by Alina Jacobs
While they ate, Jack tried to make conversation.
"I heard your grandfather has a new…"
"Sugar baby?" Carter said and made a face. "And you think I have bad taste."
"Do you know the girl?"
"No," Carter lied. He didn't want to tell his father that it was Allie's friend Stacy, not when his father seemed as if he was finally starting to warm up to Allie. Not that it mattered at all since Allie seemed mad at Carter.
Allie and Carter ignored each other on the car ride back into the city, and at work that Monday, she was all business.
"I hope you brought some computer glasses," she told him when they arrived at the office. "These files are waiting for you."
"What am I looking for? Is this really necessary?"
"Yes, it is," she said sharply. "Look for any anomalies, anything out of the ordinary."
Carter sighed and put in his headphones. He opened the first file.
"This sucks," he muttered to himself. He let a techno remix start playing as he slowly went through the file.
As he worked, he timed how long it took him to go through ten pages. Backing out the calculation, he estimated it would take him the next month to look at all the files on the server, working evenings and weekends.
Groaning, Carter thumped his head down on his desk. "I can't do this."
"This is your job," Allie said.
"I need help."
"Liz and I have our own work. Stop thinking, and just do it. Sometimes you have to brute-force your way through."
For the next few weeks, Carter went through documents fourteen hours a day. While eating lunch at his desk one weekend, he was scanning through documents of invoices and noticed something.
"Huh," he said, "that's weird."
Allie stopped what she was doing and peered over his shoulder.
"This invoice for a drone part," he told her. "I remember seeing it because the name sounded like a comic book character." He flipped through his notes and looked back at the other documents mentioning that same product. He did a search through the pdfs and found several other invoices for the same part, for the same amounts. A quick Google search turned up nothing for the product.
"This isn't even a real product," he said.
"Classic case of embezzlement," Allie said. "Gather all your notes together, and keep an eye out for other suspicious invoices or charges."
"Who straight up embezzles when the company has defense contracts?" Carter said. "That’s a sure way of being blacklisted."
Allie nodded. "We need to report this immediately. We don't want this to affect Holbrook's ability to qualify for federal contracts."
"Trent has to be the one doing this," Carter said.
Carter spent the rest of the weekend gathering evidence. He and Allie reported their findings to Grant that Monday.
"I'll put the lawyers on it," he said when they finished. "You will probably have to help them build the case, Carter."
It didn't take long. Carter helped the lawyers compile documents, and a few days later, Grant gave them the news that Trent had been fired.
"Problem solved. Nice work!" Grant said when he visited Carter, Allie, and Liz on their floor. "Come on, you three. I'm taking you out."
"You guys saved us from an unimaginable amount of hurt," Walter told them. He was already seated at the nice restaurant Grant had taken them to.
"It was all Carter," Allie told him as she looked over the menu.
"Really?" Walter and Grant seemed surprised.
Carter grinned happily in spite of himself. "I just did what I was told."
"You could have just phoned it in and pretended to look at the documents or lied about it. I wouldn't have known the difference," Allie replied.
"You shouldn't be handed a cookie just for doing your job," Carter said.
"Well, still, Carter, you should be proud," Allie said.
"At least you're one less family member I have to worry about now," Walter said after they placed their orders.
"Is Grandpa causing trouble? I thought he would be too preoccupied with his new sugar baby to be a problem."
"Your grandfather has a sugar baby?" Liz asked, looking horrified between Grant and Carter.
"It’s the least bad option," Walter said and loosened his collar. "It keeps him occupied."
"My grandfather plays golf and volunteers at the hospice," Liz said.
"Yeah, I can't imagine Harris doing any of that," Walter said and took a generous sip of his drink when the waiter brought it over.
"I have to run, unfortunately," Grant said, standing up after he finished his meal. "I'm flying out tonight."
"Again? You've barely been here."
"I'll be back more starting next week."
"Have you even seen your dog?" Carter asked.
"The dog walker brought him by to say hello," Grant replied as he checked his phone. "Allie's been taking good care of him."
"About that," she said. "I'm moving out soon. With the settlement from the hotel fiasco, I was able to find a place to rent."
"You did?" Carter said.
"It’s a studio. Clean and small but cozy…"
As she talked about the new apartment, Carter's food turned to rocks in his stomach, and his good mood evaporated.
Did Allie really not want to be with him?
43
Allie
Carter seemed hurt when she said she was moving out. But what could she do? His family wouldn't let her live in the penthouse indefinitely.
Her phone buzzed as she sorted through her belongings.
She swiped on the screen. It was another threatening message from Bryce. She had been receiving several an hour since his brother, Trent, had been fired.
I know it was you and that Holbrook who cost my brother his job
No one will hire him now, and now I won't be hired there either
You will pay for what you did
You and that Holbrook
I'm watching you
I will make him pay
I will destroy him
Allie felt sick. She didn't want to go to the police, and she also didn't want to tell the Holbrooks. They might fire her too! Especially since she didn't say anything about Bryce's threats months before. She hoped that Bryce was just angry. Maybe he would go drink and let off some steam then be fine. Besides, there was no way for Bryce and Trent to hurt Carter. He didn't even go out to clubs much anymore.
