“What do you think, Spartacus? Are soul mates bullshit?”
The cat opens one eye, stares at me pointedly, and then closes it.
“Yep. It’s what I thought. Total bullshit. I wish him luck, though. He seems like a good guy.”
I’ve just sat on my bed and let my body fall back into a heap when the connecting door in my hotel room flies open, and Wendy bounces in.
“What the hell? Two phones in less than a week?” Her tone is shrill and grating on my last goddamned nerve.
“I dropped it, okay?”
She makes a face that tells me she’s not buying it. “You dropped it. If that’s the case, it would still be working, boss man. Not shattered into bits for the janitor to vacuum up when he cleans the warehouse tonight. You’re lucky I went in there after you left and snagged the SIM card. Luckier still, it must have bounced off the wall, because I found it stuck in the threads of the area rug, away from the primary stomping you gave the old phone. You’re also lucky I always keep a backup phone in my bag.”
This piques my attention. “You do?”
She grins. “Yep.” She hands me an exact replica of my last iPhone but with a plastic Rubbermaid-like case.
I slide my fingertips over the bumpy surface. The phone looks like it’s been encased in an inch of rubber. “What the fuck is this?”
Wendy puts a hand to her hip. “It’s an OtterBox. It’s the thick one meant for men working in construction who drop their phones from high distances, et cetera. I figure if they can drop it from two stories up and the phone survives, this one should survive you catapulting it into a wall. I mean, your mom says you were a star baseball player, but really, Parker, this is phone number three. Give it a rest, okay? You’re bleeding money in phone replacements outside of the warranty time frame.”
I huff loudly, and she just bats her eyelashes, completely unfazed.
“I’m not using it like this.” I hand it to her. “Remove that crap. The damn thing won’t fit into my pants pocket.”
Wendy inhales loudly and sighs even louder when she grabs the phone from my hand. “Fine.” As if she had prepared for my refusal, she pulls a sleek metal case from her back pocket.
I watch while she removes the rubber childproof case and puts the sexy sleek one on, pocketing the old one. She hands it to me. “It’s already loaded up with your contacts again, messages, voice mails, and emails.”
“You know my password for the Google Cloud?”
She chuckles under her breath. “Sweetheart, I know your PIN on your debit card. I could probably get into your gym locker quicker than you. Never underestimate what I can and cannot do. Besides, you scared the shit out of me when you went off the grid today. I had to do a drive-by of your office pretending I was looking for a bathroom to make sure you were in that conference room.”
“Wendy, really, you need to stop worrying about us.” Guilt oozes into my mind, making me feel even more twitchy than I already do.
Her face flushes red, and she narrows her eyes. “Every time your temper flares, you do something insane. Destroy your phone, punch a wall. What next? You gonna drive off a bridge? This behavior is upsetting for those of us who give a shit about you. I may be your PA, but I’m also your friend, someone who loves you like family. This path you’re on is dangerous and destructive.”
“I’m sorry; it won’t happen again.” Even with the apology and declaration, I’m not sure it won’t happen again.
“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Parker. The three of us are worried about you. So much so, I read your texts from Skyler. If you want to fire me for invading your privacy, fine. I’ll deal with it.” Her chest moves up and down as though she’s breathing fast. She’s probably scared I am going to fire her, but honestly, I don’t care.
My shoulders sink, and I lie back down on the bed and stare at the blank white ceiling. An empty void, just like my life without Skyler in it. “I’m not going to fire you.”
She sits on the bed and brings her knees up, where she rests her chin. It’s a move Sky did all the time. God! Why can’t I just forget about the damn woman for one fucking day? Hell, I’d settle for half a day . . . an hour even.
Wendy grins. “Goody. Does that mean we can talk about what she wrote?” Her tone is hopeful.
“No,” I state flatly.
“Parker, she said she didn’t cheat. She’s begging, freaking begging to talk to you. Hell, she’s pleading to talk to me, and I’ve been ignoring her messages. And you know, you know how hard that is for me. All I’ve ever wanted was a bunch of friends and a big family. First, I scored Mick. Now I have you guys. And for a little while, I had a new best girlfriend.”
