Homewrecker Incorporated (19 page)

"Jesus, Claudia," Lydia said when I stumbled into the office. "You look like shit." 

"Has anyone made coffee?" I asked without addressing her statement.

It was bad enough we were working on a Sunday. I knew I looked like shit. I'm definitely a woman who can hold her liquor, but when I went back into the gala to find Grey and Ashley gone and Gregory engrossed in a conversation with a couple of local politicians, I started pounding the champagne.

I did finally get to talk to Gregory again when he and Chad carried me out to the car and sent my drunken ass on my way. God, I hoped I didn't say anything stupid, but I couldn't be sure because the details were fuzzy. After the driver helped me upstairs, I passed out on the couch still in my dress and shoes. Waking up at four in the morning to vomit while visions of what Grey was likely doing with Ashley flashed in my mind certainly didn't help with my hangover.

"Here you go." Bridget walked into the conference room with a piping hot cup of coffee for me. God, I loved her.

"The investigator followed the woman from the pictures back to an apartment building," she said as I sat down and took a healthy sip of the sweet, sweet caffeinated nectar.

"She stayed there all night. There were a few people in and out, but no one he recognized. There's a doorman so he couldn't get inside discreetly. I ran the plates on her car," Bridget continued. "It's a rental under the Clarion Corporation. I haven't found much on the company yet, it appears to be a shell owned by several other corporations, which are owned by even more corporations, so it'll take a bit more digging to find out who's really behind it all. I did find an apartment leased by the same company in the building, so it's safe to assume that one's hers. I still haven't been able to dig up a last name, but I'm working on it."

"Is there anything on Gregory's calendar with her name on it?" I asked.

"No, I checked this morning when Grace told me her first name. The lunch he had with her was just blocked out as busy, no location or other attendees designated," Bridget said. "I did find something else, though. I ran a program to cycle through some of the old G&G security footage going back six months using facial recognition and got a hit for her about eight weeks ago. She signed in and got off on the executive floor. I'm trying to dig up the security logs for that day to get a full name."

"Bridget, you could rule the world if you put your mind to it," Grace said, walking through the door. I'd wondered where she was. I'd expected to at least have a message from her asking how things went after she left the gala, but I hadn't heard a peep. Based on her appearance, she's almost as hungover as me. I guessed there was a story behind that because I knew she didn't have enough to drink at the event to be in such a state.

"It was actually pretty simple. All I had to do was tap into the..."

I zoned out when Bridget started rambling about a bunch of technical jargon.

My mind wandered to Grey. I wondered how he was feeling since he'd definitely had his fair share of alcohol. Then I remembered Ashley and hoped he felt even worse than I did.

"So, are you going to tell us how your date went?" Grace asked Bridget, her voice gravelly, pulling me from my thoughts. I'd completely forgotten about her dinner with the handsome Mr. Slade.

"Wait a fucking minute!" Lydia turned in her chair to stare Bridget down. "You had a date and no one told me?"

"It wasn't that big a deal," Bridget replied. The color rushing to her face told a different tale.

"Did you finally do the deed?" Lydia waggled her eyebrows. Grace pinned Lydia with a hard stare, warning her to stop teasing Bridget.

"No! We just had dinner and hung out for a little while before his car took me home. It was--nice." Bridget's voice trailed off as if she was lost in the memory. She sounded happy. 

I'd been a shitty friend, yet again. A date was a big deal for her, and I was so preoccupied with my own bullshit I'd forgotten she even had one. 

"Fine, keep your fucking secrets, Bridget." Lydia pouted. "So are you two at least going to fill me in about the gala since you left me sitting at home, bored and alone, on a Saturday night?"

Luckily, Grace was more than willing to fill her in with all the details of the night, hangover be damned, which included my losing the only item I'd bid on. I was surprised to hear she'd given a guy her number and made a note to ask her about it later when I was in a better mood. I wondered if he had something to do with her mysterious hangover.

