But... this wasn’t her news to tell. And she didn’t want to be the one to tell him. To break his heart. To completely upend his world. Not when he was still trying to regain his footing.
Audra hated Celine for confiding in her. For making her an accomplice in deceiving James. It was underhanded and unfair, and she wished she didn’t know a damn thing.
As they drove in silence, Audra tapped through her phone until she had James’ number on the screen. With the touch of her finger, the call was connecting. It went straight to voicemail.
“Hey, it’s me,” she began after his greeting finished. “Listen, I’ve decided to stay in L.A. this weekend. I know you have everything handled there, and I’d just end up working anyway.” She chuckled, knowing he would nod his head and agree with her by the time he listened to the message. “Let me know if you plan on returning anytime soon. I’m thinking if you stay in Vegas much longer I might break down the wall between our offices and make myself a very big, very nice suite.” She laughed again, and though it felt hollow, she knew he would appreciate the sentiment. “Talk to you soon. Bye.”
She was glad he was in Las Vegas and certain he was having more fun than she would. James Fitzgerald in Las Vegas was like a kid in a candy store. If that kid had an unlimited allowance and was actually a 34-year old bachelor any woman with eyeballs and common sense would find attractive. If he remained in Vegas and she in Los Angeles, then she wouldn’t have to actively keep secret from him that he was about to be a father again.
It hit her then, that if Celine was telling the truth – and Audra had no reason to believe she wasn’t – then she was carrying James’ first child. His first biological child. Frankie would always be his daughter regardless of the science or the law or any man’s opinion. But this new creation Celine was carrying was blood, and it made the truth of the secret Audra was carrying all the more poignant.
She just hoped he would forgive her when he found out that she knew before he did.
Three days later, as she was reading an email from Graham Martin announcing that Natalie Harlow had been promoted to Junior Vice President and would be taking over the Fitson account, James appeared in her doorway, a bright smile on his stupidly handsome face.
“You know, I think I like the idea of having a bigger office. I could really do a lot with this space.”
Had her sexual preference not been for the fairer sex, Audra’s knees might have quaked at the sight of him in his suit, his skin sun-bronzed and fresh under the overhead lights. Sometimes she wondered if he didn’t unleash the full power of his charm on her in some odd attempt to see if it would affect her. Once or twice, maybe, but by and large she was mostly immune to his charms.
“If you’re going to stand there looking like you had a relaxing weekend while I wait for my third cup of coffee to revive me from the handful of hours of sleep I got last night, I might punch you.”
“Don’t worry, Robertson. I wasn’t slacking off.” He sank into the couch situated across the space of her office and smiled. “Well, there was some slacking off.”
“Uh huh.” Figures. “Since you’re back, maybe you could sit in on a few meetings for me so I can take a nap. Short of injecting Starbucks directly into my veins, this coffee isn’t going to work miracles.”
“Of course. After I meet with my realtor.”
Audra tore her eyes away from the email and narrowed her gaze at him. “Realtor?”
“I’m buying a house.”
“Since when?”
“Since yesterday.”
She shrugged. “Good. Be sure to give me the address so I know where to send your hotel bill.”
His smile brightened and his blue-green eyes practically sparkled - sparkled! – across the room. “At least the lack of sleep hasn’t dampened your sense of humor, Robertson.” He took a seat across from her desk and held his smile in place until she looked up at him again.
“You’re just going to sit there and charm me until I ask you why you’re so happy, aren’t you?” His smile was his only answer. “Fine. I’ll bite. What’s going on? And why did you only just decide yesterday to finally buy a house?”
“Because yesterday a beautiful redhead told me to.”
If he saw the shock on her face she was so desperately trying to hide, he didn’t let her know it. He was far too busy smiling to notice.
“Come again?” If there was even a crumb of hope he wasn’t talking about her, she was holding on to it for dear life.
“The Candidate I bid on five months ago? Beautiful red hair, silvery blue eyes, amazing smile?”
