Alyssa gave her a skeptical glare but didn’t push the issue further. “Well, if I don’t see you, good luck to you. You’re good people.”
Zoe was happy Alyssa thought that, because she sure as hell didn’t feel like good people right now. She gave Alyssa a quick, tight hug before letting go and walking away before either of them said something that would make her cry. The last thing Jacob would want was an emotional woman to deal with. He liked straightforward things, like numbers and beer. Not tears and friendship. She would never call him a bad boss, but he definitely wasn’t a friend.
When she reached his office, she knocked on his door two times before she heard his gruff voice call her in. Even though he wasn’t suited to this line of work, he definitely looked the part. He was currently sporting a bushy black beard that obscured almost all his face except for his deep-brown eyes, and his large, meaty arms were covered in various old-school tattoos. Needless to say, the pub had never needed to hire a bouncer. “You’re not scheduled today,” he said matter-of-factly as way of greeting.
“No, I’m not,” she agreed. “I was hoping we could talk.”
He grimaced. “Oh fuck. You’re quitting.”
“Seriously, how does everyone keep guessing that?”
“We ain’t boyfriend and girlfriend, honey. If you want to have a talk, there aren’t that many topics it could be about.”
She let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry to do this to you, Jake. Something came up in New York, and I can’t say no.”
“Don’t call me Jake,” he muttered.
“Don’t call me honey,” she shot back. A bittersweet reenactment of a joke they’d had between them for a while. He called all the girls here honey, or at least he used to before she gave him shit about it. That bit of defiance had gotten her permanently labeled as “the feminist one” in his eyes, but to be fair, he never called any of the new girls honey again. But because he never stopped calling her honey, she never stopped calling him by his childhood name.
“It’s fine,” he admitted. “We all knew you’d up and leave eventually.”
Zoe loved how everybody seemed to have more insight into what she was going to do than she did.
“I guess you can pat yourself on the back then. You’re right.”
“You were always too good for us. Too good for Johnny, that’s for fucking sure.”
“Do I have a sign on the back of my shirt that says I’m not over Johnny?”
“Your entire life is a sign saying you’re not over Johnny. Speaking of the devil, you should probably get out of here. You know how much he loves Shane.”
Crap. He was right. Usually if Johnny and his new wife came in while Shane was here, it was busy enough that she could hide out and avoid them, but considering she wasn’t working tonight, she couldn’t exactly hide in the kitchen until he went away. “Thanks for the warning. You’re a good boss.”
“I’m an ass.”
“All right, but you’re my ass. I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he muttered, looking back at his computer, obviously uncomfortable with good-byes. She left Jacob’s office and glanced around expectantly at the bar, keeping her fingers and toes crossed that Wade was doing what she told him to do.
But of course, he was nowhere near the bar. Her heart leapt up in her chest as she started looking around for any sign of the man. He was so damn handsome, she half expected a bright halo of light to follow him wherever he went, but now that she needed to find him—poof, he was gone. And then the back door to the pub opened, and she saw him and Shane walking in together, each carrying a heavy load.
This had to be a joke.
She reached the small makeshift stage area at the same time they were setting down their loads. “Wade, what are you doing?” She didn’t know what surprised her more, him chatting away with Shane, or the fact that he was doing manual labor.
“Zoe, have you ever heard of Shane Collar? I knew him back in high school.”
She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to stem off her rapidly approaching headache. It was going to be way too obvious to people how little they knew each other soon. “Of course I know Shane. He plays at the pub whenever he has a free night. It’s really nice of him,” she said, trying to add in the right amount of kiss ass considering how much Jacob appreciated him.
“I’ve met Zoe a few times,” said Shane with just a hint of Irish accent. He’d lived in the States for so long that most of it had been filtered out over the years, but she was sure that with his line of work, he would never totally lose the charming lilt. “The girls here are the best.” Shane gave her a little wink.
She was so happy Wade was reconnecting with old friends, but she really didn’t have time for this. “I’d really like to head out now. I don’t want to be around for too long.”
“We’ll head out in a few minutes. I want to have a few words with Shane.”
“I’m serious, Wade. I want to leave.”
“I’m serious too,” he said in a much deeper and authoritative voice that she wasn’t used to hearing him use. “We’ll leave in a few minutes.”
She debated slapping him at that very moment but knew it would only backfire. One, he would just be more pissed off, and two, word would spread like wildfire. Johnny would know she and her new husband were already fighting, and it would just worry her mother needlessly. So all she could do was grit her teeth and smile at him. “As you wish, sir.”
Wade knew he’d be paying for that later, but she had to get used to a few things. Whatever saps she’d dated in the past, he wasn’t one of them. She couldn’t simply boss him around and expect him to follow orders. He just wasn’t wired that way.
Shane let out a little whistle. “She’s a bit of a firecracker.”
“More like a stick of dynamite,” Wade muttered.
“Can we talk later, mate? I’m supposed to be going on soon. Usually my assistant is here to help set up, but I gave him the day off.”
“It can’t wait. It’s about my father.”
Shane cursed under his breath. “Come on, man.” He went out the back door again. The parking lot was pretty empty, but Wade still carefully scanned the area for prying eyes. “What’s there to talk about? We put that in our past a long time ago.”
