Friendship on Fire (Love in Bloom: The Bradens, Book 3) Contemporary Romance

by Melissa Foster

  She nodded. “What happened?”

  “Mia said there’s an article on Page Six. That media nightmare is what I was trying to tell you about all along.” Josh shot a glance behind them. They’d blended into traffic with no photographers on their tail. He drew in a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. His eyes darted along the streets as they whisked by.

  “Are you okay? That was awful,” Riley said. She leaned against him. “I’ve made your life a nightmare. I think I should just go home, and you should just live your life as normal. You don’t need this craziness.” Her gut ached as she made the suggestion.

  “No way,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’ll be damned if I let Claudia or those media assholes tear us apart.”

  She watched his eyes narrow, then close for a breath, and when he opened them again, his jaw relaxed. He rubbed his hands on his pants, then rubbed them together, taking another deep breath. Riley knew he was trying to shake off his anger. When he took her face in his hands, as he’d done the night before, she was drawn into his serious, loving gaze. His breath still held the minty smell of toothpaste; his palms were warm and sure.

  “I’m with you. Photographers or no photographers. Scandal or no scandal, Riley Banks. I love you.”

  She fell against him. “Thank you for not walking away from us.” Guilt clenched her heart. “I’m sorry my being here caused all of this.”

  He kissed her forehead. “This isn’t about you, Riley. This is about Claudia. It’s her fucked-up issue.”

  His cell phone rang, and she tried to move away. He lifted the phone with one hand, keeping her safely against him, and he pushed the speakerphone button. “Treat,” he said.

  Treat’s concerned voice came through the speaker. “What the hell is going on over there?”

  Riley was embarrassed to be listening in on his phone call, and she tried again to pull away, but Josh’s grip was too strong. She pointed to the phone and brought her hand to her ear, mouthing, You can pick it up.

  Josh shook his head and pulled her closer. “A bit of a circus,” Josh said.

  “What’s this about Riley stealing the design for Max’s dress?” Treat asked.

  Riley couldn’t help herself from calling out. “I didn’t do it,” she said.

  “It’s Claudia’s newest ruse. We’re dealing with it,” Josh said.

  “Dealing with it? Not from what I can see. Have you seen the headlines? Airing the Dirty Laundry of the Designing World. This can’t be good for your career, or Riley’s. It’s not exactly what I meant when I said to turn the media on to her design skills.”

  “Treat,” Josh said. “Please, this is stressful enough. No jokes, all right?”

  “I’m sorry. What can I do? Want me to make a statement? Say she showed us the dress two months earlier? I assume she’s innocent in this mess,” Treat said.

  “I am, but I don’t want you to lie.” Riley was astounded by Treat’s offer, but she wanted to prove herself honestly.

  “We’ll handle it,” Josh said. “I’m sending her home so she’s out of reach of the media. I’m hiring a PI to figure it out.”

  “Sounds smart,” Treat said. “Let me know what I can do. If you want me to come back to New York, I can be there in a few hours. By the way, Riley, where’d they get that picture of you? You definitely looked like a kid with her hand in the candy jar.”

  “Picture? What picture?” Riley asked.

  “Front of Page Six,” Treat said.

  “Shit. We gotta go, Treat. Thanks for calling.” Josh pulled out his iPad and pulled up the New York Post’s website. Riley’s startled face stared back at them above the article beside a photograph of Claudia holding up the drawing of Max’s dress.

  “Oh my God. They took that at the trade show yesterday. That’s crazy. I look guilty.” This was ten times worse than she’d imagined. How could she ever show her face on the streets of New York again? What would this do to Josh and his reputation? As she stewed over those questions, a concern rose to the forefront of her mind. “Josh, they caught us leaving your apartment together.”

  “No, they caught us both leaving the apartment building,” he corrected her.

  “With you carrying my bags and then running to my side to shield me from the cameras. Come on. There’s no covering this up. Pictures of us together will be on all the websites in an hour, if they’re not already.”

