Byron-4 (15 page)

“Grant Corporation, how my I help you?” Taylor was trying to hook the printer up to her laptop. She had a really nice program on it that she typed messages on and was going to transcribe the messages she took to that then print them.

“Donna, are my sons about? I don’t care at the moment which one, I just need to speak to one of them, please.”

“No, ma’am, no one is here but me. And it’s Taylor Bennett, not Donna. Is there anything I can help you with?” Taylor was suddenly sorry she had started answering the phone.

“Well, hello, my dear. It’s Margaret Parker, the boys’ mother. You should have come to dinner yesterday. We missed you. I know that Byron did. Are you working there now? I hadn’t heard that.”

“No, that stup...Donna went to lunch and hasn’t returned yet. I’m expecting her any moment.” Closing her eyes, Taylor hoped that Mrs. Parker didn’t notice her flub. Of course that would be too easy.

“No, dear, you had it right, stupid about describes her. How long has the idiot been gone today? The other week she went to the bank and didn’t return for four hours. The bank is across the street. I don’t know what her excuse was, but Nicky said he needs someone to work the desk and she is a warm body until he finds someone.”

“She left here around eleven. I don’t know where the deli is, but that is where she was headed. She sure can empty her head faster than anyone I’ve ever met. Christ, the things she says to strangers! Anyway, can I do anything for you?”

“Yes, I was wondering if you could get into that filing cabinet across from you. I’ll give you the combination. I need to find out who that woman was at table four at the banquet. She had that horrible head dress on that looked like an ostrich crapped on her head.”

“Mrs. Durk. She has a specialty shop on Hudson. I think her first name is Carol, but I’m sure that’s who you mean.” Taylor stood as she told the older woman ready for her to give Taylor the combo.

“Yes! That’s it. Oh my, this is wonderful. How did you know that? I’ve been racking my head for two days. Morgan brought her up the other day and I’ve been trying to think of it since.”

“I have a knack for names. I don’t know why. I have a hard time...hum, the phone is ringing. Do you think I should keep answering? I don’t want to seem forward about doing it, but it just seemed silly to let it keep ringing.”

“Oh no, dear, you go ahead. I’m sure that my sons will be very happy. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good day, and thanks.”

At four-thirty, Taylor was exhausted. But it was a good kind of exhaustion. She had been busy nonstop all day and she never once felt too much out of her depth. She was on the speaker phone with the tech support guy she had found the number for in the desk. She was currently under the desk trying to do what he told her about hooking up the printer.

“So I have the white wire and the blue one. Where did you say to put them? And be nice.” His name was Derek and he had made her laugh several times with his flamboyant ways.

“Honey, that’s so not white. It’s euchre, or maybe a soft shell white at best. It goes into the box you hooked up to your computer. It’s the outlet marked blush-rose. Insert it in there.”

Blush- rose? There was pink or blue; she put it in the pink one. She heard the elevator open and shouted that she would be right with them; she was a little tied up.

“Okay. Now what? Oh, wait, this blue one will go in the blue one, right?” She smiled, knowing he would have another name for the blue.

“Well if you want to be passé about it, it’s blue. But I think it’s more of a cerulean or maybe an aquamarine. Yes, go ahead and put the blue in the blue outlet.” She laughed out loud at his pouty tone and she came out from under the desk. She fell into the chair when she saw who as standing just on the other side.

“Hello, Taylor. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Byron asked her.

~CHAPTER 15~

Byron couldn’t believe it when they stepped off the elevator and Taylor shouted for them to hang on. They didn’t see her, but Devin pointed to the phone and that’s when Derek started talking.

Devin had told him yesterday at his mom’s that Taylor was going to be at his office this evening and that he should come in town and have lunch with them all. He could then come by the office and speak to her afterwards. Christmas was just a few days away and Byron could stay with him for a few days rather than drive all the way back to his house then back again a few days later to be at Mom’s for Christmas. Lunch had turned into shopping and then shopping had turned into drinks afterwards.

“What, pray tell, are you doing under the desk? And where the hell is that stupid secretary of mine? She was supposed to be here answering phones,” Nickolas said. He winked at Taylor and then opened the door to his office.

