I smiled. “Just thinking about you. Can we have lunch today? You have plans?”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. Sadly, no can do. Although, trust me, I’d much rather be with you, but Mills and I have a busy day today. We’ve had her baby scanned already and now we have to go to see Fallon with the pictures then she’s meeting Evangeline for lunch to break the news to her as well and I promised Mills I’d go with her.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Pepper sighed. “Not really, but she practically begged me. I can’t send her into the lion’s den alone. Or up to the dragon’s castle. Whichever fits.”
I laughed. “All right. Well, let Mills know I’m rooting for her—and you, of course. Are you coming to the house tonight?”
“Yeah. I’ll warn you, though, I’m probably going to need some help moving my stuff in. Think you’ll be feeling up to it? I have quite a wardrobe that I’ve been missing.”
“I’m sure we’ll manage.” I paused as a new thought entered my mind. “Have you talked to Doug yet?”
“Uhm, not really.”
“Maybe you should talk to him before I show up with moving boxes.”
Pepper laughed. “Damn you. I hate when you encourage me to act like a grown-up. I’d better go. Mills is coming back to the car. We’re at the pharmacy. She’s been sick all morning.”
“Call me later. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay, love you.”
She hung up the phone before I could say it back… and I liked saying it to her. Right now I had something else on my mind. Something spontaneous and impetuous, but I was going to do it anyway. It really wasn’t like me to do anything without planning for weeks or more but I wanted to do it. I slid my wallet into my jacket pocket and walked out of the building.
As I drove to my destination, I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, half-heartedly drumming to one of my favorite songs. It had turned out to be a beautiful day and I pulled into the parking lot of Kraft’s Jewelers and hopped out. The logical side of my brain said, ‘Buy a dolphin anklet like you said you would,’ while the other half said, ‘It wouldn’t hurt to look at rings while you’re here.’ I smiled and rubbed my hands together, drying the sweat that had pooled there.
A pretty, young redhead greeted me at the door. “Good morning, sir. I’m Rebecca Kraft. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Yes, Rebecca. Two things, actually. I want to buy an anklet and I want to look at rings.” There. It was out of my mouth. Now I had to follow through. Besides, what was the big deal? I was just going to look.
With a smile, she waved me to a nearby case. “Okay, let’s start with the anklet. That’s probably going to be easier to choose. What did you have in mind? Silver or gold? Any kind of special style?”
“Gold and do you have something with dolphins on it?”
“Actually, I do. It’s very pretty and delicate-looking.” She tapped on a keypad and the case opened. Rebecca removed two anklets, one with a single, dangling dolphin pendant, the other was a gold chain made of dolphin-shaped links. “Any idea what her ankle size is?”
“No, I hadn’t even thought of that. She has small ankles, though.”
Rebecca smiled and said, “How tall is she?”
“Hmm…I’d say five foot six.”
“Then this should be perfect. If she needs it sized, we can do that, of course. Would you like this gift wrapped?”
“Yes, please.” Rebecca placed the anklet in an elegant, black velvet box and slid the box inside a shiny, silver bag.
“Actually, I’d like to have it delivered today. Is that possible?”
“Certainly, we’ll be happy to do that. All I need is the address and payment information.” She smiled and we finished up the sale before moving on to the ring case.
“Now, what kind of ring were you looking for? Something for a relative or maybe a girlfriend?”
“It’s for my girlfriend. I’d like to look at rings—you know, ring-rings.”
She laughed and waved me to another massive case of jewelry. “I see, ring-rings. We call them wedding rings in the trade but a lot of potential grooms have trouble saying the actual word.”
“Good. So it’s not just me.”
Rebecca shook her head and the curls bounced around her face. “Nope. It happens. So what is she like? In terms of style. Contemporary or traditional?”
“I think a bit of both, actually. She’s very fashion-forward, but I’ve seen her wear pearls before. Really, anything looks good on her.” I flushed at the bold statement, and dropped my gaze to the display beneath the glass.