  “I’m not trying to cover it up. I told you: I’m with you, scandal or no scandal.” Josh Googled his name. With a piercing pain in her stomach, Riley read through the first three listings.

  Designer Josh Braden’s new girlfriend. Is she a thief?

  The Braden Scandal: Is he dating a fraud?

  UPDATE: Fashion Designer Josh Braden leaves home with accused design thief/lover.

  “What are we gonna do now?” Riley could barely get the words from her lungs. She’d come to New York looking for a career, and not only had she lost hers, but she’d ruined Josh’s in the process.

  Josh’s phone rang again. He pushed the speakerphone button again. “I’ve already seen it,” he said to his sister.

  “You’re sleeping with Riley and I’m the last to know?” Savannah asked. “Do you have me on speaker? I hate that.”

  “Yes, and Riley’s right here,” he said.

  Wishing she could grow wings and fly away, Riley said, “Hi, Savannah.”

  “Hey, Ri.”

  “Sorry we didn’t tell you we’re dating. We were trying to keep it quiet,” Riley explained.

  “Maybe you should have thought about that before leaving Josh’s apartment together. What’s this bullshit about you stealing Cruella’s designs?” she asked.

  “Even you call her that?” Riley asked.

  “Everyone does,” Josh answered. “She didn’t steal them. This is one of Claudia’s tricks. We just have to find a way to prove it.”

  “I told you to fire her years ago. I never liked her,” Savannah said.

  If only he’d listened to her.

  “Shoulda woulda coulda, I know. I’m over my loyalty to Peter, okay? It took me forever and it sucks, but it is what it is. Listen, Savannah, my attorney is hiring a PI, but do you know anyone who might be good?”

  “Know anyone? Hell, I’ve got the best one in New York. Call Reggie Steele. I’ll text you his number. And, Josh, are you all right with all this?” she asked.

  “I’m fine, but I’m sending Riley home. Where are you?” he asked.

  “Heading back home to Colorado. Riley, we’ll get together after you’re home, okay?” Savannah offered.

  “Thanks, Savannah. I’d like that, and I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed your family,” Riley said.

  “Nonsense,” Josh whispered to her.

  “You can’t embarrass a Braden.” Savannah laughed. “We’ve got thicker skin than alligators.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  JOSH SENT RILEY a text as Jay drove away from the airport. Don’t worry. We’ll get through this. Love you. J.

  He waited for Riley to respond, and when he hadn’t received a response ten minutes later, he ignored the unsettled feeling in his stomach and assumed she was going through airport security. He called his attorney, who advised him that he had not yet reached his private investigator, he assumed because of the impending holiday. Josh mentioned Reggie to him, and when his attorney agreed that Reggie was qualified and one of the best, Josh called him. An hour later, he was sitting in Reggie’s office.

  Reggie Steele’s voice was deep and gravelly. He was a burly, dark-haired man in his late thirties, Josh guessed, with slate-blue eyes and an affable personality.

  “Savannah called me this morning after speaking to you. I’m sorry to hear about what you’re going through. The media can be a bear—but I suppose you already know that,” Reggie said. “If the claim is false, this kind of nonsense should be easy to crack.”

  “I hope so, because I can’t find one piece of evidence to discount Claudia’s allegations, but my gut tells
me she’s lied her way onto the front page.” Josh’s nerves wrenched just thinking of Claudia’s smug face—and Riley’s sad one.

  “I take it that you and the accused are an item?” Reggie leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers before him.

  “We’re seeing each other, yes. We were trying to keep it out of our professional lives.” Josh now wished that they’d exposed themselves as a couple from the start. It would have been one less issue to deal with. His phone vibrated. Mia. He clicked the Ignore button.

  “Anything else I should know that could impact this discovery process?” Reggie asked.

  “Only that Claudia has come onto me several times, and a few weeks ago, I shut her down pretty harshly. But I can’t see how that would affect your investigation one way or another.” Damn it. At least he’d remembered to document those instances in her personnel file, alongside all the rest of the complaints, which he’d never filed formally. Out of loyalty to Peter, he’d wanted to keep her indiscretions under wraps. Now he wished he had canned her the first time she’d come onto him and had just faced Peter with the truth.

