A SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE BOXED SET

by Lewis, Laurie

  Chills hit Hudson also, but for different reasons. Icy chills that turned him cold inside.

  “He was wearing Acqua Di Gio cologne. Remember how I tried to get you to buy some at that department store before graduation? He must have heard me talk about it. We were dancing but barely moving. He smelled so great, and he kept reciting the lyrics ‘we could be perfect for each other’ over and over in my ears. The next thing I knew, we were kissing. I had never been kissed before. Ever. Let alone by someone like Jeff …”

  Hudson didn’t hear another word after the phrase someone like Jeff, which replayed against images of deceit. He picked the conversation back up when he heard the word “friend.” “What did you say?”

  “I nearly died inside when we came back and you were gone.” Her lips were trembling, and she pressed them together to still them. “You were my best friend.”

  Acid roiled in Hudson’s stomach. “I’m sorry,” he said, knowing he didn’t sound sorry at all. “Remind me once again how I let you down?”

  “We hurt you. We ruined our threesome. I get it. But you destroyed us. We helped you build that start-up company. We invested sleepless nights, missed classes, and we cheered each success right along with you, but you cut us out. You took everything and threw us to the curb!” As if to punctuate her final thought, she pounded her hand down on the armrest, evidently forgetting about her wounded shoulder. She winced and cried out, and Hudson took a step toward her, then retreated as she raised her hand, holding him back.

  He looked at her, weighing every word, every vocal nuance. Did she actually believe this? He paced a few steps away and turned. His voice softened as he said, “I left an envelope. Did you read the note?”

  She drew back defensively. “Jeff told me what you wrote.”

  “So you never read it. You trusted his word over everything you knew about me?”

  “Yes, because I couldn’t bear to read it.”

  Hudson’s hands gnarled into fists. “We should go.” He started walking up the trail.

  “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

  “Then I trust you can make your own way back to the house.” He turned for the trail, walking on, listening to the weak rev of the beach chair’s motor, hearing no crunch of the balloon-like tires over shells in the sand. And then the motor stalled. He knew the battery’s weak charge was exhausted.

  More than anything, he wanted to make a final, clean break, but he couldn’t walk away, so he turned back around and found Liv frantically pushing buttons and wrenching the controls, all to no avail. Without a word, he moved the controls to manual and began pushing her up the steep trail. Soaked and sweaty by the time he reached the top, he pushed her into the house, transferred her back into her manual chair, grabbed his laptop, and stopped by the door, avoiding eye contact with Liv.

  “Everything is in place, so you should be fine. I’ll have an employment offer emailed to you tomorrow. Also, I’ve asked a friend of mine to stop by and check on you. Laurel, please let me know if you need anything.” And then he was gone.

  Laurel was washing dishes when the pair stormed in. “What just happened?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Did you see how cold he was when he first arrived? It got worse.”

  “What? Did you tell him about the lawsuit?”

  “I didn’t get a chance.”

  “You were gone for over an hour. What did you two talk about?”

  Olivia shook her head in confusion. “I brought up an old memory from when we were friends, but he twisted it into an attack on Jeff.”

  Laurel pressed her fingers over her lips and remained silent.

  Olivia blinked back tears. “I’m going to rehab as fast as I can and get my own place so I can get Hudson Bauer out of my life once and for all.”

  Chapter Eight

  Hudson crushed the accelerator to the floor of his Range Rover, spinning out of the driveway in reverse and then forward onto the access road, drawing stares from the people he flew past. He longed for his old Jeep with the manual transmission, needing something more physical than the velvet ride of this automatic carriage.

  A cyclist crossed his path a hundred yards ahead, and Hudson slammed his brakes early to avoid skidding into the rider, whose panicked expression startled Hudson back into control. The sting of shame bit his heart as he crawled the rest of the way through town, taking refuge as he stopped along a side street.

  His head dropped against the steering wheel, then lifted as his fists hammered down in its place. He slumped against the seat and replayed the conversation on the beach.

