by C. J. Thomas
“Now look, Paisley—”
She still didn’t look up at me as she took another sip of water. “You need to think about what is important here. Take responsibility.”
She set the glass down onto the uneven material of the napkin and it tipped over toward her. Water streamed across the table and right onto her lap. She gasped as it hit her and jumped out of the way, knocking her chair over in the process. Half of her gray jeans now looked black and a large swatch of her white shirt became translucent, exposing the curve of her dark nipple.
Leave it to Paisley to not wear a bra.
“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” I lifted my napkin for her to use, then righted her chair.
Instead of taking it, she faced me then stuck her chest out. The now-translucent material stretched across her breasts. “Thank you, Liam.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m a mess without you.”
Our waiter appeared at the table with a handful of napkins. “Is there anything else you need?”
“The check.”
Paisley’s eyes got wide as I dabbed at her leg. “We haven’t even ordered. It’s really not that bad.”
“You’ve upset yourself to tears.”
She turned to the waiter. “We’ll have two of your best entrée, to go.”
Which would probably also be the most expensive. It wasn’t the money I cared about. I tossed down a twenty for the tip. “I’ll have my driver pick you up some new clothes on your way home.”
“But—”
I held up a hand. “No. I’m taking responsibility.”
CHAPTER 28
Tessa
Dani grabbed my hand. “Stop pacing.”
“I’m not pacing,” I said. “I’m thinking and walking.”
Dani shifted from one foot to the other. “Stop. You’re freaking me out.”
She wasn’t the only one freaking out, but I’d never let her know just how worried I’d been. Edward had called yesterday and asked us to meet today.
To review our options.
Dani looked around our lawyer’s waiting room—if that was what it could be considered at this point. “It’s just . . . I’ve never had to stand in a waiting room before.”
She had a point. Being in a lawyer’s office already made people uncomfortable enough; the ongoing construction in Edward’s office really didn’t make things any better.
“Go say something to him.” Dani urged me forward.
“You saw him raise a finger. That means he’ll be with us soon.”
“That was twenty minutes ago. It’s not like he has another client in there with him.”
I leaned forward to get a better look into his office. Not something I could usually do with the door shut, but the massive hole knocked out of the wall covered by little more than a translucent tarp made it possible. Hard to say if the remodeling crew got a little sledgehammer-happy or if one of Edward’s clients got a bit of bad news and released it in a not-so-healthy way. With the bomb that he dropped on Dani and me the last time we came in here, I almost wouldn’t blame someone for doing just that.
Dani leaned over and whispered, “Do you think he can hear us?”
I looked up at the clear plastic tarp hanging in front of the bear-sized hole. “Pretty sure that’s not sound proofed.”
Dani stepped toward the lobby door. “Can you do this?”
“I—why? I thought you wanted to be here.”
She shook her head. “I’m really trying to not raid the nearest restaurant of its fries, but I’m weak.”
“This shouldn’t take much longer.”
“We haven’t even gotten in there.” She took another step back. “Do I have to be here?”
“It’d be nice to have your support,” I said. Dani wanted me to treat her like an adult but then she went and stocked up on Happy Meals. She gave me a pleading look that Mom learned to resist over the years, but not me. “But I can handle it.”
“You’re the best.” She hugged me then gave me her innocent look—the same one she used to give to our parents every time she asked for money. It was hard being on the receiving end this time, knowing it had only ever been for them before.
I handed her a ten.
Another look.
“Go or you get to stay.”
Dani turned on her heel and headed out the door.
I faced Edward’s office and wondered if the short-statured man sat on some sort of booster to see over his desk.
I sighed. Rude remarks weren’t my specialty but he was making me wait without chairs. I looked to his office and frowned. He no longer sat at his desk. I squinted, walked up to the plastic, then shrieked.
Without a sound, Edward had stepped up to the hole and peeked out just as I looked in to see where he was.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Do you always freak your clients out with that?”
He chuckled. “Gets the blood pumping. Come on in.” Edward pushed aside the plastic and continued, “Sorry about the mess and lack of chairs. Can’t seem to find a good remodeling company. Every time something gets half done, they either skip out or were crap to begin with.”
I sat in the only other chair besides his in the office. Part of me was now glad Dani asked to do her own thing. Otherwise, I’d still be standing because she’d certainly take the chair.
“Thanks for being patient. I’ve been running your numbers this morning and double checking how best to move forward.”
“And?”
“And you have a few options.”
I sagged in the chair with relief. Just knowing all wasn’t lost for us made a difference.
“You can either take over the company today—”
I sucked in a breath so fast that I started coughing. “Today?”
“And that brings us to the other option.”
“Which is?” Anything other than option number one . . . or bankruptcy.
“Your father owns—excuse me—owned controlling interest in the company. His partners would be interested in yours and Dani’s inherited shares.”
“Even though Dad made some bad decisions?”
