by Alina Jacobs
"You must be a wiz at computers," Liz said, impressed.
"She really is," said Mark.
"Isn't it great, Wes?" Liz asked. He nodded quickly then moved on to hang up more decorations.
"This is going to be a wonderful party," Liz said when the food was laid out. The drinks in the large glass pitchers shimmered in the late-morning light that streamed in from the large windows. The decorations were tasteful but not overdone.
"Brandy's going to, well, probably not love it because she doesn't like anything. But hopefully, she won't find much to complain about."
"You went above and beyond for her," Ginny said.
"Thank you, Liz. It's beautiful," Brandy said later as she posed for the camera, giving Liz an air kiss. "You really outdid yourself." Finally, Brandy was actually being nice. "Even if you did have help."
Or not.
"Yes, Rhonda did a lot of work," Liz said.
"I can tell you didn't pick out the colors yourself," Brandy said and waltzed off on Fernando's arm to take pictures with other attendees.
"And you wonder why I didn't help," Allie said, handing Liz a blue drink.
"Thanks for making the cocktails," Liz told her.
"The blue ones aren't my best, but I'm working with what I have." Liz sipped the drink. "So, you're still with everyone's favorite billionaire?" Allie asked carefully.
"I think so."
"You think so?" Allie asked. "Rhonda said you guys were at it like rabbits."
"Rhonda doesn't know anything," Liz scowled.
"So, you haven't slept with him."
Liz felt cross. "I did. Just he's been mad lately."
"Don't start making excuses for bad behavior," Allie warned.
"I'm not," Liz said. "I just really like him. I want to marry him and have the perfect wedding and the perfect life."
They watched Wes from across the room. He was laughing and joking with the other Holbrooks. He looked over in Liz's direction. She smiled and waved. He inclined his head slightly.
"Seems like he didn't receive that particular memo," Allie said and left before Liz could offer a nasty retort.
Near the end of the party, Liz stood on the stairs and clinked a spoon on her glass.
"This is the big moment," she said. "A little over a year ago, we were all in this very room to mark the engagement of Brandy and Fernando. Now we are with them when they start on the next chapter of their lives." Rhonda tapped something on her tablet, and the chandelier blinked pink and blue.
"And the baby will be…" Liz unsealed the envelope from the ob-gyn. "A girl!"
Ginny jumped up and down and exclaimed, "A niece! I'm having a niece!" Then there were more hugs and pictures.
"Don't be too jealous," Wes said, bringing Liz another drink. "It's all downhill from here."
"Maybe they'll be okay."
"They won't," Wes said. "She only married him because she wanted a puppet to trot out at these types of functions. Once she has the baby and the reality of her life sets in, her marriage will crumble."
"That's harsh."
"The truth hurts sometimes."
42
Wes
"The party went well," Wes said to Liz as they took down the last of the decorations.
"Yeah."
"You don't sound excited."
"It was just a lot of work for a few hours and some nice pictures."
"Tell me what's wrong," Wes said, taking the bundle of ribbons out of her hand and pulling her into a hug.
"You're mad at me," she mumbled against his shirt.
"I'm not mad at you."
"I stole your company."
Had she figured it out? Liz was smart and perceptive. If Wes didn't step up his game, he knew she would figure it out. Allie was already suspicious of him, and if Kate wasn't so preoccupied with her father, she would probably be on him too. Wes tilted up Liz's head and kissed her deeply. "I'm sorry I've been so down."
"It's not your fault," Liz said and turned to pack the last of the decorations away.
Do something! he screamed internally.
Liz's phone beeped. "Oh, there's dinner at the Holbrooks if you're interested. You don't have to go." She sounded unhappy.
Wes hugged her and kissed her again. "If you want to go, I'll go."
"I'm tired."
"Let's go," Wes cajoled. He had to keep stringing her along. He forced himself to think of the layoffs.
