by Tiffany Snow
Parker had already packed his laptop in its case so I packed mine, then glanced around to make sure I had everything I needed and that Parker had everything he needed.
“Sage, I think we should talk.”
My panicked gaze jerked to his. He’d finished his tie—a perfect Windsor knot, as usual—and had stepped closer.
“You’re joking,” I said flatly, raising an eyebrow. My embarrassment was rapidly changing into irritation. I didn’t like feeling humiliated, and the very last thing I wanted to talk about was last night. “How about we just forget everything that happened? Because I know that’s what I want to do.” Right down to his apology in the dark and how he’d swiped the tear tracks from my cheek.
“Sage, I’m sor—”
“I swear to God if you apologize one more time, I’m walking out that door and you’ll never see me again,” I snapped, cutting him off. “Good Lord, I’ve never had a man be so sorry he kissed me in my entire life!”
Parker may have winced slightly at that. It was hard to tell.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, then we won’t talk about it,” he said.
“Good, because I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
I could tell he was pissed, but for once I didn’t care. I was pissed, too, and frankly, I thought I had more of a right to my snit than he did to his. I couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened had the situation been reversed and I’d started coming on to him, then said, “Just kidding!”
We walked to the elevator in stiff silence and were the only ones in the car. I kept my distance, leaving at least two feet between myself and Parker. The doors were metal, our reflections staring back at us, which was super awkward. I gazed up at the floor display, watching the numbers slowly decrease.
“Technically, it wasn’t a real kiss.”
I opened my mouth to unload a good piece of my mind on him, but the elevator doors slid open, revealing a handful of people waiting.
“After you,” Parker said.
I gave him a look that said exactly what I thought of him arguing semantics with me, then preceded him out of the elevator and down the hall to our conference room, already packed with half a dozen suit-clad men, all waiting for Parker and Viktor. Viktor arrived ten minutes after we did.
The day flew by in a haze of work and copies, phone calls, and typing. Mid-afternoon brought the only other woman—Tania. I had no idea why she was there, but she took a seat next to me. It made me slightly uncomfortable given the staring she’d done last night, but I tried to be friendly and make the best of it. Maybe it was just some kind of cultural thing.
“I don’t know about you,” I said in an undertone to her, “but I’m exhausted. Is it happy hour yet?” I smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back. Okay, then. I backpedaled. “I’m sorry. Just making small talk, you know.” She still didn’t reply, so I just heaved a mental sigh. Maybe she didn’t speak English? We sat at a small table in the corner, while the men took up the long cherry conference table covered in paper, laptops, and files.
“I need your help,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She had an accent just like Viktor and his cronies, and apparently knew English just fine.
“Excuse me?” I must have misheard her.
She glanced at the men, her eyes zeroing in on Viktor, before speaking again. “I need your help,” she repeated. “Please. I can’t talk here. Follow me to the bathroom.” Her lips barely moved as she spoke, as though she didn’t want anyone to know she was talking to me.
Before I could ask anything more about the weird turn the conversation had just taken, she suddenly jerked away from me.
“Tania, are you tiring of the business talk?”
I glanced up and saw that Viktor had approached. He rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Tania was about my height, though slighter than me. I wore a six and I guessed she probably wore a two. So when he squeezed her shoulder, I could tell it hurt. She was nothing but skin and bone and she cringed under his hold.
“Of course not, Viktor,” she said, her voice a low monotone.
I studiously kept my gaze averted as Viktor leaned down to whisper something in Tania’s ear. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her hands tremble slightly. After a moment, Viktor walked away.
“Are you all right?” I whispered, careful to keep working so it wouldn’t look like I was talking to her.
“Yes.”
“What was that about?”
But she didn’t reply. I didn’t push, but it was all I could think about. When she stood to leave, she gave me a significant look before walking out the door. I waited a moment, then left as well. Glancing down the hallway, I saw her enter a women’s restroom and I quickly followed. She was checking that all the stalls were empty when I entered.
“Tania, what’s going on?” I asked. “Why do you need my help?”
She didn’t answer until she’d checked the very last stall; then she hurried to me.
“I do not have much time,” she said. “He will get suspicious if I am gone too long. Here. Take this.” She pulled a sealed envelope from her purse and handed it to me. “I need you to give this to someone. Will you do that for me? I have no one else to ask and he won’t let me leave.”
Automatically, I took the envelope, noticing it had a name and address printed on the back. I stared at her in confusion. “Why? Who?” And those were just the questions I could put into words for this bizarre encounter.
“Niki. She is my sister. She lives in Chicago. Please. Just find her. Give this to her.”
I had no choice. “Of course. But, Tania—”
“Do not trust them,” she said. “Just do what they say. Cross them, and they will kill you, if you are lucky. I was not.” Her eyes held a sad resignation even as she warned me. With one last glance in the mirror, she exited the bathroom.
I had no idea what to do or what to think. This whole thing was getting weirder by the day. I glanced at the paper. And now I was supposed to find Tania’s sister and give some mysterious envelope to her? Resolving to discuss it with Parker after the meeting, I stuffed the envelope in my purse and went back to the conference room.
