by Alexa Wilder
“I would never let that happen, honey. I swear. Never. Okay?”
I nodded. I knew he wouldn’t. It just freaked me out, being naked except for my boots, tangled up with Sam, who was still mostly in his suit, and hearing people trying the door. Reason number one not to do this in the office again. My nerves would never survive the shock of almost being caught a second time. Giving him a quick kiss on his stubbled jaw, I shot to my feet, snatched my clothes from the chair where I’d thrown them, and dashed for Sam’s private bathroom.
He’d need it too, but he’d have to wait a second. At least he was still mostly dressed. I cleaned up and pulled my clothes back on as quickly as I could, biting my lip in further embarrassment when the bathroom door cracked open a few inches to admit Sam’s hand, my lace panties dangling from his extended finger.
“Thanks,” I yelped, slamming the door so fast he barely had time to get his hand out of the way. I was done a few minutes later, emerging to find Sam looking as if nothing had happened, only the satisfied glint in his eyes giving him away. My hair pins were lined up in a row on his desk. I’d been in such a rush to get my clothes back on, I’d forgotten my hair. So much for the bun. There was no way I’d get it back up without my brush, which was in my purse in the outer office.
“I have sex hair,” I said to Sam, finger combing it, trying to get the curls and waves to behave.
“Yes, but only I know. Everyone else will just think you look good with your hair down.”
I looked at him doubtfully. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, kissing me lightly on the lips. “You look completely innocent. I swear.”
I stared at him, wanting another kiss, knowing I needed to get back to my desk before I pushed my luck too far. Someone always needed one of us. I steeled myself to face the rest of the office and unlocked the door, swinging it open with faked nonchalance, my heart racing. To my everlasting relief, the outer office was empty, everything as I’d left it except for a yellow note stuck to my desk. I was bending over to read it when my cell phone began to ring from the top drawer, the sound muffled and quiet.
I got it out and answered in a rush as soon as I recognized the number on the screen.
“Nolan?” I said, hardly able to believe it might be my missing brother.
“Chloe?” I head in Nolan’s familiar voice.
“Nolan! Where are you?”
Sam heard me and came out of his office. His face grim, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back in to his office, slamming the door behind me. Taking the phone from my hand, he pressed the icon to put it on speaker and set it on my desk. Together, we heard Nolan say,
“I can’t tell you. It isn’t safe. I can’t talk long. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“She’s not, Nolan,” Sam said, cutting in. “This is Sam, and she’s been staying with me since men with guns broke into your place.”
“Chloe,” Nolan said, his voice pained. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, I swear. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Nolan. Sam’s keeping me safe.”
Sam started to interrupt again. I elbowed him in the stomach and put my finger to my lips. He glared back at me. I knew he was itching to yell at Nolan, but for now I just wanted to talk to my brother.
“Nolan, tell me where you are so we can come get you,” I begged.
“I can’t. It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Nolan, I can send Axel’s men to get you. You can come in and Chloe will stay safe,” Sam said, making a chopping motion at me with his hand when I tried to signal him to stay quiet.
“No, I have to go straight to Sergey.”
“So you’re not trying to steal from him?” I asked, relief washing through me.
“No!” Nolan said, sounding shocked at the idea. “Is that what he thinks? Who told you that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Why can’t you just call him and have him pick you up?” I asked.
“I tried. I can’t get through to him. He doesn’t carry a cell and every time I call the phone rings through. I was supposed to drop what he wants at one of his card rooms downtown and when I got there I was jumped. I barely got away. The next time I tried the same thing happened. Now I don’t know what to do.”
“Nolan, can you write down a number?” Sam asked.
“Yeah,” Nolan said, sullenly. He’d never liked being told what to do. I wondered how he could work for someone like Tsepov, a man who clearly expected to be obeyed.