The saleswoman didn’t even miss a beat. “Let’s start by browsing this case. You’ll notice you have a lot to choose from, from band width, to diamond settings, to the size of the diamond.”
“Got it.” The rings shone back at me and all of them looked alike after a few minutes. Rebecca kindly gave me a few to look at but nothing stood out to me. It had to be special—as special as Pepper. “You know, I think I’m going to just take the anklet today.”
“All right, sir.” She gave me a knowing smile. “Please, come back and see me when you’re ready to look again.”
I promised I would, finished the purchase, and left the jewelry store feeling a little discouraged for the second time today. I realized that somewhere inside of me, I’d half-hoped something would have jumped out at me—kind of like proof, verification that I was doing the right thing. Maybe I was rushing things.
On second thought, I didn’t think I was. I’d always assumed I’d know who the right one was whenever she came along and I was ninety-five percent sure she was the one.
What was the other five percent, then? Nerves? Or something more?
I pushed it all from my mind and turned my focus back to work. Things would spiral out of control quickly if I didn’t keep my head in the game. My next stop was the police station. Nobody had invited me to come down but I hoped that showing up at random would let them know I wasn’t going to let this go. I walked in and visited the detectives’ floor. I shook a few hands and heard what they had to say. They assured me that they had suspects and they were about to make some arrests.
I felt a little better by the time I left the station as I’d done all I could do for now. I was hungry so I stopped by Stymie’s for a drive-thru burger and by the time I made it back to Sea Lab, I’d scarfed it all down. Tossing the wrapper in the garbage can, I walked into the building and headed to Charlie’s security station. The older man had a new employee he was training so we didn’t have much time to talk. I listened in for a few minutes then Charlie went over some of the changes he’d implemented in our system and I left feeling confident and assured that what had happened would never happen again.
I excused myself and retreated back to my office. I strolled up the stairs and gave a polite smile to the temp receptionist sitting behind the front desk. She looked up at my approach and waved a greeting, her headset firmly on her head.
“Oh, Mr. Gregory. Your girlfriend is waiting for you in your office. I hope that’s okay.”
“Really?” That surprised me after what Pepper had said on the phone, but I grinned. I hoped it was another visit like the one we had the other day. She’d blown me away, strutting into my office wearing lingerie and an overcoat. “Thanks. Pearl, right?”
She smiled but shook her head. “No, my name is Mandy.”
“Where did I get Pearl from?”
“I have no idea, Mr. Gregory.”
“I’m sorry, Mandy. I got it now.” I took a step toward my office, then turned back and added, “Please, hold all my calls until further notice.”
She gave me a knowing smile and nodded.
I walked into the office with a big smile on my face. I guessed she wanted to surprise me and I wasn’t going to mess up her surprise. The lights were off and the blinds were closed so the room was pitch black. I reached to turn on the light, but drew my hand back when I quickly thought how inter
esting this could get. “Pepper?”
The anticipation of holding Pepper again was killing me and my cock rose to attention. Suddenly, she was on me, her lips on mine. The force of our bodies together practically slammed the door behind us and she kissed me hungrily. I felt the silk of her dress under my hands as she groped at my shirt, looking for the buttons. My hands moved over her ass and then it struck me—the ass I was fondling didn’t belong to Pepper!
I gripped the mystery girl’s hands and shoved her back in surprise. I reached for the light switch and flipped it on.
Standing in my office, looking confused and out of breath was my friend and long ago ex-girlfriend—Sophie.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
She took a step towards me, smiling. “I would think my intentions are pretty clear. It felt like you knew what we were doing, anyways.” She stepped closer still and rubbed her finger across my chest seductively.
“That’s because I thought you were Pepper! This was wrong, Sophie. So very, very wrong.” I rubbed her lipstick off my face and tried to control my anger.
“Hey, don’t act like that. It’s not like you haven’t kissed me before, Gabe.” She frowned, her lip poked out in a mock pout.