“Donna? Oh, she...she went to get lunch. She said she’d be right back. I have messages for you both as soon as they’re done printing.” The printer spit out the last sheet as soon as she finished talking.

She separated them out and handed each man, Devin and Nicky, their stack. She had color coded them, Byron saw, according to department. There were four messages on each sheet and each man had at least ten sheets each it looked like. Taylor wasn’t anything if not organized. Devin looked over his notes and then handed them to his wife. Nickolas stared at his sheets as if she had just handed him something precious.

“Are you all right? Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I should answer the phone, but I was afraid if you called back, then I wouldn’t be able to tell you I was here. Then when you kept not calling, I thought I should keep answering. You’re mother said it was all right.

I’m really sorry if I—” The phone rang again. She looked at each man and Devin nodded as if to say, “are you going to answer that?”

“Grant Corporation. How may I...it’s Donna. She said she forgot to come back to work. How the heck did... How the heck do you forget to come back to work, you twit?

I’ve been here all...I don’t really give a rat’s turd what you bought me. You left me here all day...oh yeah, that’s really what I meant, for you to go all over the city to get me carrot sticks... No, I don’t care to pay you back. I didn’t eat them and I...hum, she hung up.”

Nickolas threw back his head and laughed. Devin was hanging onto the desk and laughing as well. Morgan and Ronnie were sitting in the lounge chairs snickering and holding their sides. Byron wasn’t amused.

“So, instead of being at your work like you were supposed to, you’ve been here answering the phone and taking messages. I’ve been trying to call you since you left my bed on Sunday morning. Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? Anything could have happened to you when you left like a thief in the night, slipping out the back door and running the streets at God knows what hour of the morning. I should—”

“Now you listen here, you unmitigated jackass. What I do, where I do it, and fucking who I do it with is not any of your business. I have never met a more nosey bunch of...I told you when I had sex with you that it was a onetime deal. You agreed.

Besides, I didn’t see your naked ass lying there all concerned about me. So fuck the hell off.”

His temper snapped. “Well, maybe I want to make it my business. Have you ever thought of that? Huh? And that’s another thing! How the hell did you make it this long in your life and still be a virgin? You should have told me! Christ, I could have hurt you and what the hell would have happened then, huh? Did you ever thing that—”

“Are you even listening to yourself? Are you insane? I thought hurting me was the fucking point. And when was I supposed to tell you? When you had me strapped to your bench flogging me or when you had your dick in my mouth. You didn’t seem to have any problems with my virginity then. Why the hell should it be one now?” She was gathering up her things.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going? Is that what I can expect from you, running off every time you get your panties in a twist? We aren’t even close to being finished here yet. I have more to say to you and I’m going to say it.” He knew the moment he grabbed her arm that he had made a mistake. Her fist connected with his nose so fast he didn’t have time to even brace for it. And if that didn’t hurt enough, she brought her knee up and kicked him square in the family jewels. The few seconds it took to register pain, he used that time to realize that she was as beautiful in her anger as she was when she came. But it was the voice behind him that had him curl into a tight ball on the floor, the one that could make him feel five years old faster than anyone in the world could. She also apparently had the added power to keep Taylor from blasting him more. Thankfully. But not keep her from leaving.

“So, Byron Kelly Grant, you took a woman’s virginity. Are you planning to do anything about this, or are you going to argue with her like a fish monger in your brother’s office?”

He looked over at her as he cupped his groin. Pain raced all over his body in ten seconds flat. “Hello, Mom.”

Margaret went to the phone and dialed. Byron could only hope she was hiring a hit man to end his misery. But he was reasonably sure she would let him suffer first.

“Hello, David, It’s Margaret Parker. There is a nice young lady coming down...Yes, that would be her. Could you please have Miss Bennett wait for me? Tell her that the...hold on for a second, David. Devin, what did Taylor call Byron?”

“I believe she called him an ‘unmitigated jackass,’ Mom.” Byron decided if he didn’t die, Devin was going to.

