by Alexis Anne
She didn’t know she was playing with fire.
I thought Ashley knew Jake in a way I couldn’t.
I was wrong.
I did know that side of Jake, I just knew it from a completely different side. Ashley knew it from the side of controller.
I knew it from Jake’s side.
She only thought she knew him. And Jake only wished I didn’t know that part of him.
But I did.
I always knew that part of him. It was one of the most beautiful gifts of being in love with your soul mate: I didn’t need to know every sordid detail, I didn’t need to have lived the same life, or experienced the same pain. All I needed was to know Jake.
And I knew him better than anyone else.
I knew who Jake was the night we met. I looked into those expressive green eyes of his and saw all of him. The man I saw that night was the same man sleeping in our bed with my wedding ring on his finger. His heart and mine were the same. I felt his pain and doubt just as strongly as I felt my own.
I knew exactly how to deal with the demons in Jake’s life. Ashley had made a grave mistake in assuming I wouldn’t understand. The truth was, I understood her all too well.
I was going to annihilate her.
“Greg, I need your help.”
Chapter 30
-Jake-
The moment I stepped foot into the office I knew something was wrong. There was a weird vibration to the air and Lisa didn’t meet my eyes, let alone smile.
“Good morning, Jake.”
“Morning, Lisa. What gives?”
She smiled tightly, but still didn’t quite look at me. “Greg is in a closed door meeting with Ashley.”
My eyebrows shot up, “Already? Is something wrong?”
She shrugged her shoulders slowly, “I’m not sure, but Greg was in one of his moods this morning.”
“Good mood or bad mood?”
“We called him Hurricane Greg.”
Bad mood. Really bad mood. “How long have they been in there?”
She fiddled with the papers beside her keyboard before answering, “About thirty minutes. And…”
“And?” I asked expectantly.
“And he said to have you wait in your office.”
I stalked right past her reception desk on a collision course with Greg’s office door.
“Jake! No, he really doesn’t want you in there!”
I ignored her, of course, and shoved the door open. Greg was leaned back in his chair with a devilish grin on his face and Ashley was sitting across from him with a completely blank expression on hers. “What’s up guys? I’m sorry I’m late.”
“Shut the fucking door if you insist on barging in.”
I slammed the door shut and stood where I was with my arms crossed over my chest.
Ashley swung her gaze over to me and that was when I realized her blank look was deceiving. Her eyes were blazing. She was pissed.
“The deal with Steele Industries is falling through,” Greg explained.
Whoa… Of all the things I expected to walk into, that wasn’t it. “What happened? Why now?”
“Sugar Plum Fairy here made them jittery when she cancelled the meeting yesterday.”
“You? You cancelled the meeting? You told me it was them.”
The color drained from her face a little but she stayed silent. Greg continued, “They pulled the offer for Ashley to come work with them. They want to buy-out both of you outright, or they are walking.”
You could have heard a pin drop in that office. “And you don’t want to sell your stake, still.” It was a statement. I knew the answer.
“If you changed your mind, I’m sure they’d reconsider. I made a stupid mistake letting my own issues get in the way of business, but at the end of the day, Steele wants our design and they want both of us on their team. I’m sure if you reconsider, we can still make this happen.”
Ashley looked so stupidly earnest and Greg was grinning like a fool. He knew my answer was no. She should know my answer was no.
“Ash, I’m a partner in this firm. I have no interest in going to work for someone else, no matter what kind of innovative work they are doing. I like my life here. This is what I want.”
She smiled up at me wanely. “I know, but it was worth a shot. Is there anything I can do to sway you? We make a great team. Who knows what we might invent next?”
“I don’t care. I like my work, but I love my life. I love my wife.” I want to have a family and watch my kids grow up.
The thought hit me like a lightning bolt from the sky. It was a revelation at the oddest of times, but even as the idea surged through my veins, I knew without a shadow of a doubt it was what I wanted.
She stood up and smoothed her skirt before tossing her red hair back over her shoulder. “Well, then it seems I have some thinking to do. And some phone calls to make.”
The moment she was gone, I pushed the door closed again and took the chair she’d just vacated across from Greg. “What really happened?”
Greg’s face didn’t give anything away. He was a master poker player and his skills extended well beyond the game. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I was just as surprised as both of you when the phone call came in this morning.”
“You had nothing to do with this?”
“Do with what?” he asked with a silly grin, floating his hands through the air like birds wings.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Greg may not have been the reason Steele pulled the offer at the last minute, but he sure helped push. I might not be able to read his poker face, but I knew the look of mischief and pride. Greg had both right now.
“Hopefully she finds another deal fast. I don’t want her sticking around any longer.”
“She won’t find one she likes,” he smirked.
“What do you mean? What did you do?”