Great. Now I’m hurting Wendy with my jacked-up relationship. “Guilt trips don’t become you, minxy,” I say dryly, rubbing at my tired eyes.
She eases her knees to the side and puts a hand to my shoulder. “Neither does avoidance become you.”
“I’m not avoiding anything. She betrayed me.” Why does it feel like I have to keep reminding everyone that I’m the one who got screwed over? Sky burned me. Just like Kayla. Just like all women I end up having romantic feelings for.
“She says she didn’t.” She shrugs nonchalantly as though we’re not talking about the woman I gave my entire heart and soul to.
I suck in a harsh breath. “And you believe her. Even though he said they rekindled their relationship, and she was there. She spent the night with him, Wendy. There’s no denying it.”
“I think you want to believe that she hurt you. Why is that?”
“Because she did!” I sit up and stare Wendy down. “I was going to tell her I loved her!”
Wendy gasps, and her eyes fill with tears. She reaches out a hand to my cocked knee. “Park . . .”
I push her hand away, not wanting her pity or comfort. “No. I flew straight to New York to be with the woman I loved. To tell her to her face that I loved her and that me and my team were going to solve her problem with her ex. And what did I find?”
A tear slips down Wendy’s pearlescent cheek.
“An empty fuckin’ apartment. An empty bed that should have had the woman I love in it! Then I wake up to her ex in my ear and hearing her in the background. What would you think, Wendy? As a woman? Why would you have any reason to be in your ex’s hotel room at shit o’clock in the morning, huh? Tell me.”
Another tear falls. “I don’t know. The only thing I do know is that I recognize when a woman is in love. And Skyler is in love with you. All of us saw it at Lucky’s. Saw it in your eyes and hers. A woman in love would not cheat on her man. Not a good woman. And Skyler is a good woman, Parker, or you wouldn’t have fallen in love with her in the first place!”
I get up and pace the room before heading to the bar and pouring myself two fingers of scotch. “You want?”
“Fuck yeah. No one should drink alone.”
I pour her a couple of fingers and pass her the tumbler. She tosses the entire thing back like a pro. “Fuck!”
She holds out the tumbler. “One more. This time I’ll sip. I like to get the buzz going right away.”
Laughter spills out my lungs. I wouldn’t have believed I could laugh right now if my life depended on it, yet this thin woman, who’s pixielike for her size with big easy smiles, and fire-red hair that glistens when it catches the light, brings it out of me.
I pour her another and hand it to her. She clinks it with mine. “It’s going to be okay,” she remarks with such sincerity I want to believe her.
“You think?” I swallow down some whiskey and let it burn a fiery trail into my gut that can’t seem to settle.
Her gaze settles on mine. “If you buck up and talk to her, yeah, I do.”
I shake my head. “Not ready.”
She firms her shoulders and straightens her back. “Well, when you are, I’ll be there for you,” she says instantly.
I smile softly, wanting her to know I appreciate her friendship more than I can possibly say right now. “You wil
l, won’t you?” I declare, allowing the words to sink into my heart, tugging that dagger back an inch.
She smiles wide. “That’s what sisters are for, right? To help you with women. Tell you when you’ve got the wrong one on the hook. Call her a ho-bag. Remind you when you’re being a stupid ass.”
Once more, laughter bubbles up and flows to the surface.
“And Park?” she murmurs, before sipping her whiskey.
“Yeah, minxy?”
“You’re being a stupid ass.”
5
“Alexis, there’s nothing in your financials that indicates any form of embezzling. Our gal pulled all of the financials on every employee, and not one of them has any fluctuations that are noteworthy.” Royce sighs and puts the tablet down on the coffee table in her office.
She picks up the device and scans each document.
Two days of Royce reviewing Stanton Cybertech’s finances and me interviewing sixteen employees have come up with jack.
