It Started With a Lie

by Lisa Suzanne

  “Okay,” Jason says. “Dana it is.”

  “You’re sure?”

  He nods. “She was my first choice. I just wanted to see why you chose her over the others.”

  I laugh as I realize Jason has his own poker face, too.

  Which leads me to a big question.

  Did he overhear my conversation with Vivian, and does he know I asked for her opinion on an FDB matter? Because if he did, he might be closer to learning the truth than I realize.

  chapter twenty-nine

  Jason calls the three people we interviewed with the news, and I head back to my office. It’s already nearly six, and even though the pile of work is never-ending, I’m ready for a change of scenery.

  I stand in the doorway for a minute and watch her work. I finally break the silence. “I’m heading out for an early dinner. Would you like to join me?”

  She glances up at me and lifts a shoulder. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  I stride across my office and sit at my desk, puffing up my chest despite the slight rejection. “Why not?”

  “We’ve already spent the entire day together.”

  “And it hasn’t been so bad, has it?”

  She lets out a soft giggle. “No.”

  “Do you have dinner plans?” I press.

  “Yes, big plans to change into my pajamas and order up room service while I veg out with a rom com on Netflix.”

  My first thought is I want to be there with her.

  I clear my throat as an image pops into my head of me on the bed beside her—nothing sexual for the moment, just lying around together watching a movie and eating room service. The image cuts painfully into my consciousness, and as it fades away, it leaves behind a strange ache of longing and loneliness. “You’re welcome to come by my place and veg out with a rom com on Netflix.”

  “That would be a really bad idea.” Her answer is firm and immediate, and this time the rejection stings a little more intensely.

  “What’s so bad about it?”

  She blows out a breath. “I’m going to be really honest with you right now.”

  I nod. “I hope you’re always honest with me.”

  “Transparent, I mean. Things in my head I wouldn’t normally voice aloud.”

  I raise a brow, and her eyes dart toward my office door. I glance that way, too, wondering for a beat if Jason is still around. It’s quiet in the office, but this feels like something he probably shouldn’t overhear.

  She gets up and closes the door, and my heart pounds as I wait for her words. She walks to the edge of my desk and sets her palms face down on it, leaning over to look me in the eye.

  “I’ve already told you once. I can’t get involved with you. We have professional lines we can’t cross because I’m here as your boss.”

  “Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, too,” I say softly.

  She straightens and goes over to the window, crossing her arms over her chest as she stares out at the Strip. “Of course I feel it. The air in the room is always full of tension when we’re in it together, and at first I thought it was because I hated you. And then you kissed me, and now I know it’s not because I hate you. It’s because I’m ridiculously attracted to you.” I open my mouth to voice my surprise at her words, to tell her how much I feel it too and how I think we should both stop fighting against it...but then she continues softly, “I can’t think about you like that.”

  “What about once your three months are over?”

  She turns to face me again and shakes her head. “This will never happen, Brian.”

  I stand up and walk around the desk. I walk into her orbit but I don’t touch her. I don’t reach out a finger to trace her jawline, don’t lift a hand to smooth down her hair, don’t lean forward to press my lips against hers. I just stand close enough that she can feel my heat and read all the pent-up need and desire in my eyes. “Why are you fighting this so hard?”

  “Because I have to.”

  “That’s not a reason,” I say, my voice a clear demand for more.

  “It’ll have to do.” She ducks around me and returns to her desk, where she starts packing up her things.

  I’m desperate to find a way to prolong our time together. “Just go to dinner with me. We can talk business and you tell me how to do my job better and there won’t be any pressure. Just two colleagues going to dinner.”

  She blows out a breath, and just as she opens her mouth to probably reject me once again, there’s a knock at my office door.

  “Come in,” I say.

  Jason opens the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but at least you’ve both got clothes on.”

  I laugh and Viv turns red.

  “Dana is coming by tomorrow to get the ball rolling. Becker and Jill are back and I invited them to dinner with Tess and me tonight. Can I count you both in?”

  “Absolutely,” I say without even thinking twice about it. It’s probably the single way to get Viv to go to dinner with me. So what if it isn’t just the two of us? I glance over at her, and she gives me a look that’s hard to read, but I’d label it somewhere between annoyed and resigned.

  “Fine,” Viv says with a sigh.

  Jason’s brows furrow down. “Everything okay in here?”

  I nod and give him a tight smile. “Just let me know when and where and we’ll meet you there.”

  Viv clears her throat. “I need to stop home first.”

  “Of course, babe,” I say. “We can do whatever you need.”

  She raises a brow at me that Jason doesn’t catch.

  “I was thinking we could meet in an hour at Catch,” he says, referring to one of the hottest new seafood restaurants in Vegas. “Can you pull strings to get us in?”

  I nod. Having a brother as a rock star has its perks.

  “See you there,” Jason says, and he heads out.

  I make the call and get us an easy reservation once I explain who I am, and when I hang up, Viv looks at me with daggers in her eyes. “Babe?” she says. “After all that no pressure talk?”

  “Part of the act,” I say. “And sorry you have to cancel your date with your bed and Netflix.”