“Your father partnered with them for a reason. They can pull the company back up. Problem is, his recent decisions drove their value down.”
“Be straight with me.”
“The house has to be sold, the cars, the business . . .” He was finally being direct.
His words hit me square and he must have seen it on my face because he pulled out a box of tissues.
I wiped my palms on my slacks but there wasn’t a chance in hell I would shed a tear. I was pretty sure I was all dried up anyway.
“And that’s it?” I asked. “We’ll be fine?”
Edward gave a sour look, the kind you only wanted to see when someone ate something especially bitter. “Define fine.”
“Me define it? You’re the one telling us where we’re at.”
He held his hands out, as though offering me something when he clearly had nothing to give. “I’ve been running the numbers.”
No wonder someone knocked his wall down. Talking to this guy would make anyone want to take a few rounds at the wall with a sledgehammer just to get the info out of him.
“And?”
“And you are in the hole,” he said, then paused and tapped his fingertips together. “It’s like my wall—nothing you can’t repair.”
“You know I have a degree in accounting, right?”
He blinked at me. “Oh, the numbers. Right.”
I took the folder he handed me and scanned the documents. Selling the shares did help. A lot. More than I would have guessed, but then I always looked at the conservative side with this sort of thing.
“You see that it’s manageable but you’ll need to support yourself. Without your father, the partners weren’t really interested in taking you on as an intern.”
“I already interned—you know, it doesn’t matter.” Thoughts of how things were supposed to happen ran through my
head on repeat—new job, new corner office, new start to life—all things that would never be. “I don’t think I could work there without him.”
He nodded. “I figured as much. And Dani?”
“She’ll go along with whatever I decide.”
I thumbed through the financials again, reviewing the math. Considering Edward dancing around every question, it wasn’t quite as bad as he made it sound. Maybe that was his way of lessening the blow. Not helpful.
“Page twelve.” I waited while Edward thumbed through his copy. “You sure line seven is correct?”
Without a word, he flipped open his laptop and nodded as he checked and rechecked. “The decimal was in the wrong spot the first time. The shares are worth less than we originally thought.”
I slumped in the chair and shook my head. “Everything he worked for.”
Edward closed the lid of his laptop. “Your dad wanted to leave you with a legacy to be proud of. It was going to happen . . . just . . .”
“I know. I don’t blame him.”
“Do you have something to fall back on?”
There never was a Plan B for me. Ever since I was an eighth-grader in Pre-calculus—hell, probably since I was born—I was supposed to become an accountant, learn the business, take over for Dad.
Maybe I’d be in finance again someday, but right now we needed money. Liam agreeing to take me on as a model was the only thing keeping me together. Thanks to him, I’d be able to make enough to support Dani and me until she had a life of her own. I just didn’t know how long that would be and what else it would take. Minus the Happy Meals, I knew there was more to it than what my mind was coming up with now.
“I’ve got something.” And someone.
I shifted in my chair. Thinking about Liam sent flutters through my stomach. He told me to keep his button up shirt in hopes it wouldn’t be the last time to see me in it—and out of it. Last night, already, I slipped his shirt on, climbed in bed, and closed my eyes. Removing my underwear, I had my own fun imagining it was his fingers inside me, and—
“Miss Douglas, are you okay? You’re looking a little warm.” Edward’s concerned voice made my face flush—more than it already was.
“Sorry, I’m still reeling from the last few weeks.” But right now, not in the way he probably thought.
He nodded and handed me a glass of water.
“Just don’t be too hard on yourself. Find a nice activity and always take care of yourself. You’ll get through this. I know you will.”
Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got that covered. I offered him a half smile.
CHAPTER 29
Tessa
“This room creeps me out,” Sadie said as she turned around, looking at our reflection on the four wall-sized mirrors of the spin class workout room. “No one should be able to view themselves from every angle.”
I laughed. “I’d think you’d like that.” We stepped back into the hallway to wait until more people showed up.
“I could stare at myself in a mirror for half the day. That is, a mirror.” She emphasized the words as the first few people walked into the room and claimed their bikes. “Nope. This is the kind of room that you see in those horror movies.”
“I hear you. This workout will be the thing of nightmares.”
“I’m serious. You’ve seen it where the girl in the movie looks in one mirror and she sees a demon or something standing right behind her. She turns to look and it isn’t there.”
“Freaky.” I rolled my eyes.
“That’s right before she dies.”
“Then why did you insist on going to this class?”
A grin slowly spread across her face. “You haven’t seen the instructor yet.”
“Let me guess, seeing him from every angle is a good thing?”
“If I could haunt him, I would.”
“Pretty sure that’s called stalking.”
Sadie shrugged it off. “Details, details.”
I frowned when I peeked in to see that over half the cycles had already filled up. “Didn’t you say you had certain bikes you wanted to use?”
Sadie waved at someone down the hallway. “Oh yes, for our maximum viewing pleasure. It’s like getting the choice seats at the movies.”
“So you go for the two that are front and center?”
