I let out a beleaguered sigh and rubbed at my temples. “No.”
“You need to,” Sophia stated. “For our sake if not your own. You’ve been walking around with resting bitch face the past two days. Everyone’s afraid to talk to you. Even Jerry’s too scared, and you know that man can’t handle any more stress. Poor guy is only one cheeseburger away from a heart attack.”
“I haven’t been that bad,” I groused defensively. The truth was I had been. I’d snapped at anyone and everyone around me. Poor Maury had taken to ducking behind the lobby desk when he saw me coming off the elevators. And I couldn’t even bring myself to tease Bob in the mornings.
“Please!” Sophia scoffed. “This morning you threatened the kid at the pastry kiosk in the lobby. You told him you’d throat-punch him if he didn’t get more banana nut muffins.”
Okay yeah, I did do that. But there was a perfectly good reason. “Banana nut is the most popular breakfast muffin on the face of the Earth! Not keeping enough in stock is just bad business practice. I taught him a very valuable lesson.”
“You scared the shit out of him,” Daphne chastised in that motherly tone she sometimes liked to adopt with Sophia and me. “We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t pack up and move to another building. And you better pray he doesn’t. That’s the only place I can get a halfway decent cheese Danish.”
I held my hands out in surrender. Daphne was ravenous when it came to her Danish. “Okay, okay! I’ll apologize to him. Jeez.”
“And talk to Grayson,” Sophia demanded, concern blanketing her expression. “Seriously, Lo, you’ve never been like this about a guy before. It’s obvious you’re hurting. Talk to him.”
“All right. I’ll talk to him this afternoon,” I relented on a whisper. Part of me cringed at the thought of putting my pride aside to go talk to Grayson, but another larger part was thankful that my friends had given me the kick in the ass to do what I’d been wanting to do since I’d walked away from him two days before.
I missed him. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually missed a man. I’d lost faith in them so long ago.
“Great!” Daphne clapped her hands and pulled the door open. “Now let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
She flitted off without a backward glance. As Sophia moved to follow, I called out her name to stop her. “Yeah?” she asked, casting a glance over her shoulder.
“There’s something you should know.” I pulled in a deep breath, worried how she’d handle the news I had to share. “Dominic’s here.”
Her normally cheerful face went blank, just like it did any time his name was mentioned. “What do you mean he’s here?” she asked in a flat voice, devoid of any emotion.
“I mean he’s in Seattle. He surprised me with a visit.”
The only indication that she was unsettled was the rapid rise and fall of her chest. “For how long?”
“I don’t know.” I cringed at my answer, knowing that certainly wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. “I kind of got the impression it would be a while. He’s been complaining about needing a break from our dad for a while. I think he might be here for the next few weeks. I’m so sorry.”
She forced a smile that didn’t come near her pain-filled eyes. “Nothing for you to be sorry for. He’s your brother, Lo. I don’t expect you to never talk to him again. Just… make sure I don’t have to see him. That’s all I ask.”
“Deal,” I promised, crossing my heart and sticking my hand out for an ironclad pinky promise.
“Thanks,” she muttered quietly, mustering up her strength and putting on a brave face. “Let’s go before Daphne tracks us down. You know how she gets when she’s hungry.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” I laughed and threw my arm over my friend’s shoulder as the two of us made our way out of the conference room. Knowing I would be seeing Grayson in just a few hours caused my stomach to tangle up in knots. But for now, I’d push all that to the back of my mind and take comfort in spending time with my friends.
Grayson
I’D BEEN IN a foul mood for days now, and the annoying knock on my office door did nothing but make it worse. “Fuck off, Caleb,” I barked angrily. I clenched my hands into fists, fighting back the urge to yank the door open and punch my best friend in the face. He’d gotten some sick kind of pleasure from pushing my buttons these past two days, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with more of his shit.
