I tried to temper my anger, but I found it harder to do as the days went on. Olivia put on a strong front, but I could see right through it. Ian had left her reeling. She was wrapped in a kind of sadness that I felt powerless to lift away. She was in love with him, and no matter how hard I tried to fill that empty place in her heart, I knew I couldn’t.
I had argued with her about whether it was the right time to get her involved with a new building I’d purchased a few blocks from the office. She was tired and edgy, and the last thing I wanted to do was tax her more with work. In the end, of course, she’d won.
With my blessing, she’d launched herself into the early details of another remodel. In the space of a week, she’d met with the interior architect and was sketching out plans for the commercial and residential spaces that would ultimately transform the outdated structure.
With Ian out of the picture, I couldn’t deny the extra help was needed, but I worried constantly that she was overexerting herself.
A knock on my office door interrupted my troubled thoughts.
“Have a minute?” Jia sauntered in before I could invite her.
She was dressed head to toe in white. The sleek and smart blouse and skirt combo radiated against her naturally olive skin. The way she carried herself, it was no wonder she’d had new investors eating out of her palm.
As Reilly had promised, Jia more than pulled her weight. While I worried about keeping the investors we already had, she’d hustled up several new accounts. She was killing it, and for the first time since I inherited this billion-dollar problem, I actually felt like we had a fighting chance to turn it into an opportunity that could pay off.
She took a seat across from my desk and crossed her legs. “I wanted to chat about our fees.”
I leaned back in my chair and stared at her over my desk. “What about them?”
“Waiving the management fee to attract new investors was a bold move, and I get why you did it. We’re trying to extricate ourselves from all the controversy, and we’re doing it. But I think you should reconsider waiving the fee.”
My cell phone vibrated, but I ignored it.
“We’re trying to win back confidence. Nothing says confidence like, ‘I get paid when you get paid.’”
“I just think we’re leaving money on the table. Prospective clients expect the fees. Why undercut ourselves?”
I drummed my fingers on the desk. “Need I remind you we’re working from a disadvantage?”
She held my gaze a moment. “I need to be bringing in more money. I thought this would be a way to do that without cutting into the company’s revenue.”
I paused, trying to get a read on where she was taking this. “You’re getting a salary and a share of the performance fee. What more do you want?”
“I want you to set up a management fee so we can split it.”
I laughed and leaned forward. “You’ve been here a few weeks, and you’re already trying to squeeze me for more money?”
“That’s not what this is.”
Adriana’s voice sounded on the office phone’s speaker a moment. “Will, you have a call.”
“Not now,” I snapped. “Jia, we already negotiated your pay, and you seemed more than satisfied. Explain why you’re bringing this to me now.”
She shrugged, but her shoulders and the muscles in her face were tense. “Circumstances changed. That’s all. I didn’t think you’d be so against the suggestion.”
“I’m less concerned about the money than about why your circumstances changed so suddenly. I need to trust you, Jia. What’s going on?”
“We’re friends, Will. Of course you can trust me.”
I frowned, because nothing about this conversation or her demeanor made me want to trust her. “You don’t have friends. You have colleagues. Superiors, inferiors. You have fuck buddies and family. Don’t bullshit me about friendship, Jia. I know you better.”
Her expression went taut. She squeezed her eyes closed and exhaled heavily. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t know what to tell you. This opportunity is my whole life right now, Will. Please, just consider it.”
Something wasn’t right. I could feel it in my gut.
“What the hell is going on?”
She shook her head, avoiding my imploring gaze. “I just need some extra funds. I thought what we agreed on would be enough, but it’s not going to be.”
“Tell me why, and I’ll do what I can to help you.”
She glanced up, her eyes glossy with emotion. “We’re not friends, right? If it’s all business, why would you want to help me?”
Her voice had taken on a desperate tone that worried me. I’d never seen her get emotional like this. Suddenly I regretted my harsh words earlier.
“I’m sorry, Jia. I’m dealing with a lot right now, but you have to know that you can talk to me. If we can’t trust each other with the truth, I don’t know how we’re supposed to make this work.”
Any semblance of control she’d held onto crumbled. Her face fell, and she brought her shaking hands to her mouth. “I can’t. I can’t… They’re going to ruin me, Will,” she whispered. “Everything… I’ll lose everything I’ve worked for.”
Mascara ran down her face before she could stop the tears. I stood and circled my desk. “Jia, who’s they? Who are you talking about?”
She shook her head like she didn’t want to say it. She stood and paced a circle around the office. When she met my determined gaze again, she finally spoke. “Dermott. And Reilly… He doesn’t lose, Will. I don’t know why I believed he’d just walk away. I should have known better, but it was too late. I’d already left the firm. He waited to come to me until I was already committed to you and had no place else to go. There’s no going back. I’m trapped.”
I tried to piece together Jia’s rambling sentences. Reilly had no stake, and I had no idea why Dermott would be after her for anything.
“What do they want from you?”
“A cut.” She lifted her tense shoulders up and swallowed over the tears that had slowed. “They’re at risk of losing their shirts now that these charges have come down. No one trusts them. They can’t make money on their old relationships anymore, so now they’re coming after me.”
