Secrets (Lords of the City)

by Alice Ward

  He’s lying to me. He has no idea that I heard the two of them talking. What is he keeping from me? And why?

  “So, you had no idea she was in town?” I pressed, praying that he’d come clean.

  “Not until I saw her in the ballroom,” he insisted again.

  Nervous panic spread through my body and I tried my best to hide it. I crossed my legs and took another sip of my scotch.

  “Should we be worried about her bothering us again?” I asked, my voice cracking with anxiety.

  “You shouldn’t be worried about anything, baby,” he said, dropping his voice an octave. He slid one arm behind my back and nuzzled his lips beneath my ear. “Now, what do you say we take this to the bedroom and celebrate your successful gala?”

  Drake’s voice was loaded with suggestion but I wasn’t in the mood. I shrank away from him and massaged my temples.

  “I’m sorry, babe. My head is still killing me. I guess I probably should have stuck to water and coffee tonight,” I explained, nodding to my now empty glass. “I think I’m going to take a long, hot shower and then try to get some sleep. Is that okay?”

  “Of course,” he quickly replied. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  You could have told me the truth, but you missed your chance.

  “If you could set a bottle of water and some Advil on my nightstand, I’d appreciate it,” I replied with a tight smile.

  “Whatever you need, sweetheart.”

  ***

  I woke up early the next morning with Drake’s arm draped across my back. I rolled to the other side of the bed and lay motionless while he stirred next to me. After a few minutes, his breath deepened and I said a silent prayer of thanks. I crawled out of the bed, careful not to make any noise.

  I padded barefoot into the living room and was startled to see Vanessa polishing the marble floors.

  “Good morning, Ms. Tyler,” she greeted me as she rose to her feet. She stuffed her rag into an apron pocket and smiled at me. “If you’ll tell me what you’d like for breakfast, I’ll get the chef started on it.”

  I feel like I’m at a hotel. I’ll never get used to this. Thank God I’m wearing sweats and a t-shirt instead of one of my French nightgowns.

  “Thank you, Vanessa, but I’m going out for breakfast,” I replied. “I just needed to grab my phone. I thought I left my purse out here last night.”

  “Yes, I hung it in the entryway closet,” she explained. She opened a door, retrieved my bag, and handed it to me.

  “Thank you,” I told her with a nod. I shifted my weight from leg to leg as we stood in awkward silence. I wanted privacy during my calls. I couldn’t go back to the bedroom and Vanessa was in no hurry to leave.

  “On second thought,” I said, clearing my throat. “I would like a cup of coffee. I’ll take it on the balcony. I don’t want to wake Mr. Waters.”

  “Of course, Ms. Tyler,” she agreed eagerly. “I’ll bring it out directly.”

  “Thank you, Vanessa.” I moved towards the terrace doors and then stopped in my tracks. “Vanessa?” I called over my shoulder.

  “Yes, Ms. Tyler?”

  “I know that Mr. Waters has rules about this. But when he’s not around, please feel free to call me Chelsea. All of this formality makes me uncomfortable.”

  “I appreciate that, Ms. Tyler,” she replied, her voice genuine. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not get in the habit. It would only be a matter of time before I slipped up and addressed you by your first name in front of Mr. Tyler.”

  “I understand,” I assured her, continuing on to the balcony.

  She seems terrified to put one toe out of line. Does she see a side of Drake that he’s kept hidden from me?

  I stared across the street and watched the early morning joggers move through Central Park. I let myself imagine Drake and I taking our children on picnics and settling in for movie nights in the grass. I held my phone in my hand, conflicted about my next step.

  Since the night Drake and I met in the Hamptons, I’d felt like I was living in a fairytale. The surprise trip to Paris, the sudden engagement, every moment felt like a dream. And deep down, I’d been dreading the inevitable moment I’d wake up. I knew with every fiber of my being that if I dug into Drake’s secrets, I’d more than likely get a wake-up call. My heart beat loud in my chest, begging me to look the other way. But my brain warned that turning a blind eye could also lead to my destruction.