  He had blown it. Jeff stole Liv away, but her words also left Hudson charged and condemned. He had delayed too long in executing his perfect proposal, and foolishly, he had been absent too often after sharing his plans with Jeff.

  The replay brought a new sting as Liv’s condemnation returned.

  We hurt you … but you destroyed us. You took everything and threw us to the curb!

  He pushed a button on the dash and initiated a call to Alejandra. Her familiar voice, with its Latin intonations, calmed him. And then he heard the worry in her voice.

  “I’m so glad you called. I have been praying that phone would ring.”

  “I’m flying back tonight. Can it wait until morning?”

  “No … but I’ll make it wait, and you’ll owe me big time.” He heard the increased Latin inflections that frustration introduced into Alejandra’s voice.

  “Thank you.”

  “Yes, yes. I make miracles happen. That’s why you love me. So what do you need?”

  “Everything on Arena Corp—the terms of sale and the companies we invested the profits in when we sold. Show me all disbursements related to that divestment.”

  “Arena? This is too strange to be a coincidence,” she said warily.

  “What? Talk to me.”

  “It’s just that … well … someone else wants that information.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know, but they hired a sleazy ambulance chaser to get it. He’s been hanging out at the food truck down the block, waving twenty-dollar bills around the interns’ noses during lunch, asking them to dig up information on Arena.”

  Hudson felt the breath rush from his chest. “What kind of information?”

  “Date of incorporation, date of sale, net worth at sale, reinvestment information. The very facts you’re asking for.”

  “How soon can you get that to me?”

  “Right now. I pulled all those files today.”

  “Are the investments purchased with Arena profits still going to the original owners of the company?”

  “Yes. Nothing’s changed. Quarterly transfers, like clockwork, into the same account.”

  “That we can’t access?”

  “Nope.”

  “There has to be a money trail.”

  “Maybe that’s the trail the lawyer’s sniffing. Speaking of the pin-striped pettifogger, what do you want me to do about him?”

  “String him out, but give him what he wants. We don’t have anything to hide.”

  “I don’t like where this is headed.”

  “Implying what?”

  “Stroll with me down Memory Lane, Hudson. The Arena Corp experience left you a wreck. All your business assets were in the Arena basket. The Bauer Group could barely pay the light bill when you hired me because you insisted that all the profits go to the McAllisters. When that Japanese software rendered Arena obsolete, I was almost happy to see you sell it for a dime on the dollar, because even if I had to sell empanadas on the corner to pay the rent, I was glad you were finally free of those McAllister leeches. But because you worried about Olivia, you turned around and signed the Arena profits, and some of your new assets, over to them as well.”

  “And the new investments paid off big, and we succeeded.”

  “But that scoundrel attorney isn’t the only one digging up the past, is he?”

  “I know what I’m doing.”r />
  “Do you? You love me because I’m the only friend you have who talks straight to you. Who benefits from digging up info on Arena Corp? Olivia. This McAllister woman is trouble, Hudson. It’s too coincidental that this lawyer shows up at the same time she reappears.”

  “Or maybe she’s a victim.”

  “Then tell her the whole truth and stop playing these games. Do you really want to face her in court? Because that’s where this is heading.”

  “We don’t know if she hired this attorney, but if she did and she stops the investigation on her own, she’ll vindicate my faith in her character. And if she pursues it, I’ll know I was wrong about her, and the whole truth will come out anyway.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “You’ll like this even less. I hired her to work for us. I’ll email the details to you. Make arrangements with HR to assign her to Ethan, and overnight an employment contract to her.”

  Chapter Nine

  Hudson hadn’t mentioned any salary figures, but when the employment contract arrived, the offer shocked Olivia. One hundred thousand dollars annually, with bonuses and full benefits effective immediately. She questioned whether she was hired on merit or if this was more of Hudson’s charity.

  As she read the terms of the contract, her opinion changed. This wasn’t going to be any cushy forty-hours-a week, work-from-the-sofa-in-your-pajamas job. The terms included international travel and stringent deadline clauses, which meant Olivia’s hours would be crazy at times. She would handle it.