“You don’t have to give them anything, Jia. They have no power over you. You’re with me now. We’re running this show, and they’ve been cut out clean.”
She shook her head, and her eyes shone with fresh tears. “They have videos.”
“Videos?”
She drew in a shuddery breath. “Back when I worked under Dermott, before he decided to climb the ladder without me…there were a few late nights. I guess he thought it would be fun to capture the moment. Reilly came to me after I’d accepted your offer and told me about the videos. He said I had to cut him in or they’d leak them.”
My body tensed as I cursed inwardly. “How much is he asking you for?”
“A lot more than I’m making.”
“Say they decided to leak it. Wouldn’t that look bad for Dermott?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. The clip he showed me hid Dermott’s face. They’re going to ruin me, Will. If that video gets out, I’m done on Wall Street. This is my whole life.” Tears began to fall again, and she wiped at them. “I pushed too hard. I climbed too fast, and now I’m going to lose everything.”
I pulled her to me, holding her tight through the sobs.
White rage flew through me. I’d be damned if my father’s cronies were going to get their hands on any of the money we earned. And Jia didn’t deserve this. I didn’t care how many finance guys she blew. No one deserved to watch their entire career get flushed this way.
“I’m going to fix this, okay?” I murmured, stroking down her back. I had no idea how, but I’d do what I had to.
She circled her arms around my torso, her breathing evening out. “Will, I need you.” She gazed up at me, her dark eyes wet and puffy from her tears. “Please, I need to feel something other
than what I’m feeling right now. Just one night.”
I wiped away the wet streaks on her cheek. “I can’t, Jia. I’m with Olivia now. She’s it for me. The days of you and me getting together, they’re over. I’m sorry.”
A sad smile curved her lips. “Lucky her.”
“Will?” Before I’d even seen Olivia’s face, the confusion in her voice had my heart in my throat.
Jia pulled away quickly, wiping at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ll go.” She slipped past Olivia, leaving nothing but a lot of explaining to do.
“Maybe I should go too.” Olivia looked pale.
Fuck.
I came up to her quickly, shutting the door before she could leave. “No, it’s not what it looks like.”
“No? Are you sleeping with her?”
I winced. “Fuck, no, I’m not sleeping with her.”
She stared at me. “Have you slept with her?”
I shoved a hand through my hair and released an exasperated sigh. Today was turning out to be a real piece of shit day.
“Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear, Will. We promised each other honesty. Just tell me, damnit.” Her brows were knit together, and her fists were tight.
I remembered a time when I used to love riling her up, but now I just wanted to see her smile. I had a long way to go…
“Before I met you, yes, I had slept with her.”
Her jaw went tight. “How did I know? And now you see her and share an office with her every day. That’s great.”
“She’s a coworker, Olivia. Nothing more.”
She reached for the door handle, but I covered her hand with mine, halting her escape.
“Olivia, stop this.”
“You had your hands all over her. Let me guess. It was strictly professional.”
“She was upset. You saw her.”
She pulled away from my touch and avoided my eyes. She was thinking the worst of me, and the only way out of it was the truth. I dragged my hands over my face. Everything was so fucked up right now.
“Listen, Reilly is blackmailing her to get cut in on what he gave up. He’s got video of her fucking her old boss in his office. He’s threatening to leak it if she can’t figure out a way to line his pockets. I don’t know yet if Dermott is trying to get in on it too, but I’m going to find out.”
She blinked a few times and then softened a bit. “That’s horrible.”
I skimmed my hands up and down her arms, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Try not to think the worst of me, if you can help it.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too. It’s a fucked-up situation, but we’re going to figure it out.”
She looked up at me. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go to Dermott and get that fucking video.”
“But you’re leaving in a few days.”
I cursed inwardly. This fucking trip. I’d have to get a meeting with Dermott before I left. I couldn’t let the situation fester, and I didn’t trust Jia not to do anything stupid while I was gone. Her career was hanging in the balance.
The idea of leaving Olivia alone still burned me too. Thank God Jia wasn’t going with me on the trip. Olivia would lose her mind, no matter what I said. Then a thought struck me.
“I’ll figure this out with Dermott before I go. In the meantime, you’re going to start packing your bags. You’re coming with me to London.”
IAN
I walked through the door of my mother’s house after a twenty-four-hour shift. I felt like I was leaving one kind of chaos and entering another. Sunday meant another family dinner—or a house full of nosy women, loud cousins, and amazing food.
Ever since I’d started crashing at my mom’s after leaving Will’s place, my mother and sisters had been all in my shit, wondering what was going on that had brought me back home so suddenly. I had to find a new place soon.
My youngest sister, Mia, lifted her head, tearing her attention away from some garbage television show. “What’s up, loser?”
I dropped my bag by the couch and sank down beside her. “Not much, brat.”
She smirked. “How was work?”
I shrugged. “Same as usual.”
Two panic attacks, a cardiac arrest, and an overdose. Nothing that stood out from the norm. Nothing that could touch the pain I’d endured after leaving Liv.