She tried to calm herself down as she packed up her meager possessions, then she checked and double-checked her spreadsheet.
Moving to a new apartment was pricier in New York City than it was in North Carolina. It was even more expensive because she didn't want roommates, not after Arnold. The settlement was enough that she had decided to splurge. She found a three-hundred-square-foot apartment for a thousand dollars a month.
It's only for the rest of the summer, she promised herself, then I'm out of here.
But what about Carter?
He will probably break up with you by then. That was what Brandy had said, right? Allie didn't belong in Carter's world. She was just acting out some fantasy. As soon as Carter got over the thrill of being with an edgy outsider, he would realize that she wasn't like Liz or Kate or his mother or Ginny or any of the well-heeled women from his upscale town.
"Do you have furniture?" Carter asked as he picked up her boxes and stacked them in the hall by the door.
"I'll have to buy some."
"Take one of the beds here, at least," he told her.
He looked concerned, she thought. He was clearly unhappy that she was leaving.
"I'm not stealing your family's furniture," she said.
Carter tapped out a message on his phone. It beeped, and he stuck the screen in her face.
"See?" he asked. "Uncle Walter says you can take a bed and some sheets. He's going to have this place redone later this year, so just take a whole bedroom set."
"I don't have room for a bedroom set,
" she replied. "It’s a tiny apartment. I was thinking of just buying a fold-out couch and sleeping on that. They're so much money, though…"
The doorbell rang, and Carter opened the door for the movers and directed them to take a bed, a chair, and a small table.
"And take this bookshelf. It's small, and you need storage," he told her when she started to protest. "That should do it."
"Thank you," she said and gave him a kiss. "With my old apartment, Stacy and I just furnished it with castoffs and things we found by the side of the road. I don't want to make a big investment, though, since I don't want to have to move it with me when I leave."
Carter looked at her strangely. "You're planning on leaving… what, the city? The state?"
"Carter—" She felt terrible about the bitter look on his face.
"You know," he said, running his hands through his hair, "you almost had me fooled. I thought we had something, but it never meant anything to you, did it?"
"That's not true," she said. "I just meant—"
"Whatever," he said. "The car's waiting for you. I'll see you at work."
He slammed the door in her face.
"This was bound to happen sooner or later," Allie said to herself in the elevator, blinking back tears. "Brandy was right after all."
44
Carter
Carter sagged against the wall after Allie left. Margot and Gus came over to him and nuzzled against his legs. He petted them numbly.
So she was leaving. It was true—he had never actually meant anything to her. His father was right all along.
Trying to shake off his disappointment and heartache, he texted his mother.
Do you want to get dinner?
Her reply came after a few minutes.
I'm in New Cardiff
Hosting Brandy's bridal tea tomorrow
Why don't you come by?
What the hell was a bridal tea?
Okay I'll come in the morning.
As soon as he sent the text, he thought better of it. Allie would surely be there. He didn't know if he could face seeing her. His phone buzzed again.
Your grandfather wants to see you
I told him you would go to dinner with him
"Not like I have anything better to do," Carter said and changed his clothes. Then he walked the three blocks over to Harris's building.
"All ready for dinner?" Stacy giggled as she greeted him at the door.
"Uh…" Carter walked in and let the door shut behind him. "Is my grandfather around?"
"Harris is down working out in the building gym," she said, tossing her hair. "You and I can have some time alone." Alarm bells went off in his head.
"I'll just wait downstairs for him," he said.
"Nonsense," Stacy told him and let her robe fall to the floor. She posed seductively, showing off the tiniest string lingerie Carter had ever seen. The top barely contained her ample cleavage.
He could never imagine Allie wearing anything like that, though he really wanted her to.
Stacy mistook his shock for desire, and she sidled up to him and rubbed herself over him.
"I really don't think I should be here," Carter said, starting to sweat.
"Why?" Stacy said. "You and Allie are dead in the water, aren't you?" She reached for his pants.
"What? How did you know that?"
"I have eyes everywhere," she said, then she slowly eased her hand into his pants.
"Eyes everywhere?" People were watching him? How? His thoughts were cut short as he felt her tongue lick his lips and her hand grasp his crotch.
"Whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed, pushing her away.
She fluttered her fake eyelashes at him.
"This?" he said, gesturing. "This is not happening. Ever."
He buttoned his pants back up and tried to exit. It took him a few tries to pull the door open. He was hampered by Stacy's rubbing up against him. Once he was through the door, he half ran down the hallway and almost bumped into his grandfather.
"There you are. I need to shower and change. Just wait inside for me."
"No, thanks. I'll wait out here," Carter replied.
"Suit yourself," Harris said with a shrug.
