Mutually Exclusive

by Charlotte Winston

  ***

  Alexandra turned right then left, studying the grey wrap dress she’d accented with peach accessories. It was perfect for dinner with her family. She’d called them ahead of time, alerting them she was bringing Roman to dinner and to be on their best behavior, but the hamsters running around in her stomach refused to get the message. Roman would be there any minute to escort her. She’d lied to her grandfather when they last saw each other. Her grandfather had been understanding, but she’d felt pained every time she remembered how much she’d hurt Roman.

  Roman was an integral part of her life, and Alexandra wanted her family’s support. She grabbed her clutch when the bell rang, checking her reflection once more before she greeted him. Roman in a polo and jeans was hot, but Roman in a suit was killer. Her ovaries melted when he leaned in to kiss her, and complimenting her on her outfit.

  They made their way to his SUV, not speaking. The silence should have been comfortable, but the tension was ratcheted up to an eight.

  “Babe.” She stopped him from fidgeting with the radio with her hand on his. Roman looked at her sheepishly.

  “Sorry. There aren’t any good songs tonight.”

  “Of course.” She rubbed his arm, accepting the lie. “You know they’re going to love you.” Like I love you, she added silently, and would tell you if I wasn’t a coward. She couldn’t say when it happened, it was more like a notch locking into place, but she no longer denied it. Now if only she could tell him.

  “If you say so,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the road.

  “I know so. And you’re going to try and be on your best behavior. I understand your feelings toward my dad, but this is my family and they had nothing to do with what went on.”

  “My feelings toward your dad will not color my attitude toward your family.”

  “Are you sure?” He’d addressed her worst fear, although he hadn’t treated her differently.

  “I’m an adult. I’m more concerned about their opinion of you dating someone who owns a sex club.”

  “My family couldn’t care less what you do as long as it’s not illegal or immoral.”

  “It’s perfectly legal. The immoral part is a gray line which gets ’em every time.”

  “People are idiots. My family isn’t like that. They raised my father, who we both know skirted the line of morality. But if it makes you feel any better, when I told my grandparents about your club, my grandfather told me he’d heard you were a shrewd businessperson and if he was any younger, he’d find a way to do business with you.” When he told her, she almost threw up in her mouth. Who wants to picture their grandparents bumping uglies? But it helped assuage her nerves in bringing him.

  “Did he really?” Shock tinged his voice as he pulled into the country club, as though he couldn’t imagine people accepting him. How isolating, to own a club everyone craved and wanted to be part of, but refused to acknowledge during the day. It probably wasn’t even the fact he owned a sex club. Roman knew all their secrets, and these men and women, who ruled the people around them, were beholden to a man because they gave into their base instincts. Roman refused to let it bother him, and had yet to let them affect him. One of the many reasons Alexandra respected him.

  “Yes. Now, be your naturally charming self, and I’ll give you a treat later on.”

  He grabbed her hand, a show of solidarity they both needed while they waded through the dining room where the rest of her family was seated. Introductions were made, with her grandfather and Anthony giving him the standard male greeting, with plenty of back-thumping and handshaking, while Parker, her mother, and her grandmother got a hug. Drinks were brought and the appetizers their grandparents ordered were placed on the table before the servers faded into the background.

  “Tell me about yourself. Alexandra tells me you own Club Valentine.” Her grandfather was quick to start the inquisition. He’d never been one to beat around the bush.

  “Yes, sir. I own the controlling share, but my siblings own stock in the company.”

  “Aha.” Her grandfather slapped his hand on the table as though he’d just figured out a puzzle. “A man who knows family. I like that. Who else owns shares?”

  “No one. Club Valentine is my pride and joy, and there’s no way I would let it fall into anyone else’s hands. Our clientele insists upon it, and my siblings both signed an agreement stating if they no longer wanted their shares, they’d sell them back to me.”

  “Genius. I need to look into doing that with my company. I’ve been trying to find a way to give some of my family stock without losing control of my power,” Anthony said. He owned an architectural firm, and had been swamped with new clients, so was looking into expansion while ensuring they stayed true to their roots.

  “It was the easiest choice. My family is important to me and wanted to be part of the process, and I couldn’t see myself completing this endeavor without them. I’d be more than happy to talk to you about it some other time, because I’m sure we don’t want to bore the girls talking about business.” Anthony agreed, promising to exchange numbers before they left.

  “As long as I’ve been married to this man,” Gran pointed to Papa and waved him off, “if I hadn’t gotten used to talking about business, I’d have had to kill him to make him shut up.” Roman chuckled, and it felt as though the nerves and tension were gone. They had a lively conversation about who was going to win the pennant race, with her grandfather rooting for the underdogs while Roman and Anthony rooted for the team who was making a repeat performance from the year before. Alexandra, her mother, her grandmother, and Parker discussed wedding plans. Parker swore she’d found just the dress for Alexandra, which led to a conversation about what the other women would wear, because they were certain nothing in their closet would do for Parker’s big day.

