Opportunity (Office Roulette, Book Three)

by Kennedy Layne

  Cynthia sensed Gareth’s presence before either of her friends glanced toward the doorway in shock. She wasn’t sure how to explain it, but a blanket of warmth always came over her when he was in the vicinity. The fact that he could still have that effect on her after what he’d done gave her the internal fortitude to compose herself.

  Hell would freeze over before she ever showed Gareth Nicollet that he still had the power to destroy her heart. Bracing herself, she straightened her shoulders before turning on the heels that had gotten her through many power struggles. Unfortunately, he gained the upper hand when he spoke first.

  “Do you think it’s going to be that easy to get rid of me, Cyn?”

  CHAPTER TWO

  It was rare that Gareth Nicollet ever wanted for anything.

  He hadn’t needed to.

  He’d been adopted by loving parents as an infant, he had siblings who loved him despite his flaws, and he had more money in his numerous bank accounts than he could ever spend in two lifetimes. He also never lacked for a woman’s company at night, let alone a cold one.

  That was, until recently.

  Cynthia Ellsworth wasn’t just any woman, though. Not quite. She was intelligent, witty, confident, and downright stunningly beautiful—beyond compare. Her hair was blacker than the darkest raven, her complexion was as flawless as the finest porcelain, and her bone structure of those flushed cheeks reminded him of those marble statues in his favorite piazza in Florence. She was a masterpiece, and she’d been warm and inviting…until now.

  Unfortunately, Cynthia wasn’t faking the anger radiating so recently from those startling blue eyes of hers. There was only one reason she would be this upset with him, and that was if she’d discovered that dusty skeleton in his familiar closet.

  Damn it.

  He should have seen this coming and taken the preventative steps to avoid this upcoming confrontation by simply telling her the truth.

  “Could we speak in private?” Gareth never took his eyes off Cynthia, wanting to ensure that he caught every emotion that crossed her lovely features. “Please.”

  And there it was. She’d blinked away the flicker of hurt as quickly as it had appeared, but he’d seen it nonetheless.

  It had never been his intention to keep his past hidden from her forever, but he’d learned early on to protect himself due to his family’s wealth. The progression of a relationship was meant to slowly unravel such situations, anyway. He’d known without a doubt that Cynthia was someone special within those first few days over eight months ago, but he hadn’t wanted to ruin their newfound rapport by dropping a bomb. After all, he’d already been fighting against the drawback of being one of her firm’s clients. He didn’t need to add to the negative side of the balance sheet.

  Gareth hadn’t gotten this far in his life without learning to deal with these types of problems in their own time. Unfortunately, he’d run out of that precious commodity, and now it was doubtful that Cynthia would believe he was ever going to tell her about his connection to Brad Manon.

  “Cynthia?”

  She’d taken her sweet time answering, and he discreetly breathed a sigh of relief when she took a determined step forward. He should have known there was a catch.

  “You have two minutes to state your position.”

  Gareth instinctively stepped back into the hallway to let Cynthia pass. Her seductive perfume practically laid a trail for him to follow, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think this upcoming confrontation was going to be very pleasant. He decided to first tackle the initial problem that led her to seek out time to herself, postponing what was to be a hell of a showdown.

  “I didn’t expect to receive a phone call from you while I was in Dubai telling me that you needed time to think things through. I must have misunderstood.” Gareth had fallen into step with Cynthia, whose long legs certainly matched his own stride. She was tall, and her high heels put her almost at eye level with him…almost. “I thought we were past that particular stage.”

  Cynthia didn’t respond to his bait, but instead continued down the hallway and out into the foyer. Marilyn was smart enough not to mention the fact that she’d told him to wait for Cynthia in her office, because neither he nor Cynthia needed reminding that he was one of Manon Investments’ clients.

  Technically, it hadn’t been in either of their best interests to become involved as they had.

  It was too late to go back and change the course of their budding relationship, but he wouldn’t even if he could. Cynthia made his life better in every aspect. He would have been a fool to want otherwise. He wouldn’t change a second of the time they’d spent together, and he sure as hell planned to devote more in the coming months, provided that she would spare them this hurdle.

  It had all started with an impromptu after-hours meeting where things had gone from professional to personal before either one of them had realized the direction their conversation had taken off track. One thing had led to another until they’d both decided to continue their discussion within his hotel room in each other’s arms.

  “I don’t want to do this here.” Gareth kept his tone low, but he stopped her from exiting the foyer out to the connecting hallway. The elevator bank was right outside the glass entrance. “Let’s take this either back to my hotel or your apartment.”

  “Gareth, you lost that type of privilege the moment I read Brad’s personnel file.” Cynthia pulled her arm away from his grasp, spinning around so that she was mere inches from him. Her aggressive stance took him by surprise, especially considering Marilyn and anyone else who walked by could now overhear their private conversation. “I had one stipulation. One. And that was for you to never be untruthful with me.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “So help me if you stand there and tell me that a lie of omission isn’t the same as lying…”

  Okay, so she was one step past anger. Fury would better describe the words she’d managed to get through her clenched teeth, but at least it wasn’t seething rage as far as he could tell. He’d count his blessings where he could find them.