  “Here you are, Ms. Tyler,” Vanessa said, stepping out onto the terrace. The tray in her hand held a steaming mug of coffee, cream and sugar bowls, a glass of orange juice, and a large glass of ice water.

  “Thank you, Vanessa.” I gathered my thoughts as she arranged the beverages on the table. As soon as she stepped inside, I sent a group text to Stacey and Piper.

  Need to talk. Meet for breakfast? Ruby’s?

  Thirty seconds later, my phone let out back-to-back chimes. After a few texts, we agreed to meet in forty-five minutes. I drank my coffee, leaving the juice and water glasses sweating on the table as I stepped back into the penthouse. I pushed open the bedroom door and found Drake exactly as I’d left him. I moved silently across the plush carpet and opened the closet door. It let out a loud creak and Drake rolled over to face me.

  “Good morning, baby,” he said through a yawn. He stretched and reached out his arms to me. “Does your head feel any better? Want to crawl back in here with me?”

  “I feel great,” I replied, searching through my closet. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that cost almost as much as my rent. “But I can’t join you. I’m meeting the girls for breakfast.”

  “You are? This is the first I’ve heard about it,” he said, rolling his bottom lip out in a pout.

  “Stacey called. She’s having fits about decorating the new nursery. She’s narrowed it down to a few different color patterns. Piper and I agreed to meet her and give our opinions.” For a split second, I felt guilty for lying to Drake. In the next second, I remembered that he’d lied to me first.

  “This is one of the reasons Oliver wanted to keep the penthouse a secret. He wanted to surprise her with a completely finished unit,” Drake groaned.

  “Well, Stacey would have hated that. Any woman would, Drake. We kind of like to have a say in what our own homes look like,” I countered, making my way to the bathroom.

  “Point taken,” he agreed with another yawn. “Want some company in the shower?”

  “I’d love some, baby. But I’ve got to be at Ruby’s in a little over half an hour. I can’t afford to slow down.”

  I shut the bathroom door without waiting for him to reply. A glance in the mirror confirmed my suspicion that my hair was completely out of control. I’d washed it the night before, but went to bed with it still wet. After tossing and turning all night, it closely resembled a rat’s nest.

  I quickly stripped out of my clothes, walked into the shower, and turned on the hot spray. I covered my hair in thick, hibiscus conditioner and the sharp, floral aroma filled the air. I lathered myself in the matching body wash then rinsed everything away with the handheld showerhead.

  I toweled off, pulled on my clothes, and squeezed my curls dry with a special towel Drake bought for me. After quick layers of mascara and lip gloss, I was ready to make my escape. I returned to the bedroom to discover that Drake had fallen back to sleep. I stood at the foot of the bed and stared at his peaceful, gorgeous face.

  Never in my life have I wanted to be wrong so badly.

  ***

  I reached the diner, where Piper and Stacey were all ready waiting at a booth. When they spotted me, they moved to stand.

  “Don’t get up,” I insisted, sliding in next to Stacey. “Thank you both so much for meeting me.”

  “We wouldn’t have missed it,” Piper replied, her voice eager. “What did Drake say when you asked him about Alex?”

  Before I could reply, a waiter approached our table. He was tall and broad, with sandy blonde hair
and a face I recognized but couldn’t quite place. We took turns ordering our meals and he stepped back behind the counter.

  “Oh my God!” Stacey gasped. “I think I’ve seen our waiter on TV.”

  “I thought I recognized him,” Piper agreed, taking another look. “He was on an episode of NY Homicide. He played a playboy sociopath.”

  I nodded. “There’s a barista a few blocks over that did a three week run on Heart of Gold. This part of the city is full of semi-celebrities.”

  “I can’t wait to move in,” Stacey beamed. “I also can’t wait until I can have a real cup of coffee,” she added, staring longingly at the fresh pot on our table.

  “I can’t wait to hear what Drake had to say for himself,” Piper broke in, her eyes narrow with impatience.

