The Sunday Arrangement
Page 24
Soon there was a knock at my door. When I opened it, I was met by a tired and pajama-wearing Pierce. I let him in.
“What’s so important that we couldn’t talk about it over the phone or in the morning?”
Out of pure impulse I kissed him. He looked at me with surprise. “What was that for?”
“I felt like it,” I said. “Listen, I just got back from seeing my mother.”
He yawned. “And you woke me up to tell me that?”
“No, I want to tell you that I’m in. It’s time our fathers paid for what they did.”
Before Pierce could react to my news, there was a knock at my door. I frowned, looking toward the entrance. Only a handful of people knew I lived here, and none of them would be stopping by at this time of night. I went to the door and looked through the peephole. There was no one there. I opened the door and looked down the hall. It was as empty as my father’s soul.
I then glanced at the floral carpet; in front of my door was a manila envelope. I picked it up and brought it inside. Opening the envelope, I pulled out a DVD. I looked at Pierce, confused, and he took it from me.
“Did you have our sex tape delivered?” I joked. “You promised me an edited version, remember?”
He kissed the top of my forehead. “I did, didn’t I? Well, I was going to surprise you because I just finished editing it. And I must say, you look fantastic in the whole thing.”
I beamed. “So is this it? I think we need some popcorn while we watch our fantasy fuck. Don’t you agree?”
“Actually, no. I have no idea what this is.” He put the mysterious disc in my entertainment system and turned it on.
April’s face, stunning as ever, appeared on the screen.
A chill sent goosebumps down my arms. What the hell could this possibly be?
She was smiling. “Hello, Lauren,” she said with disdain. “And my handsome love.”
I looked at Pierce, and he seemed just as confused as I was. What was this psycho going to do?
“I realize you two have been quite distracted with each other lately. Pierce, honey, I love you. I wanted you to be happy, so I let you sleep with her. Now, however, I think it is time for your little games to end.” She put a finger to her lip mimicking a contemplative thought. “You and I are going to move things to the next level. Say good-bye to your little Sunday delight.”
I looked at Pierce. “What is she talking about—”
“You see, Pierce,” the voice from the video continued. “I can see that you’re falling in love with her, and I can’t have that. That is why you and I will be married next month.”
He snorted. Unease rolled through me. What was she going to do to force him to comply?
“See, I was cleaning your apartment the other day, love, and I found the little sex videos you and she made.” Both videos appeared on the screen with her, and I covered my mouth with my hand. “Pretty interesting view, if I do say so myself,” she said. “I doubt you’ll object, my love, but in case you do . . . if you don’t agree to marry me, I have friends who will hack into the screens at Times Square and stream these movies for all to see. I can’t imagine what that will do to Lauren’s image, let alone your careers. Kiss that fuckin’ casino good-bye and any other project you’d want to oversee in the future. Call me when you’re ready to say yes, but don’t wait too long. You know I’m not a very patient girl.”
The screen went black, just as my world did.
I turned to him. “Pierce, what are we going to do?”
He frowned. “She can’t blackmail us like this. We’ll stop her.”
My hands started to shake as I watched him take out his cell phone. “What if she does this? Can you imagine? We’ll never work again. Our plan to thwart Hart Corp—none of it will be possible.” I crumbled to the floor. Now it occurred to me that the feelings I had been having of being watched were confirmed.
“I said I can fix this, Lauren,” Pierce snapped.
I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be that easy. April thought she was in love with him and would do anything to have him. She wouldn’t go down without a fight—I could tell that much from the look in her eyes. We had to get those videos back. We had to save our reputations. We had to do something. How were we ever going to recover from this?
“I’m going to make a few calls,” he said. “I suggest you start racking your brain for ideas about how we’re going to get those tapes.”
I wrapped my arms around myself as I lay fetal on the carpet. I knew if the investors found out about our affair, they’d pull out of the casino. But the thought of Pierce being married to April shook me to my core. In that moment, my feelings for him were ridiculously clear. I didn’t want a Sunday arrangement. I wanted a forever arrangement with the man who had awakened my sexual being, reviving life in me. No one would deprive me of that. I didn’t care what kind of proof she had.
