Autumn pulled herself away and opened the side drawer of the desk. The drawer opened soundlessly. She glanced quickly at the tabs in an unbroken row.
"These look like pending projects."
She closed the drawer and opened the one on the other side. Those files had individual names. There was one with Matt's name. Her heart dipped, and she stared at the folder.
She wasn't sure she wanted to see what was inside. Everything having to do with the blackmail. It wasn't what she was looking for, but curiosity got the better of her and she slid the file from its slot.
A CD fell out. The blackmail recording?
With trembling fingers, Autumn picked it up and opened the case. The label read: Autumn Moretti.
She felt nausea rise in her stomach. He had done this! Here was the evidence.
She swallowed. No! She wasn't in his office for that. Put it away. She had already forgiven him and she wouldn't let the issues back into her life, into their life.
Slipping the CD back in its case, her gaze was pulled once again to the file contents. A large envelope was the only other thing in there.
Autumn bit her lip. She would guess it was full of pictures. Revealing pictures. Embarrassing pictures. Private pictures. She would never know because she wasn't going to open it. Let it go. She would ask him to destroy it, the CD, the pictures, any and all of it. Looking inside that envelope would reopen a wound she didn't want to feel again.
About to return the CD, Autumn heard a voice from the doorway, low, edged and deceptively calm.
"Looking for something?"
Her head jerked up. What was he doing home so early? His head was cocked watching her with a gaze that appeared to be cool and assessing, but as the seconds passed grew icy and jagged. His eyes flicked down to the file still in her hands.
Her heart thudded. Dread pulsed through her veins, and she felt heat scorch her face.
"Magnus." She whispered, guilt and embarrassment spreading quickly. She dropped the CD inside the file and slid the folder back into place, shoving the drawer closed, its thud too loud in the tense silence.
"I was only...I was trying to find something to show Matt to..." She trailed off at the fury underlying his mask of implacable calm.
"No, that's not what I meant." She shook her head. Get to the point before there is a misunderstanding that can't be fixed. "I was looking for something, anything so Matt would stop doubting you."
But it was too late. He wasn't listening. She'd been in the file, had been holding the CD. His mind was already made up.
"Magnus, I found that file by chance. I wasn't looking for it. That's not why I'm here...with you." Is that what he thought? She had come home with him so she could ransack his house? An intense regret clutched at her chest.
His eyes staring straight ahead were furious and his face was flushed, but his words were cool, level and steady. "My driver will take you home." He didn't move, wouldn't look at her. "Get your things."
She was mortified. She dropped her gaze, feeling terrible. "I'm sorry."
Looking up, his expression hadn't changed, he hadn't moved. He was still waiting for her to leave.
She did, walking past him, into the hall. She stopped, but he stepped into the office and slammed the door in her face. She stared at the door, jumping as something crashed inside.
Okay. It was going to be okay. She walked on trembling legs to the living room.
She'd talk to him when things settled down, when he'd listen to her.
All she had was her coat and purse which she slid over her shoulder, heading for the front door, a foreboding settling inside her.
"Your phone." She whirled around at the curt, angry tone. She accepted her phone and grabbed her coat from the front closet and yanked open the door.
Blessedly, the elevator was still on their floor and she hurried in, punching the button for the first floor. She let out a trembling breath as the doors closed.
Checking the time on her phone, she found the call log open. Oh no. She always cleared her Apps. Magnus must have looked at her call log...and he would have seen that she'd last talked to Matt, just before she'd, in his eyes, ransacked his office.
Autumn leaned her forehead against the hard, cool side of the elevator. He would think she was digging for incriminating information to give to Matt. She squeezed her eyes shut. Badly done, Autumn.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Please talk to me
He darted his eyes at the phone lying on his desk. Another text from Autumn. He'd kept his phone close. Despite Autumn's duplicity, he didn't want her to completely disappear from his life which made him pathetic as fuck. He should have deleted her number, blocked her, but he couldn't do it.
He'd caught her going through his files and she'd had the fucking CD in her hands. He wouldn't give her a chance to do it again. He'd fucking trusted her.
Autumn...fuck Autumn...he couldn't get her out of his head. She had seriously fucked with him, his head, his heart, every fucking thing. He'd trusted her and she'd gutted him.
Good girls. What a crock of shit...there weren't any. On the outside they were all innocent eyes and sugary smiles; on the inside, their hearts were ice, selfish and deceitful.
Funny, until he'd told her himself, he'd been worried she'd find out about the clubs, worried that she'd be disgusted, and there would be no way to repair the damage. He would have lost her forever. And all this time, she was more deceitful than a crack whore.
* * * * * *
She only hoped Jamie would pick up. He was her last hope of reaching Magnus.
The phone rang three times before he answered.
"Autumn. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's good Jamie. Hey I can't reach Magnus. Is he at home?" She hedged. She hadn't lied; she shouldn't feel guilty.
He hesitated for only a second. "No, he should be down at Little Darlings tonight."
"Oh, ok. Thanks."