The knock came again. I shot from my desk with a growl and stomped to the door, prepared to break his goddamned nose. The bastard had it coming; he was practically asking for it. “I said fuck off, Ca—” The words died on my tongue as soon as I pulled the door open and saw it wasn’t him. I sucked in a surprised breath. “Fiona? What are you doing here?”
“Bad time?” she asked with a shy, teasing smile on her face.
“I….” I wanted to say yes, it was a bad time… especially considering everything Lola had said about her still having feelings for me. But despite the discomfort at her unexpected arrival, I couldn’t bring myself to turn her away. Feelings or not, Fiona was still a friend. She’d been too much a part of my family for most of my life for me to be rude. I gave my head a clearing shake and stepped out of the way. “No, sorry. Come in. It’s not a bad time.”
She hesitated for a second before finally moving into my office. Closing the door behind her, I walked back to my desk and sat as she took a seat in one of the leather wingback chairs across from me. The sound of Lola’s pain-filled voice from Sunday evening filled my head. Guilt began to niggle at me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that having Fiona there was a betrayal. I tugged at my tie awkwardly, feeling unsettled. I cleared my throat and attempted a casual tone as I asked, “So… what brings you by?”
She looked down and began fiddling with the hem of her skirt. “I wanted… what I mean to say… well… I’ve been meaning to stop by. After how I treated Lola at your parents’… and what happened with the pool….” She closed her eyes for several seconds as her chest rose with a deep inhale. “Is she… is she all right?”
I blew out a steady stream of air as I sat back in my chair. “She’s….” I had no idea how to answer that since the damn infuriating woman had refused to talk to me the past two days. “Honestly, I don’t know how she is. She’s not really speaking to me at the moment.”
Fiona’s head shot up, her brown eyes wide. “She’s not? But… why? Is this because you threw her in the pool?”
I lifted an arm and massaged the center of my forehead with my fingers, trying to ease the tension building in my skull. “Truthfully, Fee… I think it’s because of you.” I let out a dry, humorless chuckle as I admitted, “She’s got it in her head that there’s still something going on between me and you, that you might still have feelings for me. It’s ridiculous, and I tried telling her, but she’s convinced that….” I trailed off when her cheeks got red and a brief flash of sorrow flitted across her face.
“Would it really be so ridiculous?” she whispered, a sad smile tipping her lips.
My stomach sank to the floor, my words lodging in my throat. I had no idea what to say. For all the confidence I had when it came to running a business, I was shit when it came to letting a woman down gently. It felt like navigating a minefield — one wrong step and everything would explode.
“Fio—”
She lifted her hand and cut me off. “Look, I know it’s stupid. I do. Our relationship ended forever ago, but I can’t help it. Every time I’m around you, I remember what it was like when we were together. I….” Her eyes grew glassy as tears welled up. Just the sight of them caused panic to clutch my chest. I never did well with women’s tears. Hell, no man did. “I miss you. But I know you don’t feel that way about me,” she finished, twisting a blade of guilt deep into my gut.
“I’m sorry,” I offered pathetically, unable to think of anything to say that would offer the slightest bit of comfort.
She sniffled and waved me off with a small watery laugh. “Don’t be sorry
. I knew deep down that it was never going to happen. I guess it just took me by surprise to see you with someone else.” She fisted her hands together in her lap and looked up at me apologetically. “I… I didn’t handle it well. I should have been nicer to Lola. She didn’t deserve that.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Again, it was pathetic, but I was treading on dangerous ground. And I was a man, so I was inherently terrible with emotional matters. “I’m sorry that you’re hurting. You know I care about you. We’ll always be friends, Fee. Nothing will ever change that.”
“Good. I’m glad about that.” Her smile held less sadness than it had earlier. “And I’m sorry for coming between you and Lola. If there’s anything I can do… maybe I could talk to her? Apologize in person and try to explain? I really did like her. She seemed sweet.”
“She is sweet,” I chuckled, “when she’s not busting my balls.”
“You need someone like that,” Fiona laughed wistfully. “I think that’s why it would have never worked out between us. You’re the type of guy who needs a woman who can keep up with him.”