“I know. Trust me, I don’t want to be bringing it up. Zoe hunted me down in the city to tell me she could prove… things.”
“Bullshit. There is no proof. What could she possibly have on you?”
“I haven’t had her show me yet.”
“What the fuck are you waiting for?”
“I was distracted.”
“Please tell me you didn’t get distracted by sleeping with the girl.”
“Not quite. I married her.”
Shane shook his head. “I thought you were marrying some swimsuit model.”
“Yeah, that fell through, and I needed to find a way to make sure Zoe didn’t go to anybody she shouldn’t. It just happened.”
“One time I woke up with a girl who was so drunk she didn’t know that she fucked me on the couch while her husband was in the bedroom. That just happened. This didn’t just happen. You’re treading on thin ice,” warned Shane. “If you’re not keeping your eye on the prize, you’ll fall through.”
“Hey, I’ve been careful. I’m wondering which one of us hasn’t been. Have you heard from anybody else lately? You know… one of the Lucky Lions?”
“I know Harper is still working as a corporate headhunter. But if anyone was going to be careful, I’d imagine it was her.”
“You haven’t heard from Leo?”
“Even if I did, would you want to know about it?”
He stiffened and tried to keep himself under control. “It’s important. Have you heard from him?”
Shane shook his head. “You know how it is. Everyone’s busy these days. If it wasn’t for the internet, I’m not even sure I’d recognize you.”
“I don’t remember you hitting up my phone,�
� Wade shot back. Shane was right. They’d all fallen apart since high school. But even under the best circumstances, didn’t most people lose contact? The situation surrounding their graduation had hardly been ideal. Harper and Leo especially had just wanted to get away from Birdsville as quick as possible. Shane had been a tad more level-headed, surprising given his artistic nature. In fact, they kept in touch for a while once Wade had moved to New York. Wade was the one who first set Shane up with his record label. If it wasn’t for Wade, Shane wouldn’t be where he was now. However, if it wasn’t for Shane, who knew where Wade would be right now. “Can you get me in touch with Harper?” he asked.
“I know I have an old number for her. Here’s hoping she hasn’t ditched it yet.”
He thought back to Diane’s shaming words about not keeping in touch with his friends. What if something serious was happening? He knew Harper had almost no social media footprint. There would be no way for him to get in touch with her. He’d just have to hope that Shane didn’t have an expired number.
Shane looked over Wade’s shoulder and frowned. Wade glanced over to see the door to the bar was pushed open, and a bearded man stood there, staring expectantly at Shane.
“Hey buddy. Can we go over scheduling before you go on?”
“Yeah, sure, Jacob. Be there in a minute.” He redirected his attention to Wade. “I have to get back to this. You look into things on your end, and I’ll find you Harper.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Hell yeah you do,” he muttered.
They each grabbed a final load from his trailer and started carrying the equipment inside. As soon as Wade was through the door, he scanned the room for Zoe, almost unconsciously. But when he finally locked eyes on her, she wasn’t looking at him. Instead, she stared with laser focus on one of the small tables in front of the stage. A couple sat at it. A guy around her age, and a very pregnant woman, who looked particularly out of place at a bar. He set down Shane’s equipment and started toward Zoe, but the man she’d been staring lasers at jumped up in front of him.
“Wade Maxium?”
Wade fought the urge to roll his eyes. He didn’t have time to meet a fan right now. “Yeah,” he said weakly as he patted the man on the shoulder and started for Zoe. Except Zoe’s eyes were wide and she was shaking her head frantically. What was wrong?
“Wait. My name is John Larson, and I’ve heard so much about you.” The man had once again twisted in front of Wade, blocking his view of Zoe.
“That’s great, John, but I really have to—”
“I’m the head banker at the local credit union here, and I have a lot of ideas about expanding and branching out. You know, with a local like you with connections inside the city and all over, we can do amazing things. If you have a few minutes, I’d love to brainstorm some—”
Enough of this. Wade held out a hand to silence the man. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Wade Maxium. I own fifteen different companies and dozens of subsidiaries. I have three different personal assistants, and usually men like you would have to go through at least all of them to get to me. Who are you again?”
The man had reached to take Wade’s hand, and Wade was now squeezing it in a punishing grip. He was well aware that he was handling the situation badly, but right now this man was standing between him and Zoe, literally, and he had absolutely zero patience for whatever sales pitch the man was offering.
The man’s face went white with shock. Maybe he wasn’t used to being talked to like that. Maybe he wasn’t used to experiencing any sort of pain, even the light amount in his hand. Either way, Wade seem to be getting through. Finally, he let go and gave the man a little smile. “It was great meeting you.”
Wade left John without looking back and finally got to Zoe, who was looking down and covering her eyes with a hand.
“What’s wrong?” He set his hands on either side of her shoulders.
She shook her head, still not looking up at him. “Oh, it is my worst nightmare coming true. No big deal.”
“Do you have problems with Shane?” If Shane was her worst nightmare, she must’ve lived at least a decently privileged life.