“I remember the small fortune you paid for her,” Audra remarked. Her mind was racing with guesses as to what he was about to say to her.
James never mentioned Candidate Four to Audra after the night of the auction, though she could tell the beautiful redhead was on his mind. And often. Because she knew her chances of ever running into Natalie were slim at best, she couldn’t help herself from looking through Natalie’s file at the Golden Palm. They had met briefly once before, she had realized; introduced by Natalie’s boss, Graham Martin at Brighton New Media.
Over the past few months, unable to get Natalie Harlow out of her head, Audra had begun moving together pieces of a much larger puzzle, starting with locating their media account from Brighton’s San Francisco office to their Los Angeles office. On paper, it was a sound decision. Fitson had more properties in Los Angeles than they did in San Francisco, and it made sense to have the account in the city Audra called home. She might have tried to convince herself that the decision had absolutely nothing to do with trying to orchestrate a chance encounter with Natalie and call it happenstance, but she couldn’t be bothered. Regardless of what happened the night Natalie spent with James, Audra was fascinated by the redheaded beauty who had caught her eye. As luck would have it, when Natalie’s promotion to Junior Vice President of Marketing at Brighton New Media won her the Fitson account, Audra took it as a sign.
But the very last thing she expected was for James to walk into her office and announce that, once again, he saw Natalie first.
“I found her. She and a friend were staying at Eden this weekend. Can you believe it?”
She almost couldn’t. Nearly four million people lived in Los Angeles. More than forty-two million tourists visited Las Vegas each year. And yet somehow James and Natalie managed to find themselves once again in the same place at the same time. Together.
An anemic wow was all she could muster. Undeterred – or more likely that he simply didn’t notice the sudden change in her demeanor – James continued.
“I’m not letting her go this time, Audra.” He sat forward in his seat, elbows digging into his knees, blue-green eyes demanding her attention across the expanse of her desk. “There is something special about her. About Natalie.” His smile when he said Natalie’s name told her all she needed to know.
“Ahem. Well, that’s… I’m happy for you, James.” My sister is carrying your child and you’re in love with a woman you paid to spend the night with you…
“I know, I know. We don’t talk about this stuff. But since we are-“
Audra didn’t bother hiding how her eyes rolled to the ceiling.
“-tell me. You and Vic. What’s going on there?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she very matter-of-factly replied. “Vic is in New York and I am in Los Angeles. Can I go back to work now or do you want to go for manicures too?” She didn’t want to talk about the fact that she had failed at having a long distance relationship. That she apparently didn’t love Victoria Conrad enough to uproot her life from L.A. and move to New York to be with the woman she’d been involved with for years.
James rapped his knuckles on the acrylic desk surface before he stood and smiled kindly at Audra. “You’re a workaholic, Robertson.”
“Someone has to pay for all of this,” she blithely responded, just in time for him to slip out the door and leave her in silence.
She sighed
into her desk, letting her elbows cradle the weight of her as she gave in to a single moment of defeat. She never once had a chance with Natalie. Hadn’t so much as spoken to her. Even without the fact that James met her first, or if he never even met her at all, she still had no chance with Natalie.
So why did she even feel bad, to begin with?
She’d never even met Natalie Harlow.
FOR THE FIRST TIME
F or the lucky, precious few moments in life come together as though conducted by fate or cosmic design, the larger meaning of which is often discovered to be something akin to a miracle.
To avoid the inevitable blackness of heartbreak, Audra kept the part of her that was a hopeless romantic locked away, buried deep, hibernating for a long winter that nurtured and sustained her cold detachment from love and possibility. That is until fate intervened in the form of Natalie Harlow; possibility, like a key, unlocked what was kept hidden. It was not until months after Natalie was introduced to Audra, however, that Audra was introduced to Natalie.