❖

"Girl, I don't know how they expect us to concentrate with all these gorgeous men running around here," Paul, the interior designer Janet and I settled on, said as I set down three cups of coffee for him and his assistants. He was the perfect stereotype of what most people would imagine when thinking of a male interior designer with his skinny jeans and brightly colored shirt, which was more like a blouse. His dark brown hair was cut short, except for the long wisp of white-blonde bangs hanging to one side of his forehead.

"You don't have to tell me." I laughed, playing along. "I started last week and I'm still drooling all over myself half of the day."

"Here, honey"--he tossed me a monogrammed handkerchief--"for the drool. I've got two."

Closing the door behind me, I covered my nose with the gift to lessen the effect of the paint fumes as thick plastic covering the floor crinkled under my feet. Janet wanted to get the redecorating done well before her departure so after settling on a firm, she insisted they begin over the weekend painting the offices on the west end of the floor.

I stepped through a makeshift door at the end of the hallway made from the same plastic that was on the floor and turned to make my way back to Janet's office.

The morning flew by as she filled me in on the intricacies of working for Gregory Michaels. He liked to give everything a personal touch, so a good chunk of my time was spent learning the names of G&G's top vendors and dealers.

"Is it okay if I step out to grab some lunch?" I asked as Janet flipped through some swatches Paul asked her opinion on.

"Of course. Can you drop these off to Paul on your way and tell him to go with this one?" She handed me the stack.

"Sure, do you want me to bring you back something to eat?"

"No thanks, I pack my lunch most days," she replied with a smile.

"Okay, I won't be long," I said before heading back to the office where Paul was working.

"Hey, Paul," I poked my head in the door. "Janet wants to go with this one." I handed him the swatch. "I'm running out for lunch. Can I pick something up for you guys?"

"Thanks, hon, but we brought food. Need to keep working," he said as he adjusted a clock he was mounting on the wall. "Don't you go and get yourself kidnapped by one of those sexy boys on your way out." He winked. "Or do and just be sure to call me with all the details!"

I laughed and closed the door. He wasn't wrong about the level of hotness in the building. The three Michaels men would have been enough to keep all the women and
Paul
talking but in my days working there, I'd seen a few others who'd have no problem turning heads in their own right.

I was standing waiting for the elevator.

"Claudia, wait."

A shiver skated over my body at the sound of his voice. I sighed with relief or was it resignation? I didn't know, but I resisted turning around.

"Can we talk? Maybe have lunch?" Grey asked, sounding defeated. "I need to apologize for my behavior at the gala."

"I'd rather not." I was such a liar but it sounded convincing.

"Please, I want to apologize."

"You just did. Apology accepted," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Okay, but I still want to talk to you. To explain." He placed his hand on my shoulder and my resolve melted away. 

"Fine."

The chime of the elevator sounded and we stepped on.

Grey stayed behind me close--so close I could feel the warmth of his body through the knit blazer and sheer blouse I wore. My stupid body responded to his nearness as it always did: my skin flushed, my panties dampened, my breath quickened, and my heart pounded. So much for getting him out of my system.

I was grateful he didn't touch me. I would have lost myself in his touch, and I couldn't afford to let that happen again. I had to stay strong, in control and remember why I was really there, whom my loyalties were to.

We remained silent until arriving at the restaurant.

"Two for Michaels," Grey said to the hostess.

He shrugged and flashed me a half smile when I looked at him. He'd known I would agree to lunch. Cocky bastard. I couldn't help but smile back at him, seeing the glimmer of hope in his eyes. Not to mention those delicious lips of his but again, I needed to stay focused. Damn it.

Once we were seated and our drink orders were taken, I finally broke the silence.

"We need to make this a quick lunch. I told Janet I wouldn't be long," I said, pretending to be worried. Janet wouldn't care if I was late, especially if I told her Grey took me to lunch. In reality, I didn't trust myself to be alone with him for too long.