“She’s just getting what was coming to her. She had the upper hand on a fantastic opportunity and she blew it because she was greedy. She wanted more. The money and the job offer weren’t enough—she wanted you, too. All I’ve done is answer some questions in a brutally honest way. It isn’t my fault Steele took that as a sign Ashley might not be the employee they were looking for. It is also not my fault I passed that same information along to quite a few of my contacts.”
I knew I should care that a huge deal just went bust along with a helluva a lot of money, but I didn’t. Ashley would either find another deal, or she’d cave and sell just like me. It would work itself out. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
“Let me know when you decide.”
***
“I’ve been blackballed.” Ashley hissed as she stepped into my office.
“Please, come in.” I said dryly. I’d expected her to show up at some point, not that I was looking forward to it. I wanted her to pack up all of her things and disappear.
“The only companies interested in the proposal are out west or out of the country.”
“And that displeases you?” Of course it displeased her. She wanted the cushy job at Steele. A job that would have at least kept her in the same circles with me.
“I wasn’t planning to move to San Diego, but I guess I’ll see what happens.”
“You could always sell. It should be enough to get you out of whatever situation you’re in.”
She looked me up and down, “It would, but then what? I’m looking for a long term solution, not another Band-Aid. You know this isn’t going to end for me. Besides, I’d go mad sitting on my thumbs without a job. Unlike you… what happened to you Jake? She made you soft.”
“No,” I replied calmly. “She gave me a life. It’s something you may want to try, actually.”
“Work is my life. It used to be yours. You have so much potential and you’re just wasting it here.”
I sat back in my chair and studied her. She made me sad, there was so little to her life other than work and getting to the next prize. “I guess it depend
s on how you define potential. But you’re right, I do have a lot of it. The projects we take on here are important and they matter to the people here in our community. And I have a helluva a lot of other potential in my life.”
“You’ve got adoring husband covered.”
“Thank you.”
She smirked, “You really don’t care what happens, do you?”
I shook my head. “Not in the slightest. The past is in the past and my life isn’t about work, Ash. I keep telling you that.”
She stood back up and moved toward my office door. “I understand, I just never thought you’d throw me under the bus.” And with that dramatic statement, she left.
Chapter 31
~Eve~
I was just finishing up my day: shutting down my computer, making sure my files were straight, and reviewing my calendar for next week when my intercom buzzed.
“Yes?”
“We have an Ashley Grove here at the front. She isn’t on your list. Should we let her in?”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Team Blackball” (also known as Greg and Andrew) had worked fast, but I was still surprised Ashley had figured it out so quickly. “Yes, I’ll be right up.”
My adrenaline started pumping, surging through my veins and pounding in my temples. Greg said everything went perfectly on his end, and Andrew had gotten me the documents in record time. My entire plan was coming together exactly the way I wanted it to, but a little flicker of doubt kept flaring to life.
I was doing all of this behind Jake’s back. Jake, who liked to be in control. I was essentially lying to my husband. While my plan felt so right, lying to Jake felt so wrong.
The offices were thinning out quickly, everyone eager to get to their weekend plans, so the halls were quiet as I made my way up front.
John, the security guard, was standing beside Ashley who was wearing a fresh visitor badge. She smiled tightly, “Thank you for seeing me.”
“Of course. John, we’ll be a few minutes in my office.”
I waved for her to follow me. The walk back to my office was eerily quiet. I could feel her eyes watching me, studying my every move.
“Please, take a seat,” I said as I closed the door.
She ignored me and stayed on her feet. “You’ve had me blackballed?”
I stopped only a couple of feet away from her and leaned in so I could speak as infuriatingly calmly as I wanted. “I told you not to cross my line. I warned you as plainly as I could what the consequences would be.”
Her green eyes were on fire with an unchecked rage. The mask of Miss Sweet and Delicate was gone.
“You are insane, you know that? Who acts like this?”
I smiled at her sweetly, trying desperately to keep my own boiling anger from rising to the surface. “I do. My threats are never empty.”
Her eyebrows shot up with surprise, “So, you are admitting to being insane? That’s a new one.”
I made my way around my desk.
Standing with the window at my back, I took a deep breath and explained as simply as I could. “Ashley, I told you then and I’ll tell you again now… I protect the ones I love. That means doing whatever is necessary to keep them safe. I’d move heaven and earth for that man. If you want to call that insanity, then I’d love to be crazy.”
“A simple conversation between Jake and I lead you to behave like this?” She sounded like she really thought I was crazy. Maybe I was. But I didn’t know any other way to love Jake.
“Your simple conversation was actually very eye-opening for me. You showed your hand and I learned exactly who you are.” I picked up the giant envelope sitting on my desk and tossed it at her like a Frisbee.
She caught it between her palms, her head jerking back and away. “What is this?” she asked, looking at it with disdain.
“You are done with Jake. You will sell The Nugget to the highest bidder and find a job somewhere other than the States. You will keep your phone calls and emails to business only until the deal closes, and then poof,” I popped open all my fingers and swirled my hands in circle, “You will disappear.”
“You can’t defame and blackball me.”
