A Million Dirty Secrets (31 page)

“Well, he’s a cutie, if you like the whole Wolverine Ken thing,” I said with a snort. “Who is he?”

“David,” Lexi sneered.

“David who?”

Polly leaned in like she was about to tell me a dirty little secret. “Noah’s former best friend David, that’s who.”

I gasped, and then I got impossibly hot—under the collar, definitely
not
under the skirt.

“He’s also Patrick’s business partner,” Lexi mumbled, pushing the bathroom door open. “He’s been trying to get Patrick to forfeit his share of Scarlet Lotus since my uncle and aunt died, the cunt fucker.”

And so my love affair with Lexi Mavis began.

“Wait, Noah’s parents died?” I asked before I realized I probably should have known that, too, but I was just so shocked. He’d never spoken of them before.

“Yeah, a car accident six years ago,” Lexi answered. “He never talks about it, so I’m not really surprised you didn’t know.”

Polly’s expression was solemn. “He lost them both at the
same time, and it has tortured him ever since, so don’t bring it up to him. When he’s ready, he’ll tell you himself, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” I suddenly missed my own parents.

Lexi opened up a stall door and ushered me inside. “Hurry your ass up. I need to get my drink on. God, I love an open bar.”

I took care of my business while Lexi and Polly got caught up. Having babies was their topic of choice: Polly wanted one, but Mason wasn’t quite ready; Brad wanted one, but Lexi refused to be barefoot and pregnant while putting her career on the line.

“What about you and Noah, Delaine?” Lexi asked when I opened the stall door.

“Um …” I hesitated and walked over to the sinks to wash my hands. How was I supposed to answer that?

“Lanie,” Polly interrupted. “She likes to be called Lanie, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, just Lanie,” I said with an uneasy smile. “And, um, Noah and I haven’t talked about babies. I mean, we’re not really there in our relationship … yet.”

“Mmm-hmm, I see,” Lexi said and then she sighed in dramatic fashion. “Well, let’s go ahead and get this out of the way, shall we?”

I turned the faucet off and dried my hands. “What exactly is
this
?”

“Look, Lanie. Noah has no mother, no father, and no siblings. So the whole overprotective warning bullshit falls on my shoulders,” she started. “I don’t really know you, but from first impressions, I like you. Regardless, I’ve gotta put you on
notice. If you hurt my cousin, I’m going to kick your ass. And when I say I’m going to kick your ass, I mean you’ll need an ass transplant by the time I’m done with you. We clear?”

I really admired her brass ovaries, but as the woman who everyone thought was truly dating Noah, I had to counter or else I’d look disingenuous. I threw my used paper towel in the trash receptacle and put my hands on my hips, facing off with her. Polly took a step back because she was a smart kid.

“Fair enough. But here’s a little memo of my own from me to you and anyone else who wants to be in our business. I love that man more than I ever thought I could love another human being, unconditionally and irrevocably”—which wasn’t a lie at all, I realized—“and if anyone has to worry about getting their heart broken in this deal, it’s me. Having said that, if anything goes down between Noah and me and you feel the need to kick my ass, then you’ve got it to do. I’m not intimidated by you. So if you ever feel froggy … jump.”

Polly sucked in a deep breath and I could actually hear her swallow. I kept my stare intense, never wavering as I faced Lexi down. She was an Amazon of a woman who very likely could’ve annihilated me, but I wasn’t going to back down. That would have been a show of weakness, and although I felt vulnerable as a snail out of its shell when it came to Noah, I most certainly was not a weak person by nature.

Lexi’s scowl broke and one corner of her mouth lifted up into a smile, Noah’s smile. “I swear to God, if I weren’t already married, you and I would be eloping tonight.”

I smiled in turn and Polly let out the breath she was holding. “You two are a match made in heaven.” She shook her
head. “If we’re done seeing whose ovaries are bigger than whose, can we get back out there to our men?”

“Absolutely,” Lexi said, linking her arm through mine. “Mine are bigger, by the way.”

“Well, that remains to be seen,” I tossed back as we stepped through the door.

My smile dropped immediately when the sea of people in front of us parted and I caught a glimpse of Noah. He was standing across from an older dark-haired man who was very handsome, and he was smiling and nodding. But what made my stomach churn in knots was the woman hanging on Noah’s arm. Draped like she was part of his wardrobe was a tall, strawberry-blond woman who reminded me a lot of Ginger from
Gilligan’s Island
. She was movie star material, and she looked like she knew it, too.