"Leave the rest of this," he said, "and we'll go to the Holbrooks."
Liz set down the fabric she was folding. She still looked sad, but she put on her coat.
"Kal, want a car ride?" The dog was dragging.
"I think he ate some of the decorations," Liz said.
"Of course he did," Wes said, shaking his head slightly. The dog whined. "That's the face of regret."
Liz smiled.
"There it is! That's the smile I would pay billions to see!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around her waist.
When they arrived at the Holbrook estate, Stefan greeted them at the front door. "They're having refreshments in the dining room," he said.
"So formal," Liz replied. When Wes walked in with Liz on his arm, her friends all cheered.
"The high-society hostess of the hour," Carter announced.
"You threw a really excellent gender reveal," Grant said. "I was shocked. Shocked I say!"
"Right? A fifty-fifty chance, who knew?" Wes joked.
Allie had the leftover drinks and food spread out on the table.
"Look," Mark said. "Party favors." He picked up a peach-colored baby bottle and dumped his electric-blue leftover cocktail in it. Wes took the bottle and took a sip.
"Needs more blue," he said.
"And for the adults, there's wine," said Rhonda. "White or red? That's the only question I want answered." Wes looked at Rhonda and tried to keep the annoyance off his face.
Kate poured Liz a glass of red. "You need this. You earned it."
"One down. One to go," Kate said, clinking her glass against Liz's.
"You guys are hosting the shower," Liz said. "Don't forget."
"But men don't have to be there, right?" Eric asked.
"This is the twenty-first century," Ginny countered. "You are not only invited but expected to be there."
"I have something even bigger planned for the shower," Rhonda said. "It will make quite a big impact."
Wes felt a twinge of panic at the expression on her face then stamped it out. It was just a turn of phrase, Rhonda would never actually do anything horrible, would she?
"I can't wait," Mark said, giving Rhonda a peck on the lips. "Your art piece was a real hit."
"It's all over Instagram," Kate said.
They spent the next few hours hanging out in the dining room. Wes perched on the table with Liz leaned against him. Joking around with his cousins and brother, Wes almost felt like he belonged. He wasn't able to fully lose himself in the moment, however, because Rhonda was a constant thorn, reminding him that this all had an expiration date.
"Feeling better?" Wes whispered to Liz when they snuck back into her parents' house later that night. He kissed her as she unlocked the door, and they stumbled inside.
"Shh," she said.
"You're the one being loud," he told her. He snuck up the stairs behind her, his hand on her hip.
"I can walk up the stairs," she stage-whispered, batting his hand away.
"No, you can't." Wes pulled her back to him, making her shriek. He picked her up and pressed his mouth to hers to keep her quiet. "Where is your room?" he asked.
"Not that one. That's my brother's."
"Does he still live here? I thought Eric was married."
"My mom keeps his room exactly how he left it."
"This must be your room," Wes said as he opened the door she gestured to. "It's very teenage girl."
"Shut up!" she muttered.
"I've never seen so many stuffed animals in one place," he whispered and tossed her on the b
ed. One of the plush unicorns made a squeaky noise. Wes hopped on top of Liz, supporting his weight with his knees.
"Is that really the sound a unicorn makes?" he asked, tasting the tannic flavor of the red wine on her lips as he kissed her.
"It was an official Unicorn Club stuffed animal, so it must be real," she told him with a giggle.
Wes pressed against her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck while he pushed her skirt up and slid his fingers between her legs. "I wish I could feel your tits through this dress," he groaned as the musky scent of her reached his nose.
"Don't rip my dress!" she gasped as his fingers stroked her. She was already wet, and Wes struggled to pull her panties down.
"Just put it in me!" she gasped. "You promised to fuck me with my panties on anyway." Her mouth was red stained, a stark contrast to her face in the moonlight coming through the window.
Doing as he was told, Wes pushed in her. She was hot and slick. He hadn't even taken his shoes off, and here he was, fucking her.