“I’m not doing anything illegal… yet. For some reason, every company on the Eastern seaboard called Greg last night wanting job references for you. I can’t help that he told them what you were like to your partners and coworkers. I can’t help that he told them how you blew off an incredibly important business meeting to manipulate a former lover. None of that has anything to do with me.”
She gazed at me through her lashes, one eyebrow arched as if she were bored with watching the crazy lady. “You think scaring off my job prospects will be enough to keep me from doing what I want?”
I finally sat down in my chair and leaned back, my eyes fixed squarely on hers the entire time. “I know that isn’t enough for someone like you. People like you don’t mind watching from the sidelines and waiting for a moment of weakness. Trust me; I know exactly how people like you work, Ashley. Open the envelope.”
She flipped open the flap and pulled out the stack of papers and photographs. She blushed from her forehead to the first button of her blouse. She riffled through page after page and I waited, giving her several moments to absorb what she was looking at, to panic. “Did Jake tell you about this?”
“No. He’s a good guy. He doesn’t tell secrets.”
She stared at the documents and photographs in her hands. Ashley was clearly in shock and I should have felt like a horrible person, but somehow, I couldn’t muster the energy. “You are the one who kept insisting that you were the only one who could know Jake’s dark side. All I had to do was find out what your dark side was.”
Unfortunately for me, Jake was right. Now that I knew Ashley had killed her own father to stop him from killing her mother, who then went and killed herself in front of Ashley anyway… I couldn’t unsee the news articles and pictures Andrew had dug up. In a perfect world, I would have been much happier not knowing the details of Ashley’s past.
But she hadn’t taken no for an answer. She’d kept pushing the limits on a happily married man. I needed to know what I was working with if I was going to properly protect my marriage. I was trying very hard to not second-guess my decision.
Ashley finally looked up. Her hands were clenched around the papers and I could feel the hate. “What is it you want exactly? To ruin my life?”
“I don’t want to ruin you, Ashley.” I meant that. I may have gone lower than I’d ever gone in my life and just done something I may very well regret, but I didn’t want to ruin another woman. “I just want us all to be on the same page. You seem to think you know Jake and me better than we know ourselves. And now, I know you, too. All the cards are on the table—no more secrets, no more lies.” I leaned forward, “So this time, when I tell you to leave Jake alone, you really hear me.”
She stared at me for a long time with those papers in her hands. Digging up Ashley’s past, finding out all her dark secrets, and why she was so screwed up, had been a calculated risk.
“And if I’m a good girl this all stays between us?”
I nodded slowly. “You stay away from Jake and I won’t breathe a word to anyone. But if I find out that one email or phone call was initiated by you without coming to me first, I will take that as your permission to take the gloves off.” I smiled sweetly, “Fuck with my family again and you’ll see what I can really do.”
Ashley jammed the papers in the envelope and threw it back at me. “Fine. You have a deal.” She was to the door before I could even stand up. “You won’t hear from me again.”
I was a strange mix of excited and miserable as I walked Ashley out of the building. I had her out of Jake’s life, which was the most important thing to me, but I’d gone so low to do it.
I’d never thought of myself as someone who could so easily hurt someone else. This was going to take some time to get over.
I texted Greg as soon as I was back in my office, let
ting him know the final phase of my plan had been successful, then called my husband.
As the phone rang I felt giddy. It was like a huge weight had just been lifted off of our lives. I could float home on a cloud of my own excitement and worry about the consequences later.
“Hey darlin’,” Jake’s familiar drawl made my already pounding heart skip a beat.
“I’m just about to head home. Need anything?”
The line was quiet for a minute and I heard rustling. “Actually, I just got home from the grocery store. I was wondering if you were up for a surprise getaway this weekend?”
“Ummmm… ya. A weekend away with you sounds just about right. You must be reading my mind.”
He chuckled, “You haven’t heard my plan yet.”
I didn’t care what his plan was. It involved him.
I opened my drawer and yanked out my purse, frantically glancing around to make sure I had everything I needed before I left. “What is your plan, oh wise one?”
“I traded Andrew for the weekend, I’m sorry I didn’t ask first.”
“I really wish you’d warn me before you traded me to another man!” I teased back.
He groaned. “Hardly. He and Jennie were thinking of fishing anyway, so they were happy to have your boat instead.”
“A weekend on the sailboat? Sounds… awesome.”
“Agreed. So, we are stocked with food and drink, now I just need your fine ass to pack a bikini and we are out of here.”
“I’m unlocking my car right now. Be home soon.”
“Love you, darlin’. Drive safe.”
“I will.” I assured him as I tossed my bag into the passenger seat and started the engine.
Chapter 32
-Jake-
Ten Weeks Later…
“Whatcha doing’ under there cowboy?” Eve sounded playful but all I could see were her feet. I was under the Beast, changing her oil.
“Game over?”
“We won.” She crouched down, bending her head so she could see me better.