Tempted By Scandal (Dynasties: Secrets 0f The A-List Book 1)

by Karen Booth

  Zach put his drink on a glass coffee table and held out his arms wide, but he struggled to stand up straight. He’d clearly been drinking. “Don’t I get a hug? And an introduction?” He directed his gaze at Nadia and smiled, but there was something creepy about it. A chill ran down Nadia’s spine.

  “Yes. Of course. Sorry.” Matt embraced his brother, but it was quick and there was nothing warm about it. Matt rarely talked about Zach, but Nadia knew some of the backstory. Zach had been a part of the original formation of Richmond Industries, but had left under suspicious circumstances after only a year. “This is Nadia.”

  Zach reached for Nadia’s hand and kissed it. She couldn’t get it back fast enough. “Oh, I know all about Nadia. I read TBG.” He looked back and forth between Matt and Nadia and wagged his finger. “You two should really be more careful. You never know who’s around with a camera.”

  Nadia pressed her lips together tightly. If this was how tonight was going to go, it did not bode well.

  Zach tossed back his head and laughed. “I’m just giving you two a hard time. Come on. Let’s have a drink.” He waved them over to an adjoining room with a wide-arched entrance and a beautiful mahogany bar at one end, lined with tall upholstered bar stools. “I’m having a gin-and-tonic. I hope that’s okay with you both.”

  Nadia took Matt’s hand and followed him into the room, which was almost like a cigar lounge, with dark oversized furniture and a coffered ceiling. She climbed up onto the stool next to Matt, still trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

  “I’m just so surprised to see you,” Matt said as his brother mixed a drink. “How long are you here?”

  “As long as it takes to keep you from destroying your company and making an embarrassment of the Richmond name by running around town with your assistant.”

  Nadia wasn’t even sure she’d heard what Zach had said correctly. Luckily, Matt had the courage to ask the question that had to be asked.

  “Excuse me? What did you just say?”

  Zach set the two drinks on the bar and leaned against the counter lining the wall. “You heard me. I can’t believe you thought you could be the one CEO who could pull this off. The board is going to skewer you if you keep this up.” He then set his sights on Nadia. “I heard you were bringing her to dinner with Mom and Dad and I had to step in. You know that they have a very hard time saying no to you, so I figured I would do it for them.”

  “Wait a minute. Where are they?”

  “They’re in Portland for the night. I convinced them it was best for me to do the dirty work and for them to stay as far away as possible.” He turned back to Nadia. “I hope you don’t mind having dinner with the Richmond family B team. My parents thought this was a safer move. Just, you know, considering all of the tabloid stuff. It really bothers our mother. And our dad, well, he’s on Matt’s board and he really doesn’t want to have to answer questions about his son’s womanizing ways.”

  Nadia felt queasy, and not just because she’d barely eaten anything all day. “Maybe I should go sit in the car.”

  Matt turned to her. “No. Stay. You need to understand a few things about Zach. If you look up ‘black sheep’ in the dictionary, you’ll see his picture. He is not an accurate representation of the feelings of anyone in this family, including my parents.”

  Zach scoffed. “Am I the golden boy? No. That’s only because I never had any interest in falling in line. That’s only because I refused to be the number-two guy at Richmond Industries.”

  “You were caught doing drugs at work. You hardly ever showed up and when you did, you were drunk. You stole money from the company. From me. I had no choice but to fire your ass. You’re lucky I didn’t make a big spectacle of it,” Matt said, his voice uncharacteristically bitter. “Why don’t you tell Nadia what your current status in Mom and Dad’s will is.”

  “This really isn’t any of my business…” Nadia said, getting off her bar stool and leaving her drink untouched. “I’m not comfortable with this conversation. I need to go outside. At least for some air.” What Nadia really wanted to do was shrink until she was nothing. Until she disappeared.