Alexis inhales loudly and lets it out with a groan from her crimson-painted lips. Today she looks out of this world. Her golden hair is up in a messy chignon, and her lips are a glistening cherry red that match her top-to-toe red silk catsuit, or is it a jumpsuit the ladies are calling it these days? I’d have to ask Bo to be certain. Not that it matters. On her feet are the same pair of nude stilettos she wore when she met us in Boston. I lick my lips and notice her toes match her outfit at a siren red. The woman is sex on stilts.
Just as the thought hits me, Alexis places her hand on my upper thigh and leans forward. “What do you think, Parker?”
I clear my throat, grab her hand, and move it off of my thigh as subtly as I can, putting it on the couch cushion between us.
“Hate to say it, but whoever is doing this to you either isn’t making a dime, or maybe they don’t work here.”
She frowns. “But I thought because the leaks were making my competitor rich, we’d find the source here.”
I run my hand down my pant leg, straightening out any wrinkles in the fabric. “Ideally, that would make sense. We need to talk to Wendy, though, see if she’s found out anything about the technology behind the scenes. Maybe we’ll learn more about the potential leaks if we find out who’s using the system to create viruses and manipulating your coding so you have errors. I can bring her into my interview like everyone else. Get some answers.”
She nods. “Okay. I guess that’s a step in the right direction. Royce, are you sure there aren’t any discrepancies?”
He nods, leans back into the chair, and rests his ankle on his opposite knee. “Sorry. I’ve looked up and down, not to mention reviewed each employee’s personal checking, savings, and investment accounts. Some are doing well in the stock market, but most are living off their salaries, which I find are very generous.”
She smiles and winks at him. “I like to make sure my people are happy.”
He clears his throat and adjusts his tie. “That is obvious. And you do it well.”
Her gaze flicks to mine. “So I’ve been told.” She licks her lips seductively.
I have to hold back from grinding my teeth and calling her out on her bullshit. There’s forward, and then there’s forward. Without sounding like a pansy-assed prepubescent teen, I’m getting a little tired of the innuendo and double entendres Alexis is firing off. She’s like a dog with a bone. Once she sets her sights, it’s game on. Almost as if getting me to submit is a challenge she must win. Then again, I imagine a woman like her doesn’t get turned down often, if ever. It makes me think she may not even realize she’s playing a game. Like a battle of the wills. So she gets a man she desires in her bed, then what? It’s not like she’s winning a trophy or an award. What’s the endgame?
“Well, all right.” Royce stands up. “I’m going to go back to finance and see what else I can drum up, if anything. Bo should be here any minute,” he says, right as there is a knock at her office door.
“Lexie, a Bogart Montgomery is here for his three o’clock meeting,” her receptionist says demurely.
Royce walks over to the door and sidesteps around Bo as though he doesn’t know him. “Excuse me.”
“Sure.” Bo steps to the side as Royce moves his big body down the hall.
Bo turns to me and Alexis, his eyes widen, and he takes his time blatantly checking out our client from head to toe and back again.
My shoulders fall as if they’re being pushed down by two metal robot hands. This is going to suck. I can already feel the drama of Bo being into Alexis unfolding. Tension coils in my back and up my neck, tightening the muscles.
“Well, hello, gorgeous.” Bo shuts the door behind him and swaggers over to where Alexis is sitting. He holds out his hand.
She places her palm into his and cocks an unimpressed eyebrow as he leans down and kisses the top of her hand. He continues, “Am I awake? Because you look like my dream come true.”
“Easy, tiger. This is our client, Alexis Stanton,” I warn.
“Sexy name for a sexy siren,” he purrs, ignoring my warning completely.
Ugh. I press my temples with thumb and forefinger.
Alexis’s expression changes to one of confidence. “Now this is the type of man I’m used to dealing with.” Alexis crosses her arms over her voluptuous chest, pushing her breasts up even higher.
“Ignore him. We do.” I wave my bandaged hand in the air.
Bo plucks at his goatee; as he does, the buckles on his leather jacket jingle.