“That’s like touching the sun. Besides, you don’t get the best angle from those bikes.”
“If it’s such a big deal, shouldn’t we go in?”
She blew out a breath. “Fine. I did reserve them online, though.”
“That’s a thing?”
“It’s the only way this gym could keep horny women from tackling each other before Luke’s classes.”
“I take it that Luke is ‘Mr. Hot Instructor’?”
Sadie draped her towel over a cycle a few from the end on the front row. “Best seat in town.” She elbowed me. “Speaking of which.”
I turned as a man stepped up to the lead bike. The spandex didn’t leave much to the imagination. His tall build and long muscles reminded me of a swimmer.
Probably around the same height, Liam was broader than Luke, but I could understand Sadie’s attraction. The easy smile he gave her reminded me of Liam.
I sighed. Everything seemed to make me think of him. I wanted to see him again but we didn’t have any plans.
I sat on my bike and began to make adjustments to it. I looked up as Luke sat on his bike and saw him at an angle for the first time.
Sadie pushed my jaw back up and leaned over to me. “It isn’t polite to gape.”
“But . . .” I tried to look away from the bulge of his pants and couldn’t manage. He either found a convenient place for his tube socks or was crazy huge.
“Oh, trust me, I know.”
“As in you know, know?”
She chuckled. “Only a matter of time.”
“No wonder you picked these seats.”
Luke flashed everyone a smile as he flipped on the music from the remote. Bobbing his head to the beat, he announced, “Find your saddle and we’ll begin in three minutes.”
Less than a handful of seats were left when a woman with a long black ponytail stepped up to Luke. She leaned against his bike to give him a close-up view of her ample cleavage. Her black tights had two strips of translucent fabric running up the leg from ankle to upper thigh. The back of her matching sports bra was made from the same material, giving a complete view of her toned back. Something about her seemed familiar and I couldn’t quite place how I knew her.
“Huh,” Sadie said, “didn’t know Paisley worked out here.”
I looked at the woman’s reflection in the mirror and realized why I didn’t recognize her at first. I’d had a better view of her boobs than her face when we met. She’d walked around Liam’s studio topless like it was the thing to do. Though it probably was, due to a good number of his shoots being nude—something that was taking time getting used to.
Luke held up a finger to her. “One minute. Everyone to your bikes.” He clearly was done with their conversation.
Instead of leaving or joining the rest of us, she leaned in and kept chatting.
“Let’s get this party started,” some ballsy woman in the back yelled over the music.
Paisley placed her hand over Luke’s, smiled, then she sauntered from the room.
“Told you a demon always shows up,” Sadie said as Luke pumped up the volume.
I laughed. “She can’t be that bad.”
Sadie gave me a look. “Oh, girl, you have no idea.”
CHAPTER 30
Tessa
Forty-five butt-kicking minutes later, Sadie and I stepped into the locker room.
“That was just what I needed.” I picked up one of the complimentary towels and wiped my forehead. “I haven’t felt this refreshed in a long time.”
Minus the multiple orgasms Liam insisted on giving me every time I saw him. Hell, just looking at the man was like an earth-shattering orgasm in itself.
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“Luke’s classes are the best.”
“Uh-huh.” I tossed her a towel. “That’s clearly why you take them.”
“Clearly.”
“Now, which row of lockers was ours? I miss the days where we were given a key with the number on it.”
“Second to the end.”
I followed her to the busiest section of the room. “Apparently they assign these based on when you come in. You’d think they’d want to spread everyone around.”
“Afraid you’ll bump into a wrinkly old butt?”
“Shh.” I elbowed her as we passed by a group of retirees.
She stopped in front of a group of lockers that looked like every other one and it took me a moment to notice the stylized numbers etched in the grain right above the keypad. “You’d think they would have colored these in or something.” I moved my head back and forth to see “4002” reflect in the light.
Sadie pulled off her sports bra and her breasts settled against her. Her tiny, pink nipples pointed right at me.
“Could you at least warn me before getting all naked next to me?”
“Come on. I’m only half naked.” She shimmied her shoulders and her breasts bounced back and forth. It really would have been mesmerizing if it weren’t so awkward. “Bashful?”
I thought about Liam’s patio, being as exposed to the world as Sadie was right now. “Not as much as I would have thought.”
She narrowed her eyes as she dropped her shorts and bumped her bare hip against my very clothed one. “Something juicy happened, didn’t it?”
I pressed my lips together. No way I could tell her what we did. Anyone could overhear the details in the locker room, considering the lockers didn’t even reach the ceiling. Besides, how would she think of me if I told her about Liam taking control? Taking me past the brink over and over again?
It made me wet just thinking about it. “We had a little fun.”
A smile spread across her face. “A little, huh? I know that look.”
I wrapped my towel around my chest and peeled my sports bra off like some magician removing a tablecloth with everything still on top. “Okay, a lot of fun. His place is amazing.”