Show and Tell (46 page)
“That’s crap. I have always considered your feelings.”
The tendons of her throat worked as she swallowed, her nostrils flaring as she took a breath, let it out, then finally . . . the words. “Take it or leave it.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that we keep our affair a secret, the way it was before. And we have fun without all the messiness that goes with
more
.”
more
.”
“No. No fucking secrets.”
She stepped away, her eyes unreadable. He could back down, he knew it. But he wanted more than to meet her in hotels, the backseat of his car, or even his bedroom if it meant she’d sneak away when the sun came up so she could change at her own place.
He flexed his fingers. There could be no compromise on this one. “No secrets.” Then, in barely more than a murmur, he added, “take it or leave it.”
She closed her eyes for a couple of a seconds longer than it took to blink. His heart stuttered in his chest like a gambler’s just before his bluff gets called. In those two seconds, he let his chance to retract slip away.
“Then I leave it,” she whispered.
OH God, oh God. Outside on the stone stoop, Trinity covered her mouth in case a scream tried to escape.
You idiot.
It was her father’s voice. No, Lance’s. Harper’s. Scott. God, it was
all
the men in her life telling her what to do.
You idiot.
It was her father’s voice. No, Lance’s. Harper’s. Scott. God, it was
all
the men in her life telling her what to do.
Her cheeks were flushed yet her hands were cold as ice. She’d left her wrap inside, and the cool March night pebbled her skin. Or maybe it was the thought of never seeing him again.
Cold turkey. She shuddered. She couldn’t handle the withdrawal all over again. Staring at the door, she willed it to open, willed it to be him changing his mind. She didn’t want him to beg or grovel. She simply wanted to go back to the way it had been Tuesday morning when she’d woken in his arms.
The door didn’t open. Scott didn’t follow. Trinity knew she’d lost. She’d gotten angry and reacted on the spur of the moment. Yet that didn’t make what she’d said any less true. She would never stand securely on her own two feet if she didn’t . . . stand.
Why did all the men in her life have to push-push-push? As if she was a twit without a brain in her head? Because she allowed them to, that’s why. Men did what you
allowed
them to do.
allowed
them to do.
As much as she wanted Scott, she couldn’t let him push her into a relationship she wasn’t ready for.
BY Monday morning, Scott realized he was as stubborn as Trinity. He hadn’t told her he loved her. And all Sunday, instead of picking up the phone, he’d checked his e-mail constantly, waiting for her capitulation. He was unwilling to make the first move because, he told himself, he wanted a helluva lot more than to be her secret “boy toy.”
Thank God Monday morning arrived with work to occupy his mind. He signed off on the final version of the 10K report for the SEC. It was now ready for Rudd’s and the auditors’ approval.
Despite Ron’s grumbling over the bottom line, Scott hadn’t given in. Ten minutes after he sent off the file, his company e-mail beeped, and he knew damn well who it was.
“We need to discuss,” the e-mail read, “now. You do realize your job is on the line here.”
Je-sus. Was that a threat? Scott cocked his head, staring at the computer screen. Could Rudd have sent the photos, finally making his demands today?
Change the bottom line or your job and your life are toast.
Change the bottom line or your job and your life are toast.
Before he had time to analyze, Grace knocked on his jamb. “I need to talk to you.” She closed the door, her lips thin, and her face more on the pale side than usual. Something was up.
Instead of taking a seat as she usually did, she leaned back against the doorframe. Sighing, she perused her stylish pumps, then focused on something out the window behind him. He put off his confrontation with Rudd for a few minutes. Scott felt like making the man sweat a little longer, because he sure as hell wasn’t giving into any blackmail. Dealing with Grace gave him time to formulate a plan.
“What can I do for you, Grace?” He pushed back from his desk, crossing a foot over his knee and clasping his hands, affording her a relaxed demeanor.
“I don’t know quite how to say this.”
“Say it plainly then.”
Finally, she raised her eyes. “I saw you Saturday night.”
The back of his neck prickled.
“I went to use the powder room, and the door wasn’t locked.” She met his gaze steadily now, not flinching.
Fuck. He’d exposed Trinity. The things she’d said on Saturday might be true. He wanted what he wanted, her feelings and all else be damned. He lost his head around her every time.
“I apologize, Grace, for making you uncomfortable.”
She shifted her weight from foot to foot, pushing straighter against the door. “It’s an ethical issue. We’ve got the new contract with Green, and this presents a conflict of interest.”
He tapped his fingers together. “There’s no conflict. One thing has nothing to do with the other. I know how to separate business from pleasure.” Trinity wanted “separate,” yet he was too obsessed to actually accomplish it her way. The things she’d said that night were starting to make a lot of sense.
“You wouldn’t do anything improper, but it’s the
appearance
”— Grace stressed the word with a grimace—“of impropriety.”
appearance
”— Grace stressed the word with a grimace—“of impropriety.”
In her position, he’d be saying the same thing. Scott rose, looked out the window over the high-rises. The sky was dark, the clouds painted on like splotches of gray. Then he turned. “I understand your point. But there is no business impropriety.”
Her jaw worked, then she flung herself across the room, grabbed the back of the chair, and her thoughts burst out in words. “How could you do that to yourself? Compromise your ethics? And with someone like her. She’s a floozy, an airhead.”
