“No,” I admitted.
“Try these.” She handed me a pair of five-inch stilettos. “They have a platform, so they are going to be better for you.”
***
An hour later, Garth and I left the store, both of us carrying several bags full of clothing. I wasn't sure how I felt letting him buy me so much. But as soon as I tried some of those clothes on, I knew he would win out.
He popped the trunk, and we unloaded our bags in there.
“Alright, now you have some clothes for tomorrow.” He smiled widely as we got back into the car and he gunned the engine. I blew out a deep breath, closing my eyes.
I didn't realize just how tired I had been until I closed my eyes. We drove back to the office without a word. I watched him all the way, and he refused to meet my eye the entire time. As we pulled into the parking lot, the car came to a stop.
I unbuckled, trying to figure out what I was going to say, but nothing came to mind. He finally turned to face me.
“I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes. And ... thank you.” Is that what you say?
He shrugged, but the smile across his face widened as I stepped out of the car, grabbed my bags from the trunk and headed to my own.
“Hello,” I whispered as I unlocked the door and slid into the seat. I know most people didn't talk to their car, but it was something I'd always done. “Don't worry, I still love you. No matter how fancy that car was.”
I slid the keys into the ignition, and the car started within a second. I gave Garth a quick wave before pulling out of the parking lot.
Chapter Three
I decided on a black dress I'd got yesterday, of course with a pair of the new heels. My eyes rolled back as I slipped into them. The idea that I wouldn't have to worry about the blisters on my feet thrilled me. I mean, you'd think after eight months, my feet would have formed some sort of protection. They hadn't. Which meant I'd had blisters since I started working there. My feet felt so free as I grabbed my work bag and headed out to my car. I stopped right before opening the door. My jaw dropped.
“What are you doing here?” I called, having no clue if he could even hear me. A grin spread across his face as he stepped out of his shiny car.
“I thought you could use a ride to work.”
He got out of his car and watched me.
What would everyone think?
“I ...” I couldn't say no. He'd come all this way just to give me a ride. I turned to my beat-up black car. “Sorry,” I mouthed to her before crossing over to his car. I took a couple seconds to give it a once over. Corvette. My head shook. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it earlier. I went out in a Corvette last night.
Garth circled around the hood and to the passenger door, which he opened for me. “So, just to be clear, I did just hear you tell your car you were sorry. Right?”
My cheeks darkened.
“Yes.”
I slid into the Corvette without another word and buckled up. He closed the door behind me, laughing softly as he circled back around the hood and joined me in the car.
I have to admit, I was more than worried about anyone seeing us drive in together.
With me filling in for Ashley, I didn't want anyone to think I had slept my way to the top. But if someone saw us arrive together...
I'd be fucked.
Well, not in a good way, at least. As we rolled into the parking lot, Garth came to a stop beside a car that caught my eye.
“Do you like it?”
I stared at the purple paint that almost seemed to sparkle. The silver Jaguar on the hood was the exact same as the client's we'd met with yesterday.
“It's interesting, that's for sure.”
“I saw the way you looked at the one yesterday,” he said. “I figured you might like this one.”
My brow furrowed as I turned away from the car to stare at my boss. “What?”
“I mean, you can't be driving the old beat up car if you're going to be showing houses to the rich and famous. Like I said, you can't sell billion dollar homes in twenty dollar shoes—the same goes for your car.” I looked at him gobsmacked. “Of course, this is just a rental until Alyssa gets better, but it should do.”
I tried to find something—anything—to say, but words escaped me. I just stared at Garth.
“Uh, Mr. Adams.”
“Please,” He held his hand up. “Garth is fine if we are alone.”
“Garth,” I corrected. “I can't ... I mean ...”
“Don't worry about it, we'll consider it a business expense.” He stepped out of his car, and I followed, rushing after him. “Your car can lose us a sale, I'm not willing to take that risk.”
He said it so matter of fact. Like there was no more point in discussing this with him. So I dropped back, walking slower as my mind took everything in. Had he done all this for Alyssa when she made her way up in the company? She hadn't mentioned it.
Garth
I glanced behind to see her a few feet back. It was probably best after all; just so people didn't think we were fucking. I still had to force myself to keep moving instead of stopping to let her catch up.
“Garth! There you are!” Brent called from the office doors. “I was beginning to worry about you.”
“I had to make a quick stop on my way to work.” I shrugged. “Brent,” I came to a stop in front of him and motioned towards Ally. “Have you met the new temp? She's covering for Alyssa while she is sick.”
Brent's eyes roamed over Ally's body. I could tell he liked what he saw. Something I couldn't place tugged at the pit of my stomach. I ignored it.
“Ally, it's a pleasure to meet you.” Brent held his hand out to her. She shook it.
“The pleasure's all mine.” She smiled widely. “We don't get to see you around here much.”