  They laughed, they joked, and enjoyed each other’s company long after dinner was served. No one mentioned her father, for which Alexandra was thankful. Every once in a while, she caught a shrewd gleam in her mother’s eye but never voiced whatever was on her mind. As the evening wound to a close, he pulled her close, kissing the side of her head as he always did, and Alexandra leaned her head on his shoulder. Roman just fit.

  “Alexandra, is Roman coming to the cabin in a couple weeks?” Parker asked when there was a lull in conversation. She felt him tense beside her at the mention of the property. She put her hand on his thigh and squeezed, hoping he’d get the message they’d talk later.

  “I don’t know. We hadn’t talked about it,” she hedged. It wasn’t that she hadn’t told him, she just didn’t want to acknowledge it given his aversion to it. They spent the weekend of her father’s death together in his cabin. It was tradition, and she’d clung to those when younger. The older she got, the less she wanted to, which was part of the reason she didn’t mind selling it. She’d rather remember him on a celebratory weekend, like their anniversary, but her grandmother was fixated on that weekend.

  “My father,” she supplied when he looked confused. “We always spend the weekend of the crash at his favorite cabin. It’s coming up in at the end of the month.”

  He raised his eyebrows before something flashed in his eyes. “Oh, babe, remember two weeks ago when you said you’d go to the conference with me?”

  There was no conference, and she didn’t know his angle, but he looked apologetically at her family. “I’m sorry, I had no idea what the weekend meant to her when I booked everything.”

  “It’s okay,” her mother rushed in. “You couldn’t have known. I would hate for you guys to miss a conference if it’s vital. I wouldn’t expect you to come to the cabin.” Her mother was normally the first one after her grandmother reminding people of their duty, so why the complete one-eighty about going this year? The shrewd gleam was back in her mother’s eyes, and Alexandra wondered if she knew exactly who was sitting at their dinner table. And who his birth mother was.

  “Alexandra doesn’t have to come. Or we can always reschedule.�
�� Her grandmother’s voice quivered on the last statement, and Alexandra felt like an ass. Her grandparents were amazing, and her new boyfriend was making up fake conferences to get her out of a weekend at the cabin because he hated her father. He didn’t have to come, but he shouldn’t make up excuses for her.

  “I want to come. I’ll see what we can work out, but if all else fails, I can miss the conference.”

  “You shouldn’t do that,” Parker argued, but she knew how Alexandra felt about the whole weekend. Even without Roman’s interference, she wasn’t a fan. “I was asking if you were bringing Roman because you guys are together, but please go to the conference. We’ll be fine.”

  “We can figure it out later,” Alexandra said, stopping the conversation. She hadn’t wanted to put a damper on the evening by talking about her father, but there it was. Her grandmother nodded, and Anthony, bless him, changed the subject, but the damage was done. The previous good nature of the dinner was gone, but there was no one to blame. Shitty circumstances all around; Alexandra had been dealing with that since she was a child.

  “What was that back there?” Roman asked when they were in the car on the way home.

  “The weekend is important to my grandmother. She’s been doing it for years.”

  “You hate going. And I can’t step foot in the cabin knowing what happened there. Why can’t you tell her what you want? You want to remember your father some other time, not the weekend when your world crashed in.”

  “Roman.” She put her hand over his, a thrill shooting through her when he flipped his hand over so they were holding hands. “Thank you for looking out for me, and I’m thrilled that you and my family got along so well, but my grandmother is a force to be reckoned with. She’s done so much for my sister and me, and asks for very little. One of the things she asks for is a weekend at the cabin.”

  “Which you hate. And from the way Parker jumped on the ‘change the date’ bandwagon, she hates it, too. She loves you, and that comes with no strings attached. Have you ever tried talking to her?”

  “No,” she admitted.

  “Look, I’m not saying don’t go. You want to go, I will help you load up the car. But only go if you want to, not because you’re doing it out of some weird notion of misplaced loyalty. She doesn’t want that, and neither would your father.” He had a point; she and Parker had never told their grandmother how they felt.

  “Why are you always trying to change me?” she asked by way of acknowledging he had a valid point.

  “Not changing.” He kissed the back of her hand. “You can’t change perfection. And before you argue, you are perfect to me and for me. But I will push your limits; I told you as much the first day I met you. I will challenge you, love you, and push you to be the best damn person you can be. If that means stepping on your family’s toes for your pecae of mind, so be it. Because you are now and always will be my priority.” Hope bloomed within her chest. It made her giddy, knowing they were days away from uttering ‘I love you.’ It was a natural progression, and the next step in a relationship she wanted to make permanent.

  “Well, I pushed another limit tonight.” She grinned.

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m not wearing panties.”

  He slammed on the brakes. “You mean, during the entire dinner…”

  “Yep.” She nodded. “Now take me home and love me.”

  17

  Alexandra walked into the conference room to meet her new client the following week. She blinked, staring at the men sitting around the table.

