Irresistible Lies (16 page)

“I’m
still in love with him. Maybe that makes me an idiot. At this point, there’s
nothing I can do about it except try to move on from him. But I’m not crying on
the couch, am I? I’m not asking you to pick up the pieces. I’m handling it. So
leave me alone.”

Caroline
swore under her breath, and the two sisters stared at each other.

“Mommy?”
Grace spun around to see Jake looking up at her with tired eyes. “Why are you fighting?”

“We’re
not fighting,” she said, reaching down to scoop him up. “We were just talking.
Sorry we woke you.”

He
yawned, looking adorable in his blue pajamas with trains on them. His innocent
presence sucked some of the tension out of the room.

“How
are you feeling, big guy?” Will asked.

“Better,”
Jake said. “My tummy still hurts.”

“Let’s
get you in bed,” Grace said, kissing him on the cheek.

“Can
I sleep in your room?”

“Of
course, baby.” She shot a look at Caroline, who was looking at the two of them
with concern. “Let’s go.”

Jake
slept like a log, which Grace knew because she spent the majority of the night
watching him. Her mind took on a life of its own, replaying every moment she
and Jamie shared since he showed up in Virginia.

Yep,
she was definitely still in love with him.

She
knew what she had to do.

Chapter 15

Jake’s
fever broke in the middle of the night, and he was back to his old self the
next morning. Grace was tempted to keep him home from school, call in sick and
spend the day with him, but she knew she had to face her problems sooner or
later. She got Jake ready for school, passing Caroline in the hallway on her
way to the bathroom without saying a word.

Grace
drove Jake to school and headed off to work, her heart beating rapidly in her
chest. She hadn’t been this nervous in a long time.

“Charlie?”
She knocked on the door to his office, hands shaking.

“Come
in.” He smiled at her, but his smile faded when he saw her expression. “What
happened?”

She
closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry to do this.”

“You’re
making me nervous.”

“This
isn’t about you, it’s about me.”

He
swept a hand through his dark hair. “Are you... breaking up with me?”

“I
slept with Jamie.”

There.
She said it.

It
didn’t make her feel any better, just a lot worse.

Charlie
sat down in his chair, his mouth open in shock. “Wow,” he said after a moment.
“I guess I should have expected that.”

Grace
wanted to cry, but knew she had no right to. She hated herself for hurting him.
“I’m so, so sorry. I went to meet him last night, and it just happened. You
deserve so much better than that, and I wish I could have given it to you.”

She
could tell that Charlie’s mind was racing. She recognized his expression as one
she had seen in the conference room a million times. “Okay. Hold on. Let’s
think about this rationally.”

She
sunk down into the chair across from his desk. “You must hate me.”

“No.
I don’t.” He folded his hands together. “The way I see it, we were never
exclusive. We never had any agreement on that.”

“Agreement?”

“I
called you my girlfriend yesterday, but you never confirmed it.”

He
spoke as if their relationship were a business transaction.

“That
doesn’t make it right, what I did. It doesn’t excuse it.”

“It
might,” Charlie said, his voice completely calm. “I suppose I’m equally to
blame in this whole thing. I practically forced you on Jamie. You told me you
didn’t want to work with him, and I knew you two had a history.”

She
covered his hand with hers. “Charlie, this has nothing to do with anything you
did or didn’t do. This is all my fault, not yours.”

“In
that case, what if I forgive you?”

“What?”

“What
happens then?”

The
question was so unexpected, she had no answer.

“We
are great together. That’s why we work so well together.” He smiled at her. “We
care about each other.”

“I
know, but-”

“Are
you planning to get back together with Jamie?”

“No!”

“So,
what’s the problem?”

“The
problem? I slept with another man. This is not going to work between us,
Charlie. You know that.”

Charlie
shrugged. “I just think it would be a mistake to throw this away. No
relationship is perfect. I think there’s something worth salvaging here. The
way I see it, we would be right on track if Castleton hadn’t shown up here.”

“Yes,
we would.”

“So,
let’s forget he ever happened and get back on track. No harm done.”

He
sat back in his seat, pleased with his reasoning.

Grace
understood for the first time why she was never able to separate the business
and relationship sides of Charlie. It was because the businessman and the man
were one and the same. She smiled gently at him. “Charlie, can I ask you something?”

“Of
course.”

“Do
you think you could ever love me?”

He
blinked at her in confusion. “Sure.”

“How
long do you think it would take?”

“Real
love? That kind of thing takes years. You have to really build a foundation
with someone if it’s going to last.”

“What
about falling in love? Does that take years?”

He
made a face. “Now come on. Falling in love is a hormonal reaction. It fades. I
thought you were talking about love as in family and friendship. As in caring
for someone and supporting them and protecting them. That’s what counts. That’s
what I could offer you as my girlfriend.”

“What
if I want more?”

Charlie
shook his head. “Don’t say that. That’s not you, and it’s not me. That’s why we
are perfect together. We are smart, rational people who care about each other. Neither
of us is looking for that fairy tale stuff.”

Had
she told him that before? Probably. After Jamie broke up with her, she had
convinced herself she would be happy with something simpler than passion, than
love.

Now,
she knew she could never be happy with something less than the real thing. She
would rather be alone.

“Charlie,
I think you’re going to find out someday that you can fall in love, and that it
is real,” she told him. “You’re going to meet someone really special.”

He
sighed. “That sounds like a breakup line if I’ve ever heard one.”

“It’s
not.” Grace gave him a small smile. “Well, okay, maybe it is, but I really mean
it. You’re a great guy, and you’ve got a lot to offer someone. I don’t think
you should give up on the fairy tale. I think you should give up on me.”