"This won't take long," he responded. The waitress dropped off our drinks and took our lunch orders.

I sipped my water and looked around at everyone in the restaurant, except Grey. I could sense his gaze on me, but he remained silent until the waitress returned.

"Can I get you anything else?" The petite brunette batted her eyelashes at Grey, clearly very interested in what he needed. 

"No, I'm fine," he said.

I finally looked at him. He raised his eyebrows in question.

"Oh no I'm fine, too," I said, turning to the waitress who smiled at me curiously. I imagined she was wondering what the hell my problem was.

I was happy to realize her interest in Grey wasn't bothering me. I chalked it up to getting a better handle on my attraction for him after having the weekend to stew over it. It had nothing to do with the fact he didn't even look at her.

I inhaled deeply, the scent of pepperoni and cheese filling my nostrils. I was absolutely famished. I hadn't eaten breakfast and my appetite over the weekend had been spotty at best. I'd decided on an Italian grinder, so I could eat it on the go if I needed to make a quick escape.

"I'm sorry for ambushing you the other night and for the way I acted after." He looked at me sincerely. God his eyes were entrancing. "The things I said to you, about my brother, I had no right. I don't know what I was thinking but you have to understand, I've never felt like this about anyone before. Not even about the woman I almost married."

"What happened? Why did you just
almost
get married?" I asked, leaning in.

"She didn't show up to the wedding," he whispered, his gaze moving down to my hand and the silver necklace I was twirling.

"It was Ashley, wasn't it?" I asked gently.

He nodded in affirmation. "I wondered after I saw that picture of you together. Why do you keep it?"

"I guess I didn't have a chance to get rid of it. I left right after everything happened."

"She's the reason you went to Japan?"

"Yes, the joint venture had been in the works for months before and there were a few potential candidates to go and oversee the project, but I needed to get away. I was on a flight a week later, and I hadn't been back until the day we met."

"Why did she change her mind?"

"I suppose it was an extreme case of cold feet. Looking back, there were signs. She didn't feel as if I was ambitious enough. When my father named Gregory as CEO of G&G, we got into a huge fight. She wanted me to challenge the decision, but I'd never wanted the job in the first place. Like I told you, the family business was never my dream. I joined out of necessity and I'm glad I did, but I was never suited for Gregory's role. I need more freedom than that."

"Can I ask you one more thing about her?" He nodded. "Is she dating Chad now?"

"No, he wouldn't do that. I think I mentioned our families are close when we saw her at dinner?" He looked to me for affirmation.

I nodded.

"Well, in addition to being G&G's former CFO, Ashley's father is my dad's best friend and her brother, Josh, is our current CFO. My family isn't the type who would write her off because my relationship with her didn't work out. That's another reason I left. To make it easier on everyone. Let the wounds heal."

That was why Joshua Slade sounded so familiar to me. He was Ashley's fucking brother. My positive feelings about him chasing after Bridget dissipated entirely. His sister was obviously a complete bitch. She had to be to leave Grey standing at the altar, so the odds were good he was a complete asshole.

Grey stopped to push around the pasta on his plate, but he didn't actually eat. I was tempted to ask him what they talked about after the gala. I was more tempted to ask if they did anything more than talk right before I lost my appetite.

"We all grew up together and my parents always loved her like a daughter. I think they were just as hurt as I was that day. My mom never thought we were right for each other. I think she was almost relieved when Ashley didn't show up."

"Was there someone else?" I asked.

"Are you asking if she ever cheated on me or if I cheated on her?" he asked, pinning me with his intense gaze. "So we're clear, I would never do anything like that. Ashley was unfaithful, one time I know of, a few weeks before the wedding. She confessed right away, swearing it was the biggest mistake of her life. She said she was just scared about getting married, and I was foolish enough to forgive her and try to work through it. I think subconsciously she was trying to end things without really having to end them."