Business was finally concluded around six and I could tell Parker was tired as he packed up his things, issuing instructions to me for shipping containers back to the office and for deadlines to be set on his calendar. I took notes as he talked. I never had any questions because Parker and I worked together so well, I already knew his answers without having to ask. And if there was something I needed clarification on, he usually provided it automatically.
Finally, we were ready to go. I felt more normal now with Parker; the day of working as usual had gone a long way toward easing my nerves. I’d been Parker’s assistant a heck of a lot longer than I’d been his pretend-mistress, so the role was an easy one to fall back into.
“Can I tell you something?” I asked, moving to stand beside him as he put away his laptop.
“What is it?”
“It was something weird that happened,” I said. “Did you notice the girl, Tania?”
“Viktor’s girlfriend?” he asked, wrapping up the electrical cord.
“Yeah, her. Well, when she came in, she didn’t talk much, but when she did, she said we shouldn’t cross them, that they were dangerous, and that she’d get out if she could, but he wouldn’t let her.”
Parker paused for a moment, then resumed fastening the laptop bag. “That seems a bit odd,” he said.
My eyebrows lifted. “Ya think?” I said, my sarcasm thicker than it probably should have been, but it didn’t seem Parker was taking this seriously. He glanced at me, a warning in his eyes.
He shrugged. “So? Viktor is a dangerous guy from a dangerous country. But that’s not what this deal is about, and his relationship with his girlfriend is hardly our business.” Hefting the leather strap over his shoulder, he turned away, but I grabbed his arm.
�
��It wasn’t like that,” I insisted. “I don’t think she’s here of her own free will. She acted like she was a prisoner. Tell me that isn’t any of our business. She obviously needs help.” I almost told him about Tania’s request to find her sister, but held my tongue. Parker wasn’t reacting at all like I’d expected him to.
Parker gazed at me, his expression sober. Shrugging off the bag’s strap, he set the laptop case back on the table and took a step closer to me. His hands closed on my arms, surprising me. I would have instinctively taken a step back, away from his touch, but he held me firm.
“Listen to me,” he said. “I need you to do your job. I know you feel bad for this girl, but you can’t get involved. We can’t get involved.”
“But—”
“You’re not listening, Sage,” he said more forcefully. “Forget the girl and just focus on your job. That’s all I ask. No, forget that. I’m not asking, I’m telling. Do your job, Sage. Leave the rest to me.”
Anger flared and my eyes narrowed. “Do my job?” I repeated. “When have I ever not done my job?”
“I’m not saying you haven’t,” Parker said.
“So because I tell you something scary, something I’ve never seen before, suddenly I’m not doing my job?” I didn’t think there was anything Parker could have said that would have made me angrier.
“First, I am always doing my job,” I spat, furious. “Whether it’s a phone call at ten o’clock at night on a weekend or the request to come in early on a Monday morning. I put my job before everything else in my life. Second, I’ve always considered you an honorable man, someone who did the right thing, but the money involved in this deal has blinded you. I never thought I’d see the day when I lost respect for you.” I took a breath. “And last but certainly not least: take your hands off me.”
Parker and I were locked in a battle of wills and his eyes flashed blue fire, but I stood my ground. After a moment, he released me.
Turning on my heel, I walked out, so mad I thought surely steam had to be coming out of my ears. But as angry as I was, duty called, so I stopped at the front desk to arrange for the boxes left in the conference room to be shipped.
“Also, I didn’t receive any messages about my room being ready,” I said. “I’d really like my own room tonight.”
“Of course, let me just check.” After hitting some keys on the keyboard, he frowned. “Um, I’m sorry; there must be a misunderstanding. We were notified to cancel that request this morning.”
“What? You’re kidding!” I couldn’t believe it. “I didn’t do that. I need that other room. Do you have one available?”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t,” he said.
I buried my face in my hands. God help me, this had to be the worst trip to New York, ever.
“Miss?”
I stood up, dropped my hands, and took a deep breath. I would remain cool. I would remain calm.
“That’s fine,” I said. “I’ll just…make do.” My smile was through gritted teeth. Another night with Parker. Ugh. Last night I’d been afraid I’d jump his bones; tonight I just might smother him with a pillow.
The clerk was looking at the computer screen again. “It looks like Mr. Anderson canceled the request,” he said.
And just like that, my “cool and calm” went out the flippin’ window.
“I’m going to kill him,” I gritted out between clenched teeth.
“Excuse me?” The clerk looked at me with eyebrows raised.
“Nothing. I’m fine. Thank you.” I smiled again and the clerk gave me a weak smile back. He probably thought I was close to losing it, and he would have been correct. “Can you please have this put in my room?” I handed him my laptop case, which he readily took.
I had to get out of there. I absolutely could not face Parker right now, not when I was so angry with him. And so…disappointed in him. It hurt in my gut when I thought about it, so I pushed the thought away, switched off my phone, and headed out the door.
