Jordan crossed her arms. “Everyone will be wearing masks. And if you care about keeping this girl, you should include her in as much as you can. How do you think she feels being stuck in the apartment while this all happens without her?”
“She probably feels good,” Noah suggested. “You think she really wants to help us tank the family business? I figured she’s only going along with it because of her feelings for Adrian.”
“Doubtful,” Travis muttered.
“No,” I said. “I think Jules is sincere. She really wants to help this happen.”
“Then don’t make her sit at home while we do this,” Jordan said. “I know we can’t have her here. But find some ways you can make her part of what we’re doing.”
“You’re right,” I said. “I’ll see if she wants to come to the party.”
Noah cleared his throat. “In other news.” He turned his laptop around to face us. He spent a few minutes going through what he’d been able to gather now that we were at Central. New security access had given him the ability to dig deeper than he had so far, and it apparently was a productive dig.
I found myself zoning out while he explained just how “by the balls” we had Coleton. All I could think of was the way Jules had looked in that sparkling moonlight when we skinny dipped. When she had me by the balls. I found myself grinning.
She had a very dangerous way of making everything else matter less to me. I would’ve never tuned out what Noah was saying before. I definitely wouldn’t have been getting a hard-on at the conference table because I was replaying yesterday with my girlfriend. It was completely unprofessional, and I couldn’t stop it.
But for the first time, I found myself wondering what would’ve made my dad happier? Would he rather see me getting revenge on Coleton or see me finding a woman who actually made me happy?
“So,” Noah said a few minutes later. “Honestly, I thought it would take longer. But I think we’re close. Very close. Travis just needs to win over this Ahmad guy in human resources. Jordan, you’ve got to keep IT off me a little bit longer. That Clark guy is pretty good, and I’m worried he’s getting close to realizing these breeches aren’t external.”
I nodded. “And I’ve got to get close enough to Russ Coleton to make sure he thinks he’s pressing the button to supercharge his business, when all he’ll really be doing is triggering the detonator.”
Everybody was grinning in self-satisfaction when my phone chimed again.
“Message, from, sweet cheeks. Eggplant. Eggplant. Eggplant. Water drops. Water drops. Eggplant. Banana. End. Message.”
I cleared my throat. “I may need to pay a visit to IT,” I said quietly. “See about this phone.”
“It sounds more like you need to pay a visit to ‘sweet cheeks’ before she floods your apartment,” Travis said.
* * *
It turned out that Jules hadn’t been bluffing with the water drop emojis. When I came home, she practically jumped me in the hallway. I had her right there standing against the wall, and then I went to take a shower before bed. She joined me, and I had her again in the steam after she’d gleefully helped shampoo my hair and soap me. By some miracle of libido, we both still had the energy to go for a third and final round once we got into the clean sheets with our hair still wet from the shower.
I was holding her against me, both of us still naked and now exhausted.
“How are you feeling about all of this?” I asked.
“Like three is a good number.”
I chuckled. “I mean about New York. The apartment. This whole situation.”
Jules’ back had been to me, but she turned to face me, her golden hair pooling around her face and in front of her bare chest. She looked every bit the escaped princess I’d taken her for that first day in my office. Little had I known she essentially was. She was Coleton royalty, and she was on the run. But had I rescued her or stolen her?
“I think it’s temporary,” she said.
“This is. The apartment and the work. It’s the final leg. And when it’s done, it’ll only be us.”
“Do you think ‘only us’ will work? What if it’s one of those things. Like an affair where all the magic was in the wrongness.”
“Then we can roleplay about destroying your father’s business to get ourselves in the mood,” I said, kissing the smooth skin on her jawline.
She smirked. “I’m serious, Adrian.”
“So am I. The world is a big, big fucking place. They always say there’s someone for everyone, but nobody ever talks about how hard it is to find that needle in the haystack. I never wanted someone who was only ‘good enough.’ I didn’t have time to go looking for that perfect woman, and I’d resigned myself to the fact that it wasn’t in the cards for me. Then you came raging into my life, and now I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you here.”
“Could we say I came fluttering like a gorgeous dove into your life? It sounds more girly than raging.”
I grinned. “Do gorgeous doves carry flamethrowers and have a tendency toward back talking and sass?”
“That’s an unfair representation of how things went. You were the most insufferable prick I’d ever laid eyes on.”
“From the first moment you laid eyes on me, I was almost certain you would’ve happily suffered my prick. Again and again.”
Jules reached between my legs, giving me a playful squeeze that made me straighten. “Don’t get cocky.”
“Or what?”
She kissed me softly, then pulled back with a wicked look in her eyes. “I’ll kiss you everywhere but where you really want me to.”
“Hm,” I said. “Good threat.” I imagined her feathering kisses down my torso and my inner thighs, refusing to give me the release I’d desperately want. “There’s a party this weekend,” I said.
Jules let go of her death grip between my legs. “What kind of party?”