So she did know who Brent was. Good. It would have looked bad if I'd had to have told her. I cleared my throat.
“Anyways my friend, we will catch up later. I can't wait to hear how the New York division is going. Dinner? Tomorrow?”
“Sounds perfect!” Brent beamed, clapping me on the back. “Now go get back to work, we both know you're the brains behind this!”
I pulled my old friend into a hug without warning. “I'll see you tomorrow.”
It had been two years since he was actually in town for more than a couple of hours. It was wonderful to have him back. I made a mental note to do something special.
“It was nice to meet you,” Ally said, stepping past me and toward the elevator.
I watched her as the doors closed and took her to our floor.
“Where do you find these girls?” My friend chuckled. “The ones in New York who look half as good as her don't have the brains to put a bed skirt on right.”
“She found me actually. She's been working here a while; my assistant is out sick, and this girl offered to help out.”
Brent's face wrinkled. “Be careful of her, the ones who find you are always trouble.”
Ally
I tried to stay calm as I crossed to my desk and dropped down to start checking emails. Thankfully, it was still early and no one else was in. My hands shook as I booted up my computer and fumbled with the keyboard to put my password in—I failed three times before getting it right. I couldn't stop thinking about meeting Brent, or Garth picking me up, or the shopping trip last night. It was all too much to process.
Calm down, I told myself. Take a deep breath, and you will get this sorted out. I took a deep breath. In and out. In and out. It didn't help.
I can't say I was surprised when it didn't help, but a girl could hope, right?
The elevator dinged. My head shot up as I looked at it. The redhead stepped off the elevator. Today, her hair was tied in a thick bun, and she wore a blue dress with a black necklace that drooped down her neckline. She caught my eye and gave me a wide smile.
“Are we the first ones in?”
“Looks like it,” I said looking around as if maybe s
omeone had popped in without me realizing.
“Did you see Brent Authers is here?” Her voice was hushed as she rushed over to me.
“No,” I lied. “Is he really?’
“Oh, my God, Jessica is going to die when she finds out. And poor Alyssa isn’t going to be here for any of it.”
It took everything I had not to laugh. “It’s alright. It’s probably for the best she’s not feeling well. I mean, I know she’s been working so hard she needs a good break.” Plus, we didn’t need her getting confused about what billionaire to go after.
I kept that part to myself, though.
The elevator dinged again, letting us know someone was about to step onto our floor. The redhead looked up quickly and rushed to her desk, giving me a wide smile before turning her computer on.
Garth stepped out onto the floor; behind him, two girls followed looking like it took everything they had not to giggle. Garth caught my eye as he headed to his office, not saying a word to me.
The second the door closed, the girls started talking. I didn’t pay much attention; it was high pitched but still a whisper. Way too much work to listen.
Instead, I sorted out a couple emails and arranged a time to meet the couple from yesterday. I stood, padded over to Garth’s office and knocked twice. I noticed the girls stopped talking as I opened his door.
“Mr. Adams.”
Garth looked up from his desk. A smile touched his lips. “What is it?”
“The couple we met with yesterday, I booked them for tomorrow afternoon. I checked your schedule, and it was clear so I added it in, but I just wanted to let you know as well.”
His head tilted to the left. “Good. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be sure to write it down in my journal.”
He had a journal. Interesting, most people just used their phone calendars these days.
“Let me know if you need anything,” I said before turning around and leaving his office, closing the door behind me.
Everyone's eyes were locked on me.
***
They stared at me all day. I could hear them whisper things about me. Questions sometimes, other times it was statements. Comments on my outfit or my work ethic.
I tried to ignore it most of the day, but it was hard, honestly. By quitting time, I was tempted to just tune everyone out with music, but that would have been unprofessional. So instead, I just smiled and waved goodbye as the girls left, saying I had some stuff to finish up before I headed out.
Garth stepped out of his office a few minutes later. He stopped, staring at me.
“You're still here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I have some work to catch up on. See you tomorrow.”
He gave me a thoughtful look before nodding his head. “Well, don't work too hard,” he said before heading out of the building.
“See you!” I called after him.
I was left alone only for a couple of seconds before I heard the elevator ring again and looked up.
Brent stepped off the elevator looking around. “Is Garth gone?” he asked, his brow furrowing.
“Yup, you just missed him actually. I'm sure you could catch him before he leaves the parking lot.” I reached for the phone. “Would you like me to give him a call for you?”
“Oh, no thank you.” He padded over to me. “Ally, right?”
“Yea.”
“Garth's assistant.” I nodded. “Well, you must do one hell of a job; he's not easy to work for.”
My cheeks flushed. “I try, but I'm still very new. He has lots of time to decide I'm not good enough.” I gave a soft laugh.
Although I'd been working at the company for a few months now, I'd never met Garth's business partner. Adams and Authers Realtor had two branches. One here in sunny California and another in New York. They opened in New York but wanted to expand, Garth took the chance to travel from what I'd heard.
