Deception (Infidelity #3)

She laughed. “I’m saying that we should run in the park in the morning instead of in your gym. I mean, look at this.” Her golden eyes scanned the vista before us. Hints of orange, red, and yellow dotted the landscape. The green that had prevailed all summer was giving way to the inevitability of change.

My gym was secure. This park wasn’t. But instead, I gave her a different excuse. “I have monitors in my gym and can catch up on the news and overnight turns in the markets. Besides, you don’t run every morning.”

“You only have one treadmill.”

“I’ll buy a second treadmill,” I offered.

“Stop. You don’t need to buy anything.” Her smile turned bashful. “Besides, it’s okay. I’ll settle for our normal morning workout.”

My lips twitched as my cheeks rose. “I missed that workout this morning.”

“Me too,” she replied, her voice merely a breathy whisper, as if she was concerned that the others around us could hear our topic of conversation. And then I caught a glimpse of Charli’s pink cheeks and laughed. By the expression on her face, anyone who looked our way could probably figure out what we were talking about.

“Nox.” She turned to me in all seriousness. “I’m going to call Bryce and let him know it didn’t work.”

“No.” I didn’t want her talking, texting, or fucking sending smoke signals to him. If that letter came from him, then he knew more about Demetri Enterprises than he should—too much.

Her smile and crimson blush disappeared. “I respect your opinion, I really do, but I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. I’ve thought about it, and I’m calling him.”

“Princess, I’m not being a dick.” I never planned to let her forget the title she’d given me in Del Mar after our standing ovation at the gas station. “Before you call, let Deloris do her thing. Let’s be sure he’s the one who wrote it. If he didn’t, he won’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

Her brow furrowed as she considered my argument. “I don’t understand how she thinks it could be someone else. Who would know that stuff?”

We had plenty of time before her class and testimony wasn’t scheduled to start on the hearing until after the lunch recess. I tugged her hand to stop and led us to a park bench. As we stilled and sat, for the first time since we’d left Patrick’s apartment, I saw my security. It wasn’t Isaac or Jerrod. They were both parked near the library at Columbia. These were men Deloris kept near. I knew names, but our interaction was minimal, or at least that was how it was supposed to be.

“Charli,” I searched for the right words.

Her golden eyes widened, sparkling in the sunshine that filtered through the canopy of leaves.

“Last night, you said to call if I was ready to talk.”

“Yes.”

I sat straighter, never letting go of her hand. “I’m not.”

Her gaze moved away before returning. “I guess that’s why you didn’t call?”

Involuntarily, my cheeks rose. “I didn’t, did I?”

“No.”

“I suppose I’m more direct.”

She nodded. “Yes, Mr. Demetri, I’ve noticed that about you.”

I took a deep breath. “Deloris told you that Demetri Enterprises is connected to some less than savory dealings. Mostly I can blame Oren.”

“Mostly?” she asked.

“Mostly,” I confirmed. “But Infidelity, for example, that was me. I learned about the company. I’m the one who made the investment. Some of the people we do business with very well could be involved in straight-up prostitution. I don’t know. I don’t want to know. So whether that letter was referring to Infidelity or a less organized business, the fact is that Demetri Enterprises could more than likely be connected to prostitution. As for the accusations regarding Jocelyn, I’ve told you, I can’t talk about it.” I squeezed her hand again and brushed my lips over hers. “Be patient with me. When I’m ready, you’re the one I’ll share with. I just need to find the right words.”

“Have you spoken to anyone?”

I looked away, trying to forget the images that plagued my sleepless night. “I spoke to the police when…”

Her eyes widened as she listened to my words.

“When it happened,” I continued. “That letter said I hid things from her family. That’s not exactly the truth.”

Charli didn’t speak, allowing me the freedom to divulge what I could.

“Jocelyn wasn’t close to them, not after we got together. They didn’t want her with me.” I shrugged. “Much like your family.”

“Nox, it isn’t that my family doesn’t want me with you. They don’t even know you. My mother is fixated on Bryce. She has been for as long as I can remember.”

“The Matthewses didn’t like me. They were the stereotypical Midwestern family. Jocelyn wasn’t as independent as you. She never had lofty career aspirations. We met young and well, they wanted more for their daughter than me.”

Charli’s head moved slowly from side to side.

“What?”

“I’m trying hard not to interrupt you. Please, keep going.”

My lips twitched. “Begging now, are we?”

Her cheeks blushed. “I’m going to ignore that. Fine. I was wondering how they wanted more than you?”

I shifted, allowing my knees to fall farther apart as I clenched my own hand and studied the ground near my shoes. “They said I was nothing more than the son of a two-bit swindler from Brooklyn. I was where I was because I rode my father’s underworld coattails.”

“You don’t see yourself that way, do you?”

“I try not to.”

Charli reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. “I don’t know what you do,” she said. “I know you work hard. I didn’t know you were from Brooklyn. So what? You took me to the house in Westchester. But Nox, I didn’t even know your last name in Del Mar and I knew you were a man of substance.”

I looked up to her beautiful face framed in the auburn waves. Though she’d pulled most of her hair back, small wisps blew gently in the breeze to tease her cheeks and lips. I reached out and tucked a rogue strand behind her ear. “You’ve spoken to your mother. That letter said that she wants you away from me. No doubt, she doesn’t think I’ll do for her blue-blood daughter.”

Anger flashed in her golden eyes. “Do you have any idea how much I hate that?”

Before I could reply, she went on.

“I’m so sick of the whole blue-blood world. Shit, it’s like the Westminster dog show. The breeding pool is getting smaller and smaller. Pretty soon the only way to maintain pedigree will be to marry siblings or cousins!”

“Patrick did give me a suspicious look this morning.”

Her anger simmered. “He’s not really my cousin. Other than the fact that he’s gay, we could marry.”

“He’s not?” My back straightened. How many fake family members was she going to claim?

“Not by blood. He’s Alton’s nephew—his sister’s son. I tell anyone and everyone that I’m not related to Alton Fitzgerald. I wouldn’t want that man’s blood in my veins.”

“So Patrick is your stepcousin?”

“Yes.”

“Back to your earlier question,” I said, “after Jo was gone, I didn’t talk about it. I never told the Matthewses the whole story. If they’d come to me, I might have, but they didn’t. Instead they made accusations. The only one who knows everything is Deloris. She knows because she worked for us then.”

“Isaac?”

“Yes, but not all the details. He didn’t work as closely with Jo. Deloris filled in as Jo’s family when they turned their back on her.

“Were… are her parents well-to-do?”

“No.”

Charli shook her head. “I don’t understand why they thought you were so bad, why they’d accuse you?”

“Because with me she lived a life they didn’t understand. They wanted her to meet a nice lawyer or doctor and settle down in a small town and live the perfect life behind a white picket fence. They never imagined her in New York City in a high-rise apartment, flying here and there. It didn’t make sense to them. If she didn’t call, they assumed it was because of me. If she didn’t attend her great-uncle’s eightieth birthday, it was my fault.”

Silence hung heavily in the air as I waited for Charli’s response. When I didn’t say more, she did.

“Thank you.” As she spoke, she lifted my left hand and kissed my palm.