Playing with Power - Book 5: New Adult Office Romance (13 page)

Her thoughts were disturbed by Landon’s drowsy voice beside her. “What an awesome view,” he said straightening in his seat.

Lauren refocused her eyes and followed his gaze. “Huh, I almost missed it,” she muttered. The New York skyline rose on the horizon. The windows on a few of the highest buildings glinted with the morning light, the lower part of Manhattan still bathed in shadow.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like this. I’ve always flown in and out,” said Landon. “It’s really impressive, isn’t it?”

She smiled at the awe she heard in his voice. “It really is.”
If we can get through this intact, I think he and I will be able to face anything together.

12.

As they turned the corner onto 37th Street, Lauren felt a growing sense of dread. The StyleSpur office had been like a second home to her, almost more than that considering the amount of time she’d spent there. Years of her life, happy memories, proud achievements and they all felt tainted because of one person.

Landon slipped his hand in hers as if understanding how difficult this all was. The gesture was comforting. “I just feel a little paranoid right now,” she explained in a shaky voice. “I knew that when I eventually had to leave it was going to be difficult but this is something completely different.”

“Don’t let him get under your skin. He’s just a guy,” he said, jaw tightening. “Although, he might be a mound of shit shaped to look like a guy, now that I think on it.”

The image made Lauren smile, but it was quickly erased as she unlocked the front door. She paused as she pushed it open, stopping so short Landon nearly collided with her back.

“This may be the lack of sleep and you’re gonna think I’m paranoid, but I don’t think you should come in.” She peered into his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t think she’d gone completely crazy. “I can’t be sure that he hasn’t put cameras or recording devices in the office. I have no idea what we’re going to do about all this, but I do know he can’t hear or see anything of the planning. Unless he has eyes on us right now, he won’t know you’re with me. I could just be helping Faith out with something work related.”

“That doesn’t sound paranoid at all. Here, take these and I’ll stand guard,” he said puffing up his chest playfully. Lauren stood on her toes and quickly kissed him on the cheek, taking the tray of coffees from him.

“I’ll just go in and get her. Won’t be long.”

The front office was dark and deserted but the conference room was glowing down the hall. It made the office feel foreboding and unwelcome. She could see Faith leaning on the long table, scanning the dozens of papers scattered in front of her. She glanced at Parker’s dark office down the hall before gently knocking on the glass door.

“Coffee delivery,” she said.

Faith smiled but she looked exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes somehow made them seem brighter. She rounded the end of the table in a few swift steps with her long legs and pulled Lauren into a big embrace.

“I’ve been so worried about you. All this stuff just has me freaked out. You think you know someone, right?”

Nick’s face briefly flashed in her mind. “Seriously. It’s frightening,” Lauren whispered as Faith pulled back.She held her finger to her lips and pointed around the room, indicating they should be quiet. She found a scrap of blank paper and quickly scratched out a note.

Could be cameras or microphones. We should talk somewhere else. Act normal

With her head crooked, Faith read the note over Lauren’s shoulder and nodded.

“I’m so sorry you had to come in on a Sunday, but I just needed some help with planning the Halloween party. With everything that’s happened...” said Faith.

“Oh, totally, don’t worry about it. It’s super important for morale, so of course I’ll help.”

Their conversation flowed naturally. After all their kitchen rendezvous, complaints said through fake smiles, this charade was easy. Their conversation became almost banal until Lauren let out a loud groan.

“Listen, I’m totally starving. Do you want to maybe gather all this up and we can go out for brunch or something?”

“That’s an awesome idea! I haven’t eaten a thing yet. Help me stack all this together and we can go.”

A few minutes later, the entire office was dark and they were locking the front door. True to his word, Landon had stood guard just in the entrance. He turned and greeted them.

“Oh, good morning ladies. What an odd coincidence to be running into you here,” he winked.

Lauren smiled at his cheesiness. “Do you remember Landon?”

“Of course I do,” she said, embracing him tightly as well. He stepped back, unprepared for so much enthusiasm. Lauren had to giggle at his look of surprise. “I’m so glad you two were together through all this. Thank you for taking care of our girl here.”

“It’s a...my pleasure,” he stammered. “Looks like you’ve been busy?” His eyes on the heavy bags of paperwork.

“Oh my goodness, you have no idea,” Lauren replied. “First, we have to get some place safe we can sit down and talk about all this. It’s not like we can push together two tables in Starbucks or something.” Hesitantly, she looked to Landon. “I know you aren’t totally comfortable with it, but it is the only place I can think of...”

A muscle in his jaw twitched.
He knows something’s gone on between me and Damon but really, it’s none of his business. After everything that happened with that blonde chick...

“No, you’re absolutely right. We just need to figure out how we’re all going to get in there without being spotted. We can’t assume Parker’s stopped watching that building.”

“Where are you talking about?” Faith said with a scrunched nose.

Lauren took a deep breath, hoping Faith could keep her mouth shut. “I’ve actually been staying with Damon Kael for the last few weeks. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind us going over there so we could talk.”
Oh good, at least if her jaw hangs open like that she won’t be able to say anything about the date we had.

With no alternative, they collected their rental car and entered the building the same way they’d left. Parker knew Lauren didn’t have a car so it made sense he wouldn’t be watching the garage on the opposite side from the front entrance.

After calling Damon and briefly explaining the situation, the doorman was happy to allow Lauren and her guests through to the elevators. Even though he worked evenings, Lauren was disappointed Marco wasn’t at the desk.
I probably scared the hell out of him the other night. I should really do something nice for him.

