. This would make it easier for her to research company records as a whole. She planned to make additional spreadsheets for each year the company had been in business, so she at least had a cheat sheet if something came up that she needed to research.
Taren stepped out of her office, locking the door behind her, when she heard Gi’s voice. She turned in the direction of her office and saw the older, mob-looking guy she’d seen a few times walk into Gi’s office.
“Hey.” Gi smiled, noticing Taren. She shut the door behind him and walked to meet her.
Taren had only seen her once this week, and now the mysterious suited man was back.
“I’m combining information from all of the systems into a set of spreadsheets and cheat sheets for myself. I’m nowhere near finished, so I’ll probably be in over the weekend,” Taren said.
“Do you need any help?” Gi asked.
“No. I know how you are about assistants. The more eyes on the cookie jar, the more hands touching the cookies,” she replied, quoting something Gi had always said about having too many people involved in their affairs.
Gi laughed. “I meant me. Would you like me to come in and help you?”
“Oh.” Taren shook her head. “No,” she added. “I’ll get it done.”
“Okay.” Gi turned to go back to her office, but paused and spun around. “Hey, do you remember when we went to Cancun?”
Taren wasn’t in the mood for a stroll down memory lane, but how could she ever forget the vacation from hell? “Yeah, what about it?”
“I think that was when I really knew…” she trailed off, thinking out loud.
“Knew what?” Taren prompted. Gi snapped out of her nostalgia.
“Nothing. My cousin just got back and he had a similar experience. It made me think of our trip.”
***
On the drive home, Taren couldn’t stop her mind from scrolling through memories of the Cancun trip. She and Gi had only been together a few months and were still growing closer. They had both been so excited, but as soon as they’d arrived, everything went to hell. The A/C in their room barely worked and it smelled like cat pee; the airline lost their luggage until the day they left; their party boat started taking on water and barely made it back to the dock; and they’d both picked up a stomach bug that left them fighting over the bathroom.
Taren shook her head and smiled at the memories of a time when she was head over heels in love and nothing else in the world mattered. “Another lifetime,” she whispered to herself as she pulled up to her brownstone.
***
Ken was sitting on the couch, dressed in a suit, with a huge smile on his face, and tapping his foot like a kid with a secret. “Hey!” he said excitedly as he jumped up to kiss her. “How was your day?”
“Fine,” she replied cautiously. “What’s going on?” she asked, never seeing him act like this.
“I made special dinner plans to celebrate your first week, Ms. Financial Director.” He smiled.
Taren laughed. “Do I get to know what this surprise is?”
“Nope!” He grinned like a little boy.
Taren went into the bedroom to change from her skirt suit to a knee length, black cocktail dress with deep Vs in the front and back, and a pair of black peep-toe sling-backs.
***
Taren stared out the window, trying to figure out where they were headed as Ken drove them across town towards the river. He finally turned into a lot and waited for the valet. Taren followed him, taking his hand as they walked along the sidewalk at Navy Pier.
“Are we taking a dinner cruise?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered, pointing to the small cruise ship nearby.
“Wow,” she exclaimed.
As soon as they boarded, they were shown to the upper deck where large floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded the room. The waiter sat them next to one of the windows. Then he reached for the bottle of champagne that was chilling in a bucket on a stand nearby. Taren watched as he dropped strawberries into each glass, then poured the champagne over top of them. She smiled and lifted the table d’hôte style menu.
She and Ken looked over all of the decadent choices and decided on their meal as the boat pushed off the dock and began motoring down the river.
“This is nice,” Taren said, smiling at him.
“To the future,” Ken replied, holding up his glass and clinking it against hers.
***
They chose to leave work behind, instead talking about the interesting scenery over dinner. As soon as they’d finished dessert, they walked out onto the deck. Taren gripped the railing and looked up. The dark, cloudless sky had a handful of stars and a full moon shining brightly.
“Thank you,” Taren said, cuddling close to Ken and linking her arm through his.
“You’re welcome. I wanted to celebrate your promotion, but that’s not the only reason we’re here,” he replied, reaching into his pocket.
Taren’s heart leapt into her throat as he bent down on one knee.
“Taren Rauley, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I love you with
everything I am and I’d like nothing more than to share my life with you. Will you marry me?” He smiled at her as he opened the box, revealing a solitaire, diamond ring on a platinum band.
Taren was in shock. She began nodding her head. “Yes!” she exclaimed.
The small crowd around them cheered as he pushed the ring onto her finger and stood to kiss her. Taren threw her arms around him as he hugged her close.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” she replied. She hadn’t said the words often, but when she did, she meant them.
Chapter 10
Taren was tired on Monday morning. She and Ken had only had two short lovemaking sessions, but they’d spent the weekend watching movies together and riding all over the city, looking at houses they couldn’t afford.
She was sitting at her desk inputting information into her spreadsheets when Gi walked in.
“I thought you were working over the weekend,” Gi said, taking a seat across from her.
“I was, but something came up.”
Gi nodded. “I want you to sit in on a meeting this Thursday. There are some people you need to meet.”
Taren raised a brow, wondering if she was referring to the suited men who kept appearing. “Are they vendors?”
“No. they’re all part of this organization. One is the new operations manager and the other two are part of the new endeavor that has been taking up so much of my time.”
“What are you talking about?” Taren asked.
“A third establishment. No one knows about it yet, but we’ve been gutting and remodeling an old building for the past two weeks.”
“Okay…” she sighed. “Who is we?”
“I went into business with my uncle and cousins,” Gi said.
“As the financial director of this company, when were you going to tell me about this?”
“I’m telling you now, which is why I want you to start sitting in on our meetings.”
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