  Excitement bubbled within her. This was a real job. A job that mattered and one she could do while she rehabbed. She didn’t know what would happen when news of the lawsuit reached Hudson, but for now, she had the means to repay Hudson Bauer.

  Her immediate supervisor was a man named Ethan Machowicz. She sent off a quick acceptance email and received a welcome email packet almost instantly that included a link to Bauer Group cloud storage files. Forms were signed and exchanged, HR was called, and within an hour, Olivia was gainfully and officially employed. Now it was time to get to work.

  She opened the link and saw critiques of the website she had begun the day before. Ethan’s feedback was positive and encouraging, and with a determination she hadn’t felt in years, she pulled up the files from Hudson’s thumb drive and dug in to make the requested changes and additions.

  A file she hadn’t noticed before caught her eye—My Girls. A battle ensued between her curiosity and her ethics. Curiosity won. The next click revealed seven folders and a video file. Six folders were labeled with the names of places mentioned in the website she was building, and included photos of Hudson with the woman and children from the thumb drive files. A folder labeled “Mother Thomasine” contained photos of Hudson hugging a thin older nun, of him laughing and singing with younger nuns dressed in white and blue habits, and in a school filled with African children. The man in those photos was the Hudson she remembered—joyful, hopeful, peaceful. She could barely tear her eyes from the screen. The video showed him in a circle of children, dancing and singing. None of this had anything to do with money. Something didn’t add up, and she knew that the demon scapegoat she and Jeff reviled was of their own creation.

  A shroud of guilt weighed her down, squeezing the breath from her. Laurel noticed.

  “Are you in pain? Should I call the doctor?”

  Olivia sniffed and blinked to clear her eyes. “No, no. I’m just stuffy.”

  “You have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow for a recheck on your leg. And PT and OT begin in the afternoon.”

  “Sarge will have me up and ready at first light. After that, I’m yours to command.”

  Laurel laughed. “I wish Ben and Joey complied as easily as you.”

  The doorbell rang, and Laurel wiped her hands on a dish towel and hurried to open it. Olivia heard a female voice say, “Hello. I’m Dr. Sullivan. I’m here to see Liv McAllister. Hudson Bauer asked me to stop by.”

  Hudson Bauer asked me to stop by. The timing of yet another of Hudson’s kindnesses was almost too painful for Olivia’s repentant heart.

  Laurel shot a glance back at Olivia, who answered, “I’m Olivia McAllister.”

  The iridescently red-haired, unnervingly toned woman squeezed past Laurel in a curve-hugging black pantsuit and red sling-back heels. She exuded confidence while sucking the last drops of it from Laurel and Olivia, both of whose shoulders grew rounder by the second.

  “You can call me Pepper,” replied the doctor, who snaked her way across the room, smiling at the Bauers’ knickknacks and photos as if each were an old friend. Once she reached the sofa, she moved a white pillow aside and settled catlike into the cushion.

  Olivia felt her hackles rise over the woman’s intrusion into her … uh … Hudson’s space. And what kind of professional has a name like Pepper?

  “I’m sorry. Today is not a good day.”

  Dr. Pepper Sullivan remained glued to her spot as she fished her phone from her purse. “No problem. We’ll just set up a meeting for next week.”

  Olivia rolled the wheelchair over to confront the woman. “Excuse me, but who are you exactly?”

  Laying her phone in her lap, Pepper slid a stray hair away from her eye and grinned. “I am a licensed, Columbia University–trained psychologist, but more importantly, I’m Hudson’s friend. My beach house is just a few miles from here. Hudson knows I’m there every weekend—Thursday afternoon until Monday morning. He told me about your accident and asked me to stop by to see if you’d like to talk.”

  The woman’s overarching message—that she was very close to Hudson—outshone any offer of compassion. Olivia disliked the idea that Hudson had shared her private business with this woman, but she was even more surprised by how sharply Pepper’s “friendship” with Hudson irritated her. Struggling to keep her voice even, she said, “I’ll have to decline your offer, Pepper. You see, I don’t plan to be here much longer, so my feelings and I won’t be on your convenient drive home.” Her voice broke at the end, and she turned away quickly.