  “Fine. But I deserve a moment of your time to explain my discretion in this matter.”

  Gareth refused to back down from this, because she’d become too important to him to just walk away. Yes, he’d omitted certain facts about his past, but she sure as hell hadn’t given him the opportunity to come clean with her, had she?

  It was almost as if Cynthia had expected him to give up and walk out of this office as if their relationship had meant nothing to either of them. She stood resolutely in front of him, searching his gaze as if she expected him to abandon her.

  “Lead the way, Cyn.”

  Gareth had fully intended his nickname for her to penetrate the barriers she’d solidified into place since he’d last seen her, right before Grace Dorrance had been arrested for murder. Whatever had taken place in that time had convinced her that they should no longer be together.

  That conclusion was unacceptable to him.

  She finally made her decision and guided them both down the carpeted hallway. Neither of them spoke again until the door to her office had been silently closed behind them. It didn’t go amiss that she’d immediately placed the desk as a shield between them, although she remained standing so as not to give an inch of ground.

  “Do you want to tell me what that phone call was about?” Gareth figured a great offense beat a good defensive every time. He stepped forward until the front of his legs were touching her desk. “I left your bed to catch a flight to Dubai with the promise of returning so that we could talk about our future, only to have you leave a voicemail telling me that we should take a break. That we should take a step back. It’s not like you to run away without explaining why.”

  It was more than apparent by the way Cynthia inhaled sharply that she hadn’t expected him to ignore the fact that he was Brad’s biological brother. Good. They needed this cleared up before he shared such a personal aspect of his life anyway.
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  “I did no such thing,” Cynthia countered, crossing her arms in a protective manner. She didn’t like being on the defensive, but then again, neither did he. “In case you aren’t up to speed, which I know for a fact that you spoke with Smith, Grace was arrested for Brad’s murder. I was busy dealing with the fallout where one of my dear friends might be spending the rest of her life in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, which all but proved to me that mixing business with pleasure was a mistake on our part.”

  Cynthia held up a hand when he would have disputed her findings, especially over a situation that had nothing to do with them.

  “You seem to be forgetting that you threatened Brad’s life the week before he was killed in cold blood. Do you even realize the position you put me in with my colleagues, friends, and even the police? Everyone in this office heard your threats, and they all knew the reason why—because Brad asked that I sever our relationship.”

  “And you know damn well that Brad Manon had no right to ask that of you.” Gareth was getting sick and tired of having to keep his distance from her, but she still had her arms wrapped around herself. “Have you taken a good look at Grace and Rye Marshall? The man owns another firm that directly competes with Manon Investments. She handles all the damn trades, Cyn. You don’t see a conflict of interest with that? I was a client long before you took the job as compliance officer. Brad’s request had nothing to do with business and everything to do with me personally.”

  Fuck.

  He’d walked right into that trap. That confession was exactly the one she’d wanted to hear.

  Cynthia’s arms dropped to her sides before she leaned forward to make sure she drilled home the point she was about to make.

  “I couldn’t have known that though, because you didn’t see fit to tell me that you were Brad’s brother.” Cynthia’s tone had become hard and her blue eyes displayed nothing other than anger. He’d delayed too long in sharing his history with her, and now he was set to pay the price. Only she didn’t know that he was damned good at bartering. “I know exactly where I stand, Gareth. There’s no need for you to spell it out for me. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t share your connection to Brad with the police.”

  “What makes you think I haven’t done so?”

  Gareth didn’t take any satisfaction when Cynthia blinked and drew back to her previous position. She observed him rather cautiously as he slowly made his way around the desk, entirely finished with having an obstacle between them. She’d been throwing up way too many barriers as it was. He didn’t stop closing the remaining distance until the tips of her black high heels were touching his dress shoes.

  “Let me get this straight,” Cynthia said as she did her best to control the tremor in her voice. He’d heard it anyway, which gave him the confidence that she wasn’t washing her hands of their relationship. “You were comfortable enough with Detective Nielsen to tell him your family history, and yet you couldn’t do the same with the woman you’ve shared a bed with for the past eight months?”

  Double fuck.

  Her ability to set a trap was unlimited. When would he learn?

  “I know it doesn’t sound good when you put it like that, but isn’t that the exact excuse you were looking for to end things between us? You needed an excuse and this personal bit of information is just what you were looking for.” Gareth caught Cynthia’s quick inhalation at his accusation, but she sure as hell didn’t deny the claim. Her lashes lowered when he slowly reached out to cup her cheek. He needed her to really hear what he was about to say. “Before you were even aware of my connection to Brad, you left me a voicemail telling me that we should take a break. You knew I was thousands of miles away and that there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it until I came home.”

  “Unlike your reasoning, my actions were for your benefit,” Cynthia whispered, purposefully stepping back so that she was out of his reach. Her anger was waning though, which was what he’d been waiting for ever since he’d walked into this office. He’d learned early on that she wasn’t a woman to be messed with when she had an objective in mind. “You can’t say the same, and now I know where I stand.”

