“Well I don’t know that I would go that far.” I shake my head. “Luke did all the work, I just showed up.”
“Don’t be modest. I’ve had the displeasure of speaking to that son of his directly. Not an easy crowd. Luke made a good call taking you along.”
“Well thank you.” I finally concede, not feeling up to going back and forth with him over something so minuscule.
“How about we head out early to celebrate?” He suggests, straightening the cuff of his suit jacket before meeting my gaze again.
“I really have so much here to catch up on.” I answer truthfully, knowing that leaving early to go out with Ryan might just be the thing that costs me my job.
“How about after?” I throw out the suggestion, knowing I need to start moving things along with Ryan if I ever hope to gain any ground.
“Deal.” He agrees, his smile widening. “Want me to pick you up at your place?” He asks, standing.
“How about I just meet you in the lobby? Say sixish.”
“I love sixish.” He gives me a devilish grin as he slowly backs out of my office, his eyes lingering on my face for a long moment before he finally disappears into the hallway.
“Ryan.” Luke’s voice pulls my attention back to the doorway just moments after I look away, his sudden presence startling me.
He nods to his passing brother, the look on his face showing his dislike for finding him leaving my office, before turning his attention back to me.
“Miss Reynolds.” His expression turns hard as he steps inside my office and addresses me. It’s clear to see this is the last place he wants to be.
This is the first time Luke has spoken a word to me since yesterday morning in New York.
“Yes?” I meet his gaze, not entirely sure how to address him.
“Do you have the breakdown for the Cyntech acquisition finalized? I need to present the final contracts at my three o’clock meeting.” He says, his tone clipped and emotionless.
“I just finished it actually.” I say, turning my attention to my computer. “I will email it over now.” I say, glancing back up to Luke.
“Thank you Miss Reynolds.” He answers, nodding once before disappearing from my office.
The entire interaction leaves a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can’t help but feel like he came in here simply because he saw Ryan leave and that thought makes my heart constrict slightly.
I don’t want to hurt Luke, it’s the last thing I want, but I know that trying not to hurt him at this point is all for not. I’ve already hurt him, the way he’s treating me is clear indication of just how deeply.
I wish there was something I could do. I wish I could rewind the past seventy-two hours and do them all over again. But even I know there is not one choice I would have made differently. I won’t regret the moments I spent with Luke. I can’t. No matter how badly our time together ended, it was in those moments together that I felt more alive than I ever have.
How could I ever regret one second of it?
Chapter
Twenty
Samantha
“This place is incredible.” I say, looking around Ryan’s massive downtown apartment complete with a spiral staircase that leads to a second story and a wall of windows offering an amazing view of Los Angeles.
The open floor plan is decorated very modern with clean lines, black detailing, and white furniture. It is exactly how I would expect someone like Ryan to live.
“You want a glass of wine?” Ryan asks, stepping into the large chef style kitchen that is separated from the living area only by a large wraparound bar.
“Please.” I answer, crossing the space towards the windows.
The view immediately reminds me of the one from the hotel room I shared with Luke in New York. I push the thought away knowing that the last thing I need is to have Luke inside of my head right now.
“Here you go.” Ryan steps up beside me, holding out a glass of wine to me before turning to face the window.
“Thank you.” I say politely, taking a long drink. “And thank you for tonight. Sepparos was incredible.” I try to find my comfort in the conversation, trying somewhat to convince myself that this situation isn’t as unbearable as it feels at the current moment.
“It was my pleasure.” He turns to face me pulling my gaze to him.
Giving me a smile that causes my stomach to twist viscously, I cover up my disgust with a smile of my own.
It took everything I had to agree to come back here with him and with each passing second I can feel the regret creeping in more and more making it near impossible to relax. I hold his gaze, hoping my feelings are hidden from the man staring back at me. If he picks up that something is off he certainly doesn’t acknowledge it, or maybe he just doesn’t care enough too.
I’m not stupid enough to believe this is anything beyond what he can get out of me but I need my way in, I need him to let his guard down. If this is the only way to make that happen then so be it. I just hope I have it in me to go through with it.
Reaching out Ryan takes my wine glass from my hand, turning to set both his and mine on the decorative table to his right before turning back towards me.
“I’m glad you agreed to come here tonight.” His voice is low, seduction dripping from each word.
I know without a doubt that if I didn’t know Ryan Scott for exactly who he is, I would be eating every bit of this up. He definitely knows how to lay on the charm when he wants to. Unfortunately his attempts have the opposite effect on me, though I can’t let him see this fact.
“Me too.” I say, the words almost catching in my throat.
I try not to cringe when he reaches out and trails his hand slowly up my bare arm, the contact causing a sick tingling sensation to spread across my skin. He takes another step towards me, eliminating almost any distance between our bodies as his hand wraps around the back of my neck.
“You look incredible in this.” He breathes against my mouth, his hand trailing down the side of my red A-line dress.