~*~*~*~
A few hours later, I still hadn’t moved from the plush rug in the middle of Pierce’s living room. I was frozen, unable to move. I’d never experienced a silence so resoundingly loud. My mind screamed at the impossibility, yet it remained still in fear. Maybe if I just stayed put, everything would go back to the way it was. Maybe then our biggest threat would be overthrowing our malicious fathers and bringing this casino to life within the bustling city of Vegas. Maybe then we could go back to thinking of every Sunday’s new exploits and fantastical adventures.
I heard Pierce walking toward me. He’d been on the phone for the last two hours. He sank into the sofa and stared at me. Distress was plainly etched across his handsome face.
“What now?” I whispered.
He sighed loudly, shaking his head in disbelief. “That bitch is a fucking psycho. Who does this kind of thing?”
“Does it really matter?” I asked. “It’s happened.”
“I guess so. But for Christ’s sake, marry her? There’s no way in hell. I’d rather part with my millions than take her for a wife.”
“If only she was so easily bribed.”
Pierce leaned over and gingerly stroked my back.
“What are we going to do, Pierce? This will ruin us. I mean, we knew that when we made the video. . . . God, why was I so stupid!”
Pierce cozied up to me on the floor. His arms hugged me like a warm blanket. He waited several moments before he finally spoke. “I think we need to stop seeing each other for a while.”
I stiffened. His words hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like I was suffocating, like the walls around me were truly closing in. “You can’t be . . . you can’t be . . .”
He squeezed my arm. “I don’t want to, but I’m saying it. We need to take some time apart while we figure this whole thing out. We need to start playing this smart, and playing out a fantasy every weekend while this is looming over us doesn’t seem very wise.”
“Who were you just talking to?” I quickly changed the subject.
“Lawyers,” he said. “Gotta tell you, Lauren. Our future . . . it’s looking pretty bleak.”
The way he said “our” made my ears perk up. Did he mean together or separate? Did we even stand the chance of a future now? I didn’t dare hope.
“And this is just occurring to you?” I asked.
“I was hoping there’d be something my lawyers could say, something I hadn’t thought of. They’re not sure there’s anything to be done.”
“But there has to be!” I said, slapping my hand against the hardwood floor and moving out of his reach. “I’ve worked too damn hard to be ruined for having a little harmless fun.”
“You and I both knew what we were risking when we made that video. We knew the power it could wield over us if it ever got into the wrong hands.”
I drew my legs close to my chest and rested my chin on my knee. “I just can’t believe this is happening.”
“We’ll figure something out. We have to,” Pierce said, suddenly standing up from the ground. “If it’s the last thing I do, I swear I’m going
to hunt that bitch down and ruin her.”
Slowly I stood up, my body weary from the emotional turmoil of the day. “I think you need to go now,” I said softly, though no part of me wanted him to go home. I didn’t want to face this alone. I needed Pierce with me, now more than ever.
“You know I don’t want to . . .” His words hung in the air like the dark sky looming over us.
“If we’re to bear this apart, we might as well begin trying. Right?” I said, forcing myself to sound more confident than I felt. I gave him a weak smile.
He walked to the door. Before he opened it, he pulled me close. I could feel the strong beat of his heart. I didn’t want him to leave. Not when we were finally becoming close. Not when things were getting real between us. It felt like we were being separated by forces beyond our control, and I didn’t like feeling out of control. How were we going to work together without touching each other? I couldn’t stand to be so close to him, knowing that we would never again be able to kiss.
“I don’t want you to go,” I whispered. “Please don’t let go.”
Gently, he cupped my face. His thumb softly stroked my cheek. “That’s the last thing I want.” He sighed heavily, his eyes never leaving mine. “I don’t know how this is going to work, Lauren. I thought we were really starting to have something beyond the physical. It wasn’t just about Sundays for me anymore. . . . Not that I want to tie you down or anything—I know you like being a strong, independent woman, and I respect that, but . . .”
I winced and tried to turn away from his embrace. Did he not see how this confession was killing me? What good were his words of love now? April had robbed us of whatever future we could have made together. Never would we know what we could have been outside our Sunday arrangements. Our journey together had come to a screeching halt.
“Something happens when we’re together,” he said.
“I felt it, too,” I whispered.
Pierce kissed me sweetly on the forehead and whispered, “I’m going to fix this, Lauren. I promise you that. We are going to be together. . . . I’m going to fight for us.” His words fell as weightless as a cloud.
Slowly I nodded my head and opened the door. With one final look at the handsome man who had changed my life but now could never be mine, I watched him walk out of my life.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four