“Well then, if you’re up for it, it would be a great chance to find out who the leader of Thirteen Stars is.”
“I’m up for it.” If she had to endure one more day of playing the naive little niece of Grayson, she could do it. “I’ll try to set up a meeting for tomorrow. The sooner this is over with the better.”
“There’s a chance they might not be able to make a meeting that soon,” warned Evelyn.
“There’s money on the line. I’m sure they’ll be able to rearrange some plans for me,” said Lori with more confidence than she felt.
“Keep me informed about your plans. I might be able to get into the restaurant or have one of my people there. That should calm Michael down a little bit.”
“Maybe.” Lori didn’t kid herself. It would take a lot more than that to calm him down. “I’ll let you know the details as soon as I figure them out.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line and for a moment, Lori thought they got disconnected. But then Evelyn spoke up. “I really don’t want to cause friction between the two of you.”
Lori stared out the window. Damn it. Evelyn was supposed to be sure of this and ready to plow ahead, no matter the consequences. She wasn’t supposed to be unsure. “Michael will be fine. He’ll get over it.” He’d have to.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The next morning at work was long and monotonous. Lori had a hard time focusing on catching up on her workload when there was so much going on in the background. She had a lunch meeting with Ken and his other investors and had been avoiding Michael ever since she snuck into her cube. Considering she’d never even seen him before that day two weeks ago, it was shocking how aware she was of him now.
Or maybe she was hyper aware of him because she hadn’t spoken to him since she’d left his apartment. She wasn’t sure whether she’d call what they had a fight, but it was the closest thing they’d had to one. There was another possible reason for why he hadn’t called. Maybe he was done with her. It was fun while it lasted, but he could’ve realized they were just too different.
She glanced at the clock on the bottom corner of her computer screen. Ten a.m. Wouldn’t he have messaged or called by now if he really wanted to talk? She was meeting Ken in two hours and Michael had no idea. Part of her liked it better that way. It was easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
But she’d prefer someone else knew where she was going. She definitely didn’t want Michael there. Grayson hadn’t started to handle Michael’s and Luke’s funds yet, and it would be rather improper for him to sit in, even if the idea of them as a couple was becoming more accepted.
Even if she didn’t want to fight, she did want to be honest with him. Because she didn’t want whatever they had to be over. She didn’t want to think of yesterday as a fight. Just a misunderstanding brought on by grief and stress.
After five more minutes, she finally gave up on trying to work and headed upstairs. She didn’t care whether people noticed. She was going upstairs to talk to Michael. As far as she was aware, no one from the office but Cali and Luke knew about them, and if she kept making trips up to the executive level, other employees were going to talk. But this seemed important enough to risk it.
Michael wasn’t in his office when she glanced in the open door, so Lori turned and walked around the corner to Cali’s desk. The blonde was typing away at the computer with her back to Lori, yet she somehow already knew she was there and shot Lori a quick smile before she went back to her email.
“Michael is in with Luke right now. I can grab him for you if you want.” She typed a few more words and sent the email before she turned around.
Lori hesitated, once again not sure whether this was important enough to interrupt a meeting. “I kind of need to talk to him, but I don’t—”
“I’m on it.” Cali stood and headed around her desk to tap on the closed door to Luke’s office. Without waiting for permission, she turned the knob and popped her head in. “Michael, you have a visitor,” she said sweetly.
Lori wished she could see their faces. Were they used to Cali just coming in? Lori had heard rumors that Cali was more than just a secretary, but she still wasn’t sure exactly where she stood in the organization.
Whatever she was, she seemed to get what she wanted. A second later, Michael emerged from Luke’s office. Without saying a word, he ushered Lori away and into his office, leaving the door open.
“I was hoping to see you today.” He turned to face her.
“There’s this thing called a phone, you know,” she muttered.
“And I’ve heard that thing works both ways,” he said with a pointed look. “You had a stressful day. I wanted to give you some space to think things over.”
He didn’t have to be sweet about it. Not when she was going to give him bad news. This would’ve been easier if he’d immediately started to order her around and annoy her again. “About last night… About the meeting that Ken wants.”
Michael crossed his arms over his chest. “Please tell me you changed your mind about that.”
Now or never. “I’m meeting him for lunch in two hours.”
His expression hardened and the muscle in his jaw ticked. “You already set it up.”
“Evelyn helped me. It’s a public place. People know where I’ll be and who I’m meeting. It’ll be fine, Michael.”
He narrowed his eyes. “So you’ve made up your mind then?”
“No turning back.” She squared her shoulders and tried to make sure he knew there was no use arguing with her.
Instead, he just nodded. “At least let me come with you. What is the name of the restaurant?”
She shook her head. “No. I thought about that already, but the information they want to discuss is just too sensitive. I can’t think up a good enough excuse to bring you along. But it’s just a short, in-and-out thing, Michael. It will be fine.” She held her breath as she waited for his outburst or anger.
