I placed my palms on the table and leaned in, reveling in the way he flinched back from me in fear. “I wouldn’t have punched you if you hadn’t accused me of being Grayson’s whore,” I gritted out through clenched teeth.
“The hell?” Grayson said, speaking for the first time since he sat down.
“I said no such thing!” Sam objected vehemently.
Sophia’s voice was deadpan as she replied, “Well, you certainly alluded to it.”
“You called her a whore?”
The fury laced through Grayson’s words was too big a draw to ignore. I had no choice but to finally look at him, and what I saw was a man just moments away from re-breaking the nose Sam’s doctor had worked to reset.
“I didn’t!” Sam replied, shooting nervous eyes around the table’s occupants. “I swear!”
“Really?” Daphne asked with sarcastic politeness. “Then what exactly did you mean when you said, and I quote, ‘Who knew pretending to bang the owner’s son would get you an office instead of a cubicle?’ Sure sounded like you were calling her a whore to me.”
“I-i-it… but… it was a joke!” Sam sputtered as Grayson’s face started to turn a concerning shade of red.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Nolan place a staying hand on Grayson’s shoulder, preventing his son from leaping over the table and attacking Sam.
“That could be construed as sexual harassment,” Stephanie stated. “That is also a breach of contract, and grounds for immediate termination.”
“Jesus Christ,” Nolan muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing at his temples for several seconds. He finally lowered his hands and asked Stephanie, “Could you give us a minute, please?”
A look of relief flitted across her face as she snapped her notebook closed and scuttled from the room.
Nolan’s scowl returned to Sam and me once the door closed behind Stephanie’s retreating form. “I feel like I’m dealing with teenagers all over again,” he scolded, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for my part in the immature actions that had transpired.
“Look, this is ridiculous,” he continued. You two have worked together for ten years without a single problem. There has to be a way we can reconcile this situation without losing two of our most important employees. If you can apologize to each other, we can put this behind us, and I’d be willing to look the other way, just this once.”
Neither Sam nor I said a word as we stared, waiting for the other to break first.
“Fine,” Nolan sighed in frustration. “Looks like I have no other choice.”
Panic made my belly clench — or maybe it was the pointy elbow Sophia shoved into my side that did it — but as he began to stand from his seat, I found my mouth dropping open and the apology pouring out. “I’m sorry I punched you in the face,” I blurted, my eyes shooting to Sam.
A feeling of contrition washed over me. He really wasn’t a bad guy. Nolan had been right; we’d worked amicably for ten years, and there were some days I actually thought of him as a friend — when he wasn’t being a douche boss. Things really had gotten out of hand and it was time to put them right. “I shouldn’t have hit you, and I’m sorry.” I chanced a glance at Grayson from the corner of my eye as I continued. “I’ve been having a bad couple of weeks and I took my anger out of you. For that, I apologize.”
“You’re forgiven,” he replied with a defiant tilt of his chin. I kicked him in the shin under the table, causing him to grunt before rolling his eyes in defeat. “And I’m sorry too. I honestly didn’t mean any offense with what I said, but I see now it was a joke made in poor taste. I apologize.”
“See?” Daphne chirped with a tad too much exuberance. “That wasn’t so hard. Now we can all pretend none of this ever happened.”
“Good.” Nolan released a relieved breath and stood up. “I’m glad that’s settled.” He turned to me with what looked like parental concern. “Now Lola. I know you’ve been under a great deal of stress recently—”
“Pfft.” I crossed my arms over my chest indignantly. “That’s an understatement. If it wasn’t for this stupid PR stunt, I’d be just fine.”
Nolan pushed on like I hadn’t spoken. “So I think it would be best if you took the rest of the week off. Take some time for yourself and just decompress.”
My back shot straight and my eyes grew huge. “I don’t need any time off! I’m perfectly fine!” My job had been my life for ten years. It was the only thing I had to keep me even the slightest bit sane.
“You’re a disaster, Lola,” he continued, his words harsh but his tone sympathetic. “You punched your superior in the face, for Christ’s sake. You’re lucky there aren’t greater consequences. This is nonnegotiable. You’ll take the next three days off or I’m calling Stephanie back in here. Is that understood?”
I fell back in my seat with a pout and mumbled a few choice curse words under my breath before finally relenting. “Yeah, whatever.”
“Good,” he sighed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have grownup work to do.” Everyone followed suit and began filing out of the conference room.
I was just two feet from the door when a strong hand gripped me by the elbow and stopped me in place. The door was kicked shut and my back hit the cold wooden surface before I could utter a word in protest. The way he pinned me against the door prevented anyone outside the room from seeing us through the wall of windows, so there was no chance of me waving anyone down for help.
“We need to talk,” Grayson rasped, his low voice so close to my ear it caused a shiver to trickle across my skin.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” I tried to jerk my arm from his hold but his fingers tightened, refusing to release me.
“That’s bullshit. You’ve avoided me for a week and a half, and I’m fucking sick of it. We’re clearing this shit up. Now.”