Sam rattled off a number I recognized as Axel’s cell. “Call Axel,” he told Nolan. “If anyone can get you to Tsepov in one piece, it’s Axel. Stop fucking around and get your ass out of play before these guys decide to come after Chloe. They’re already looking at her as a way to get to you.”
“You’re keeping her safe?” Nolan asked, anxiety making his voice crack.
“I am. But she’ll be safer when you give Tsepov what he wants and end this whole thing. Call Axel.”
“I’ll try,” Nolan said.
“Did you write down the number?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got it.”
“Nolan,” I said, cutting in. “Please, call Axel. Tsepov doesn’t think you’ve done anything wrong. He just wants you to come back.”
“You’ve talked to him?” Nolan asked, shock and fear tumbling together in his shaking voice.
“Sam and I saw him this morning. He called and asked for a meeting.”
“Fuck! Fuck! Chloe, stay away from him. Stay away from all of this. Take her somewhere, Sam. Get her out of town until I can deal with this.”
“I’m not going anywhere Nolan! Not until I know you’re safe.”
“Chloe, listen to me, you can’t get near Tsepov or any of his people. I don’t know who-”
The line went silent with an abrupt click and Nolan was gone. I cried out in anguished shock, shaking the phone as if that would bring him back on the line. Frantic, I redialed his number. Sam and I listened to it ring through to voicemail. Thinking faster than I was, Sam left the message, repeating Axel’s number for Nolan along with an order to call him immediately.
I sank into my desk chair, adrenaline fading as quickly as it had struck, leaving me limp and depressed. Nolan had been so close, for the first time in days. Now he was gone again, and the way he’d been cut off left me fearing the worst.
“Sam,” I said. “What do we do now?”
He wrapped his arms around me in a quick, warm hug. “You’re going to go make a cup of tea and go back to work. There’s nothing we can do right now. At least you know Nolan is still on one piece. I’ll give Axel an update. Let's hope Nolan calls him and this whole thing is over soon.”
“Okay,” I said.
I went back to my desk, work the last thing on my mind. I shuffled through the papers on my desk, trying to focus on what I’d planned to get done that afternoon. I was mostly useless, distracted by worry over Nolan and hoping that he would call Axel and end this whole mess. Sam came out of his office about an hour after Nolan called and stopped by my desk.
“I need to go out for a little while,” he said. “Don’t leave the building without checking in with Axel. This whole thing should be wrapping up soon. But I want you to stay where Axel’s guy can keep an eye on you.”
“Where is he?” I asked, looking around the empty executive suite.
“He’s around,” Sam answered. “We’ve locked down the building, so the only way in and out is the front door. We’ve got eyes on the front door and another guy making rounds. Axel wants your security visible to anyone out there who might think you’re an easy target.”
“Okay. I wasn’t planning on leaving anyway,” I said. “I have too much to do here. And so do you. Where are you going?”
“I have a few errands to run,” Sam said, his eyes shifting from mine. “And I want to stop by the Claremont site and check their progress. I may be back before five. If I’m not, call Axel to let him know you’re le
aving so his guys can follow you home. Axel had your car brought back yesterday after he took you to his office. It’s in your normal spot.”
“All right. Do you need me to pick anything up for dinner?”
“We’ll figure it out later,” Sam said. He started to lean down, as if to kiss me on the cheek, but someone walked by the outer office door, and he straightened, settling for a wink.
I smiled back and kept smiling even after Sam was long gone. It would take some time to figure out how to handle our new relationship in the office, but I couldn’t help liking the easy domesticity of checking in and talking about what we’d have for dinner. I was trying to get my head back in my work. Sam had a proposal I needed to edit before he did his own final review. But the words kept swimming in front of my eyes.
When my phone rang, I jumped on it, glad for the interruption. It was Tim.
“Chloe? I wanted to check in and see if you heard anything yet. Has Nolan turned up?”
“Tim, I’m so glad you called. I heard from Nolan a little while ago and he’s okay.”