Carter waited downstairs in the fancy restaurant on the ground floor of his grandfather's building. He had a drink then another one. Where was Harris? Carter hoped he hadn't had a stroke. He was sure his family would find some way to blame it on him, he thought bitterly.
"Sorry I'm late, my boy!" his grandfather said, taking a seat across from him. "That Stacy is a tiger!" Harris made a clawing motion. "You should have seen how she was dressed! I just couldn't say no!"
"I saw," Carter muttered.
"What was that?"
"Do you want a drink?" Carter asked, pushing the cocktail he had ordered for his grandfather within arm's reach.
"After that explosive session, I'd say so! Those working-class girls, they sure give you a run for your money," Harris said and took a drink. "But I don't have to tell you that." He laughed loudly, and several people looked over at them. Carter sank lower in his seat.
"You know what it's like," Harris said, winking at him.
"Gross, Granddad," Carter said.
He tried to tune out Harris's very detailed descriptions of all the ways Stacy made him feel like a thirty-year-old again and picked at his food while Harris ate an entire steak and a heaping pile of onion rings.
After dinner, instead of going home, Carter went out to a bar. He was already good and drunk from his dinner with his grandfather, but Carter's goal tonight was to black out and forget his problems.
He checked his restaurant-recommendation app and saw a new bar had opened up a few blocks away.
When he walked into the dimly lit bar and sat down, he half expected Allie to be behind the counter, pouring drinks.
She wasn't, of course, but another familiar face was there.
"Well, well, look who it is."
"Vance," Carter said carefully.
"I heard about your little good deed," Vance said, sitting down next to Carter. "Ferreting out embezzlers, having people fired on a whim. You're turning into a proper scion, aren't you?"
"Go away," Carter said and ordered five fingers of whisky.
"I'm a paying customer," Vance hissed.
The bartender handed Carter the glass along with a judgmental look, and Carter inspected the antique crystal then took a sip, ignoring Vance.
"You think you're so special and so much better than everyone else," Vance told him. "You don't know how to treat people. You're going to be sorry."
"Whatever."
The bartender swiped Carter's card, and he downed the rest of his drink and stood up.
"Watch your back," Vance said after him.
A tabloid reporter snapped a photo of Carter as he left the bar. There were several of them, and as he turned to look over his shoulder through the closing door, Vance was smirking.
"Can we have a comment about the part you played in the firing of Trent Tanner?"
"No comment," Carter said.
"What about your relationship with Allie Larson? Are the rumors true that you two are no longer a couple?"
Carter turned to face the camera and said, "Yes, it's true. We are no longer together." Then he shoved his way through the throng.
He went back to the penthouse and tore off his jacket as soon as he stepped inside. He walked over to the liquor cabinet and pulled out all the different spirits and poured a shot of each. After organizing them in a line from darkest to lightest, he downed them all one after the other then passed out on the couch.
In the middle of the night, Carter jolted awake with a pounding headache. He barely made it to the kitchen sink then puked up his dinner. The dogs whined at his feet, and he slumped on the floor and rested his head against the cool cabinets.
45
Allie
In her new apartment, Allie unpacked boxes while fielding calls and texts about the bridal tea for Brandy the n
ext day.
She had the TV on for noise while she worked, but she stopped in the middle of making her bed when she heard Carter's name mentioned. She turned up the TV. The reporter was asking Carter if he and Allie were still together.
"We are no longer together."
Reeling, Allie sat down on the edge of the bed. Was he serious? Just because she moved to her own apartment and was not actively fawning over him?
"I do not have the energy for this right now," she muttered, turning off the TV.
Between the stress of the bridal tea and Carter's complete dismissal of her, she could barely sleep that night. She was groggy and irritable early the next morning as she and Liz rode to New Cardiff together.
"Carter's not coming, I guess," Liz asked carefully.
"Nope."
"I saw the news. What happened?"
"Nothing, just…" Allie shrugged. "I don't think he and I were ever meant to work out."
When they pulled up in front of the Holbrook estate, Allie tried to look pleasant.
At least you don't have to deal with Carter, she reminded herself. On their way to the estate, she and Liz had stopped to buy several large plants and some nice pots, and now Nancy buzzed around as Allie and Liz unloaded the car.
"Need some help?" Allie froze at the familiar male voice.
"Carter!" his mother exclaimed.
"I’m always up for some manual labor," he said, picking up two of the heavy pots with ease, the muscles on his chest and back rippling under his T-shirt.
Allie gulped and tried not to stare. He had on a pair of dark sunglasses, and she couldn't read his expression. She decided that ignoring him was the way to go.
"I hope you all have a ton of alcohol," Carter said.
"Allie's making a cherry blossom cocktail like the one we had at that Japanese restaurant. That seems like something nice to serve at a bridal tea," Nancy said as she and the girls followed Carter into the house.
"I would say I'm sorry I'm not invited, but Brandy gives me a headache."
"It gives me an excuse to try out some new desserts," Nancy said as they walked up the three flights of stairs to the ballroom. "You know I like to bake. Plus that French café is catering the savory menu, just some small bites."