I told myself that the way his green eyes flashed with determination didn’t make my body hot, but it was a total lie. Every nerve ending in my body prickled with awareness at his touch, even as my eyes shot lasers at his stupid, handsome face. “As far as I’m concerned, everything between us was cleared up the moment those pictures of you and Fiona were posted online.”
A masculine growl rumbled from his chest, making my lady parts quiver. “I already told you that wasn’t what you thought it was.”
“And I already told you I don’t care what excuses you make. I know exactly what I saw.”
His face inched closer to mine as he ground out, “Nothing. Happened.”
“I. Don’t. Believe. You,” I returned.
His fingers clenched around my arm spasmodically before he finally released me and took a step back. My body instantly missed his touch and ached to move closer to him, but I wouldn’t allow it. “So that’s it?” he asked bitterly. “You’re done, just like that?”
“Pretty much.” I shrugged, feigning a casual tone even though a little piece of my heart splintered. “For Christ’s sake, Grayson, it was sex. Just move on already. You’re making a bigger deal out of what happened between us than is necessary.”
His nostrils flared slightly and his jaw ticked angrily. “Is that right?”
God, I wanted to touch him, but instead of caving to baser instincts, I kept up the act. “Yep.”
As soon as that one lone syllable slipped from my mouth, he pounced, taking me completely by surprise. His lips crashed against mine in a brutal, claiming kiss. My startled gasp was all the invitation he needed. He dominated the kiss from the very start, demanding and taking with each delicious thrust of his tongue.
And just like that, I was lost. All my reserve vanished and I clung to him, willingly ceding all control as his mouth fed from mine. His guttural groan rumbled through his chest and into mine as our hands grabbed and squeezed and ran over every inch of each other, desperate to touch everywhere we could reach. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. And I knew he felt the same when his hand skated up the inside of my thigh, beneath my skirt, not stopping until he reached the barrier of m
y soaked panties.
“Christ, Lola,” he grunted as a moan escaped my throat.
My head fell back, thumping against the door, and I gasped as he toyed with me through the scrap of lace. “Gray,” I panted, grinding my hips into his hands, wanting more, needing more.
He trailed open-mouth kisses down the column of my neck and back up, nipping the sensitive skin of my earlobe. “You know,” he whispered into my ear as his fingers continued their teasing ministrations, “I knew you were a coward, but I never took you for a liar.”
What?
His words yanked me back into reality as he removed his hand from between my legs and took two big steps back. My body trembled with unexpected coldness as his callous words finally penetrated my lust-addled brain.
“I’m not a coward,” I snapped, my breath still uneven from everything he’d just put me through.
“You are, Lola. You’re so goddamned scared of what you feel for me that you’ve barricaded yourself behind those fucking walls of yours. Tell me, does it ever get lonely in there?”
That asshole!
“I’m not a coward!” I shouted. “And I’m not the liar here. You are!” I jabbed my finger into his rock-hard chest, indignation having snuffed out all the lingering passion I’d felt just moments ago.
“Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep better at night.”
Planting my hands on my hips, I tipped my chin up and looked down my nose at his as best I could, seeing as the damn man towered over me. “I will… and it does.”
He shrugged, seemingly unaffected by everything that had just transpired, which only made me even more furious. “Then I guess you’re right,” he said drolly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “There’s really nothing to talk about.”
It appeared that I’d won the battle, but if that were truly the case, why did I feel like suddenly crying?
“Guess there’s not,” I replied, shocked that I was able to pull off sounding so calm and collected when I felt like everything inside of me was being torn to shreds. This was really it. We were well and truly over.
Oh man, that hurts!
I scuttled away from the door as he moved close, reaching for the knob and pulling it open. I needed him to hurry up and leave already so I could run to the ladies’ room, lock myself in a stall, and have a good, long cry. But before he disappeared, he glanced back over his shoulder and said one last thing.
“But I should remind you, our little PR charade is far from over.”
My back snapped straight, my eyes wide as my gaze shot to him. “Excuse me?”
“You didn’t think I’d let you off the hook that easily, did you? As far as the media and everyone else are concerned, you’re still very much my girlfriend. I suggest you work on your game face before the gala this weekend. You’ll be attending as my date.”
Gala? Date? What the ever-loving hell?
The click of the door closing behind him echoed as loudly as a gunshot in my head as remembrance dawned. I’d allowed myself to become so carelessly consumed with all things Grayson over the past month that I’d let the most important event of the year slip my mind.
The charity gala at the Seattle Art Museum was one that Bandwidth hosted every year to raise donations for the Wave Foundation. How could I have forgotten? The station had been running commercials advertising it for the past two months.
As hosts of the highest-rated radio show geared toward women, Sophia, Daphne, and I had made it a point to raise as much awareness as possible for the nonprofit that fought to end domestic violence.
The fact that such an important event had slipped my mind just spoke to the tumult that was invading my life.
Each year the three of us held a special event during the gala to increase donations. And this year….
“Fuck,” I hissed. This year we’d agreed to offer ourselves up for a bachelorette auction, promising the highest bidders a personal one-on-one date.
And I was being forced to go with Grayson… as his date… surrounded by the richest, most established people in Washington.
Could my life possibly get any worse?
Lola
YEP. MY LIFE could most definitely get worse.