“Where is he? Did you go get him?” Tim asked in an excited, anxious rush of words.
“No, but he said he’s fine. This should all be resolved soon, so you don’t need to worry.”
“What you mean? Where is he? If you tell me where he is, I’ll go get him,” Tim offered.
“I don’t know where he is exactly. It’s so sweet of you to want to help, but this is actually really dangerous, Tim. I don’t want you to get involved. I have a friend who’s going to help Nolan, and he’ll be fine.”
“What you mean? Who’s going to help him? Help him do what?”
Tim’s anxiety was infectious. Lowering my voice, I said, “Nolan has something he needs to give Tsepov. He’s been having a little trouble handing it over, that’s why he was missing. My friend is going to help him and then everything will be fine.”
Silence on the other end of the phone. Then, Tim said, “Well, if you’re sure he’s okay.”
“I think he will be,” I said. “I’m hoping that by the end of the day Nolan will be home. But I’ll tell him to call you when he’s back.”
“Yeah, tell him to call me.” I heard voices in the background on Tim’s end of the phone. His voice faded away as he said goodbye and clicked off.
Checking the clock, I was annoyed to find that it was only two thirty. Up until Sam had left, the day felt as if it were on fast-forward, but once I was alone in the office time had begun to crawl. The stack of papers in front of me looked like a mountain, and all I really wanted to do was go home and taken a nap.
32
Sam
I paced in front of the Fountain of the Gods in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, waiting for Dylan. I’d already checked Cartier, just in case, but I had a feeling Tiffany’s would have what I wanted. I thought about making a quick run upstairs to Agent Provocateur to pick up something special for Chloe, but Dylan would be there any second, and I was too on edge to do anything but pace and wait.
I wasn’t nervous about the prospect of walking into Tiffany’s and picking out a ring. From the beginning, from the first moment I realized how I felt about Chloe, our relationship had been heading in this direction. She wasn’t a woman I wanted to date; she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. After three years of friendship and months of working up the nerve to make a move, I was done with waiting.
I didn’t want to sneak around at work. It felt cheap, like we were hiding or making the way we felt about each other something to be ashamed of. But I knew Chloe would never be comfortable without a clear statement of our relationship. She’d never put it like that. She’d be appalled if she had any idea her fears about an office romance had led me here. But the ring wasn’t about protecting her reputation. It was so much more than that.
It was a way to tell her, and everyone else, that this was forever. That she was forever. I’d never been more certain of anything in my life. So why were my hands shaking? Dylan showed up just before I walked past the fountain for what felt like the hundredth time, a knowing smirk on his face.
“Is this what I think it is?” he asked thumping me on the shoulder with a closed fist.
“If you think you’re here to help me pick out an engagement ring for Chloe, then yeah, it is,” I said, turning to lead the way into Tiffany’s.
We were met by a woman in a trim navy suit. “May I help you, gentlemen?” she asked.
My throat stuck for a second. Clearing it, I managed to say, “I’d like to see your engagement rings.”
I was treated to a brilliant, white smile before she led the way to the back of the store. Beside me, Dylan said, “I called it. I knew a year ago that you’d fall head over heels for that girl.”
“Bullshit,” I said. “You’re only saying that because you wanted to ask her out, and I told you she was off limits.”
“Well, you did me a favor. Because now I have Leigha.” Lowering his voice so the saleswoman couldn’t hear, he said, “Though I’ve been shopping at Harry Winston.”
“No shit,” I said, slowing down to put some distance between us and the saleswoman ahead. “You didn’t say anything.”
“I know. I would have but, I know it’s fast. I thought you might tell me I was nuts,” Dylan admitted shrugging his shoulders. I rolled my eyes.
“Man, I’ve known you for years. When you make a decision that’s it. You know what you want. And she’s perfect for you.”
“I know. But I’m going to sit on the ring for a while. I don’t think it’s too soon, but Leigha will. I only just got her to agree to live with me. If I try to give her a ring she’ll either jump on it, or run screaming.”