She moved her hand from her eyes and looked up at him. “Wade—”
“I see you’re not too good to mingle with locals,” said John Larson from behind him.
Fuck. This guy wasn’t going to be easy to get rid of, was he?
“Go away, Johnny.” A small tremor shook Zoe’s normally calm and clear voice.
Wade narrowed his eyes. There was a history between these two? Shit.
“You know, it’s funny that Wade here was just telling me how much better he is than all of us are. Yet somehow you, probably the person in this town who has accomplished the least of any of us, is somehow worth his attention. Funny how that works out.”
Zoe was now completely pale, a mixture of shock and humiliation masking her beautiful features. “Johnny, I swear to God—”
“Zoe isn’t a townie like you,” said Wade.
Johnny started laughing at that. “Oh really? A college dropout who sleeps around with half the town and is never going to be anything more than a waitress? Sounds like a townie to me.”
“That’s my wife you’re talking about.”
Both Zoe and Johnny’s jaws dropped at Wade’s brisk proclamation. He wasn’t about to sit here and let some jealous nobody insult Zoe. Even if their marriage wasn’t based on much, he had some respect for her and knew she deserved a hell of a lot better than this asshole.
Johnny took a physical step back, as if he couldn’t comprehend what Wade had just told him. “Oh, good luck with that, man. If I were you, I’d start looking into adopting. Not everything works down there, you know?” And the next thing he knew, Zoe was lunging for him.
Zoe had a lot of rage when it came to Johnny, but she’d always managed to repress it to the darkest corners of her mind. But now he’d officially pushed her over the edge and reason had flown out the window. If it weren’t for Wade grabbing her around the waist and pulling her back, she was absolutely certain she would’ve caused serious damage to Johnny’s pretty, smug, stupid face.
“Whoa, babe,” said Wade into her ear as he held her tight against him.
She took deep breaths, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. She closed her eyes because she knew the longer she looked at Johnny, the more upset she’d get. Instead, she focused on Wade’s warm strength behind her. The feel of his heart beating against her back and the strong grip around her. Maybe because his presence was comforting, maybe because she knew he was so strong there was no chance of her actually getting to Johnny if she did want to.
“What’s wrong?”
Zoe recognized the voice immediately. Sheila, Johnny’s perfect little trophy wife. “Just giving Johnny some well-needed medicine,” she gritted out. Forcing her eyes open, she saw Sheila’s perfectly dyed blonde hair laying around her face like an angel’s halo. It was hard to blame Sheila for Johnny being an ass, but it was impossible to look at her replacement and not feel the anger that was so hard to tramp down.
“I think it would be best if you leave.” Wade held her tighter, as though he was worried that she’d go off again at any second.
“It’s our town. Why don’t you get out of here?” said Johnny.
Oh, Lord. He wasn’t just overconfident. He was idiotic. Even she knew that people just didn’t talk to Wade like that.
She was waiting for Wade to tell them exactly where they could stick it, but then she noticed Shane approaching them. Oh great. They’d caused a scene. Not only had she quit her job tonight, but everyone had seen her attack Johnny as if she were a drunk sorority girl.
“Zoe, are these people treating you okay?”
Her eyes widened as she looked over at Shane. She knew what this looked like. It looked like she had gone crazy and rushed at Johnny, which was basically accurate. But Shane was immediately taking her side?
Then she
realized that wasn’t the case. She was in Wade’s arms. Shane and Wade were buddies, and Shane was sticking with Wade. Now that she was intrinsically attached to Wade, she was under his umbrella of protection.
“Oh my goodness.” Sheila covered her mouth with a hand. “Shane Collar. I’m such a big fan.”
“Nice to meet you, sweetheart. Zoe is a good friend of mine. If anyone here has problems with her, they have a problem with me.”
If she wasn’t frozen in shock, her jaw would’ve fallen to the floor.
“No. Nothing’s wrong here. We love Zoe.” Sheila grabbed Johnny’s arm and tugged him back. “Tell him how much we love Zoe,” she muttered.
Johnny glared at them before pulling away from Sheila and storming out, his pride obviously sore after being attacked on so many sides.
Shane gave them a little wink before turning all his attention to Sheila. “I love meeting fans. What’s your favorite song?” He held an arm out and led Sheila closer to the stage as she hung on his every word.
Finally she felt the tension leave her and the embarrassment set in. “I’m sorry,” she muttered as Wade released her. Suddenly the room was too cold, and she felt all eyes on her.
Keeping her gaze focused on the ground, she quickly left the pub and made her way for Wade’s car. Luckily, he was close behind to unlock the doors with the fob so she could get right in without missing a beat.
Then she just had to wait for Wade to walk around the front and get in the car.
“I suppose it’s time to go home.”
Zoe was still quiet. She let her head fall and clunk against the window.
“Hey,” warned Wade. “Careful. You’re gonna smudge the window.”
“Great. A smudge of shame. Just what I need.” She didn’t move her head. At this point, the damage had been done.
“So you want to tell me more about Johnny now?”
“Johnny’s the worst,” was all she offered.
“He does seem like a tool.”
“A tool! That’s exactly what he is. An instrument used to make the world a shittier place.”
Lucky Liar Page 7