I’d obviously done something to Karma during my thirty-two years of life, because that bitch was currently punishing me. After leaving KTSW on the threat of getting security involved if I didn’t go peacefully, I’d gone back to my apartment to start my forced vacation time, only to discover that I had another visitor.
I’d opened my front door to the shriek of “My baby!” and barely managed to swallow my groan before my mother came charging into the entryway and nearly crushed my ribs in a hug.
“Ma,” I wheezed, all the air being squeezed from my lungs as she tightened her embrace. “Need… air….”
She finally unlocked her arms, leaning back to hold me at arm’s length so she could study my face. I pasted a fake smile on my face only to have hers crumble in sadness. “Oh, my sweet pea. You look absolutely awful.”
My smile fell flat. “Thanks,” I deadpanned, dropping my purse on the entry table and kicking off my heels, bringing my mother and me eye to eye. “Just what I needed to hear.”
“Oh, you know what I mean.” She waved me off and yanked at my arm, leading me toward the living room. “I just meant you look sad. But I’m here now, so no worries. A mother knows how to make everything better.”
My brother — the traitor — sat on my sofa, flipping through my TV channels while trying his best to keep from laughing at my plight.
“Speaking of you being here,” I stated as she headed for the kitchen and began puttering around. I’d only been gone for five hours max, yet my entire apartment already smelled like an Italian restaurant. “Why exactly is that? I thought you weren’t coming until Saturday.”
She pulled the lid off a Crock-Pot and gave the contents a stir with a large wooden spoon before placing it back down and wiping her hands on a tea towel. As far as I knew, I didn’t even own a Crock-Pot… or tea towels… or a wooden mixing spoon.
What the…?
I glanced around the kitchen to find several new cooking instruments scattered around the counter tops — instruments I’d never be able to use, seeing as I didn’t have the first clue how to cook.
“And where the hell did all this stuff come from?”
“Oh, that sweet man who works in the lobby was kind enough to run out and get me a few necessities when I discovered how lacking your kitchen was. Such a polite gentleman, that one. You know, maybe you should consider dating him!”
My opened and closed several times. “You mean Maury? Mom! He’s the doorman, not your personal errand boy. And he’s at least twenty years older than me!”
“And so complimentary,” she continued as if she didn’t hear me, a wistful look floating over her face. “A man like that would know how to treat a lady.”
Oh, sweet Christ. I didn’t even want to think about what that look on her face meant. It was taking everything in me not to gag.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear a word you just said and ask again, why are you here four days early?”
“Well, sweetie, when your brother called and told me everything that was happening with that dreadful Grayson Lockhart, I knew you needed me, so I changed my flight and got in about two hours ago.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Dominic and mouthed, “I’m going to kill you,” while dragging my index finger across my neck to show him I was serious. His throat bobbed with a thick, scared swallow before he diverted his gaze back to the TV.
I turned back to my mother, trying to adopt a calm demeanor even though that was mostly impossible where she was concerned. “Ma, you really didn’t need to do that. I’m fine.”
“Oh please,” she scoffed, still puttering around my kitchen like she owned the place. “I’m a mother. I know when my baby girl needs me.”
My eyes rolled to the ceiling and I shot up a prayer for p
atience. That or a lot of wine. I was going to need both if I was going to make it through a week and four days with my mother under the same roof. She was the boss under whatever roof hung above her head, always had been. Case in point, she’d only been there two hours and already she’d taken control of my kitchen and my poor doorman. I was going to owe Maury huge come Christmastime.
I reached for the bottle of wine I’d uncorked the evening before and pulled down a wineglass. “Well, you do… whatever it is you’re doing. I’m going to go relax with Dom.”
My mother turned to see me pouring a glass and gave my knuckles a warning smack. “Lola Arianna Abbatelli, it’s barely noon! You will not start drinking so early in the day. It’s undignified.”
“A pleasure as always,” I muttered dryly, then made my way into the living room, smacking my brother on the back of the head before sitting down next to him. “You asshole,” I hissed. “Couldn’t give a girl a warning?”
“Hey.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I sent you a text forty-five minutes ago. You never responded. And I didn’t want to warn you until Ma had the chance to finish preparing the pasta fagiolo. You know how much I love that stuff.” He rubbed his stomach for emphasis.
My forehead wrinkled as I mumbled, “I never got a text.”
Dom shrugged, then lifted the beer bottle in his hand to his lips and took a long pull.
“Ma!” I shouted in the direction of the kitchen. “Why does Dom get to drink but I don’t!”
Dom smirked at me, earning another smack on the head as my mom yelled back, “Don’t argue with me, Lola Arianna. I’m teaching you to act like a lady!”
“Mom loves me more,” he whispered under his breath, smirking once more. I stole the beer from him and downed the rest, then gave him a smirk of my own. No matter how old we got, my brother and I always reverted back to adolescent behavior when we were around each other. It was kind of fun… when he wasn’t annoying the shit out of me.
“Why are you home so early?” he asked a few minutes later after returning from the kitchen with a new beer.
I let out a weary sigh and dropped my head to the back of the couch. “They’re making me take the rest of the week off, said I needed to de-stress.”
Seducing Lola Page 20