Obviously, he hadn't told Jamie yet, but would Jamie call him and warn him she was looking for him? Even if they were still seeing each other, Jamie might do that. She would need to hurry.
She quickly did a search for "Little Darlings," and found the address.
Maybe she should wait. Go to him when he was at work. No, he would never listen to her there. She needed to do it now.
She called a cab and by the time she stepped outside, it was waiting at curb. She stared out the window as they sped through the city, lights blurring, stretching and breaking like pieces of urban taffy.
She sat back, worrying her lip. What if Magnus ignored her, told her to leave, didn't want to talk to her?
She was ready for him to do any and all of that, but she needed to explain that she wasn't going through his stuff for Matt. Matt would never ask it of her anyway. Didn't Magnus realize that?
But still, she shouldn't have gone into his office when he wasn't there. She should have asked him, trusted him to help her convince Matt.
Even though Magnus didn't care what Matt thought, she'd hoped he'd cared enough about her that he would want Matt to know he wasn't a thug.
The cab pulled to the front of the club. She slid out and stood for several seconds before leaning back in.
"Can you wait?"
"Sure." He shrugged.
A precaution. Always better to be prepared. She blew out several breaths and headed for the door. She could hear the music, but that wasn't the first thing she noticed. There was a vibe even from outside. She glanced around warily before pulling open the door.
The music intensified as she stepped inside the dim, smoke-filled room. She blinked, scanning the area.
If nothing else, she just wanted to explain and apologize.
She stood where she was, hesitant to move into the core of activity, but several patrons stared at her like she was one of the strippers, and the desire to move away from their scrutiny propelled her forward. She traipsed further into the room, feeling completely exposed.
As Autum
n got closer to the stage, she saw the girl swinging her hips and flashing everything at the men sitting at tables just below her. She suddenly stripped off her top and shock made Autumn take a step back. She shook her head and continued searching.
She was just a few feet away from the stage when her eyes were pulled by the action again. The stripper had taken off everything except her g-string and was shimmying by one of the tables. There were three men at the table and one stood.
The smoke was thick. The man slipped a green roll into her elastic waistband, then turned to wink at the crowd as he was beginning to sit. Magnus.
His eyes met hers and for a second, he looked shocked. Then he sat back down and didn't look at her again.
She'd been so determined to come here. Now she felt ridiculous, out of place. If she tried to talk to him, he wouldn't listen. She knew that now.
Turning back, she fled through leering crowds and burst through the door, clambering into the cab and slamming the door.
Tears began to slide down her cheeks as they drove back along the same route, now ugly and dingy and full of despair.
* * * * * *
Magnus stared at the activity on stage without seeing anything. Autumn had come to the club. How had she known he was there?
He'd been doing a promotional performance for the crowd, and she probably thought he was propositioning the girl.
Why the fuck did he care?
He didn't.
Magnus clenched his jaw. He didn't give a shit where she went or what she did or what she saw him doing. She wasn't his problem, but suddenly he couldn't stand one more second in that place. The perfume was cloying and the smoke nauseating.
He grabbed his jacket. He'd call Jamie. See if he wanted to go for a drink.
She would have to come in and fuck up the rest of his night.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Instead of being directed to Magnus's office Monday morning for their usual discussion over breakfast, Autumn was led to a small office crowded with stacked boxes and a small desk with a pile of documents placed in the center.
Sheryl gave her instructions from Magnus.
"Your breakfast and coffee should be here in 15 minutes." She hesitated, giving Autumn a friendly but confused smile and nod before leaving.
Well, there was nothing to do about it but get to work. The office was stuffy, so she slipped off her suit jacket and rolled up her sleeves. If this was going to be a paperwork morning, she would at least be comfortable.
She dug into the documents, the stopped, frowning. The deal was five years old, and dealt with the purchase of a small building in some god forsaken town in New Jersey.
What was Magnus doing? Giving her old deals. What did she expect? Of course, he didn't trust her with anything else.
She had dragged herself here even after she'd spent hours crying over seeing him at the club. Yes, it was counterproductive, but she hadn't been able to stop.
She had felt better afterwards and determined to put it all behind her so she could focus on work, but now this, putting her in a frickin closet and tossing her a five-year-old deal for some stupid storage space in New Jersey? That was too much.
He could have had the decency to talk to her or to agree to end this absurd internship that he forced on her, not to waste both their time with...with...this crap. Autumn shoved the pile of documents across the desk in irritation.
She knew why he was doing it, but she'd tried to explain to him and he hadn't listened. Of course not. It was his fault. Well, her fault for being in his office looking through this stuff, but his fault for not trusting her, and his damn fault for starting all of this with his idiotic blackmailing.
She threw up her hands and whirled around the desk, dropping into the chair.
She was determined to get through the morning. If she was consigned to this office again on Wednesday, she would tell Magnus she was done.
Wednesday rolled around and Autumn did find herself back in the same situation. She took a deep breath, didn't even bother to step into the room, brushing past Sheryl who was already walking back to her desk.