I stared at her, wondering what kind of nightmare I was suddenly living in. “I’ve made my feelings about you very clear and I don’t know what you thought you were doing with this whole scenario, trying to trick me into something, but you need to go. Right now.” She didn’t even blink so I continued. “This was wildly inappropriate. The past is the past for a reason. In fact, you’re fired, Sophie. I’ll be looking for another PR person. Someone who understands boundaries and professionalism.” I crossed my arms, daring her to try and argue with me.
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Okay. Right, Gabe. I’m fired? I don’t believe a word you’re saying right now. So I surprised you—sorry! I guess I should have called you first.”
“This has nothing to do with a surprise. What is wrong with you? I thought I’d spelled it out for you already. I’m not interested and I’m with Pepper Anderson now.”
She cemented her fists to her hips. “You’re making a mistake, Gabe. She’s nothing but trouble—everyone knows that. I want you to leave her alone before she ruins your reputation. You’re a smart guy, but you’re getting pretty stupid about this blonde trash.”
“Not another word,” I snarled. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”
She smiled, apparently happy to have gotten a rise out of me—although, I couldn’t fathom a reason why that would be a positive. “Oh, so you haven’t heard? Let me fill you in. Your crush, Pepper Anderson, isn’t even an Anderson. She’s from some orphanage or something. It’s all over the news. She’s probably just hooking up with you because she’ll need a rich boyfriend once her daddy disowns her and cuts off her trust fund. Open your eyes, Gabe. Stop acting like a fool.”
“I can’t believe you are standing in my office bad-mouthing my girlfriend. Not that it is any of your business, but I don’t care about her last name!” The whole situation was getting ridiculous.
She didn’t back down, “Why are you pretending that I don’t mean anything to you? You’re so full of shit, Gabriel!”
Before I could respond to her, the door swung open and I expected Mandy to walk in, as she’d probably heard me yelling through the closed doors, but it wasn’t the temp at all. It was Pepper and her sister, Mills.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Pepper stared at the two of us.
Sophie’s face lit up with glee. “Oh, there she is! Hello, Miss Anderson—or what do we call you now?”
Chapter Eight — Pepper
Mills and I arrived at Sea Lab to surprise Gabe at work and heard yelling as soon as we stepped off the elevator. From the looks on the faces of those around us, we weren’t the only ones who were concerned. A few of Gabe’s employees and co-workers had stepped out into the reception area, curious to see who was arguing with their boss.
We walked into the small lobby outside Gabe’s office and a tiny receptionist, tinier even than Mills, stepped out from behind the wave-shaped reception counter to stop us. A spark of recognition lit up her eyes as she looked at us, but she didn’t say anything about our infamy.
“May I help you?” she asked politely, but with a nervous smile.
“No, thanks. We’re here to see my boyfriend, Gabe Gregory. You must be the new receptionist.” I slapped a smile on my face and reached my hand to hers.
The young woman took my extended hand, but her grip was light and a look of confusion crossed her face as she blurted out. “Uhm, Mr. Gregory’s girlfriend is already in his office right now… I think.”
A panic alarm went off somewhere in the back of my mind. His what? Who?
“I don’t think so,” I said as I pushed away from the reception desk and strutted towards Gabe’s office. Mills was right on my heels, trying to talk to me.
“Pepper, Pepper. Don’t do anything stupid!”
I ignored Mills and my focus zeroed in on getting to the bottom of this mess. I didn’t bother knocking and opened Gabe’s office door so hard it clanged against the wall as it hit the doorstop. My eyes raked over him in a sweeping assessment. He looked like a disaster. His thick, dark hair was jacked up and traces of red lipstick covered his face. I tried to piece together the scene. He was obviously having it out with Sophie. The sleazy brunette wore a red silk dress that had several buttons undone at the top, her long, wavy hair looked messy, too. Gabe stood with his hands on his hips and Sophie smiled at me like the Cheshire cat. She said something to me, but all I could hear was the angry string of expletives exploding in my mind.