“Bring anyone back to life?”
“Couple people, yeah. Where is everyone?”
“In the backyard.”
We shared a knowing look. Mia had just turned sixteen and wasn’t overly fond of family gatherings either. We were a generation apart, but somehow we were both equally committed to sulky antisocial behavior as of late.
My oldest sister, Gabrielle, popped her head through the doorway of the kitchen. “Ian! You’re here. Come out back. Everyone’s here. Shawn too.” She lifted her eyebrows, like in a house full of women, the presence of one male would entice me into a social mood.
“I’ll be out in a sec.”
She left, and I rose, fatigue heavy in my muscles.
“Sucker,” Mia muttered.
I turned away from her with a tired chuckle and made my way to join the others.
As promised, the rest of my sisters and their kids and partners were congregated in the yard that we shared with the tenants above us. The autumn air was cool, but the sun shone into the private little outdoor area, making for a beautiful day.
I grabbed a beer from a nearby cooler and took a seat around the patio table where a few serving dishes had already been set out.
Gabrielle’s husband was manning the grill, turning vegetables and steaks over methodically while Ella tugged at his shirt, begging him to play. Shawn wasn’t my niece’s biological father. Her real father worked on a merchant ship, which meant he only spent a few months a year in the city. He and Gabrielle had had a quick romance that had resulted in Ella, but they’d quickly grown apart. A year later she met Shawn, and they’d been together ever since.
After a few minutes of determined pestering, Ella managed to coax Shawn away from the grill. He lifted her up in a dramatic sweep and turned her upside down until she squealed with laughter. He tickled her until she was breathless, laughing the whole time like he was enjoying teasing her as much as she enjoyed the torture.
Their affection toward each other wasn’t qualified by their blood. He was as much her father, if not more, than the man who saw her a few times a year.
Gabrielle sauntered into the courtyard. “Come on, Ella. Let Daddy cook.”
Shawn set her down after planting a big kiss on her cheek. My sister coaxed Ella back to where the other cousins played, leaving Shawn to his cooking duties.
Even though it pained me, I imagined Liv and Will’s child then, a brown-haired and blue-eyed angel, playing and jumping between them. I wasn’t in the picture, but I couldn’t help but wonder. Did I have it in me to love Liv’s child like Shawn loved Ella?
I took a deep pull off my beer and banished the thought.
Didn’t matter. I wasn’t going back. I couldn’t. I’d left the penthouse and never looked back. It was the only thing I could do.
Since then, Will had been silent. I ignored Liv’s calls, which had been nonstop right after I left and had since tapered off to a daily attempt. Seeing her face cross my screen sliced through me like a hot blade every time.
What would I say? I couldn’t hear her cry. I wouldn’t listen to her pleas to bring me back, even if those last desperate words from the day I left echoed in my ears every time my head hit the pillow. Even when I could sleep, she haunted me. The memory of her…the feel of her.
I closed my eyes and rubbed the back of my neck, noting the tension that hadn’t been there until the past few weeks.
“Cariño, que pasa?”
My mother’s soothing voice broke me out of my thoughts for a second.
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
“Dónde está tu sonrisa? Papa no le hub
iera gustado verte así.”
My whole body tensed. “I said, I’m fine,” I bit out.
I didn’t want to smile, and if my father didn’t want to see me this way, he wouldn’t have let the cancer kill him. Anger and resentment settled into my tired muscles, giving me something to hang on to.
I’d made a place for Liv in my heart. Now that she was gone, only anger lived there. Fresh resentment that my family had been ripped apart.
“Me partes el corazón cuando te veo así.”
“Mama, English.” My sister Cara gestured to her boyfriend, Nick, who was the only one in our party who didn’t understand a word my mother was saying.
My mother shook her head and went back into the house, muttering Spanish as she went. She fussed more than she used to.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I withdrew it and saw Will’s name. I’d almost gotten used to ignoring Liv’s calls, but seeing Will’s attempt alarmed me. What if something was really wrong? With Liv, or the baby?
Without thinking, I answered the call.
“Will.” I rose from the table and made my way back into the apartment to get some privacy.
“Thanks for picking up.” Veiled sarcasm was evident in Will’s tone.
“Is there something wrong?” I inhaled a calming breath, but a burst of adrenaline had already shot through my veins, making me alert and ready to snap into action.
“What the hell do you think? You being gone. That’s what’s wrong. Liv’s really upset, and the fact that you won’t even answer her calls is ripping her heart out. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to watch her go through this?”
Damnit. I shouldn’t have picked up.
“I did what I had to do.”
“No, you reacted and didn’t give one thought to how it would break her. You wanted to be in this relationship, and then you just fucking left without another word.”
I clenched my teeth. I wanted to yell right back at Will because this was his fault, ultimately. That he was turning it around on me was beyond unfair.
His next words were less forceful. “She warned you this wasn’t going to be simple, trying to make things work. Shit’s going to get messy sometimes.”
Over the Edge: The Bridge Series: Book Three Page 22