“Let’s not get personal.” Grace was overwrought. He couldn’t allow himself to get angry. “The contract was signed and negotiated before I knew the woman’s name,” he reminded her. He hadn’t compromised his ethics, but he had hurt Trinity.
Grace’s fingers whitened on the chair. “She’s made you lose your mind.” She gulped air, catching her breath, and he was shocked at the vitriol rolling across her face. “How can you throw your career away on that
slut
?”
slut
?”
Everything inside him stilled. “Watch what you’re saying. You’re free to criticize my actions, but don’t cross the line and pass judgment on her.”
She worried her lip, then did a quick back and forth pace by the side of the chair. “But it’s the ethics,” she repeated, though she’d already revealed her envy.
An e-mail line echoed in his mind.
Do you really want to throw yourself away on a slut like her?
Grace’s question was eerily similar. He studied her. “How many times have you seen me with Miss Green?” he queried.
Do you really want to throw yourself away on a slut like her?
Grace’s question was eerily similar. He studied her. “How many times have you seen me with Miss Green?” he queried.
Her gaze dropped to her shoe’s pointed toe. “Saturday.”
“That’s bullshit.”
If it wasn’t, she would have looked at him. Instead, her shoe remained particularly interesting. “It’s true.”
“You’ve been following me and taking pictures.” He was a moron. He’d thought she was acting oddly, but he’d written it off as the divorce. “You even used a visitor badge to do it.”
Pressing her lips together, she didn’t say a word.
Elton held a hand up in the side window by the door, and Scott waved him away. It was a closed door. When would they understand that meant to stay the fuck out?
“Grace. Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”
She gave him a mutinous scowl she reserved for recalcitrant staff. “What about you? On company property. I
saw
you.”
saw
you.”
“It wasn’t on company time.” He didn’t feel an ounce of guilt about it. “Nor do I need to explain myself to you.”
“But why
her
?”
her
?”
He recognized the stark pain in her eyes. “Because.” That was the thing about need and want, even love. There was no good reason it should be one person over another, yet it was.
“But I’ve been letting you know how I feel for months.”
Shit. He knew that was coming. “We work together.”
“That’s the point. We work
so
well together.” She rubbed her temples. “I thought you were done with her after the picture I sent of you outside the movies.” Reaching back, she squeezed her neck muscles as if they ached. “Then you saw her the day of the contract meeting, and I knew it would start all over.”
so
well together.” She rubbed her temples. “I thought you were done with her after the picture I sent of you outside the movies.” Reaching back, she squeezed her neck muscles as if they ached. “Then you saw her the day of the contract meeting, and I knew it would start all over.”
“So you began sending those e-mails again.”
She blinked rapidly. “I can be what you want,” she whispered. “If you like kinky, I can do that. I’ve seen you around her. I know what you want. I can give it to you. If you need a threesome, I’d be willing to try.”
He took a step back. “That isn’t what I’m looking for.”
The thought of doing
any
thing with Grace was horrific. There was only Trinity. She set him on fire, no one else. It wasn’t the mystery or the excitement, her age, his time of life. It was Trinity herself, her voice, her laugh, her zeal for new experiences, her ability to savor every taste, sight, or sound.
any
thing with Grace was horrific. There was only Trinity. She set him on fire, no one else. It wasn’t the mystery or the excitement, her age, his time of life. It was Trinity herself, her voice, her laugh, her zeal for new experiences, her ability to savor every taste, sight, or sound.
“Scott.”
The whole scene was like something out of an old
Twilight Zone
episode. He’d been zapped into another reality. “No. A personal relationship between us is out of the question.”
Twilight Zone
episode. He’d been zapped into another reality. “No. A personal relationship between us is out of the question.”
She stared at him, two spots of color blooming on her cheeks. Tension rippled along her jaw as she clenched her teeth. “I’m not so sure Mr. Rudd would find it
fine
if he knew what you were doing in that hotel room with Herman Green’s daughter.”
fine
if he knew what you were doing in that hotel room with Herman Green’s daughter.”
Sonovabitch. Now she was pissed and out for revenge. He’d never have thought it of Grace, but giving her the upper hand in any way was a big fucking mistake. He nipped it in the bud. “Let’s find out what he has to say together.” Striding to the door, he yanked it open, then crooked his finger. “Follow me.”
She hesitated, until she saw by the look in his eye that he’d drag her if she didn’t come on her own. She followed like a lamb. He wanted to smack the walls as he passed, not sure whether he was angrier with himself or her. In Rudd’s office, he held off slamming the door with his last modicum of control.
Ron stared. “What’s
she
doing here?”
she
doing here?”
In normal practice, Scott would have castigated the man for the nasty tone used about one of his staff, but he felt the same animosity. “Grace may have something to add to the discussion.”
Printed pages of the 10K lay scattered across Rudd’s desk. Scott leaned in, jabbing them with his index finger. “These numbers are solid. There’s nothing we can do to make them any better. So don’t threaten me with my fucking job.”
Ron again stared at Grace. “I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation to have with your employee present.”
Scott glanced over his shoulder. She clasped her hands, fingers laced. “Oh, it’s appropriate.” A stab of anger pierced his temple. Fuck what
he’d
done, she didn’t have the right to try coercion on him. “Grace might have some light to shed on the subject.” He waited. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Well, Grace, cat got your tongue?”
he’d
done, she didn’t have the right to try coercion on him. “Grace might have some light to shed on the subject.” He waited. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Well, Grace, cat got your tongue?”
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