She declined an offer from the valet to assist her in carrying the three dozen long stem roses from her car into the foyer of Brighton New Media. She wanted to remember every moment of that morning in detail, from the heavenly scent of the flowers to the emerald-colored silk dress she wore to distract from the fact that she was quite literally quaking with nervous energy. The roses, though elegant, were the wrong shade for their recipient. Natalie Harlow loved sterling roses, and James Fitzgerald had selected pink. That he did not know that his business partner had opted to deliver the flowers herself made what she was doing all the more clandestine, at least in her own mind. Nerves aside, she knew what she was doing.
She always knew what she was doing.
For reasons Audra could only explain as luck, it was Quinn Potter in reception that morning, far removed from her regular office in marketing, and even further removed from the Golden Palm where she spent the occasional Friday night charming men with sizable checkbooks. Of course, she had no clue that Audra knew that. Nor did she know that Audra was the woman behind the curtain at the Golden Palm, and effectively her boss.
“Excuse me?” she said as Quinn placed a folder on the unoccupied desk. There was a momentary flash of recognition on her face as she looked up at Audra, but she did not seem to make the connection of how she knew her.
“May I help you?” Quinn asked in a crisp, polite voice.
“Yes. Would you mind delivering these to Miss Natalie Harlow, please?”
Quinn’s eyes brightened at the mention of Natalie, even the corners of her lips perked up in a small smile. “I would be happy to!”
“Thank you so much. Um,” Audra paused as she placed the large setting down on the tall reception desk. “This may sound odd but would you mind waiting five minutes before delivering them?”
“Sure,” Quinn agreed, and to her benefit, she did so without conveying any judgment or reservation about the request.
“Thank you.”
Audra willed her hands to cease their nervous fidgeting as she navigated the large open-plan office space in search of Natalie’s office, thankful that not a single soul seemed to recognize her. As she rounded a corner, she nearly collided with a figure coming seemingly out of nowhere.
“Oh! I am so sorry!” the woman cried as she regained her balance.
The red hair was undeniably Natalie's. “No problem. Natalie Harlow?”
“Yes?” Natalie withheld a smile as she searched Audra’s face for recognition, and Audra used the moment to assess her in return. The blue button-down and navy slacks were a far cry from the black lace dress she was wearing the last time Audra saw her - the first night she really took notice of her. Whether in black lace or blue cotton, Natalie Harlow was utterly beautiful.
“Audra Robertson,” she introduced herself, pleased when Natalie took her extended hand into a firm shake. “Fitson Entertainment Groupe.”
“Ah, yes. So lovely to meet you, Miss Robertson.” Natalie gestured into the office they were standing in front of, which Audra presumed was Natalie’s. “Please have a seat.”
“I am sorry to drop in on you unannounced,” Audra apologized as she sat opposite the desk. “Graham Martin sent me your contact information this morning, and since I am in town I figured I would come by to introduce myself in person. Since we will be working together.”
“I am pleased you did! I am sorry, can I offer you anything to drink?”
“Thank you, no. So, Natalie, please tell me a little about yourself.”
It was unfair to put her on the spot, but as she was the newly appointed account manager of Fitson's very large contract with Brighton New Media, she had to be sure Natalie was more than just a pretty face. Graham Martin could not have been more complimentary of Natalie when he emailed Audra to inform her that Natalie was being promoted to Junior Vice President and would be assigned the Fitson account, but she wanted her own assurances. Natalie talked about her undergraduate and graduate studies, her contributions to Brighton, as well as her own ideas about new media versus old media. There was an elegance to her that seemed hidden beneath a youthful naivety, and more than that an intelligent charm. Clearly, Natalie Harlow was more than just a pretty face. And she was absolutely smitten with the beautiful redhead.
A loud knock interrupted Natalie, and Quinn Potter entered the office carrying the pink roses. Right on time.
“Hi! Oh my god, Quinn! You didn’t have to!” Natalie beamed.