"Miss Moretti?" She could hear surprise and urgency in Sheryl's voice. "Mr. Steele is in a meeting."
"I'm sure he has a few minutes to spare for his hardworking intern." Autumn stalked furiously down the hall.
"Miss Moretti." Sheryl's voice was starting to sound frantic with an attempt at sternness as if Autumn were a disobedient child. "You cannot go in there."
"I'll knock." She said, coming to the double doors of Magnus's office. Raising her fist to pound on the door, she let out a breath, loosened her fingers and knocked firmly instead.
When there was no answer, she listened. Hearing voices inside, she tried again even as Sheryl fretted beside her, wringing her hands. "Please go back, Miss Moretti."
"No." Autumn said with finality.
The second knock did the trick. The door swung open, and Magnus stood with his tie hanging loose and his shirt unbuttoned. His hair looked disheveled and his lips were...red.
He didn't seem surprised to see her.
Autumn frowned, and in her confusion, looked past him, and froze. A woman stood by his desk, using a handkerchief to dab around her lips.
The woman wore a tight blouse that strained the buttons at her ample breasts, the top few left unlatched. She wore a form fitting skirt and stiletto heels. Her brown hair was messy as if a man had just been tangling his hands through it. Magnus's hands.
Autumn's heart faltered, stumbling in confusion. Color rose fierce and mortified into her face, and she took a step back.
She tore her gaze from the woman to land on Magnus. He was watching her, his eyes glinting like heated stone, his lips hard.
"I'm...excuse me." She said faintly. "I wanted to tell you I'm not feeling well. I'm leaving for the day."
Anguish rose in her chest and throat. She blinked, forcing back tears that were getting ready to overflow and add to her humiliation. She had to get out of there. Now.
She pivoted and strode as fast as she could down the hall, rounded the corner and dove into the elevator, jabbing the close button until she was safe and alone.
She turned and faced the corner, needing the small space to let her tears fall, her hot face pressed against the cool metal.
She let herself sob through her heartache, moving quickly out of the elevator and through the lobby. She couldn't fall apart. She couldn't risk anything getting back to Magnus. She wouldn't let him know how much he'd hurt her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sighing and running fingers through her hair, Autumn covered the last few steps across the sidewalk, her heels meeting the concrete in quick gravelly thuds.
It had been a long day. No, it had been a long week, filled with too many lectures, too many papers and too much heartache.
Finding that woman in Magnus's office had brought her unbearable pain, a lingering, devastating ache that had her bursting into silent tears in the middle of class.
She hated him and she missed him.
She couldn't concentrate.
Her heart was broken and she didn't know how to pick up the pieces.
She slid her hand up the wooden banister outside her apartment, gripping it slightly to swing onto the first step when she heard a sound behind her and started to turn.
A rough hand crashed across her mouth, yanking her back, slamming her against an unforgiving chest. A cry lodged in her throat, trying to escape past the sweaty palm crushing her lips.
Instinct took over and she went limp, sliding effortlessly out of the guy's hold and driving her heel into the arch of his foot.
He cursed in pain as she stumbled away, racing headlong toward the stairs when something slammed against the side of her head. She sank to the ground, any thought of escape swallowed by an engulfing void of darkness.
* * * * * *
Autumn hadn't come back to the office since she stormed out the previous week
. Magnus knew she wasn't coming back. She would ask for a transfer to another intern position, and he wouldn't get in her way.
He should have left well enough alone, never manipulated her into working for him or forced her back into his life.
She didn't love him. She'd used him. Had her brother put her up to it or had she volunteered to get the information for him? Or had it been her revenge? Whatever it was, Autumn had put on quite a show to get into his apartment.
Magnus stared at the document he'd been marking and clenched his fist around the pen until the sharp edges bit into his fingers. He tossed it on the desk and thrust back his chair, stalking to the window to scowl at the gray sky.
He wasn't sure if she had always intended to go through his files or if Moretti had pressured her and she'd caved. It didn't matter. The point was she'd done it.
Last week when he'd heard her and Sheryl outside his office, he'd wrenched his tie loose, run a hand through his hair and pulled Sydney into a kiss, something she'd been wanting and he'd been avoiding since she'd become his marketing director two years ago.
Sydney had been willing of course, but it had been a dick move to get Autumn gone. He couldn't fire her. As his intern, she'd done nothing. He couldn't exactly go to her school and tell them he'd been fucking his intern, but he'd caught her going through his blackmail tapes, so he needed her gone. He could, however, get her to leave on her own. Even if a woman wasn't capable of love, she was more than capable of jealousy.
He was done with her.
His phone buzzed. Jamie.
"Yeah."
"Feel like drinks tonight?"
"No. I'm heading home."
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Fine."
An hour later, he was walking through the door of his apartment. He felt hollow. He should be grateful she was gone, but he couldn't help feeling fucked over.
Magnus slipped off his suit jacket and tie before pouring himself a drink. He stood at the window, gazing out at the city. The lights illuminated the park, its ground dead, bare. He scoffed. Like him.
Heart of Steele Page 17