"This is so like a scene in Mad Men," she said.
"Are you kidding me!" he growled, finding a good rhythm.
"You know you jacked off to the secretary, Joan." She let out a low moan and arched into him as he angled himself to better let the length of his cock rub against her clit.
"Your tits are so much nicer than hers," he said, pulling her hips up. He pressed his mouth to hers, letting the half-panting, half-high-pitched moans ring against his tongue.
"I hope you parents aren't close to this side of the house because you're loud when you come," he told her, biting her lower lip.
A few moments later, he felt her come, and her teeth sank into his neck right under his jaw. The sensation sent him over the edge.
"Fuck," he said. Liz grinned and half-twisted herself to kiss the bite mark.
As he lay on Liz's small double bed, curled around her, Wes kissed her collarbone and luxuriated in the feel of her.
"Can I admit something to you?" she asked, snuggling next to him.
"What?" he whispered back, feeling slightly apprehensive.
"I always wanted to marry a Holbrook."
He grinned in the dark. "I guess this name is good for something after all." That nagging feeling in his belly returned. Wes knew that he was just pretending that this was real and that he wasn't about to ruin her.
43
Liz
Liz stayed over at Wes's apartment every night the next week.
"I want to spend all my time with you," she told him, running her fingertips across his brow line. "Especially since I'm off on business next week."
"Right, the conference," Wes replied. "Don't sleep with any good-looking salesmen while you're out on the road."
She ran her hands along his bare chest. "It's just a conference," she said. "You could come."
"You know I hate those things." He grinned up at her. Wes had perfect teeth; he was like a model. She couldn't believe this man was hers.
"That's one of the few perks of being a billionaire. No conferences."
"Grant thinks the same way," Liz said. "I guess you guys can have a boys' night and booze it up."
"I have robots that need tending to," Wes said and stood up. She watched his very impressive backside as he walked into the bathroom, then she turned on the news to listen to as she dressed. When she heard Wes's name mentioned, she turned up the TV.
Wes came back into the bedroom, and they both paused to watch the screen. Wes swore when his father's face showed up.
"It looks like the men's rights groups have taken the story and run with it," Liz said. "I had hoped it would be a small story, but I guess Kate's father is pushing the story as much as he can."
"I can't believe him," Wes said. His mouth was pressed in a tight line.
"It will be okay," she told Wes as she watched him button up his crisp white shirt. "We'll think of something." Liz wasn't sure what though.
Kate didn't have any ideas when Liz sat next to her on the private plane en route to Austin for the technology conference.
"It's not your problem," Kate said. "Don't worry about it. You have to prepare for your presentation. Plus I just emailed you an updated list of companies Grant wants you to scope out. Holbrook Enterprises may want to buy a few."
"Good. That will give her something to focus on besides Wes," Allie said. "You spend too much energy on him."
"I don't spend all my time with him!" Liz said.
"You practically lived at his apartment all last week," Allie replied, sitting down next to them and pouring a sparkling water into her cup.
"Are you keeping tabs on me?"
"Just looking out for you. Something's off about Wes," Allie told her.
"You are paranoid and crazy. You just don't want me to be happy," Liz said.
"You seem really into him, but we hardly know him."
"I ran a background check on him," Kate said. "He seems clean."
"I just—I can't even." Liz could barely form the words. How come her friends were so against Wes? "There's nothing wrong with him. He's perfect!" she cried.
"He's too good to be true," Allie said, ignoring Liz. "Someone that squeaky clean has to be hiding something."
"You better believe my father will find out what it is," Kate said, glowering.
"Why can't you be happy for me?" Liz yelled. "You all landed perfect men, and now you're being negative. You all moved so fast. I was there."
"We weren't already planning the wedding a few weeks in," Allie said. "Carter and I still aren't engaged, and I'm fine with that."
"Kate, you and Grant were married within like a year and a half of meeting each other," Liz said to her friend.