Charlie
returned her smile with a sad one. “I’m not happy about this, Grace, but I’m
going to trust that you’re right about us. I’ll trust that you know what you’re
doing here.”

“I
do. You deserve a lot better, and you’re going to find it.”

“What
about you? What do you deserve?” He didn’t ask the question with malice, just
curiosity. “Were you in love with Jamie?”

“Yes.
But we’re not right for each other.”

“I
see.” He leaned back in his seat. “So, what’s the correct protocol here? What do
I do with Four Brothers Brewery? I have to be really honest, I’m not too sure I
want to work with Castleton anymore, considering he knew of our relationship
and decided to pursue you anyway.”

“I
don’t blame you,” she said. “Hopefully this will make things easier for you.”

“What
will?”

She
bit her lip, feeling nervous all over again. “Charlie...”

“Why
do I have a feeling I’m not going to like this either?”

She
met his eyes and shook her head slightly. “I can’t work here anymore.”

“Why
the hell not?”

“It
won’t be the same.”

“Because
of us? Maybe it will be awkward for a little while, but that will go away.
Don’t do something you’re going to regret.”

“Charlie,
I can’t work for you anymore. Not after all of this. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Grace.”
He closed his eyes. “Give it some more thought.”

She
reached for his hand. “I don’t need to. I’m really going to miss you and this
place.”

Charlie
blew out a breath. “There’s nothing I can do to convince you to stay?”

“This
was a risk we took when we decided to date,” she told him. “We both knew it
could lead to this. I’m sorry, Charlie.”

There
was a brief silence, both of them trying to wrap their heads around this
change.

“I
suppose you’re not planning to give two weeks notice?” Charlie finally asked.

She
hesitated. “Only if you really, really want me to.”

His
gray eyes narrowed, considering.

“It
would give you time to reconsider.”

“I
don’t need it.”

He
sighed. “No point dragging all of this out, then. Let’s just rip off the
band-aid.”

They
both stood up, and she went around to his side of the desk to hug him, sensing
the relationship snapping back into a business one. He embraced her warmly, and
she knew there would be no hard feelings between them.

“I
hope everything works out for you,” he said. “You’re a great person.”

His
words warmed her heart. She wished she could have fallen in love with Charlie
instead of Jamie, because it would have been so simple. But it wouldn’t have
meant half as much.

“I’ll
never forget you,” she told him earnestly. “I’ll never forget your friendship
and everything you have done for me.”

When
they parted, Grace went to tell her coworkers the news. When they asked why she
was leaving, she told them she had found another job. It was a lie, and they
all knew it, but it was a lot less messy than the truth.

Everyone
was supportive, though. Some of the women helped her clear out her desk of
everything she needed, and she was relieved to be leaving on good terms with
everyone, especially Charlie. It made the situation easier.

She
refused to dwell on the scary part of it—the fact that she was now
unemployed. She didn’t know what she was going to do for work. There weren’t
many marketing jobs in the quiet area she lived in and certainly no other
agencies around.

She
could try to get a job as a temp or an administrative assistant. It wasn’t the
right industry, but at this point it didn’t matter. All that mattered was
making sure she had enough to pay the rent and take care of Jake. She would
worry about her career later.

When
Grace was finished clearing her desk, she noticed she had two voicemails on her
machine.

She
listened to the first one, knowing before she even heard the voice that it was
going to be from Jamie.

“Grace,
it’s Jamie. Call me. We need to talk.”

That
was it.

What
a wordsmith.

She
waited for the next message.

“It’s
Jamie. Where are you? What’s going on? Your cell phone is off, you’re not
answering at work, and you ran off last night without an explanation. I’m
starting to get worried about you, Grace. Call me.”

She
erased the messages and hung up the phone. He did sound worried in that last
one, and she briefly considered calling him to let him know that everything was
fine.

She
put the phone back down almost instantly after picking it up.

Bad
idea. She had to fight those kinds of instincts, not indulge them.

She
picked up her small box of belongings, said goodbye to everyone one last time
with promises to keep in touch, and left the office.

IT
WAS A beautiful day, and Jamie had just finished a meeting that had gone
extremely well, but he still felt terrible.

He
had just secured a major deal for Four Brothers Brewery—their beer was
going to be exclusively sold in a popular restaurant chain in Virginia. The
restaurants were known for their hot wings, and Jamie was confident they would
soon be known for their great beer.

He
called his partners and told them the good news, but he hung up before they
could ask him anything personal. He didn’t want to tell his friends that things
with Grace were really bad. He was losing hope.

The
worst part was that he had no idea what happened. They had made love, and they
were so happy, and then all of a sudden it was like she flipped a switch.

What
had he said?

He
replayed the conversation in his head over and over, but he still couldn’t
figure it out.

He
had thought he was coming on too strong, too serious, by asking her to move
back to New York. Her reaction was wary, and that made him nervous. He didn’t
want to push her away by being too eager.

So
he pulled back, trying to lighten the situation, take away some of the
pressure. And that seemed to make things even worse.

He
had no idea what Grace was thinking because she wouldn’t tell him. She wasn’t
letting him inside of her head, and that is what bothered him most of all. How
could he fix things if she refused to tell him what was really wrong?

She
didn’t trust him. That’s what it came down to. She was afraid that he would
break up with her again, or that he would change his mind.

His
only chance was to prove to her that he wouldn’t.

But
how was he supposed to do that when she was avoiding him?

He
dialed her cell phone. It was still off.

He
tried her work phone and dialed her extension, but it didn’t connect to her
line.

What the hell?

He
called again, this time typing in the extension for the secretary.

“Thank
you for calling Bradden Media, this is Linda.”

“Hi,
Linda. This is Jamie Castleton. I’m calling for Grace Jones. Is she in?”