“Just let me know what time you want to leave and I’ll have Jerry drive you.”
She stared blankly for a moment, waiting for him to yell or scream at her for going ahead with this. “You’re not mad?”
“Of course I’m mad, Lori! I’m mad at Ken and I’m mad at Evelyn and I’m mad at Grayson, but most of all I’m mad at myself. But if you insist on taking after my foolishness, then I can’t stop you. But at least you can have Jerry right outside the restaurant waiting for you.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you understand. I’ll text you the name of the restaurant as soon as I’m back at my desk. It’s some fancy French sounding place and I don’t remember the name.” She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you for understanding.”
He kissed her forehead, her nose, and then her lips. “I’d do anything to keep you safe, Lori.”
“I know,” she said. “And I will be. Promise.” She kissed him real quick before she pulled away. “I have a huge pile of stuff to catch up on, but do you want to grab dinner tonight?”
“Takeout?” he asked as she reached the door.
“Of course.” She gave him a little wink before she left and headed back to her desk.
For the next two hours, her entire mood was lifted. Michael and she were good, and things would be back to normal as soon as this lunch meeting was over. She felt stupid for not talking to him sooner. Of course he would understand.
She was in such a good mood, she practically skipped downstairs when it was time to meet Ken and his associates. She found Michael’s car quickly because she was so familiar with it by now and slid into the backseat.
After pulling up the name of the restaurant, she tried her best to pronounce it for Jerry without butchering the pronunciation. She had a feeling she failed miserably, but she had the address and that was the important part.
Jerry turned the key in the ignition. “Right away, ma’am.”
She sat back and was once again filled with warm, fuzzy thoughts of Michael as she w
atched the busy sidewalks buzz by. A few minutes passed and Lori frowned at the unfamiliar street they were stopped at. “Hey,” she called to Jerry. “Aren’t we supposed to be going north?”
There was a pause before he answered. “Mr. Devereaux suggested this would be the best route.”
“Well, he was wrong, obviously. Can we turn around?”
Another pause. “I have to follow orders, ma’am.”
Realization crashed down. “Michael told you to drive me away from the restaurant.” The words felt dry and heavy in her mouth.
Jerry didn’t answer, which told her all she needed to know. “Let me out of the car,” she ordered. “Now.” They stopped at a light and she tried to tug at the door handle, but it wouldn’t open. “Let me out or I’m going to call the police!”
He didn’t say anything as the light turned green and he turned left. Lori thought back and realized he’d already made two left turns. He was driving her in circles.
She pulled out her phone, but instead of calling 911, she dialed Michael. She half expected him to ignore her call, but apparently he did have the balls to answer.
“Hello, Lori,” he said in a resigned tone.
Son of a bitch knew exactly why she was calling.
“What the hell are you doing?” she bit out.
“I told you already. I’m not letting you put yourself in any more danger. I was serious about that.”
“And just today? When you seemed so accepting? You were already planning this, weren’t you?”
“Hate me if you want, but Jerry isn’t bringing you back until at least one o’clock.”
“This isn’t stopping anything. I’ll just reschedule with Ken.”
“You think I won’t find a way to stop that too? I’ll call in favors. Hell, I’ll call in bomb threats. From now on, you and Ken Kemmerling are done. Do you understand?”
Anger snaked through her veins, and she tried to keep her hands from shaking as she tried to reconcile herself with what he was doing. “You and I are done after this. You know that, right?”
“I’d rather you be alive and pissed at me than the alternative.”
Lori ended the call and went back to staring out the window. A tear streaked down her face.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Lori flipped through the endless stream of shows available to her on the streaming program she had on her laptop. Thousands and thousands of shows at her fingertips. Her phone buzzed next to her and she ignored it as she kept scrolling. After a few eternal seconds, it finally stopped.
She picked it up to see whether the caller left a message, and it immediately rang again. Michael. Nope. She wasn’t doing it. She threw it on the sofa and grabbed her mostly full glass of water to top it off just for an excuse to walk away, but the incessant buzzing was back again.
She almost made it. She really did. But at the last second, she turned and ran to the couch, answering the call on the last ring. “I thought I told you that I didn’t want to talk,” she said into the phone.
“I know, but something came up. Are you home?”
Lori balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder as she set her water down. “Yeah, I’m home.”
“A courier should be at your apartment in a minute with a package for you.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing major. I just wanted to send you a present.”
She tried not to roll her eyes. She’d known dating a man like Michael would have its benefits, but this was her first time getting a present. “I don’t want anything from you right now. I’m too pissed to be bribed.”
“Well then, you can give it back to me at the office tomorrow. Just pick up the damn thing from the courier when you get it. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
He hung up before she could refuse whatever gift he was offering and she was left staring, dumfounded, at her phone.
But exactly like he said, a few minutes later, the buzz of the intercom filled the apartment, and the courier was at the downstairs door.