  “Hold on a second, Nadia. At least let me walk you to the car so I can make sure you’re okay.” Matt turned to Zach. “And you. Don’t go anywhere. We are not finished here.”

  Nadia led the way, walking several paces ahead of Matt. She knew she never should have let herself think this was a good idea. At every turn in her brief relationship with Matt, she’d known it wouldn’t work, and yet she kept pushing. She needed to resign herself to the fact that they were doomed. This was not going to magically fix itself. There were too many forces against them.

  She flung open the door and rushed down the stairs to Matt’s car. The headlights flickered and the horn chirped when he pushed the button on his fob. Nadia climbed in on the passenger side and wrapped her arms around herself.

  Matt crouched down next to her. “I am so sorry, but I promise you that my brother is a psycho. There’s a reason why we have no relationship. My parents even wrote him out of a decent chunk of his inheritance last year.”

  “So then why did they listen to him? Why aren’t they here tonight?”

  Matt took Nadia’s hand. “I think this happens a lot with families when there’s substance abuse. Nobody wants to believe their child is a bad person. Nobody wants to believe their child can’t change. My parents might get upset with him, but they love him a lot. And they continue to give him the benefit of the doubt, even when he’s burned them many times.” Matt turned his head and glanced up at the house, then looked back at Nadia. “You’ll probably find this hard to believe, but he can be very charming. Just ask Shayla. Those two dated for nearly two years.”

  Nadia didn’t normally roll her eyes, but she couldn’t help herself. “Yeah, well, as near as I can tell, they deserve each other.”

  “I’m going to go back in and talk to him, but just for a few minutes. He’s too drunk for a real conversation, anyway. Will you be okay out here by yourself?”

  She nodded. “Yes. But don’t be long. I want to go home.” She hated the way her voice wobbled, but she couldn’t help it. She was upset.

  “I know this was a lot, but I promise I’ll make it up to you. And I’ll fix things with my parents, too. You’ll see—everything will be fine.” He leaned into the car and kissed her cheek. “Be back in a few.”

  With that, Matt made his way back up to the house and Nadia closed the car door. She pressed her hand against the spot where Matt had kissed her, wondering why life had to be so unfair. How could two people possibly have so much standing in their way?

  * * *

  Matt stormed up the stairs of his parents’ home. He could not believe how upside down this night had gone. His parents had been guilty of putting the blinders on many times when it came to Zach, but he couldn’t understand how he’d convinced them that his desire for them to meet Nadia could be so awful. Yes, she was his assistant. But she was a wonderful woman.

  Matt walked back inside and stopped short of slamming the door behind him. “I don’t understand what you want from me, Zach. Just tell me.”

  Zach was now sitting on one of the sofas in the living room. He’d put his cocktail glass on the wood end table without a coaster. If Matt’s mother had been there right now, she would have been having a fit. “I want you to take me back at the company. I want back in on the Sasha project. I was there when you first started talking to Liam about it. I want everything you promised me when we started the company. Notice I said we, not you. We started Richmond Industries together and you cut me out. You think I don’t see how much money you’re making? It’s obscene. Flying around in your corporate jets and spending a fortune on parties for your famous friends.”

  And now Matt felt as though a light switch had been flipped. He could see everything. “You leaked the Sasha story. That was you
, wasn’t it?”

  Zach knocked his head to one side. “It was hardly a leak. I only divulged the name. And it was just to get your attention. Unfortunately, you left me sitting by the phone waiting for a call. I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out, but you never were the smart one.”

  “I’m not taking you back at the company. You know what you did and I’m not letting you back in. I don’t care what kind of story you told Mom and Dad, but I’m not falling for anything you have to say to me. I’m just sorry you had to go and tamper with my relationship. What Nadia and I have is special and tonight was supposed to be a step forward and you’ve ruined everything. How can that possibly make you feel good?”

  “It’s all quid pro quo, brother. If you hadn’t fired me, Shayla never would have dumped me. We were in love. We were going to get married.”