  “Excuse me, gentlemen, I forgot one thing.” She shut the door, leaning back against it, closing her eyes. She smiled at her assistant who stood in front of her with eyes wide, lifting one finger to tell Karen she needed a minute and walked back into her office. Alexandra sat at her desk, inhaling for the first time since she’d walked into the conference room and saw Roman sitting there cool as a cucumber. It wasn’t enough he invaded her thoughts almost hourly—he had to show up at her office. Why would he come to her work when she made it clear that wasn’t okay? And why didn’t he give her a heads-up? She’d been with the man the previous night, and he gave no indication she’d see him that day. As her client, no less.

  Don’t be a pussy, Alexandra. Get your ass back in the room. She gave herself the mental pep talk, taking another deep breath before walking back toward the conference room like she hadn’t run out moments before.

  “Sorry for the delay, I had to retrieve something from my office.” She sat beside Wesley, who’d probably signed off on the case. Henry was a prude, so there was no way he’d agree to represent Roman, who sat silently, his face giving away nothing. Quinn sat on one side, smirking at her while a gorgeous woman about Alexandra’s age sat on the other. Her long, black hair was pulled into an elaborate hairstyle—half up while the other half fell halfway down her chest—and green eyes, the same color Alexandra had spent weeks staring at, observed her.

  Probably the cousin Roman mentioned a while ago, his aunt and uncle’s child whom he viewed as his younger sister. The shrewd glance told Alexandra she wasn’t going to be as easy to win over as the Valentine brothers. Their expressions gave nothing away, but the tension in the air was palpable. Or maybe it was Alexandra projecting her own discomfort on this meeting. She only hoped Roman and Quinn acted like they didn’t know her. It was the only way she would get through this.

  “I’m sorry for the delay. My name is Alexandra Kane.” She held out her hand to shake.

  “Rachel Valentine,” the cool-eyed brunette answered, gripping her hand with more force than necessary.

  “Quinn.” His brother stuck his hand out to shake hers. She turned to the man who kept her nights occupied, beseeching him to keep up the pretense she’d set.

  “Roman.” He nodded, his thumb tracing the outside of her hand. She smiled, jerking her hand back from his.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  His mouth tilted up. “The pleasure is all mine.” Of course the pleasure was all his. He’d seen, touched, kissed, and savored every part of her body for the last couple months. Yet she was supposed to sit in front of him and pretend she didn’t know him at all. He was supposed to be another client for her, although not like she was a client of his. She was a take-me-to-bed client, while he could become a win-for-me-in court client.

  The agony of having to sit there as though she didn’t know them was underscored by the fact she was going to have to help him. She’d need to keep up the pretense until her partnership went through so she’d have more protection. But it would kill her.

  “Since we’ve gotten introductions out of the way, can you tell me a little about the purpose of your visit? I’m afraid I haven’t been brought up to speed concerning your request.” She smiled. Wesley slid her a piece of paper, and her heart sank into her stomach. She looked up, her eyes searching Roman’s, but saw no hint of a problem. The man who held her in bed was not the same person in front of her, the love she’d seen days before replaced by the blank stare. This put everything she’d worked for at risk. It felt like a standoff in the O.K. Corral until Quinn broke the silence.

  “We’ve been subpoenaed for our membership list in an upcoming divorce hearing for the Arrows.”

  “The business owner?” Alexandra looked up from the paperwork in front of her to see the confirmation from their faces. Gina Arrow’s husband. The same woman from dinner who’d felt she was entitled to Roman’s attention. She went back into lawyer mode, ignoring her dog in this fight. “Why do they want your membership list?” It made no sense for him to air his dirty laundry, particularly in the media about either party’s involvement in Roman’s club.

  Rachel spoke up. “This has nothing to do with the club itself. He doesn’t want to pay for her alimony, and feels if he can prove she had an affair with someone at the club he can sue them for alienation of affection.” There was precedent in their state concerning alienation of affection, even people who won, but it was a housewife sui
ng her husband’s mistress after a prolonged relationship. A couple of nights spent having sex with someone else didn’t constitute a monetary reward worth the amount of alimony he’d have to pay.

  “And he knows they’ve got the money to pay up because of the membership fees,” Roman finished. He shook his head, as though he couldn’t believe his current predicament. And it could potentially be his predicament if Gerald found out Roman messed around with his wife. Why the hell was he putting her in this position?

  Alexandra voiced her displeasure. “Yeah, but he has no case. He can’t shoot a shotgun at a target and hope one of the pellets hits something vital. Is he a member of the club?”

  Rachel leaned over and whispered in Roman’s ear before he turned to Quinn and whispered to him.

  “Do we need to give you guys a minute?” Wesley’s voice broke through their conversation. Roman raised his eyebrow at Wesley; he wasn’t used to having people question him or his motives.

  “No, we’re fine.” Rachel patted her hand on Roman’s arm. “He cancelled his membership last week. He’s paid up through to the end of the month, but after that, he will no longer be a member.”

  Roman flexed his hand, balling it into a fist. “And he believes if we try and fight it in court, it will take longer than the current month, so his membership will have expired.”

  “We need to make sure it doesn’t. You’re the lead on this one. I’m just going to consult.” Wesley looked at her when he said it. She knew, since Wesley told her when she walked in that morning, she was the point person for a new case, but she had no idea it was this one. Hearing the details made her sick to her stomach.