Quinn laughed as she set the roses down on Natalie’s desk. “Sorry, Natalie, but I cannot take credit for these. I am just the delivery girl.” As she turned to leave Quinn smiled in acknowledgment at Audra.
“Secret admirer?” she asked, feigning ignorance. Her breath caught in her mouth when Natalie bent to sniff the flowers and a strand of red hair fell loose from behind her ear. Momentarily unaware of her company, Natalie plucked the card from the bouquet and read it quietly to herself. Already privy to the contents of the message - ‘Natalie. Congratulations, Miss Junior Vice President. James’ - Audra cast her eyes aside and tried not to let her thoughts sway toward James.
“Not-so-secret admirer,” Natalie replied. Her cheeks flushed pinker than the roses, and Audra watched as she failed to hide the smile that came so naturally to her. “Uh, sorry, where was I?”
Where she was, was completely infatuated with a man Audra had known for ten years in friendship, partnership, and family. Even if she wanted to, she could not fight the fact that the hopeless romantic inside her was finally awaking from a too-long slumber. There was barely the smallest possibility that Natalie Harlow would ever have thoughts about Audra like she was about James in that moment, but for whatever reason, her heart persisted, and there was nothing she could do about that.
“You were impressing me after I put you on the spot.” Audra stood from her chair and smoothed her hands down the front of her dress. The nervous excitement that had made her hands shake only minutes ago had diminished. “It was very nice to have met you, Natalie.” She extended her hand again, this time ignoring the incongruity of soft hands and a firm grip. “I am flying out to Miami for business, but I imagine you will be meeting with my partner soon,” she continued, carrying on a charade she knew would soon be broken because of her calculated appearance. “He is very hands-on with our newer projects while I prefer managing the more established ones. I am sure our company is in good hands with you.”
Natalie’s smile ignited the room. “Thank you so much. I look forward to meeting him and you again.”
Natalie showed Audra to the door, and just like that, it was over. As Audra headed back through the office space she spied Quinn out of the corner of her eye making a beeline for Natalie’s office, no doubt to unknowingly play her part in unraveling a mystery Natalie had yet to realize existed.
She was about to discover that James Fitzgerald - Gentleman Twelve - was Fitson’s Chief Creative Officer.
An unexpected message was waiting for her when she
returned to work that afternoon.
“Joe Gallo?” she asked aloud, though she didn’t mean to. Quickly she glanced around to make sure James wasn’t within listening distance. The name Joe Gallo was a can of worms for the headstrong Fitzgerald. “Did he say what he wanted?” she asked her secretary.
“Only that it was personal and you and he were old friends.”
Old friends was a bit of a stretch. Joe Gallo was Celine’s ex, the man she cheated on James with, and Frankie’s biological father all rolled up into one.
“Thank you,” she called out a moment before retreating into her office and closing the door. What were the chances of Joe Gallo calling up Audra, of all people, so soon after Celine revealed she was pregnant?
Was it another lie? Was Celine carrying Frankie’s sister or her half-sister?
She sat down at her desk to work, intent on ignoring the message and going about her life. But an hour later her curiosity got the better of her. She leaned back into her chair, work momentarily abandoned, and copied Joe’s phone number into her phone.
“Hello?” he answered after the second ring. The deep, rich timbre of his voice brought Audra back into memories from more than ten years ago, back when he and Celine were babies in college. She found them on more than one occasion having sex somewhere on the estate property when Audra would come home for holidays. Like James, she thought Joe was too good for her sister; she just didn’t care enough to tell him.
“Joe, hi. It’s Audra Robertson.”
“Audra! Hey, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. How are you? It’s been a while.”
“I’m doing well, thank you. What can I do for you?”
From the other side of the line, Audra heard Joe breathe in and then out, buying himself a moment before saying, “I realize me calling probably comes from out of left field, but you were always nice to me, Audra. I appreciate that in retrospect.”
The Other Woman: A Steamy Contemporary Romance (The Bidden Series Book 6) Page 5