  Matt could hardly fathom the way he and his brother remembered things in such radically different ways. “Shayla never loved you. She saved her own skin so she could keep her career on the right track. She knew where the company was going and she wanted to be there for the ride. And it’s paid off for her. Very well, I might add.”

  Zach got up from the couch and walked back over to pour himself another drink. “I heard you had her pull the TBG story about you and Nadia. Making her do all of your dirty work these days?”

  “How do you know about that? Were you involved with that, too?” Just when Matt wrapped his head around one bizarre fact, another one came down the pike.

  Zach shrugged and knocked back his drink. “Have you figured out who owns TBG now? Bo Wilson, my dear and loyal fraternity brother. Honestly, Bo has been more of a brother to me than you ever have.”

  Matt’s headache just got a whole lot bigger. And he could no longer stand the sight of Zach. “I’m leaving now. I’m going to take Nadia home and I’m going to call Mom and Dad and try to unravel whatever web of lies you managed to spin tonight.”

  “You didn’t give me an answer on the job. We don’t have to actually work together, if that’s your problem. Put me in Los Angeles or New York. We can stay out of each other’s way.”

  Matt had to let out a breathy laugh, if only to alleviate some of the stress of the situation. “I can’t think of anything scarier than you working for Richmond Industries without oversight from me. Neither one of those scenarios is going to happen. You’re lucky I’m still willing to be cordial to you at Christmas. That’s all you’re ever getting from me.” Matt marched to the front door. He’d had enough.

  “I’ll be sure to let Bo know that you liked that first story he ran about you and Nadia,” Zach called just as Matt was opening the door.

  “What does that mean?”

  Zach shrugged, his trademark move. He always did everything he could to appear innocent and clueless when he was anything but. “I’m just saying you never know when Bo might run another story. Nadia is so pretty. She really should have her face all over the TBG website so people can admire it.”

  “Stay away from Nadia.”

  “I don’t have to be near her to hurt her. Or hurt you, for that matter.”

  Matt took one more step back toward Zach. His heart was pounding in his chest. He clenched his fists tight. If he was the type of guy to throw a punch, he would have done it right then and there, if only to knock that smug look off Zach’s face. “Do not threaten me.”

  “I guess we’ll have to see what happens. You know where to find me if you change your mind.”

  At that, Matt turned and made his real departure, this time slamming the door, not that it likely mattered to Zach. His mind was racing, but he knew one thing. He could not tell Nadia about what his brother had said. It would only hurt her. It would only hurt them. Things were still so new and tenuous between them. He wanted the chance to keep going, even when the world was throwing roadblocks in their way.

  Matt climbed into the car. Nadia was in the same position, arms wrapped tightly around herself. He started up the engine and sped out of the driveway. “I’m so sorry about tonight, and my brother. That did not go the way I planned it to. Obviously. You need to know that he really is a big liar. Nothing he said tonight was right.”

  “Is that really true, Matt? I mean, he’s said things that you and I have both thought. I’m sure your parents wanted no part of having me over to the house. I’m sure they’re hoping that I’ll end up being a passing fancy. That you’ll move on to a different assistant and I won’t be in your life anymore. That doesn’t speak well for us having a future, Matt. It’s sweet that you’re all caught up in this idea, but I don’t think it’s going to work.”

  Matt had to wonder whose side Nadia was on. He wasn’t about to give up so easily. If nothing else, he had to do it on principle. He and Nadia had done nothing wrong. Their relationship was built on mutual respect, admiration and consent. Yes, she wanted a lot more than he normally gave, but he wasn’t ready to quit. Not yet. “I’m serious about Zach. He is a weasel. And he can say whatever he wants, but it’s not going to change what’s between us. It doesn’t matter.”

  “But it does matter. Family is hugely important to me, Matt. I’m not only not off to a great start with yours, but tonight also felt like the universe trying to send a message that we can’t have a real future together.”