Lauren guided them through the front door, exhaustion not only draining her of energy but also hope. Despite the brave face and bravado, she wanted to slink away to the bedroom with Landon and sleep for the next few weeks. All of this confrontation was the exact opposite of how she wanted to live her life. As her eyes fell on Damon relaxing on his sofa with the
New York Times Sunday Edition
, she knew she had no choice. This is was exactly the sort of stuff he’d been trying to teach her since they’d met.

“This place is incredible,” Faith gasped beside her. “Mr. Kael, I can’t thank you enough for letting us use your apartment.”

Lauren watched as Damon’s eyes fixed on Faith. Even in her sloppiest state, she was enchanting, in no small part because of what a genuine person she was. He carefully folded the newspaper and set it down, rising to his feet without taking his gaze from her. “Ms. Bragg, what a pleasant surprise to see you again.” As he took her hand, Lauren felt a twinge of jealousy and immediately kicked herself. Although happily in love with Landon, there was something intoxicating in the way Damon looked at a woman that she’d miss. There was an instant infatuation between them.

“So, I don’t think we should go outside with all this paper. Would it be okay if we took over your dining table?”

“Sure, whatever you’d like,” Damon replied without looking. “Would you like to see the kitchen? You strike me as the sort of woman who loves to cook,” he said guiding Faith out of the room.

Lauren and Landon shared a look as the pair walked away. “Well, she certainly has a type, doesn’t she?” he said under his breath. They started unpacking all the documents and spreading them across the table.

“Oh stop. She’s not some gold-digger. Besides, I think Damon will be a fair bit better to her than Parker ever hoped to be.”

When Faith and Damon returned from the kitchen, she took her place in the middle of the table, organizing the stacks of papers. Damon hung back, not sure if he was welcome. Lauren smiled at him and waved him over. “Come look. We might need your input. As StyleSpur CTO, I practically insist.”

For ten minutes, Faith ran them through every bit of evidence she could find that implicated Parker or his brother in anything remotely unethical or illegal. Not only had they been taking money from their dad and declaring some of it as income, they also created a handful of fake clients. Everything was inflated; income, client lists, industry reach, success. Lauren recognized a few of the fake company names as ones she’d detailed in her presentations to the investors.

“Goes to show you how much image is worth, doesn’t it? There’s really nothing there, nothing like what they’re trying to say there is.” Faith finally concluded. “They got too cocky. I think they were more careful in the beginning but once they saw how easy it was and figured no one was watching...”

“Wow,” was all Lauren could manage. She was seriously impressed, looking at Faith as if she were a different woman.

“Hell hath no fury, eh?” said Landon.

“No, that’s not it at all,” Lauren said, putting a hand on Faith’s arm. “This is amazing work. This is like, financial forensic level digging and you’ve only been going for a couple hours. Just imagine what you could find if you had more time!”

Faith blushed and smoothed a few pieces of her hair back. “It’s not really all that good. I just knew where to look. Goes to show how much of my life has been spent at that office, right?”

“Well, when this is all over, you definitely won’t have a problem finding a job,” said Landon.

“Oh! You should come out and work with us,” said Lauren excitedly. Faith was positively beaming, looking happier than she’d seen in her months.

“But wait, we’re really getting ahead of ourselves here. What does this all actually prove?”

“I think that largely depends on what you plan on doing here.” It was the first thing Damon had said, his deep voice startling the group. Then, almost as one, Faith and Landon turned their attention back to Lauren. The expectation in his words grated against Lauren, like he was waiting for her to produce the correct solution.

She threw her hands up. “I have no idea. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m unfamiliar with the etiquette. If I had it my way, I’d just castrate the fucker and be done with it.” She knew she’d reacted harshly, so taking a calming breath, she started again. “I still don’t understand what all this really means. I know this is proof of fraud but what can I do with it? Report him to the IRS or something? Get him audited?”

“Among other things,” said Landon. “What we have here could completely demolish everything Parker has built with StyleSpur. We release this to the clients you have and they’ll run for the hills. I’m not gonna go so far as to say it could destroy his career because, let’s face it, the guy is a cockroach. Plus, most investors don’t give a shit about someone’s criminal background so long as they’re able to produce money there and then.”

“He’s not wrong,” said Damon. “Parker has a reputation and it’ll take a special kind of implosion for that to be touched. This stuff?” He gestured to the pile of papers and then crossed his arms. “In the right hands, all of this could be construed to look like the workings of a clever businessman.”

Lauren felt sick to her stomach. She pushed away from the table and found she couldn’t meet the eyes of anyone in the room.
I’ve dragged them all into this and here I am, too weak to decide what to do.
“I just need some time to think, excuse me.”

She made her way outside to the patio, tightening the sweater around her, and sank wearily into a chair. Closing her eyes, she focused on the calm breeze caressing her skin and fought back tears.
I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t want anything to do with this. Why can’t I just leave, go to California and just forget about him? Chalk him up to a shitty chapter in my life that’s now finished.
She tilted her head toward the warm morning sun and imagined she was on Landon’s balcony, the cool breeze touched with a hint of brine.
If only we were there now,
she thought bitterly.

Opening her eyes and gazing around, she realized she’d never been out on this patio during the day. At this height, she felt like she was in the treetops of the concrete jungle. The same buildings that formed that skyline to which she’d pinned so much value were nearly eye level. It was in this moment she accepted how much she’d actually changed.
I’m playing in a much bigger league here,
she thought with a mixture of fear and pride.
If I don’t step up, I’m gonna be crushed. Who knows if I’ll ever had another chance.

The door slid open behind her but she made no move to look, afraid her emotions would betray her. A moment later, Damon sat in the chair beside her, the orange book in his lap. She stared at the embossed lettering and wanted to curse its existence while, at the same time, giving thanks for its presence in her life. He opened it and thumbed through the pages, stopping a third of the way through before handing it to her. She nearly resisted when she saw the cold look in his eyes, but knew his advice had helped before.