  Gareth shouldn’t have done it, but he instinctively reached out and pulled her to him until there wasn’t a bit of air between them. She knew where she stood with him? No, she didn’t. Not even close.

  “I think about you every second of every goddamn day,” Gareth muttered, wrapping his fingers around the back of her neck in order to tilt her head just so in order to claim her lips. Heat instantly spread through his body as if she’d lit a match. This woman had no idea just how much she affected him, but as she’d just pointed out…that was his fault because he hadn’t moved fast enough. “Where do you stand? Right in front of me, Cyn. Right in front of me.”

  Gareth kissed her as he’d dreamt about every night he’d been away from her side. It didn’t surprise him that she gave as much as she took. Her sexual preferences matched his in their depth. It was their emotional hang-ups that held them from moving forward.

  It was time to rewrite the course of history.

  He slowly ended their kiss, sensing the exact second she was no longer caught up in the moment. She rested her palms on the front of his suit jacket as she struggled for air and tensed her shoulders. He spoke before she could shut him down.

  “My name is Gareth Nicollet. I was adopted into a wonderful family as an infant and only later got to know my birth mother. It’s not something I can easily talk about, especially with a woman who’s set such critical and exacting boundaries in our relationship.” Gareth didn’t give Cynthia the space she obviously wanted, opting to stay where he was directly in front of her. He didn’t want to miss a single expression flash in those baby blues of hers. “I’m willing to shift some of those boundaries, Cyn. Are you prepared to do the same?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Cynthia, I was told that you needed to see me?”

  Paul had knocked, but he’d opened the door too quick for her to take a step back from Gareth. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure an earthquake could have moved her from the place where her heels were glued to the plastic mat beneath her chair.

  “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Paul’s inquisitive gaze took in the scene before him. He was smart enough to know when to leave well enough alone. “You can catch up with me later. I’ll be in my office.”

  And just like that, Cynthia was once again alone with Gareth. He was offering her the chance to hear his side of things, when she’d all but made up her mind to walk away.

  It would have been the smart thing to do—to listen.

  Still, she found herself delaying the inevitable.

  Why did he have to be so drop dead gorgeous?

  Gareth had a slight curl to his light brown hair that practically tempted a woman to run her hands through his thick mane. He had a lean body with cords of muscles that she could easily appreciate…and had explored that very course of action on more than one occasion.

  Okay, many occurrences, to be honest.

  And she hadn’t harbored a single regret until yesterday.

  “Did you really tell the police that you were related to Brad?” Cynthia asked Gareth, searching his gaze for any shred of deceit.

  “Yes.”

  Gareth’s response was simple and said with no hesitation. Her wounded heart beat hard against her chest as she made a decision that was sure to bring more pain.

  He’d misled her.

  Yet she still had so many questions.

  “I wasn’t just some random woman you were involved with, Gareth,” Cynthia said with incredulity, finding the strength to walk around him. She needed space to breathe. The pressure in her chest was becoming too much. She didn’t turn around until she was able to hold onto the back of one of the guest chairs. “I worked for your brother for years. Do you know how foolish you made me look by keeping me in the dark? That’s something I should have been privy to as someone you held c
lose. It wasn’t right that you kept secrets from me.”

  “In hindsight, you’re right.” Gareth held up his hands in forfeit, though she didn’t believe for a second that he would ever admit defeat. “But no one other than Paul Slater and the compliance officer before you knew of my connection to Brad. That was just business, but you and I can discuss this tonight. I’d like to ask you something, though. Are you ever going to share with me why it is you believe every man who shares your bed will eventually lie to you?”

  Cynthia found it hard to breathe once more, so she dug her fingers into the fabric of the chair to give herself leverage. She fought back her first reaction, which was to tell him that he had no right to ask something so personal when he’d been the one to hold back something so vital to her professional career.

  But she’d given him that right the moment she’d joined him in his bed.

  The gold flecks in his brown eyes were practically glowing while he waited for her decision to confess her reasoning as to why she’d held back in their relationship.

  Is that what they had?

  Or had their time together simply been a brief office affair?

  He was unlike any man she’d ever met, and that was saying something. She wasn’t the type of woman to sleep around with just anyone. On the contrary, she was very particular about who she allowed in her private life. But she was surrounded by men day in and day out, especially in her chosen field of finance. She considered herself a good judge of character, but she’d come to find that she wasn’t quite herself in the presence of Gareth Nicollet.

  He made her vulnerable in a way she hadn’t been since…

  “You’ve made your point, but my past wouldn’t have gotten you fired.”

  Cynthia realized her mistake the moment he’d heard her statement. She absolutely hated being on the defense. It was time she took ahold of the reins.

  “Don’t you dare stand there in front of me and say that your relationship with Brad had no bearing on my position at Manon Investments, because you know damn well that would be a blatant lie.” Cynthia had been reeling ever since she’d pulled out Brad’s personnel file to update his information. She shouldn’t have had to find out that the man she’d been sleeping with was related to her boss…the same one who’d been murdered three weeks ago. “You knew. If you have the balls to ask me about the man who came before you, then you know how important honesty is to me.”