At Michael’s place, the doorman could sign for the package and bring it up to Michael. Her cheap place had no such amenities. Lori slipped on her sneakers and ran out to the elevator.
The courier waited patiently outside the door to the apartment. In exchange for her signature, he handed over a tiny white cardboard box wrapped with a red ribbon.
Jewelry. He was trying to win her back with jewelry. How cliché. As she rode the lift back to her apartment, she turned the box in her hand, trying to figure out a way to tell Michael where he could shove his pretty little trinket. Maybe she wouldn’t even open it. That would show him. Shove the still wrapped box in his face tomorrow. Or maybe pawn it.
Not that she was anti-gifts. Actually, she would’ve loved it for any other reason. But not as some sort of apology or way to win her favor.
She set the box on the counter and went back to her laptop, but her gaze kept on going back to the beautiful little package.
It wasn’t as if there was wrapping paper or anything. She could peek and still give it back to him with the bow just as pristine as ever.
Yeah. One quick look. She padded back over to the counter and carefully removed the bow and ribbon in a way that she could just slide it right back on when she was done satisfying her curiosity.
She lifted up the tiny lid and peeled back the tissue paper, but her mouth went dry as she saw the necklace.
Well, she definitely couldn’t pawn this.
The next morning, Lori checked her phone for the fifth time as she stood outside Michael’s office. Come on. He needed to be getting in soon.
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything?” asked Cali. “Coffee, tea, water?”
“No. I just need to talk to him for a few minutes.” Looking at her phone again, she saw it was already eight thirty-five. Damn it, where was he? She had a pile of work to catch up on and no time to hang around his office much longer. “Are you sure he didn’t have an outside meeting today?”
Cali raised one perfectly tweezed blonde eyebrow. As though it was offensive to even wonder whether she’d made a mistake. “Trust me. He’ll be here any moment. If you want, I can call you when he’s in.”
“I can wait.” Even as she said the words, she debated how much longer she would hang around. Spontaneity sounded well and good until you ended up standing outside an empty office for fifteen minutes, waiting for someone who might or might not show up.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the end of the hall and Lori looked up to see Michael approach. Even though she wanted to keep her stern, angry face, she couldn’t help but smile.
He stopped when he saw her before he met her smile with one of his own. “So you got my present?”
She brought her fingers to the pendent that rested against her chest. “Yes. Where did you even get this?”
“Internet can get you anything.” He stepped into his office and ushered her in. As soon as she was inside, he shut the door and dropped his briefcase. “You like it?”
“Are you kidding? I love it. I didn’t even know they made necklaces out of trilobites.”
He snorted. “I should’ve known that you’d know a five-hundred-million-year-old fossil by sight.”
“Well, they’re one of the most common fossils.” She’d seen the display case at the Natural History Museum with the various types and sizes of the marine arthropods found in the fossil record. The one he’d gotten her was a smaller, common one. It was set in silver with a swirling pattern around the edges of the oval fossil, and an eighteen-inch silver chain held it around her neck. “It wasn’t expensive, was it?” She was so determined to not be one of those women who fawned over expensive gifts, but she’d hate to have to return her necklace out of principle.
“Not very expensive,” he promised. He leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “So are you not mad at me anymore?”
“Michael,” she breathed. “Of course I’m still mad at you. I’m a grown woman. You ca
n’t randomly kidnap me in the middle of the day and not expect me to be pissed. If you’re going to order me around, I can’t have you being a hypocrite. I won’t stand for it.”
“Is it so hard for you to believe that your safety is important to me?”
Yes. He barely knew her. She half expected him to realize that she was nothing special at any moment and run off as quickly as he could. Which she should be happy about, considering how upset she was, but at the moment the thought only made her sad. No. She was still mad. Grateful for the necklace, but sad.
“I need to go back downstairs,” she murmured. “I shouldn’t have come up here.”
“Come on. It’s Friday. Try another weekend with me.”
She scoffed. “No. I’m not going to magically forget that you’re a controlling ass.”
“Then dinner.”
She raised a brow and stared him down. “You really think it’s going to be that easy?”
“Of course not. I intend to grovel the entire way through dinner.”
Damn, she wanted to see that. But she also didn’t want to forgive him so quickly when he was such a dick. “How much groveling?”
“You have never seen a man grovel as much as I’m about to grovel. Mass begging. Maybe even crying.”
“Fake crying? Really? That’s hardly dignified.”
“Really good fake crying, though.”
Lori rested her forehead in her palm. “Michael! Why did you have to do this? I like you. I really like you.”
“Luke and I have a late meeting with the finance team, but I can have the car ready for you at seven.”
“Sure. Jerry and I are practically besties at this point.” She rolled her eyes.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” asked Michael. “Come out with me. You get a nice dinner out of it and then break my heart at the end. Best case, you can keep liking me.”
She held up a hand. “One, that is oversimplifying things. Two, I want Chinese food.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Touching The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 5) Page 15