  “You’d be surprised at what comes up with these types of investigations. You might find out things about other staff members that you don’t want to know. And, I hate to say it, but you might find out that you’re wrong about your girlfriend, too.” Reggie said.

  “I appreciate your candor, but I doubt that’s going to happen. She’s been under Claudia’s thumb the past few weeks, and when she hasn’t been at work, she’s been with me. She didn’t have time to steal anything. If anything, we might find out more about Claudia than I’m prepared for.” Josh realized the truth of his words and was even more determined to get to the bottom of this crap.

  “Fair enough. Tell me more about Claudia’s habits. Does she work later, come in early? Does she work odd days, weekends, through lunch? What kind of access did she have to Riley’s work files? And I’ll need to know the same about Riley, of course.”

  Finally, a break. He’d been with Riley every morning and evening. She’d never been in the office alone. “Riley has no access to personal files. She works earlier than some, later than others, but there’s always someone here before she arrives and after she leaves. She works from home when she needs to on the weekends, whereas Claudia has been with us for five years. She’s often in before anyone else, and on the weekends she’s often alone in the office. As the head design assistant, she’s the password keeper for the entire design area. She has full access to Riley’s files.” It all sounded so easy to decipher. Riley had no access. Claudia had full access. Why was it so difficult to find proof of what seemed so obvious?

  “Have you gone through security tapes?” Reggie asked.

  Josh shook his head. “Not yet, but…”

  “Don’t sweat it. That’s what I’m here for. Do you have separate security files for each area of the office?”

  Thank God, yes. He felt warmth run up his chest, remembering the things he and Riley had done in his office. “Yes, I’ll give you full access to the design room tapes.”

  Reggie nodded. He lowered his chin and looked down the bridge of his angular nose. “This is just one woman against the other, right? You don’t think any other employees are involved? It’s not a case of one trying to get a promotion so she can bring another up riding her tail feathers? Tag team?”

  Josh shook his head. “Claudia isn’t well liked enough to have a partner in crime.”

  “And Riley?” Reggie asked.

  Josh’s protective urges surged forward. He reminded himself that Reggie was only doing his job—a job he was hiring him to do.

  “Not that I’m aware of,” he said, meeting Reggie’s stare.

  “I was planning to take a few days off for R & R before the holiday, but it sounds like this might be a good time to get a jump on investigating while your employees aren’t in the office. What’s your time frame?”

  “Now,” Josh answered. “The media’s following my every move. I came here directly from the airport, so they have yet to link us together, and I’d rather they didn’t get wind of my hiring you.”

  “I’m very good at being discreet. I’ll keep you abreast of critical findings, and until then, I’ll need access to your security files, the desks of the employees in question, their personnel files, and of course, access to their computers.”

  “How long do you expect this will take?”

  Reggie shrugged. “I won’t know until I get started. We could get lucky and find something in an hour, or it might take weeks.”

  “I’ll go with you to the office,” Josh said.

  “Don’t you want to know my rates?” Reggie asked.

  “Savannah says you’re the best. I trust my sister’s judgment. I’ll pay whatever it takes to get this shit over with as fast as possible. Just do something so you don’t look so much like a PI.” Josh smiled.

  Reggie looked down at his jeans and T-shirt and smiled. “Shall I wear an Armani suit?”

  “I was kidding,” Josh said. “I’m heading to the office now.”

  Reggie tossed a folder toward Josh. “I’ll need you to complete these forms, and I’ll be right behind you,” Reggie said.

  Josh called Claudia from the car.

  “Yes, Mr. B.?” she said.

  The sound of her too-perky-for-the-situation voice addled his nerves. “I’m sending Jay to pick up your key to the office.”

  “What? Why?” Claudia snapped.

  “Because you’re on administrative leave, and all employees on administrative leave lose their free-office privileges. He’ll be there within the hour. And, Claudia, I need your password.”