  Laurel strode to the door and opened it. “I think you ought to leave now.”

  Expectations of Pepper’s exit and the door closing behind her went unrealized. Instead, silence passed, and then Olivia heard, “I am a very good therapist, Liv. Hear me out, and then you or I will know if this is going to work.”

  The previous icy tone in Pepper’s voice warmed, but the damage was already done. Olivia hunkered behind her emotional walls and pled, “Just go, please.”

  Pepper stepped closer to Olivia. “I owe you an apology. You figured out that I didn’t come here to help you. I came to protect Hudson. I did a little research on you, your husband, and MMM. It wasn’t flattering, so I wanted to meet you for myself.”

  Olivia spread her arms as wide as pain allowed. “Well, here I am, the guilty owner of a struggling business who was a wife in an imperfect marriage and almost a mother. I’m an absent daughter and a failed friend, but that is all I’m guilty of. Except to those who’ve believed the lies printed in the papers.”

  The color drained from Pepper’s face and neck.

  Olivia turned the tables on her. “And what are you to him?”

  “I’m sorry? Him who? Hudson?”

  Olivia faced Pepper without apology. “Yes, Hudson. I owe him a great debt, which is the reason I’ve accept his job offer. I intend to repay every cent. He’s my employer. End of story. And I certainly don’t intend to be investigated by someone he’s dating.”

  Pepper’s eyebrows arched as she stood. “We’re not dating. I’m married.” Her head bobbled, and then she corrected her statement. “Actually, I’m separated.”

  “But you love him, don’t you?”

  The woman’s eyes widened and then narrowed. “You don’t mince words, do you?”

  “You’re not required to answer. You’re welcome to leave.”

  Pepper returned to her cool-as-a-cucumber persona. “My dating Hudson is not an option. Anyone who knows
him also knows that married and separated are one and the same to him. Marriage is sacred. As you said, end of story. He’s still a Boy Scout about things like that. About most things, actually. You, of all people, should know that.”

  Olivia found herself oddly comforted by the reply. Hudson was still a person of honorable character, and from what Pepper was implying, he evidently felt the same way about Olivia. That is, until he hears about the lawsuit. She groaned inwardly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  Pepper pressed her bright red lips into a tight line. “Here’s the long and short of it. Hudson sent me because he trusts me as a person and a doctor. We’ve laughed, cried, and consoled each other. In fact, we nearly died together once, but that’s a tale for another day. So, are we good?”

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust you.”

  Worry creased Pepper’s brow as she handed Olivia her card. “I’ll never lie to you or run back to Hudson with anything we discuss. If you don’t care to work with me, please promise to see someone else. I don’t want you to crash and burn.”

  Chapter Ten

  Four weeks passed quickly, filling nearly every minute with work or medical appointments or therapies of some kind. The heavy leg brace was exchanged for a lighter one, and the wheelchair was replaced with a walker and then a cane. Being mobile meant the night nurse was no longer needed, but it also meant that Laurel’s daily company would soon end.

  Olivia agreed to meet with Pepper. Their first session seemed benign enough, but Pepper raised questions that nagged at Olivia hours later, forcing her to examine long-denied feelings about her childhood and marriage. She finally peeled back the excuses and faced the truth about her one-day courtship and courthouse marriage. A one-two punch of fear and vulnerability set the stage. Jeff gave voice to her greatest fear—the possibility of Hudson moving on without her. Jeff offered her security, wrapped in smoldering looks and hungry kisses that overwhelmed her self-control. She saw herself slipping into her mother’s emotion-driven pattern that first evening with Jeff. That realization sent her running back to her apartment, where she cried herself to sleep for being such a fool, but rejecting Jeff’s advances only amplified his interest. He arrived the next day, teasing her with talk of long-simmered love. Her instincts again told her to run, but passion, and some other concern that now eluded her, overruled her hesitation when he dropped to his knee. An hour later, the couple was standing before a justice of the peace. And then everything changed.