A lance of hot, sharp pain sliced through my heart as I thought about Lola. “When I’m with her, I feel like I’m the one trying to keep up.” The words came out soft, as though I’d spoken them more for myself.
“You really care about her, don’t you?”
“I do,” I answered with blatant honesty. “Having her freeze me out is fucking killing me.”
“Well,” she said, coming to a stand. “I’m sure, between the two of us, we can figure out how you can win her back. Why don’t we go out for lunch? You can tell me all about Lola and we’ll come up with a plan to thaw her out.”
I quirked a skeptical brow as I looked up at her. “You sure that’s a good idea? I mean, after everything you said—”
“Grayson,” she stopped me with a direct tone. “I might have feelings for you, but I’ll get over them. You’re still my friend. I want you to be happy, and if she’s the one who can do that I’ll help any way I can.” She held her hands out, her features containing genuine honesty. “No ulterior motives, I swear. This is simply two friends having lunch.”
“You’re on.” I stood from my chair and rounded my desk, hopeful for the first time in two days. Maybe Fiona would help me come up with a plan that would get me out of this miserable limbo I’d been stuck in.
I’d gotten a taste of Lola’s sinful, fiery sweetness and I wasn’t ready to give it up. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be ready. I needed to get her back.
Lola
I LET OUT a dejected sigh as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open to my floor. Lunch with my girls had pumped me up for my impending talk with Grayson, but when I made it to his office and was informed by his assistant that he was out at meetings for the rest of the day, that burgeoning hope fell flat like a week-old balloon.
I just wanted to be alone, put on my “I hate everything” playlist — the one I typically designated for that time of the month — open a bottle of wine, and lie in a hot bath until parts of my body turned pruny. Unfortunately, it looked like I wasn’t going to get what I wanted, because the second I pushed through my front door, Dominic was on me in that overbearing, concerned, big-brother way.
“Shit, shorty. Are you okay? I’ve been worried sick waiting for you to get home. Christ, I’m so sorry.”
He pulled me into a hug so tight it was uncomfortable. “Dom,” I wheezed with my arms pinned to my sides. “Can’t… breathe….”
“Sorry.” He quickly let me go but kept hold of my upper arms as he pushed me back and studied my face with a frown marring his own. “You don’t look upset. Why don’t you look upset?”
“What are you talking about? What’s going on? Are you high right now?” I shot up on my tiptoes and peered into his eyes, looking for signs that he was under the influence of something.
“Will you stop?” Dom smacked my hand away from his face when I tried to pull his eyelids open to get a better look. “For fuck’s sake. I’m not high, Lo. I’m just worried about you.”
My face pinched in confusion as I rested back on my heels. “Why would I be upset?”
I watched, no less befuddled, as realization dawned across his face. “Fuck,” he hissed. “You don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?” I asked, my skin prickling with apprehension. “Don’t know what, Dominic?” I repeated at a near shout when he didn’t answer.
He let out a string of curses while pulling his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. “Here, look at this. A buddy of mine texted it to me about an hour ago.”
I snatched the phone from his hand, the breath stolen from my lungs by the picture on the screen. The edges of my vision began to grow fuzzy as a black curtain of pain and fury enveloped me. Then I exploded.
“That motherfucker!” I reared back, ready to send Dom’s cell phone flying, only to have him thwart my efforts by grabbing my wrist and taking the phone away from me. I needed to break something; that was the only possible thing that could make me feel better. “Give that back, I want to smash it.”
“You want to smash something, smash your own phone. I just got this, and I’m not letting you break it because you’re pissed.”
I huffed indignantly, dropped my purse onto the table by the front door, kicked off my heels, and stomped toward the kitchen. Once I had a full glass of wine in my hand, I began to pace, feeding that rage spiraling around inside of me by picturing the photo collage on my brother’s phone in my mind.
A photo collage of Grayson and Fiona hugging and laughing and holding each other’s hands while leaning in to each other like they were sharing a secret just between the two of them.