"I think we should have taken it a little slower in hindsight," Kate said. "Not that I don't love him. But we do spend an awful lot of time together. I just think you should slow down with Wes is all."
"Stop being so condescending!"
"Grant thinks Wes should be more heavily scrutinized before we all forgive and forget," Kate said, ignoring Liz's outburst.
"Rhonda is taking it slow with Mark. She and I had drinks the other night," Allie continued.
"Did you now?" Liz asked. "There's someone who needs more scrutiny."
"You know," Kate said, "Rhonda was thinking we should plan a big extended-family retreat. Maybe right after Christmas? She suggested a ski resort."
"Sounds fun," Allie said. Liz thought it was weird that Rhonda had ingratiated herself into Kate's social circle. But she knew Kate would only brush her off if she pressed the issue.
"Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, toasty fires," Allis continued, "count me in."
"You think you can convince Wes to come? Maybe he can bring his sister?" Kate asked Liz.
"I'll ask him," Liz said.
She was going to call Wes once they landed, but they were immediately whisked away into the chaos of the conference, and Liz didn't have a chance to talk to him.
After checking into their hotel, Liz hopped from meeting to presentation to panel discussion. There were thousands of technology startup companies represented at the SouthTech conference. She barely slept that night then was up early for a breakfast meeting and more lectures.
"Mark! Hey!" Liz said as she saw Mark walking down the hallway after one of the lecture halls emptied out. "I thought you would be with Wes and Grant, lording your billions over the peons."
Mark laughed. "My company is scaling up pretty quickly. I don't suppose you know of anyone who wants to join a startup?"
"As a matter of fact," Liz said, thinking of the laid-off Walsh employees, "I know some people who might need a job."
"I'm really here hoping to poach people. I can't wait for Finn to get out of the military. I really need his help. There's so much interest in the underwater drones, and he's a sailor, so he can speak to the product better than I can. His designs are crazy intense."
"I'll send you a list later of who I have. I'm off to the startup demos," she said. "I
don't want to be late."
"Same," Mark said. "I'll sit with you."
Holbrook Enterprises was sponsoring the startup demo event. Liz was always on the lookout for promising companies, and she enjoyed watching the pitch presentations. It was good to see what the new ideas were.
After listening to a number of companies pitch, Liz presented the prize to Vision Tech, a startup of young women who had found a way to hijack the feed of a weaponized drone and mirror it to another.
Grant's message came before she even had a chance to call him and tell him they needed those women on their team.
I would tell you to purchase that company
But I know you're already on it
After setting up a time to go to the West Coast to visit the girls at their workshop, Liz went to meet with people from Stanford when the event was over.
After chitchatting with several of her old classmates, Liz ended up next to Liam Svensson. She had been at Stanford with the tall, broad-shouldered blond man and had always found him personable.
"I guess I should have worked harder to win you," he sighed dramatically. "Now you're with one of the Holbrooks."
Liz giggled. "Sorry!" She took a sip of her drink. "I guess I shouldn't be talking to you. Isn't there some feud between your brother and the Holbrooks?"
Liam rolled his eyes and drained the rest of his glass. "Ah, the feud. Like we don't have enough problems."
"Sorry about snatching Walsh Systech from you all. I know your company invested in it."
"That was my brother's investment firm," Liam corrected. "I own my own company, Platinum Provisions, with Jack Frost. You remember him."
"Oh, right, your crabby but good-looking roommate. Sounds like fun," Liz said. On a hunch, she mentioned casually, "Have you been following the whole scandal with Wes's father and Harrington Thurlow? They're really stirring up a ton of trouble for Holbrook. I just need to know any information that could help me shut them down." She waited a moment, hoping she wasn't asking too much. The waiter brought Liam another drink.
"Harrington Thurlow is not to be messed with," Liam said with a grimaced. "I went on one date with one of the Harrington girls. Still have nightmares."