I open my mouth to reply but before anything comes out, Ryan’s lips close down on mine silencing my response. My entire body stiffens at the contact but I mentally force myself to relax into the kiss, knowing that I need to play this up as much as possible.
Unlike Luke’s, Ryan’s kisses are rough and demanding, his touch like acid against my skin. But that doesn’t stop me from deepening the kiss. It doesn’t stop me from slowly pushing his suit jacket from his shoulders or from unbuttoning his white collared shirt one painfully slow button at a time.
I slide my hands across his bare torso, my mind immediately flashing to how Luke’s flesh felt beneath my fingertips. When I hear his voice, I swear it’s my imagination, my mind playing into what my heart wants. But when I hear it again, my entire body freezes.
Ryan breaks the kiss just seconds before I can pull away, both of us turning towards the doorway where Luke is standing, a bottle of liquor in one hand, a stack of files tucked underneath his other arm, his attention solely on his brother.
“Oh shit Luke, I totally forgot you were coming over tonight.” Ryan laughs it off, sliding his shirt back onto his shoulders.
My heart immediately drops into my stomach. This is the second time now Luke has shown up when I am with Ryan, both times catching us in a passionate embrace. It’s like fate is playing some sort of sick joke on me.
“I can see why.” Luke flicks his eyes to me for a brief moment, the hurt behind those crystal blues knocking the wind right out of me.
“Allie, forgive me. My brother and I have been given the unfortunate task of having to analyze every major competitor on the West coast in order to find our next group of profitable acquisitions.” Ryan says, buttoning his shirt as he crosses the space towards Luke, grabbing the bottle of scotch from his hand the moment he reaches his brother.
“At least you didn’t forget the liquor.” Ryan laughs, setting the bottle down on the counter.
“No but
apparently you forgot Dad wanted this done by noon tomorrow.” Luke doesn’t try to hide his annoyance from his brother.
“I guess I should probably get going, let you two get to work.” I say, cutting into their conversation.
Grabbing my purse off of the couch, I make my way towards the door, eager to escape the confines of the apartment.
“You could always stay and help us. I’m sure we could find a use for you.” Ryan slides in front of me, blocking my ability to exit easily, his hand immediately locking around my waist.
“I think I would just be in the way more than anything.” I say, trying again not to cringe when Ryan leans in and lays a kiss to my bottom lip.
‘Nonsense.” He shakes his head. “You’d probably be an asset if anything. Tell her Luke.” Ryan is purposely baiting his brother, this much couldn’t be clearer.
“I think Miss Reynolds has probably worked enough today.” Luke answers dryly, avoiding my gaze.
“I really should go.” I insist to Ryan, placing my hand on his chest.
“We will continue later?” He asks, his voice hushed.
I give him a weak smile and a nod, managing to escape his grasp without any further incident. I can’t help but look in Luke’s direction one last time before reaching the door. I don’t expect the curious look I see plastered on his face when our eyes finally meet but that one look leaves me feeling a bit exposed.
“Miss Reynolds.” Luke gives me a slow nod.
“Luke.” I nod, disregarding his previous request that I address him as Mr. Scott.
This causes his lip to twitch slightly and for a moment I almost think I see a hint of a smile on his mouth.
“I’ll call you later.” Ryan pulls my attention back to him as he pulls the door open for me.
“Okay.” I agree, allowing him to kiss me one more time before quickly exiting the apartment.
I exit the building, practically sprinting out of the lobby, doubling over the moment I reach the sidewalk outside. Placing my hands on my knees, I take a few deep breaths trying to calm the sudden urge to vomit that is slowly creeping up my throat.
Why did Luke have to show up?
Why of all people did he have to be the one to walk in and find me with his brother like that?
My mind swirls as it tries to process the events of the last five minutes.
When he first arrived he seemed furious. Even though he made no attempt to vocalize it, I could still feel it pouring out of him. But as I was leaving I could physically feel the shift in his demeanor. What did he see that caused such a drastic change in the matter of seconds?
I try to replay the moment over and over again. He watched Ryan kiss me; I can’t think of anything else. What was it in that interaction that he saw? Paranoia takes a forefront in my mind as I try to rationalize with myself that there is no way he could know anything.
Only what if he does?
Luke saw me in a way that no one else has ever seen me. Sure, I was still pretending to be Allie with him but he saw more Sam than Allie, he just didn’t know there was a difference.
What if now he does?
I can feel my perfectly laid out plan slowly slipping out of control and this realization does more than just scare me, it downright terrifies me. I never considered the possibility that this wouldn’t work, I only knew it had to.
But I never anticipated Luke. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that everything would hinge on my ability to not fall in love with a Scott. And now that I am, I feel everything slipping through my fingers leaving me grasping to hold the last remaining pieces in place.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Samantha
I take a deep breath before reaching out to rap my knuckles against Luke’s office door. Letting it out slowly, I wait until I hear him say “Come in” before pushing my way inside, shifting the stack of files tucked under my arm in an attempt to balance them all on one side.
Luke barely glances up when he sees me enter, keeping his attention focused on the material in front of him, he gestures to the corner of his desk, indicating where I can put the files.