“A masquerade party. At Coleton Central. All the important people will be there, your father included. But everyone will be wearing masks. I want you to be there.”
“You do?”
I nodded.
“I shouldn’t,” she said quickly. “What would your team think if they found out?”
“They were the ones who suggested it.”
A beautiful smile split across her face, reminding me how easy it had been for this woman to nearly derail ten years of determination. “I can really come?”
“You can,” I said. “I insist.”
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. “Message, from, Travis. Smith. Just making sure you’re home giving that girl of yours all the eggplant and banana she wanted and not at the office. End. Message.”
Jules stared at me in silent confusion for three full seconds before she spoke. “Why is your phone narrating your text messages out loud?”
“It’s been doing that all day,” I said, trying to keep my mouth still and fight the smile threatening to form.
“Were you alone when I texted you earlier?”
“I was in a meeting with the team.”
Jules put her hands over her eyes and buried her face in my chest, making a sound somewhere between laughing and crying. “I’m not going to be able to look any of them in the eyes,” she said once she’d calmed down.
“Good,” I said. “I don’t need them getting any ideas about trying to take you from me.”
She snorted. “Possessive, much?”
“Very much.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her until she fell asleep against me. I hoped this party would be good for her. Something to help let her be at least a little involved again. I could tell she was putting on a brave face, but quietly going stir crazy in the apartment all day every day.
32
Juliette
Coleton Central took up the top six floors of an eighty-story building in Manhattan. In many ways, the branch of Coleton was my father’s pride and joy. It was where he directed all the feelings and energy a normal parent would’ve given their
children. Fittingly, the night of the masquerade ball was my first time seeing it.
The place stirred up unexpected feelings in me. I was glad I had a mask to wear to stop Adrian from being able to read the pain in my features.
We took the elevator to the top two floors of Coleton Central, which had been temporarily converted for the party. The place was lavish. Geometric lines seemed to be a theme of the decoration, from the patterns on plush rugs to even the way little slits of lights zig-zagged across the ceiling. The centerpiece of the large room was a dizzying expanse of windows with a breath-taking view of New York City.
I pictured my father standing there in the quiet hours of the morning with his hands behind his back, filled with pride.
“You okay?” Adrian asked. He was wearing a white mask that covered his eyes and nose, which forced all my attention on his ridiculously perfect jawline and mouth. I barely noticed the crowded room full of masked guests until then. I’d been so distracted by the room—by being here. A man in a suit was playing a piano. Leave it to my father. I imagined he’d had the piano brought in by crane—probably forcing him to temporarily remove the huge windows. It would’ve been an excessive, insane expense, and he was probably enjoying bragging about it to everyone here tonight.
That’s what happened when men had billions of dollars. They had to get creative to find new ways to waste their money, and the more excessive the waste, the more impressed their friends would be.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Fine is code for not okay,” Adrian said. He put a gentle hand on my arm, guiding me to stand by the large windows where the crowd was thinner. “Talk to me.”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to admit what I was feeling. It felt childish to be jealous of a building, if that’s what I was even feeling. But I could see Adrian’s eyes behind the mask, and I felt comfortable with that gaze that had intimidated me so much when we first met. There was a freedom in the way he looked at me. It felt like unconditional acceptance, which was something I didn’t think I’d ever experienced before.
“I guess I’m just seeing another side of my father here. All I ever saw were the glimpses of him storming through the house or glaring over the dinner table every few weeks. But this is where it really happened. Where he really was, I guess. It just makes me wonder if the real him ever actually left this place, or if it was always here, you know?”
Adrian pulled me closer, hugging me to his chest. I had on a backless black dress and a white mask that covered most of my face except for a little section of my mouth. His hands felt good against my bare back. I wished I didn’t have the itchy mask on for just a few minutes so I could sink into the embrace and let his comfort bleed into me.
“We can leave,” he said simply.
“This is a work thing for you.” I pulled back, frowning up at him even though he probably couldn’t see the expression through the mask.
“And you’re personal to me. That matters more than work.”
My breath caught. The Adrian Terranova I’d known so far didn’t think anything was more important than work. As much as the sentiment flattered me, it also scared me. He was near the finish line of a ten-year race. I didn’t want to be the reason he tripped at the end. I admired his goal, and I agreed with it. I wanted to see him finish this.
“No,” I said. “You were already making a sacrifice bringing me here, and I’m not going to make you drag me home. I can handle it. It’s just strange being back in this world. I’d probably recognize half of these people if they took off their masks.”
“You’re absolutely sure you want to stay?”
“One hundred percent.”
Adrian smiled. “Okay, then come with me. Tonight, you’re playing my girlfriend.”
“That’s going to be a tricky place to try to get my mind, but I’ll do my best,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“And,” he added. “Your job is to pull me out of conversations when I give you my signal.”
“What’s your signal?”
“I’ll say ‘um.’”
“That’s it? What if you say ‘um’ by accident?”
“I don’t say anything by accident,” he said.