“Bo, to quickly get you up to date, Royce hasn’t found anything in the finances of any employee to conclude that they’re being paid for information. I haven’t found anything in the sixteen staff I’ve interviewed, although I have seven more, including Wendy. Nothing they’ve said or the answers to my questions suggests they’re unhappy or indifferent about Alexis and Stanton Cybertech. Each person is elated to be working here and seems genuinely baffled by the products leaking. Apparently, you’re an exceptional boss.” I dip a respectful nod her way, trying to make sure there’s not even a hint of innuendo to my tone.
She grins and bites down on her plump bottom lip. “I’m exceptional at a lot of things when given a chance.”
Bo groans. “Jesus! A woman after my own heart.” In a dramatic move, he crosses his hand over his chest where his heart lies.
I ignore both of them and continue with my findings. “I’ve also reviewed all of the lie detector tests, and each person passed with flying colors.”
Bo chuckles while he eases into the seat across from Alexis, his gaze never leaving her. “Lie detectors are a cinch to pass. The courts repeatedly reject the use of polygraph evidence because it’s unreliable. You’re far better at reading people than a lie detector. In my opinion anyway.”
“Thank you. Still that leaves us at square one. You’re up, buddy. When Alexis gets you into a room with a bulk of the team members to work on your application, feel them out. You know what to do.”
He smirks. “I always know how to work a person, mentally or physically.” His tone is filled to the brim with innuendo and pointed directly at Alexis.
Sighing, I get up and move to the door. “On that note, I’m going to go back to my room to get the rest of the interviews out of the way.”
“Awesome, I thought I’d never be left alone with the most beautiful woman alive.” Bo leers and smiles wide.
Heck, maybe having Bo on-site will give Alexis a dose of her own medicine. Couldn’t hurt at this point. If her focus is on him and not me, I won’t have to deal with the sexy temptress coming after me anymore. Not that I can’t handle her . . . maybe, probably. I’ve thwarted her attempts so far, which means in this game she’s playing, I’m winning. Not something I imagine she’s used to, which is almost a double whammy win for me.
Alexis laughs out loud, stands up, and goes over to open the door for me.
I glance over at Bo where he’s moved to the couch, both arms spread out along the back, legs wide, settling in as though he’s a
bout to sit and watch a football game. “He’s mostly harmless. Forward, but harmless. Put him in his place if you need to.”
She grips my tie and runs her hand down the length of it, her fingers brushing along my chest. Ribbons of heat spread out from where her fingers touch and along my skin, settling hotly between my thighs. My dick takes notice, coming up to half-mast. I stare at her cherry-red lips and wonder for a brief moment if they’d taste like the juicy fruit. Okay, maybe she’s winning the game at this point.
“Oh, I’m comfortable with forward. What I want to know is when are you going to be comfortable with the idea of you and me?” She places her hand on my waist and leans against my body.
You and me.
Those three words are like throwing a bucket of ice water over my head, putting out the flicker of arousal that was budding inside of me.
The only “you and me” I can even fathom is with Skyler. We talked a lot about being a “you and me” and an “us” for that matter. Now she’s gone. We’re over.
The knot in my stomach tightens and twists, and I grit my teeth against the pain. If this ache and strangling sensation keep up, I’m going to need to visit my doc back home. Something’s gotta give.
As politely as I can, I ease Alexis back. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“But . . .” She starts to push, but out of nowhere, a big hand cups Alexis’s shoulder.
“He really can’t, beautiful. Me, on the other hand . . .” He grins, and she shrugs his palm off her shoulder. Bo backs up with his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, okay. I see my charm isn’t working, but honey, with Park, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
I fling my gaze to Bo’s and wince. “Back off. I’ve got this under control.”
He shrugs and saunters back to the couch, where he drops onto it like a sack of potatoes. I cringe and focus my attention on Alexis.
“Why?” she whispers softly, her expression changing to one of concern, though I can also hear a hint of insecurity.
I bite into my bottom lip and frown. “It’s personal. And I told you, I’m coming out of a relationship.”
International Guy: Milan, San Francisco, Montreal (International Guy Volumes Book 2) Page 32