“Lexi, please tell me that’s your sister.”

“Ugh, please! That hussy only wishes she shared the same gene pool.”

“Then who is she?”

“That … would be Julie,” Polly answered with disgust in her voice. “Aka the octopussy. Rumor has it she fucked eight guys at once—after she and Noah broke it off, of course. Don’t ask me how she did it.”

“Octopussy, huh? I guess that explains why she’s got her slimy tentacles all over my man,” I said, seeing a whole lot of red and, admittedly, a bit of green. My mind started drumming up all sorts of lethal maneuvers from Mortal Kombat, all of which I knew I could certainly pull off, given as pissed as I was.

“Want me to do the honors? I’ve been itching to cut that bitch for a long-ass time now,” Lexi offered. I really adored Lexi. She was quickly becoming my sister from another mister.

“No, thanks. I’ve got this,” I said as I threw my shoulders back and made my way toward my man.

I heard her laugh from behind me. “Ribbit, ribbit.”

I fucking hate Julie. As I stood there with my uncle Daniel and aunt Vanessa, there was nothing I could do about Julie’s unwanted and unsolicited attention. Except to drink more, and quickly, so that my body would hopefully be numb to her repulsive touch. I would need to scour with an SOS pad or something as soon as I got home.

Not long after Delaine—who looked delectable in that gown, by the way—disappeared with Lexi and Polly to the bathroom, the traitorous bitch had made a beeline straight to where I stood. As if she thought I was champing at the bit to see her again. On the contrary, it had totally slipped my mind that she might be there, but like I said before, my mind hadn’t been anywhere near right since Delaine walked into my life.

“Oh, fuck me,” Mason had sighed as something behind me caught his eye.

Of course I had to turn around to see what all the fuss was about, but as soon as I did, I wished I hadn’t.

“Well, as I live and breathe … Noah Crawford,” the familiar sound of my ex’s voice cooed. She was trying way too hard
to sound sultry, and it didn’t suit her—at all. She might have looked good, but I wouldn’t know because all I could see was her bent over while her asshole was being plugged from behind repeatedly by David’s cock.

“Well, as I suffocate myself and hope to die … Julie Frost,” I replied in a bored tone.

“Aw, play nice, Noah, and I just might give you a second chance by the time the night is through.” As if I was ever going to go back down that road again.

“Fuck you,” I said simply, and turned my back on her.

“That’s the plan.”

She sounded so sure that shit was going to happen that all I could do was scoff and finish off my champagne. I was going to need something stronger to get through the night. “Who was stupid enough to bring a whore like you to something this classy anyway?”

“Watch your mouth, Crawford. That’s my date you’re insulting,” David approached our little clan and slipped his arms around Julie’s waist from behind. “Told you my date was a real looker.”

I would have wagered my left nut that what he expected to gain from that little donkey punch of a move was one hell of a reaction out of me, one that would be explosive and detrimental to my position in the company. He expected me to lose it in the middle of a room filled with not only employees but clients—both current and prospective—not to mention board members. It was a good plan, but one that didn’t stand a chance of working when a bitch like Julie Frost was involved. No way was I giving him the satisfaction. So I gritted my teeth and forced a smile.

“You’re looking good tonight, David. Where’d you get the tux? Backstabber’s Emporium?” I asked. To their credit, Brad and Mason did their best to cover their laughs.

“Very witty. Did you come up with that all on your own, or did your girlfriend help you? Oh, wait, that’s right. Your girlfriend is with me.” David’s obnoxious laugh made me clench all my muscles to keep from knocking him the fuck out. “I’m going to the bar to get a real drink. Want to come, babe?”

“No, thank you. I think I’m going to hang out here for a bit and talk about old times with Noah.” Julie kept her eyes glued to me. Not that I was looking at her in turn; I could just feel her eyes undressing me. Yeah, so not going down that road again. She’d had her chance, and blew it out her ass—literally.

Daniel and Vanessa joined our assemblage, effectively ending our little tête-à-tête and sending me catapulting into the deep, dark bottomless pit in which I found myself trapped.

“Patrick,” my aunt sang in her motherly tone. She practically glided over to me and wrapped her arms around me for a hug. “Such a sight for sore eyes.”