“Yes, that’s it. Tell her that the unmitigated jackass and his brothers are not coming with us...Yes, tell her I see it, and that it will be my pleasure to bring it to her.” She hung up the phone and huffed at him. Byron was sure that he was going to pay for this for the rest of his life.

“We are going to take that poor girl to dinner. I would imagine that since she had been stuck here in this office all day, she didn’t get food. Devin, you’ll pack up the computer and she said to tell you she might be back. Is it important that she come back tonight?”

“Yes, it is. I can’t go into the case, but she has a meeting tonight at seven. She’s blown this off several times, so I really need her here.”

“She strikes me as a very responsible young woman, regardless of the company she keeps.” Her pointed look at Byron didn’t go unnoticed. “Don’t think, young man, that I’m finished with you either. You’ll be here when we return.” As soon as all the women left, Spencer whooped with laughter, Nickolas called Damon and told him that he needed to come up quick, that Byron had his nose broken by a woman and his nuts needed to be lowered back down to his groin. Devin was laughing so hard that Byron hoped he keeled over and hit his own nose.

~~~

Taylor was pacing when the elevator opened finally. She nearly turned and left the very nice lobby when she saw them get off. Sheesh, did these people do everything in packs? Mrs. Parker was leading the way and the other women were right behind her.

They all looked as if they had been laughing.

She flushed when she remembered what she had said to Byron. It wasn’t like her to lose her temper, but he made her so angry. Taylor wondered how long Margaret had been standing there and how much she had heard. Not that it mattered. In a few days, she would be gone anyway.

“Hello, dear. You must be starved. I know I am. Do you like Chinese? I just love it.

That’s where we’re taking you, and don’t bother trying to get out of it. Caitlynne is going to join us and we’re all going to talk about how horrible of a mother I am and how much it would cost to have my sons murdered in their sleep.” Taylor burst out laughing. She really liked this woman. She rarely had friends in her life and never one that made her feel worthy like Margaret did. Even with Taylor cussing like a sailor on a three day pass, she still treated her nicely. They were just being seated when Cait showed up.

“I just spoke to Grant. He said that you broke Byron’s nose and probably his privates as well. Not that I don’t think he probably deserved it, but he really is a nice guy. Not a nice as Spencer, but nice.”

“No, he’s not, but it’s nice of you to say. He thinks he owns me because we had sex.

Stupid man. I told him that it was just a one nighter, but now he’s become all possessive. I don’t need a keeper, thanks. Besides, I’ll be leaving soon anyway.”

“Leaving? You can’t leave! Good heavens, Taylor, you are involved in a major case.

You can’t possibly think the Feds are going to...shit!” Ronnie turned a bright red and suddenly started fussing with her daughter.

“There are Feds investigating your case? Why? I mean, really, once we shut the place down there won’t be any more problems from them. That guy has apparently done this kind of thing before and it was easy enough to get others, men and women, to come forward once the article ran in the Dispatch,” Cait said as she broke open her spring roll. It wasn’t until no one made a comment that she looked up. “What?”

“Hum, two different cases. The one you’re referring to is the...the bite marks.

Ronnie is talking about something else I got myself mixed up in. Something that I seriously wish I would have ignored. I’m not staying and there is no way in hell they can make me.”

“Actually, they can. And probably will. You are the prime witness and they need you to bring these guys down. Don’t be surprised if they tell you the same thing tonight. I wouldn’t mess with them, Taylor. Maybe you can work for the Freedoms just until this is over.”

“The Freedoms? You mean those guys that advertise on the local station ‘no case is too big, we’ll fight for your freedom because we are the Freedom Fighters?’ Sheesh, they’re corny. What on earth could you be mixed up with...good heavens; you’re not dating them, are you? No wonder Byron was pissed.” Morgan had done a perfect imitation of their commercial and made the people at the next table laugh. Taylor didn’t watch too much television, and was now thankful that she had missed that one.

“Byron is pissed for other reasons. And he’ll soon figure out that I may be a su...I may be different outside the bedroom than when I am in it. I don’t care what he says.” Taylor looked at the other women at the table when it got eerily quiet. None of them would look at her.