I rolled my eyes as I followed him back into the crowd of guests, but still found myself smiling. It felt good to have a job again. To be Mr. White’s assistant, in some form. Except now I guessed I was Mr. Terranova’s assistant, even if nobody here knew him by that name.
I got to cling to his arm and follow him as he made his way around the room. For a man I’d initially seen as an impersonal rock, he was surprisingly good at this.
He touched people on their shoulders and forearms in a natural way that got them smiling early. He asked about kids and friends, remembering names in a way that seemed supernatural. He had to have only known some of these people for days at most, but he was asking about nieces and cousins or family reunions people had coming up.
I could see now how he’d climbed so quickly everywhere he went. Adrian could be an absolute charmer when he wanted to.
I nudged him after we finished talking to a large group of people that were still chuckling from a joke Adrian had told. “Where did that come from?”
Adrian shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of practice at this. When people give out promotions or assign new team leaders, they tend to pick people they like. You’ve got to have a good track record of getting the job done, but they’ll forget about the quiet one who nails every assignment. This is a necessary evil,” he said. “Be a cold prick to the ones who work under you. Charm the ones above you. That’s the recipe for endless promotions.”
“How do you remember all those names?” I asked.
Adrian grinned, then turned his body to block his hands from the view of most of the room. He produced a small stack of notecards. Each was crammed with tiny handwriting and appeared to be a list of names with various facts. I looked at one and saw a family tree, favorite investments, department, political affiliation, and marital status as well as the fact that the man was apparently having an affair. There was even a note that the man had a dentist appointment tomorrow but was deathly afraid of getting his teeth worked on.
“Wow. I can’t decide if I’m impressed or creeped out.”
“Those emotions aren’t mutually exclusive. Why choose? If you’re wondering, the answer is ‘no.’ I didn’t stalk these people. I paid someone to do it for me.”
He nudged me with a small smile, then took me toward a pair of tall men. Adrian continued his rounds across the room, and I found myself absolutely mesmerized by seeing him in his element. I’d seen him behind his desk barking orders at me. I’d seen him berating employees. But this. This was where Adrian wove his real magic, I realized.
“Donald,” he said, laughing even though nothing funny had been said.
Both men still laughed, smiling at the infectiousness of Adrian’s smile and laugh, even behind the mask. “Good to see you,” Donald said, gripping Adrian’s arm and shaking his hand firmly.
“Listen,” Adrian said a few minutes later, as if he was sharing a candid secret. “I know getting the team to agree to change direction is going to be like pulling teeth, but we can handle it. You know what I say about dental work? Sedate the shit out of me and get it over with.”
Donald looked curious. “You know, there’s nothing I hate more than the dentist. I’ve never considered sedation.”
Adrian nodded. “They’ll do it even for a routine cleaning at some places. You can just call up and ask if it’s an option.” He shrugged, as if he didn’t realize how relevant his little factoid was to Donald, who had a dentist appointment tomorrow and was terrified. “Obviously we can’t give the web design team laughing gas, so we sedate them with bonuses. Nobody complains right after they get a bonus.”
Donald nodded. “We’ve got extra money in the coffers right now. There’d be enough to pull that off, certainly.”
Adrian nodded, and I had a feeling he knew exactly ho
w much “money was in the coffers”. He gave Donald another friendly squeeze on the shoulder, then smiled. “If anybody asks me, it was your idea.”
Donald laughed richly. “You’re good people, Adrian.”
I could see from the glint in Donald’s eyes as we left that Adrian had completely won the man over. He’d probably go to war for Adrian if he ever needed it.
“You’re incredible at this,” I said.
Adrian fixed his tie. “But it builds up an appetite.”
“There’s a table with some appetizers over there.”
“I was thinking more about the all you can eat buffet,” he said.
I looked around. “I don’t see one of those.”
Adrian stepped closer. He put his hands on my hips and all the internal fireworks went off at once. My body’s reaction to him was instinctual. One touch and I was primed and ready to go.
“Is that a good idea?” I asked.
Before he could answer, a tall, broad man I recognized with or without the mask approached us. Almost everyone else was wearing a simple mask to cover the space around their eyes and a fraction of their nose. It was hardly a disguise and more of a decoration. My mask, I hoped, would function as a complete disguise because it covered much more of my face. I still had to fight the urge to lift my hands to my face and cower
“Mr. Coleton,” Adrian said, sticking his hand out for a handshake.
My father ignored the gesture. “I didn’t realize you would bring a friend,” my father said. He had a cold, craggy voice that was also soft enough to force people to quiet down to hear him. I always noticed how much power that understated voice gave him. Every word could feel like a threat, and nobody doubted he had the means to carry out any promise.
“This is Sandra,” Adrian said. It was the name we’d agreed upon, along with a backstory that we both knew so people couldn’t trip us up if it became an issue.
My father nodded. “Why don’t the two of you join me upstairs? I flew in my favorite chef from Tokyo. He’s cooking some wagyu steaks for us. You two need to try it, it’s delicious.”
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