  She sighed. “Fine. It’s winners take all, all one word, no caps.”

  The next call he made was to Riley. When her voicemail picked up, he left a message. “Hey, babe, just wanted to be sure you arrived safely. Call me when you get a second. I’ve met with the PI and I think we’re in good hands.” He ended the call and hoped he was making the right choice by hiring the PI—and putting his career on the line by supporting Riley.

  When his phone rang, the last person he expected it to be was his youngest brother, Hugh.

  “Hey, Hugh, how are you?” Josh asked.

  Hugh spent his days racing Ferraris and his nights bedding women.

  “I’m great. Working my way down the West Coast at the moment. I hear you’ve been working your way into a new employee,” Hugh joked.

  “Hugh.”

  “Sorry. I saw the bullshit on Yahoo! News. What’s going on? You’re sleeping with an old schoolmate and she’s a design thief? Fill me in. I don’t know Riley very well, but she seems pretty much like the rest of the Weston women. Not exactly the conniving type.” Hugh was usually the last to reach out to a family member in crisis, and this time he’d beaten his brothers Rex and Dane to the punch.

  “She’s not,” Josh said flatly. “I’m dealing with it. It’s a mess, but we’ll figure it out.”

  “You need anything? Want me to come run someone over?” Hugh laughed.

  Yes. Josh smiled at the thought. Hugh looked like a taller, more muscular Patrick Dempsey, and he pictured his brother’s wide smile, his eyes alit with laughter. Josh was only a year older than Hugh, but the way Hugh lived his life—like it was one big party—made the age difference seem much greater.

  “Nah, I think I can handle it, but I appreciate the offer.”

  “When are you arriving at Dad’s?” Hugh asked.

  “Wednesday. You?”

  “Tomorrow. I’ll see you then, and if you need anything, I’m your guy,” Hugh said.

  What Josh needed could come only from Riley’s innocence. “Thanks, Hugh. Love you, man.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  THE SECOND RILEY stepped out of the airport and breathed in the crisp Colorado air, she felt better. She dropped her bags on the pavement, opened her arms wide, and looked up at the sky. Then she closed her eyes and inhaled.

  “Have you
turned all New Agey on me?”

  Riley screamed at the sound of Jade’s voice and ran into her arms. “I’m so glad to see you! Thank you for picking me up.”

  “Who else would do it?” Jade teased.

  “Shut up.” She hugged her again and retrieved her bags. “It feels so good to be home. I didn’t realize how much I missed seeing the grass and the mountains. I didn’t realize how much I missed smelling something other than perfume, electric heat, subway steam, and garbage.” She laughed.

  “Come on. Are you hungry? Want to grab a bite?” Jade wore jeans, cowgirl boots, and a dark T-shirt beneath a flannel shirt, and it made Riley long to wear the same comfortably familiar ensemble.

  Riley tugged playfully on Jade’s waist-length black hair. “I thought you were going to cut your hair. I see you went with the fuck-me length so Sexy Rexy could grab hold and tug,” she teased.

  “God, yes. What else would I do? You’ve seen my man.”

  “Oh yes, I have,” she said, thinking not of Rex, but of Josh. She missed him already. She’d gone over and over their situation, and no matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t get around the selfishness of it. She loved him so much her heart ached when she wasn’t with him, but did that mean that it was fair of her to drag him through the mud with her? She threw her bags into Jade’s car and tried not to let the weight of her situation spoil her time with Jade.

  Hunter Hayes was on the radio, and they both hummed along.

  “Fingers okay?” Jade asked.

  It took a moment of staring at her hands for Riley to realize that Jade was asking if she’d like to go to Fingers Bar and Grill, in Allure, a town just outside of Weston and on their way home.

  “Sure, perfect,” Riley said.

  They rode in silence. Riley laid her head back on the headrest and promptly fell asleep.

  RILEY BLINKED AWAKE when Jade pulled into the parking lot of Fingers Bar and Grill. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t slept much lately.”

  Jade wiggled her eyebrows up and down with a wide smile.