“Good point,” I said. “Though I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes.” I didn’t know her that well, but it seemed obvious to me that Leigha was completely in love with my friend.
The saleswoman had moved behind the jewelry counter. Dylan and I stood side-by-side scanning the rings. I had an idea of what I wanted. Something classic but elegant. That’s why I was at Tiffany’s. And something… special. Something more than the traditional engagement ring. Big, but not too big. Too much ring would only embarrass Chloe. Cost wasn’t the issue, I could afford anything they had in the store without breaking a sweat.
For Chloe, the perfect ring wasn’t about size. It just had to be her. I looked over the rings, rejecting each one in turn. One was too big, the next two plain, another had too much going on. I was starting to worry I’d have to go somewhere else when I saw it. The ring that said Chloe.
A channel set band topped by a perfect round diamond, surrounded by circle of small, sparkling bead set diamonds, as if the central stone was wearing a crown. It was the perfect ring for a princess. Elegant, simple, yet not too understated.
“That one,” I said pointing to the ring. “I’d like to see that one.”
“An excellent choice,” the saleswoman said. “The Tiffany Embrace. Romance and glamour. This one is two and a half carats. Is that the size you were looking for?” she asked, handing me the ring.
As soon as I held it, I knew it was the one. Two and a half carats was a lot of ring, but I didn’t think it would be too much. And though I knew Chloe wouldn’t want a ring that was over the top, there was no way I was getting her something small. Dylan looked over my shoulder as I turned the ring in the light.
“That looks like her,” he said.
“I know, doesn’t it?” I murmured, fascinated by the way the light caught the brilliant stones. Looking at it, feeling the weight of the cool platinum in my hand, I didn’t want to wait. Part of me wanted to buy it and go straight back to the office. To slide it on Chloe’s hand the second I saw her.
That wasn’t going to happen. For one thing, I didn’t want to propose while all the shit with her brother was going on. She already felt like everything was upside down and I hadn’t helped by changing our relationship at the same time. So the actual proposal could wait. But I had to have th
e ring now.
I guessed the size. Unlike with her clothes, Chloe didn’t have a spare ring handy I could check. But we could always get it adjusted later. While I was there, I bought the matching wedding band. Might as well. A wedding was, after all, the point of an engagement ring.
As the saleswoman walked away, my American Express Black card in her hand, Dylan said under his breath, “You just made her day.” I had. I doubted she sold sixty thousand dollar rings every day.
“Do you have to get back to the office?” Dylan asked.
“Not necessarily,” I said, “Why?”
“Since I’m here, I thought I’d stop upstairs and get something for Leigha.”
“I could do that,” I said.
With the ring burning a hole in my pocket, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to go straight back to the office. Chloe was under surveillance. She was about as safe as she could get outside of my house or Axel’s safe room. I hadn’t lied to her, I was still planning on stopping by the Claremont project a little later, but there was no reason I couldn’t visit Agent Provocateur now, get Chloe something sexy, maybe a little naughty, and then go to the site.
I signed the credit card receipt with flourish, feeling like I’d done so much more than buy a ring. Even though Chloe didn’t know it yet, I taken the first step toward the rest of our lives.
33
Chloe
At five o’clock I was ready to get the heck out of the office. Sam’s project proposal was edited, and my inbox was at least moderately under control. I was also antsy and bored, a frustrating combination. The office was quiet, so no fires to put out there, and I hadn’t heard anything about Nolan. I had my fingers crossed that he’d called Axel, but somehow I doubted it. Calling Axel for help was too simple and straightforward. So far nothing Nolan had done was simple and straightforward.
I, on the other hand, was more than happy to be simple and straightforward. Following Sam’s directions, I picked up my phone and called Axel to let him know I was planning to leave the office. He sounded distracted, and said he hadn’t heard from Nolan, but I should go ahead and leave. His guys would be following me.