  Matt had never been so frustrated in all his life. He pulled up to a red light and turned to Nadia. “I care about you. A lot. I’m not ready to give up on you, as long as you aren’t ready to give up on me. Have you lost all faith in me? Just because of one conversation with my horrible brother?”

  Nadia smiled and looked down at her lap. “I’m not ready to give up on you.”

  “Even after tonight?”

  She sucked in a deep breath and looked out the window. “I guess not even after tonight. But I do want you to talk to your parents. If they aren’t on board, we need to have a serious conversation.”

  The light turned green and Matt whizzed through the intersection. “Absolutely. My sentiments exactly. Tomorrow I will clear the air with them, we’ll get it all straightened out and we can just pretend that tonight did not happen.” I know that I’d certainly like to forget it.

  “If you say so.”

  Matt was coming up on the turnoff to drop Nadia back at her place, but he didn’t want to say goodbye. Not like this. Not after the night they’d had. Plus, they hadn’t eaten, and he was starving. “Want to grab some takeout and bring it back to my place?”

  “I am hungry. You promised me dinner.”

  Matt grinned and reached over for Nadia’s hand. “Awesome. Chinese or Thai?”

  “Thai. Definitely.”

  “And I want you to stay over. The whole night. No sneaking out in the dark.”

  “What about when your staff arrives in the morning? They all give me the evil eye when I’m there. Nobody thinks we’re right together.”

  “But I think we’re right together. And I think you think that, too. That’s all that matters. I don’t care about anything else.”

  Eleven

  Liam could not get Teresa off his mind—probably because there was so much to think about. If she hadn’t come to visit him last weekend, he would mostly have their kiss to ponder. What a kiss it had been, like the entire world opening up, her beautiful body bowing into his, soft and luscious and wanting more. Just as quick, she’d pulled away, shocked and surprised, darting across the dance floor and disappearing into the dark recesses of the party.

  But the next day she’d given him an entirely new revelation, a new lens for viewing that kiss. She’d said that she regretted not kissing him the night they first met. He’d truly wondered many times if his attraction to her had been one-sided and, of course, he’d banished all thoughts of it when he thought she’d had an affair with his father. But she’d vehemently denied it, she had a plausible explanation, and most salient was the fact that his investiga
tor had failed to dig up any dirt on Teresa St. Claire. If she had ever done anything wrong, he couldn’t find it. Was it possible that she was exactly what she seemed to be—a driven and determined, but equally gorgeous and sexy woman? Or was something else going on behind that beguiling facade?

  This was not a good time to be asking himself these questions. It was past 7:00 p.m. on a Tuesday and he’d just obtained a security pass to gain access to the waterfront warehouse near Pike Place Market, where Teresa’s office was. They were set to go over the precise order of events for the Sasha announcement at the retreat. Then Teresa and her team could arrange the technical side—lighting, music, visuals.

  Liam took the stairs up to the second floor, emerging in the office for Limitless Events. It was an impressive loft space with twenty-foot ceilings, arched windows lining the exposed brick walls and original hardwood floors. A dozen desks or so were neatly arranged in clusters. Teresa had quite a setup here. Liam could only imagine how bustling it must be during the day. For now, it was dead quiet, aside from a young man sitting at a desk at the far side of the room, the blue light from a computer screen illuminating his face.

  “Hello?” Liam asked, his voice practically echoing in the open space.

  The man looked up from his keyboard. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m here to meet Teresa. She said she’d be waiting for me.”

  “In her office.” He pointed to a glass-walled room with white shades pulled and the door closed. A soft glow came from inside. Someone was definitely in there. “I’d knock first if I were you.”

  “Of course.” Liam strode over and tapped the glass door with his knuckle.

  Teresa arrived seconds later, but she didn’t open the door all the way. “We have to reschedule.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Something came up.” Her voice did not have its usual confident tone. She was rattled.