  I took a long sip of my coffee, carefully considering my words. I felt as if I was being suffocated by conflicting emotions and I wasn’t sure how many of them I should confess to my friends. Could I really tell them that part of me doubted Drake’s story, but an even larger part never wanted to know the truth? I decided to start with Drake’s explanation and see how things evolved from there.

  “Drake had no problem answering my questions about Alex,” I began. Stacey and Piper slid to the edges of their seats, eager to hear the story.

  “Her full name is Alexandra Svendsen. She comes from a wealthy family in Denmark and she and Drake have known each other since they were kids. Drake said that when they were teenagers, Alex became pretty fixated on him. He didn’t feel the same and she got aggressive. When they were in their twenties, Alex, her mother, and Rebecca all teamed up and tried to convince Drake to marry her.”

  Stacey nodded with a deep, thoughtful look on her face. “I’ve read about stuff like that online. You’d be surprised by how many cultures still insist on marrying amongst themselves. And old, wealthy families are at the top of the list.”

  “That’s pretty hypocritical of Rebecca,” Piper added with a scowl. “Wasn’t she a ‘commoner’ before she married Drake’s dad?”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “Which, I think, is precisely why she hates me so much. She thinks my intentions are as self serving as hers were.”

  “I think we can all agree that Rebecca is a vapid bitch,” Stacey broke in. “Let’s get back to Drake. I take it he and Alex never made it down the aisle?”

  I shook my head. “Drake stopped having anything to do with her. He threw himself into his work and started pulling away from his family.”

  Stacey shifted her weight uneasily, her eyes darting around the table. “I’m happy that Drake told you all of this, Chelsea. But it seems like we’re missing part of the story. If it’s been so long since Drake and Alex have seen each other, why has she suddenly shown up in the city?” She narrowed her eyes and finally met my gaze. “Did you tell him that you overheard the two of them talking? Did you ask him about Thursday night?”

  I shook my head and felt my face flush with hot embarrassment. “I didn’t tell him that I overheard them. And I didn’t ask him about Thursday night. I did ask why she showed up at the gala. He said he didn’t understand anymore than I did. His best guess was that she heard about our engagement and decided to throw herself at him one last time.”

  I left out the fact that Drake had outright lied to me about not seeing Alex before Saturday. Stacey and Piper were angry enough at Drake without me adding fuel to the fire. I didn’t want to irreparably destroy him in their eyes when I still had so much hope for our future.

  “Well, there’s an easy way to find out whether or not Drake’s telling the truth,” Stacey said, pulling a tablet from her purse. “We’ll just do a little research.”

  Panic raced through my body as she held down the power button; I wasn’t ready to go digging for the truth. I covered Stacey’s hand with mine and kept my voice as even as possible.

  “I don’t feel right about this,” I told her. “Spying on him seems so… dishonest. I think Drake deserves the benefit of the doubt. If he asked me about something and then fact checked my story after, I’d be pretty hurt.”

  Stacey nodded and shoved the tablet back in her purse. “If that’s how you feel, I’ll respect it.”

  Piper frowned at me. “This isn’t like you, Chelsea. If you don’t want to look into Drake’s story, fine. But if that’s the case, you need to come clean about what you overheard. Make Drake explain why he left your romantic sunset cruise the moment Alex called. If he has an innocent explanation for that, I’ll never say another word about it.”

  Before I could reply, the waiter returned with a large tray of food. He balanced it on one hand while distributing the plates around the table. Piper took one look at my huge platter of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and bacon and gave me a look that said ‘don’t even try to deny how stressed you are.’

  “Piper’s right,” Stacey agreed once the waiter had left the table. I covered my pancakes with syrup as she spoke. “If you want a completely honest relationship, you have to tell Drake what you overheard. You should probably fill him in on your conversation with Rebecca as well. Get everything out in the open and see how Drake reacts.”

  I sat in silence for a few moments, staring down at my plate. Stacey lowered her voice an octave and continued.

  “Look, Chelsea, I have a pretty keen insight into how you’re feeling right now, remember? I know there’s a big part of you that doesn’t want to know the truth. You think you’ll be happier if you just ignore the problem. But that isn’t the case. The longer you ignore it, the more it will nag at you. Doubt can turn you into someone you don’t even recognize. I know you love Drake. But don’t sacrifice who you are for him.”