Assholes!
“Shorty—”
“Nothing between them my ass!” I shouted, interrupting my brother. “That lying sonofabitch! He looked me right in the eye and told me he didn’t have feelings for her! He even had his assistant lie to me. She told me he had afternoon meetings.”
“Well…,” he dragged out. “Maybe—”
I shoved a warning finger in my brother’s face. “Don’t you dare try and defend him! You thought the exact same as me when you saw that picture. That’s why you were so concerned about me. Don’t bother denying it.”
He held his hands up in acquiescence. “Okay, you’re right. I thought the same thing. Those pictures are pretty fucking damning.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “And so is the headline speculating Grayson Lockhart, America’s Favorite Bachelor, has thrown over his latest piece of ass for an old flame.”
“The article didn’t actually refer to you as ‘his latest piece of ass.’”
I shot Dominic a killing look and continued pacing. “It called me his latest fling. That’s not any better, Dom. Just because it wasn’t actually typed out doesn’t mean that’s not what people are thinking. Not only is he a lying, cheating bastard, but he’s made me look like an idiot!” I sucked back the entire contents of my glass and moved to refill it. I needed to fuel my anger, hold it tightly, or I ran the risk of being sucked down in a tidal wave of pain. And allowing myself to be hurt by another man in my life just wasn’t an option.
But God, it was hard not to succumb to the ache that was filling my chest. Those pictures… the way he was smiling at her. It hurt worse than anything I’d ever experienced, not just because of his betrayal but because of the humiliation he’d subjected me to.
“He’s an asshole, shorty,” Dominic said, placing his hands on my shoulders to stop my agitated pacing. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
“I feel so stupid,” I whispered, blinking furiously to fight back the tears that were clouding my vision.
Dom took the glass from my hand and placed it on the kitchen counter before wrapping me in his arms. I snuggled into his embrace, letting him take my weight since standing on my own had suddenly become too hard.
He ran a soothing hand over my head and said, “There’s nothing for you to feel stupid about. He�
��s the cheating bastard, little sis. He’s the one who should feel like an idiot, because no fucking way he’ll ever get anyone better than you.”
I sniffled and looked up at my big brother, his face wavy thanks to my watery eyes. “I’m glad you’re here,” I told him softly.
“Me too, shorty.” He tucked my hair behind my ear and grinned down at me. “Do you want me to go kick his ass? Because I’ll totally do that for you.”
I snorted out a laugh and batted at the lone tear that broke free and trailed down my cheek. “Nah. It’s a good suggestion, but I’d rather not have to bail you out of jail. I’ve been saving up for a pair of Jimmy Choos I saw online.”
“Okay. But you change your mind, you just let me know.”
“Thanks. I will.”
With his hands on my shoulders, Dom spun me around and gave me a gentle shove out of the kitchen. “You go get a shower and I’ll make us some dinner. Sound like a plan?”
“Sounds perfect.” I started for my bedroom, thinking about how grateful I was to have my brother with me since, as it turned out, I didn’t want to be alone after all.
Grayson
I LET OUT a furious curse and threw my phone into the passenger seat as I navigated through the downtown traffic. Lola wasn’t answering her goddamned phone, and as I got closer to her building, the anxiety squeezing my chest only grew tighter.
During our lunch, Fiona had helped me plan out the perfect apology, and I was eager to track Lola down and make things right. When I’d gotten back to the office a half hour ago and my assistant informed me that Lola had come by looking for me, I’d thought things were finally starting to look up. That was until Caleb stopped by to show me the latest article written about me on the gossip sites.
“Has Grayson Lockhart, America’s Favorite Bachelor, thrown over his latest fling for an old flame?”
I had no clue who took those pictures of me and Fiona having lunch, but the suggestive angle and the damning headline made it look like something it wasn’t. I was going to find the fucker who printed that story and rip his goddamned head off. But first I had to get to Lola and tell her the truth before she blew everything out of proportion.
Seducing Lola Page 18