I took a chance to give Brent an up and down.
He was taller than Garth, with stunning blue eyes that any girl could melt in and brown hair that was cut short. He had a tattoo poking out from his dress shirt and a smile that anyone would kill for. I wondered how many girls had fallen victim to it.
“Still, he's already got you working late?”
“Oh, no,” I said. “I just had a couple emails to finish up.”
The elevator dinged. My heart skipped a beat as both Brent and I turned to see who it was.
Garth stared at us as he stepped onto the floor, his mouth slightly open forming a small O. His eyes locked on Brent.
“What are you doing here?”
Brent stepped away from my desk. “I was just coming up to see you. Your assistant said you'd left.” He gave a quiet laugh. “I was just trying to see if you were already overworking her.”
I felt awkward all of a sudden watching the two men give each other a smile.
“Ah,” was all Garth said. “I just came back because I forgot my charger.”
“Wonderful, we can speak!”
Garth caught my eye as he stepped past his friend and headed for his office. The two men entered, and the door closed behind them. I glanced at the closed door for a fraction of a second before deciding to get the hell out of there.
I wasn't sure why I felt awkward, or if it was all in my head, but I figured the two owners of the company—and two friends—could use some time together.
I made my way out to the parking lot where my heart skipped a beat as I realized there was something wrong. My little black Jetta wasn't waiting for me. Instead, I had a purple Jaguar waiting for me next to Garth's Corvette. I bit my lip, realizing I didn't have the keys.
I padded over to it, a sigh of relief passing through my body as I saw the keys sitting on the seat.
I popped the door open without an issue and grabbed the keys.
I can’t fucking believe this, I thought, dropping down into the seat and adjusting it. My heart raced as I gunned the engine. I’d never owned a new car, let alone one this nice.
Needless to say, the drive home was fun.
Chapter Four
Kerry greeted me with a wide smile. “Is that car in the driveway yours?”
She extended her hand to me, looking me up and down.
“Yes.” I smiled widely.
“That was not the car you had a couple days ago.”
“No.” I laughed softly. I didn’t want to come up with a flat out lie in front of my boss. So I just smiled and stepped back, letting Garth take control. I let Garth show them around the house I’d staged—one they had found while looking around online. The first time I’d followed them around the house, carefully listening to every word Garth spoke so I could memorize it. This time, I was outside when they walked around the house. There were a couple quick things I wanted to fix up before they saw it.
When they left, they had broad smiles on their faces, which I took as a good sign.
“They loved it,” Garth said as soon as they pulled out of the driveway. “Their favorite part was that guest room you did up.”
Filled with stuffed animals and a few pieces of kids furniture that the company kept in a storage unit.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“That was a good move.”
I shrugged. “You keep the stuff around for it to be used. I figured I should take advantage of it. Really, it’s smart of you guys to keep it around to be used.”
“I was wondering …” He paused as if he regretted saying it. “Uh, would you like to join me for lunch before we head back to the office?”
My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him. It almost sounded like he was asking me out.
God, I wished I could take it back. I could see her wheels turning as she thought about it.
“I mean, it's past lunch,” I said quickly. I didn't want her to think I was trying to ask her out or something—even though I was.
The truth is, when I saw Brent with her, I felt jealous. I was never the
type to date someone I worked with, but it was just lunch, right? That's what I was going to tell myself.
“Sure.” She smiled. “I know a great little place just a little ways from the office, actually.”
“Sounds perfect.” I grinned as I motioned toward the door, my heart doing a backflip as she stepped past me and we headed out to the driveway. “I'll let you lead.”
“Try to keep up.” She grinned.
***
Maybe I shouldn't have implied I was going to be speeding in a car he was renting for me, but it came out without me thinking. Garth laughed softly.
“Don’t get pulled over.”
I snorted as I reached my car, slipped in and gunned the engine. Right before I pulled out of the driveway, I glanced at Garth. He gunned the engine and winked. Butterflies filled the pit of my stomach within a second.
I mentally shook myself and pulled out of the driveway heading for the burger joint on Main.
It didn’t take us long to get there, and when I stepped out of my car, Garth was pulling in beside the Jag. He got out looking around. “I’ve never been here before.”
“You're in for a treat,” I said with a smile. “They've got the best burgers in town, and at the best prices.”
When people came here for the first time and heard the price, they thought they were going to have a crap burger, or that the teller had gotten it wrong. That wasn't the case. I nodded towards the back alley.
There was a big food moment going around in these parts. More often than not, people were forced to find unique ways to get their food out there.
I led the way through the bamboo tree path and into the restaurant.
“It must be nice having your friend back home.”
I'm not going to lie, I was prying a little. The restaurant itself was smaller than most people's living rooms. It had eight tables and a small outdoor space.
“It is. It's been a long time since we had a chance to catch up.”
The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance Page 47