“Is there anything else you need?” I ask, setting the stack of folders down on the dark wood.
“That will be all.” His response is short as he continues to flip through the file directly in front of him, not once glancing up at me.
“Luke.” I start but the minute his name leaves my lips he hits me with a warning glare, the look in his eyes telling me not to push my luck.
“You will address me as Mr. Scott, Miss Reynolds.” His voice is like steel, hard and unwavering.
“Or what?” I challenge, letting my emotions get the better of me.
“I’m sorry?” He tilts his head to the side and gives me questioning look.
“Drop the professional crap, we both know we are far past formalities at this point.” I say, trying to rein in my frustration, knowing this is my fault not his.
“What do you want?” He sighs, pushing back in his chair as he runs a hand through his hair, clearly agitated.
“I want to apologize for last night. I never... I’m sorry you had to see that.” I say, sliding down onto the edge of one of the chairs that sits on the opposite side of Luke’s desk.
“I wish I could explain.” I try to continue but he immediately cuts me off.
“I don’t want an explanation unless you plan to tell me what exactly it is that you’re after.” He says, narrowing his gaze.
“I’m sorry?” I question, taken aback by his statement.
“You heard me.” He leans forward, resting his elbows against the desk in front of him.
“I’m not after anything.” I answer, the knot in my throat growing tighter.
“Bullshit.” He spits.
“Why would you think I’m after something?” I ask, doing my best to come across as surprised and innocent when in fact I am neither of these things.
“Because Allie, it makes no sense. You spend two amazing nights in my bed, and don’t say it meant nothing to you because I know that it did, but then the moment we return home you run back to Ryan like you can’t get there fast enough. I wonder what he would think about our time in New York.” There is a threatening nature about his statement causing fear to spread through every inch of my body.
“Luke...” I start, but once again he cuts me off.
“Don’t say other word unless you intend for it to be the truth. I’m not stupid Allie. I see the way you look at me and I’ve seen the way you look at Ryan. You don’t have feelings for him. You’re using him, I just can’t figure out why.” He studies me for a long moment, anticipating my next words.
When my response doesn’t come immediately, he continues.
“Tell me what your play is?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I insist, knowing that if I expose myself to Luke now, everything I have worked for will be for not.
“Don’t lie to me.” His crisp tone bounces off the walls around us, the sound causing me to jump slightly, startled by the sudden violence in his voice.
“I’m not lying to you Luke. Ryan and I have a connection. We hit it off early on. Yes, the situation with you did complicate things but I am doing my best to get on with my life. Don’t get me wrong, the time I spent with you was amazing but it was also a mistake. You are my boss, I never should have crossed that line with you and I am so very sorry that I did.”
“You’re sorry? You act like I wasn’t there, like I didn’t see you, like I didn’t feel your reaction to me. You can sit there and play stupid all you want, I’m not buying it. Ryan is not the one you want, I am.” He pushes away from his desk, standing.
“Luke, I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say here.” I try to fight the quiver in my voice as he crosses the space towards me.
“I want the truth.” He steps directly in front of where I am sitting.
Leaning forward, he places his hands on the arm rests on either side of m
e and leans forward, his face coming to a stop just inches from mine.
“I’m telling you the truth.” I get out weakly, my hands shaking in my lap.
“Tell me the truth Allie.” He repeats.
“Who do you really want; Ryan or me?” He leans closer, his lips hovering so closely to mine I can almost taste him.
“Luke, please.” I plead.
“Tell me.” His tone is harsh. “Do you want Ryan? The man you can’t even look at without cringing. Or do you want me? Tell me you don’t feel it too. This...” He trails his bottom lip lightly against mine, my entire body erupting at the contact.
“See.” He points out. “Look at how you react to my touch. You want this as badly as I do. Now stop fucking lying to me.”
“Why are you doing this?” My labored breathing causes my words to come out airy and broken.
“Why am I doing this?” He seems amused by the question. “I am not doing anything Allie. You are. You’re lying to me and I want to know why.”
“I’m not lying to you.” I continue to insist.
“Then make your choice. Because if you say his name, we are done.” He warns.
“I’ve already made my choice.” I remind him, fighting back the well of emotion that comes boiling to the surface.
“Then say it.” He pulls back slightly so that he could look into my eyes.
“Say it Allie. Say his name.”
It takes everything I have to answer. The words catch in my throat and I have to physically choke them out.
“Ryan.” My voice breaks on the word.
He leans forward slowly like he is going to kiss me but then stops just inches from my lips.
“Get out.” He growls, pushing away from me and crossing the space towards the door before I have even had time to react.
“Get. The. Fuck. Out.” He says each word slowly, ripping open his office door.
I try to fight back the well of tears behind my eyes, knowing that I’ve made my choice, revenge over love, and now I have to commit to that choice. Pushing out of the chair, I quickly make my way towards the door, avoiding Luke’s gaze the whole way.
Beyond Love Lies Deceit Page 11