I repeated myself. “What the hell is going on in here?”
Sophie draped herself over Gabe’s shoulder and smiled at me even bigger.
“I said what do we call you now, Pepper? I mean, I heard the big news. You aren’t a real Anderson. I just heard Evangeline tell the news channel that you weren’t her kid or Doug Anderson’s. Said she found you at some orphanage or something? Poor, Pepper…so what do we call you?”
I took a step towards her, my fist pinched tight, but Mills grabbed my hand. “Pepper! Please! Don’t listen to this crazy woman.”
Gabe shoved her away from him. “Sophie, get out. You’re done here.”
“Aw, I’m sorry, baby. So am I still meeting you later?” she smiled sweetly at him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you need to leave—now!”
“Oh, I got it,” she said as if she were sharing a secret with him. She made a show of stopping to button up the front of her dress and grabbed her cherry red Gucci bag from the nearby chair. “Fine. I’ll wait for you to call me once you’re done with this disaster of a publicity stunt.”
“Just what do you mean by that?” I snapped.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She flipped her collar up and smoothed her dress. “That’s what you’ve been—a publicity stunt. What better way to get the money we needed for the whales? I mean, the whole riding on a fish thing—that was brilliant. You really helped so much. I know Gabe was pleased with the results.”
“Gabe? Is this true?” Mills whimpered as she looked over at him.
“No, never!” Gabe sounded desperate, but I wasn’t done with this.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” I couldn’t help myself—I stood between Sophie and the door.
“No, honey. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. I thought Gabe had already come clean. Guess not. How awkward,” she purred.
I rooted myself to the floor. I wasn’t giving this up without a fight. “You aren’t leaving here until you answer my questions. Why are you here?”
“Pepper, please just let her go.” Gabe took a step towards me but I didn’t look at him. I waved him away, keeping my focus on Sophie.
“No, I think I deserve to know why this bitch is here in your office. Was t
his a PR stunt, Gabriel?”
“Bitch? Bitch? Hah! At least I know where I come from!” Sophie inched towards me, wearing a dangerous smile. “I’m sure that’s more than you can say.” My hand flew up before I could think and I slapped her in the face. It was a hard slap—one that stung my hand and left a red mark on her pale cheek.
She dropped her purse and shoved me against the wall. I slapped her again and then Gabe’s strong arms were around me. All of a sudden, Bobbie Jo was in the room and she shoved Sophie into the hallway. “You need to go, Soph. Come on, just go. Be a lady.” Sophie swore at her and I heard people whispering.
“Get your hands off of me. This isn’t over, Pepper Anderson! Or whatever the hell your last name is! You’ll be hearing from my attorney! I swear to God you will!”
“Fine! Bring it on, you pathetic tramp!” I was shaking so hard, I slung myself out of Gabe’s hands and walked towards the door.
“Pepper, stop! Don’t leave. Let me explain,” Gabe pleaded as he stepped between me and the door and closed it behind him.
I smoothed my messy hair with one hand, grabbed Mills’ hand with the other. “Get out of my way, Gabriel!”
“Pepper, stop! Please listen to me. I didn’t know she was in here. The temp told me my girlfriend was waiting for me in the office. I thought it was you! I swear it!”
“Yeah, right, because we look so much alike!” I said in an angry whisper. “Try again, jerk!”
“Pep, listen to him, for God’s sake!” Mills looked pale again and sat down in a nearby chair. “I’m not going until you listen!”
“Fine! You have just one minute to convince me you didn’t know it was me in here. And I can see her sloppy, red lipstick all over your face, Gabe.”
“I know, I was an idiot. I walked in here, the lights were off and the blinds were closed. I swear I thought it was you—I thought it was like the other day when we…” He looked at Mills embarrassed. “You know what I thought.”
“So what? You had to kiss her a dozen times before you knew she wasn’t me?”
Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set Page 31