  I sighed, fighting back tears. As embarrassing as the truth was, I felt an overwhelming relief that Stacey understood it.

  “I feel like I’ve been living in a dream. And I’m afraid the truth about this will be what wakes me up,” I confessed, wiping my eyes with my napkin.

  Piper reached across the table and took my hand while Stacey wrapped a comforting arm around me.

  “Chels, it’s perfectly understandable that you feel that way,” Piper assured me, her voice calm and soothing. “But I know you. You’ll never feel secure with Drake unless you get to the bottom of this.”

  Deep down, I knew they were right. If I didn’t learn the full truth about Drake and Alex, I’d live my life in a perpetual state of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “I know I have to talk to him,” I relented. “But I’m just not ready yet.”

  “You don’t have to do it immediately,” Stacey insisted, giving me a light squeeze.

  “Come home with me for a few days,” Piper added. “You can take some time to clear your head and organize your thoughts. Just tell Drake that we wanted to spend the week together before you officially move out.”

  “That does sound perfect,” I agreed, picturing our safe haven in New Jersey. I felt more like myself there than anywhere else on the planet. I hoped that returning would recharge my strength and give me the courage I needed to confront Drake.

  “It’s settled then,” Stacey said, releasing me and turning her attention back to her waffles. “And if you ever change your mind about the online searches, just say the word.”

  CHAPTER 2

  e

  On Tuesday afternoon, Piper and I sat in my office and had one of our last lunches as coworkers. There hadn’t been much for me to do since the gala was over and I’d already packed up most of my things. I’d taken advantage of all of my free time by researching ways to stop the demolition of The Albergo. I swallowed a bite of my tuna sandwich and stared at my computer screen.

  “Damn it,” I sighed, clicking the mouse.

  “Still no luck?” Piper asked through a bite of her bagel.

  I shook my head. “The Albergo has been standing for over a hundred years, but I can’t find one significant thing that’s happened there. No president has ever visited, no great novel was written in one of the rooms. This is going
to be harder than I thought.”

  I had every intention of asking Drake to reconsider the tear down, but I wanted to be armed with plenty of valid arguments. Drake loved to indulge me, but I knew ‘The building is old and I like it,’ wouldn’t convince him to halt the potentially lucrative project.

  Piper frowned and stared at my now empty bookshelves. “Chels, I know that you hate seeing the hotel torn down. But is it possible you’re focusing on this so you don’t have to think about Drake and Alex?”

  It was a valid suggestion and partially true. But there was no way I’d admit that, even to Piper.

  “This has nothing to do with Drake and Alex,” I assured her. “Honestly, it has nothing to do with Drake at all, not personally. It has everything to do with the fact that the hotel coming down will turn me into a joke, professionally. For Christ’s sake, Piper, at the gala I went on and on about using the donor’s money to preserve the city’s history. How do you think it’s going to look when the century old hotel I gave the speech in is torn to the ground a month later?” Anger boiled in my chest as I spoke.

  “It’s not going to look great,” Piper agreed with a grimace. “And I’m sure all of the donors will find out about it. Drake’s projects don’t exactly go unnoticed. I’m just surprised this is what you’re choosing to focus on, considering everything else that’s going on.”

  “What you and Stacey said the other day about not losing who I am really struck a nerve with me,” I confessed. “And I’ve worked too damn hard to be taken seriously in our field. I can’t let Drake ruin that for me. I won’t.”

  “I completely understand,” she assured me. “But aren’t you putting the cart before the horse on this? Why don’t you just go to Drake and ask him to restore the hotel instead of tearing it down?”

  “I intend to,” I answered, feeling discouragement weighing heavily on my shoulders. “But I seriously doubt it will do any good. In fact, it will probably offend him. Drake is incredibly proud of his work. By saying that he should leave the hotel standing, I’m basically saying that The Albergo is better than anything that he could replace it with.”