“Aunt Vanessa.” I smiled broadly when she pulled back. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Where else would I be? You know how your uncle is about these things,” she said as she looked up at Daniel adoringly.

“Patrick,” he greeted me, adding a nod and a friendly clap on the shoulder before shooting a glance toward Julie. “I hope you’re behaving yourself tonight.”

Yeah, they knew about the fuckery that had gone down between us, but they were big on taking the high road. I nodded with an innocent smile. “Absolutely.”

Julie wrapped her arm around mine and leaned into my side. “Patrick and I were just about to reminisce about the good old days.” The bitch was laying it on thick, even calling me by my middle name as if she was part of my family, which she goddamn wasn’t.

“Wonder what’s taking the girls so long?” Mason spoke up, doing his best to change the subject.

Fuck.

If Delaine came out and caught sight of Julie hanging all over me … I shuddered at the thought of the outcome. Especially if the way she’d reacted to Fernanda was any indication. We’d be lucky if the entire building wasn’t left in a pile of rubble and ash by the time she was done going all fire-breathing Godzilla on the place.

That was about the time Delaine emerged from the bathroom with Lexi and Polly. Instigators by nature, those two, which didn’t bode well for me.

They were laughing at first, until they looked up. Judging by the ferocious expression on Delaine’s face, I had every reason to panic. So I did, but inwardly, because to show weakness would only make matters worse. I could do nothing but watch and wait as Lexi and Polly left Delaine’s side and continued on their path, giving Julie the evil eye the whole way, but my million-dollar baby didn’t follow. Instead she …

Oh, hell, no!

I set my eyes on my target: Noah Patrick. My mind was focused, my determination was set, and my girls were looking
perky and round. He was mine and I wasn’t about to let that whore sink her talons into him. Julie had had her chance, and she’d blown it. It was time she realized what she’d given up, and I hoped Noah wouldn’t be stupid enough to go back down that road again.

“Lanie, wait!” Polly said in a hurried whisper as she ran up from behind and pulled me back. “Daniel is there.”

“So?”

“Julie is Everett’s daughter, as in Dr. Everett Frost.” She bobbed her head and rolled her hands, encouraging me to get the point. “Julie’s father is one of Daniel’s closest colleagues, not to mention a longtime family friend. You can’t just barge in, grab Everett’s daughter by her hair, and beat the shit out of her right in front of Daniel.”

“Polly, give me a little credit,” I said with my hands on my hips. “I wasn’t going to beat her up unless she forced my hand. Or fist.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right,” Lexi said, completely disgruntled. “Daddy will have an absolute fit. And you don’t want to make a scene in front of everyone who works with Patrick. As entertaining as that might be, it wouldn’t look good for him and would probably only turn out in David Stone’s favor. Bastard’s been itching to find a way to force Patrick out of the company ever since they inherited it from their fathers. Even though everyone knows Patrick’s the one who does all the work.”

“Besides, that dress is far too expensive to ruin for the likes of Julie Frost,” Polly tacked on.

“You know what you should do? Kill her with kindness,”
Lexi suggested, and then a wicked smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth. “And it probably wouldn’t hurt if you copped a feel or two of Patrick in the process. You know, just to remind him who he belongs to.”

“That was the plan, Lexi. But, from the looks of it, Noah seems to be quite okay with the woman copping a feel at the moment.” I was going to kill him as soon as I was done with Julie. I mean, how embarrassing was that? I was his date and he was letting her hang all over him like they were about to throw down some triple-X action right in front of everyone. It was a disgusting display, and it was clear the chick was good to go. Noah was embarrassing himself just as much by letting it continue.

But then the thought occurred to me that while Julie might be acting the part of the whore, I was the one playing it in real life. And I really had no claims on him. Noah wasn’t mine. We had only been playing house, or
Penthouse
or whatever, but it wasn’t real all the same. That wasn’t the case with Julie.

He’d been in love with her once upon a time, and maybe he still was to some extent. Maybe she was more his type. Or maybe, having come from money herself and being way more familiar with Noah’s lifestyle, she was just able to pull off the façade much better than me. My family only ever lived from paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes we’d had to stretch that more than was comfortable. We weren’t cut from the same cloth, Noah and I, and I would always feel that difference. I was merely a hired hand, or body, as far as he was concerned. Maybe Noah and I weren’t in a committed relationship in the traditional sense, but he’d come with me, and I was a real person
with real feelings, and he was making me look and feel like quite the fool.