“Excuse me, gentlemen. My iPad.” I pointed as I grabbed it. The two of them nodded as I moved between the two of them to retrieve my tablet. My heart was beating so fast that I feared my rib cage would shatter. I turned on my heels and left the boardroom as fast as I could, the words repeated in my head like the chorus to a terrible pop song. Liability. Reputation. Phase me out.
Before I knew it, I was in front of Greer’s door. Without warning, I threw it open, slamming it into the wall. Greer looked up from his computer and smirked, his face the picture of unashamed arrogance.
“You’re a grimy son-of-a-bitch! You had no right to go digging into my past! Who the fuck do you think you are!” I could feel my blood pressure rising, making me dizzy. I held on to the chair in front of Greer’s desk to steady myself. He wasn’t going to get rid of me that easily.
Greer folded his arms. “I absolutely had every right to investigate you. I mean, what person up and leaves one of the nation’s most prestigious firms to come work for this place? It’s like moving from the penthouse to the ghetto. Especially when they had been doing so well. It had to be something major.”
“Who told you?” My voice was shaky. “No one at the firm knew what was going on. LSB would never let that happen. It would ruin them.” We had all signed NDAs which was a condition of my severance package. No one would risk being fired.
“Oh dear,” said Greer in the most patronizing way possible. “Money makes anyone talk. A little green, a little gift of gab, and I was able to get all the information I needed. Didn’t take much to get them to open up. By the way, Maurice says hello.”
I wanted to crumble at the mention of his name. “Maurice? He’s a liar and a thief. Greer, you can’t believe him. Even you can’t be that stupid.”
Greer gave a flippant wave. “Oh yeah, I’m sure he’s lying. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he’s believable, Ari. His story is convincing. And just convincing enough for the partners to believe.”
“You’re pathetic!” I yelled, not caring who in the office heard me. I was seething. “You know you’re not going to get this stadium design, so you sink this fucking low. Such a coward!”
With that, Greer rose from his seat and closed his door. He inched closer to me, his stifling cologne nearly choking me. “Baby girl, you think this is about the stadium. I could give a shit about that stadium for a second-rate soccer team and slick-haired Spaniards who make shit wine. This is about my partnership. It’s clear that Porter isn’t fit to take this firm to the next level. And you’re part of the reason. You’re a good designer, Ari, no doubt. But you don’t belong here. You’re a distraction to the firm. Especially to Porter.”
I furrowed my brow. “A distraction? To Porter?”
Greer chuckled, dryly. “Yeah. We aren’t blind, Ari. If Porter became partner, he’d promote you to senior associate in no time. Give you the better projects. Maybe even a corner office. How would that look to the partners?” He paused, looking me up and down. “Especially since you’re fucking him.”
I felt my heart sink into the pit of my stomach. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Right,” said Greer, unconvinced. “The long lunches. The ‘remote’ working. The way he looks at you. Touches you when you think no one is looking. I guess Maurice was right about one thing. You’ll fuck anything that moves. Had I known it was that easy...” Greer reached, squeezing my wrist with a firm grip. “Maybe I would have taken you for a ride. So, this is how we’re going to play this. You’re going to say absolutely nothing. Not a word from that pudgy face of yours or I’ll make damn sure you’re out on your ass again and not a single firm will be willing to hire you.”
I twisted my wrist away from him. “You wouldn’t. You don’t scare me.”
Greer moved back. “Don’t test me, bitch. You don’t know what connections I have. Now get out of my fucking office.”
The way Greer said those words made my blood run cold. I hurried to my office, closed my door, and then the blinds. I leaned against the wall next to the door as tears wet the collar of my blouse. I knew this would happen. I looked over at my desk. There had been fresh bouquets of stargazer lilies delivered every day to my office since the night of the gala. Once pleasant, the scent began to turn my stomach.
Dear God. What had we done?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Porter
This evening, I walked into my loft to find Ari, dressed in sweatpants and a tee, seated at the kitchen island. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she looked like a sexy college coed. I placed two greasy brown paper bags in front of Ari, whose head was buried in her laptop. When the scent of the delicious food didn’t move Ari, I cleared my throat.
“Ms. James, I went all the way to Doraville, in thirty-degree weather, for these birria tacos from El Taco Veloz. They’re the best in the city. This consommé smells like heaven. You know I wouldn’t steer you wrong. Dig in, babe!”
Ari barely looked up from her laptop, her reading glasses perched on her nose. “Oh. Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”
I folded my arms, leaning against my kitchen counter. “Ari, what’s going on? You barely ate anything at lunch. When have you ever turned down tacos of any sort? Need I remind you of the ownership of a shirt that says tacos are life?”
Ari huffed, then mumbled, “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
I stared at Ari, confused. Ari’s sarcasm usually wasn’t a turnoff for me, but today it was annoying. Combined with her aloofness, it made me ready to blow a gasket. We’d been working nonstop on our presentation, trying to sew up the final design. Not to mention, due to our crazy work schedule, we hadn’t had sex in days, so there may have been some pent-up angst. I was man enough to admit that.
I moved behind her, lifting her ponytail away from her neck, kissing along the curve of her neck. “Come on, Mon Coeur. I even have that Belgian pale ale in the fridge you like. The one with the long ass name I can’t pronounce. Let’s have a drink, eat these tacos, and admire my poorly decorated Christmas tree. Take a break, baby girl.”
Ari sighed, moving her neck away from the feel of my lips. A feeling of icy dread swept over me. “Porter, I said I wasn’t hungry. This may come as a shock to you, but sometimes I don’t feel like eating. Now is one of them.”
I backed away, raising my hands. “Whoa. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking that at all.” I sat on the barstool and looked at Ari. Her eyes were tired, and her energy was low. Not low, sad. I placed my hand on her leg, massaging her thick sweatpants-clad thigh. “Ari. What’s going on? Talk to me. Ever since we met with the partners today, you’ve been acting weird. Did I do something?”
Ari closed her eyes, inhaling deeply before removing my hand. “No, Porter. You did nothing. Not that I’m aware of.”
“What does this mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure? Because it doesn’t feel like it.” I pushed up the sleeves of my henley and leaned against the island, watching, and waiting for Ari to respond. Silence filled the space between us. Ari was never one to mince words. Her unusual quietness was unnerving and made the hairs on my neck stand up.
This wasn’t a good sign.