Chapter Nine
I walked until I wasn’t mad anymore, which was quite a ways. By the time I really looked to see where I was, night had fallen and my stomach was complaining quite loudly that it was past dinnertime.
There were restaurants and bars everywhere and I chose one that looked slightly upscale. Heading inside, I saw I’d picked a place where a lot of people must come after work¸ as they all seemed to be professionals about my age or slightly older.
I made my way to the bar and snagged an empty stool. The bartender came by and I ordered a Grey Goose martini, straight up. He handed me a menu, too. I looked it over. Everything looked good…and pricey. I decided to get what I wanted and just expense it. Half the time Parker just signed whatever I put in front of him, barely glancing at it. He could sign off on my dinner, too.
The martini hit the spot and I downed it pretty quickly, then signaled the bartender for another. I people-watched as I sipped the second drink. It was interesting, watching the interaction between the single women and men, playing the game, flirting, hooking up…
I sighed, suddenly wishing I was anywhere but in New York. I wondered what Ryker was doing, and if he’d thought about me since our date Saturday night.
A woman sat down on the stool next to me, and I glanced over. She looked to be about my age. Strikingly pretty, she had a really unusual hair color—strawberry blond—and I found myself staring slightly enviously at her long, wavy locks.
“A manhattan, please,” she ordered from the bartender, “on the rocks.” She caught me staring.
“Really need a drink,” she said, smiling somewhat sheepishly.
“Oh, yes, I completely agree,” I replied, indicating my martini. “Same here.”
“Rough day?” she asked.
I nodded. “My boss is driving me batty.”
She smiled. “That’s as good a reason to drink as I’ve ever heard.”
“You from around here?” I asked as the bartender set her drink in front of her. I thought I could detect a bit of an accent in her words, though it wasn’t very pronounced.
She shook her head and took a long swallow before replying. “No. I’m a tourist. I swear, we’ve trekked the entire city today.”
“We?”
“Me and my husband,” she clarified. “He’s outside on his cell. Said he couldn’t hear a thing in here with all the noise.” She took another drink just as a man stepped up behind her.
Wow.
My eyes about bugged out of my head. He was hot, in the capital-H-double-T kind of way. Inky black hair fell over intensely blue eyes framed with thick dark lashes. He had wickedly arched eyebrows, a square jaw that defined “chiseled,” and shoulders wide and deep enough to make a woman weak in the knees.
“I knew I shouldn’t leave you alone in a bar,” he teased her, resting a hand on the small of her back.
“I’m just nervous,” she said. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen him.”
“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” he replied. “You’re overthinking it. Besides, he drove up from D.C. to have dinner with us, so it’s not like we can back out now.”
“I don’t want to back out. I just needed a little…liquid courage.” She took another big swallow of the manhattan.
“C’mon. It’s just around the block,” he said. Taking the glass from her, he downed the rest of the drink.
“That was mine, you know,” she groused, but she was smiling.
“I’ll buy you another when we get there.” Leaning down, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
I sighed, watching the two of them. They seemed real sweet together, and judging by the size of the rock on her left hand and the way he was touching her as if she were made of glass, he was smitten. I wondered who they were meeting for dinner that made her nervous.
“It was nice meeting you,” she said, turning to me with a smile while her husband tossed some money onto the bar to pay for her drink.
“Same here,” I said.
Her
husband glanced at me, a slight frown on his face, and I abruptly decided that while he was one of the best-looking men I’d ever seen, something about him made me not want to meet up with him in a dark alley. Taking her hand, he led her away just as the bartender set my dinner in front of me.
I made quick work of the filet, au gratin potatoes, and asparagus, switching to wine once I was through with my martini. Probably not a good idea to mix my liquors, but I was past caring.
I didn’t know what to think about how this afternoon had gone down and what Parker had said. It hadn’t occurred to me not to tell him about Tania. I thought that he would know what to do—Parker always knew what to do. To have him tell me that it wasn’t our problem and to stay out of it and just do my job was like a slap in the face.
Millions would be made off this deal; I got that. It was a lot of money to turn your back on, but I’d never thought of Parker as someone who would compromise his principles.
Ryker was right. I didn’t know Parker at all.
I was well into my second glass of wine when a man sat down next to me. Glancing over, I saw him smile at me. He was good-looking, with brown hair and brown eyes and a neatly trimmed goatee.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi yourself,” I replied, the words only a little slurred.
“Alone tonight?” he asked.
I nodded. “Sometimes it’s the best way.”
His smile widened. “True.”
I tipped my wineglass and took a drink, then saw the man signal the bartender for another round.
“No, I should stop,” I said, setting down my nearly empty glass. “I’ve drunk too much already.”
“But you haven’t had a drink with me,” he said with a grin. He was cute, cuter than I’d originally thought, but maybe that was the wine talking.
The bartender set down a newly filled glass that looked really tempting. I eyed it. Oh, what the hell.
“So why are we drinking alone tonight?” the guy asked as I took a swallow. “Boyfriend trouble?”
“Nope,” I said. “Work trouble. Which is worse. At least I could break up with a bad boyfriend, right?”