  “They’ll understand,” she says dryly. She finishes packing her things. “I’m going to head to my hotel for a bit.”

  “Do you have a car here?” I ask.

  She shakes her head.

  “Then let me give you a ride. I have nowhere to be.”

  “That’s okay. I like the walk. It’s just down the road and it’s nice out.”

  “It’ll be hotter than hell in another month,” I say.

  “I know. That’s why I want to enjoy it.”

  “Let me walk you, then,” I say, trying my best to be gentlemanly. “There’s some sketchy characters out there.”

  “I’ve walked back and forth from my hotel every day I’ve been here. I don’t need some shadow acting like my security guard.”

  “Fine,” I say, though what I really want to say is that she’s stubborn as hell and, frankly it’s totally exhausting. “I have some shit to wrap up here anyway. I’ll pick you up in forty-five minutes.”

  “Fine,” she says, and then she heads out the door.

  I blow out a heavy sigh of frustration as soon as she’s gone. So she’s attracted to me, but it’ll never happen?

  We’ll see.

  * * *

  It’s not the night I imagined for us, but as I pull into the familiar driveway of the Westin, I think to myself it’ll have to do.

  I didn’t bring flowers for my date. I didn’t bring chocolates. I brought something else, something less cliché and more my style.

  Viv opens the door and slides into the passenger seat before I have a chance to get out and open the door for her gallantly. She takes my breath away. It took her less than an hour to transform from the woman I work with to the woman I want to be with. She’s still herself in another demure outfit, this time a black top paired with jeans and black heels, but somehow the lo
ok is utterly perfect on her.

  “You look beautiful,” I say, and then I lean over the seat and kiss her cheek as she leans down to buckle her seatbelt.

  Her head whips toward mine when she feels my proximity, putting her mouth centimeters away from mine since I haven’t moved. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t react except for the surprised whip of her head, and God do I want to crush my mouth to hers, to bruise her lips unforgivingly, to take her mouth before I take her body and claim it as mine.

  I pull back.

  I need to lay the groundwork tonight, not jump the gun. Besides, I’ve got a whopper of a surprise planned for dinner.

  She clears her throat, and I reach into the backseat, grab the envelope, and hand it to her.

  “What’s this?” she asks.

  “Open it.” I start driving because even though I want to gauge her reaction, we have a dinner we need to get to.

  She pulls out the piece of paper inside the envelope. “A reservation?” she asks.

  I nod and grin proudly. “For two on Wednesday night at Viv in Miami.”

  She shakes her head as she crams the paper back into the envelope. I sneak a glance over at her, and a little smile plays at her lips. “So we’ll be back in Miami on Wednesday?”

  “Yes, and I figured this time we might as well just plan on dinner together instead of me getting mad and storming off to eat alone.”

  “Yeah, that was pretty immature of you.”

  I have a nasty comment ready to fall off my tongue, but I manage to stop it.

  It’s yet another turning point for me, another line in the sand that makes me realize my feelings for her have started running deeper than I thought they did. I never stop my nasty comments. My brain seems to lack the filter required to do so, but with Viv...everything’s different.

  Everything.

  “I saw that restaurant last week. I have to take Viv to Viv, obviously.”

  “Why do you call me Viv?” she asks. It’s not the question I was expecting.

  I lift a shoulder. “Why does anyone call anyone anything?”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “I don’t know.” I think about it for a second. The real reason is probably because it annoys her. It slipped out the first time and just sort of stuck for me when I saw her reaction. “I guess I just like the way it feels leaving my mouth.”

  “Is that really why?”

  I shake my head. “I do it because you hate it. Why do you hate it?”

  “Why do you purposely do things that annoy me?” she shoots back. She’s feisty tonight, and I like it.

  I glance over in her direction, and I find her gaze pinned to me. “I’m just trying to get your attention,” I say softly, and then I force my eyes back to the road.

  My words are met with a sigh. We travel in silence a few more minutes, and then I’m pulling into a space at the restaurant and the short moment of intimacy we shared as I gave her my vulnerable words passes us by.

  “Ready for our fake date, girlfriend?”

  She slaps on a fake smile. “Ready, boyfriend.”

  We get out of the car and I take her hand in mine. Hers is cold again—it’s always cold—and my bigger, warmer hand covers hers. I stroke the back of her hand with my thumb reflexively, absentmindedly, and when I look down at her, she’s looking up at me.

  A needy ache passes between the two of us, something I’m positive she feels as strongly as I do, and that’s my window in. That’s my go signal. It’s that single look that tells me she’ll eventually let go of her stubborn need to keep work and pleasure separate—some old principle I’ve never subscribed to.

  I look away first. I have to, because if I don’t, I’ll give into every single emotion I’m feeling, emotions both unfamiliar and terrifying yet at the same time emotions I want to cling to and hold close and try to understand.

  I spot Becker first at a big, round corner booth. I let go of Viv’s hand and guide her by the small of her back through the narrow aisles to the table where my closest friends sit. Tess looks across the table at me with a curious gaze as her eyes edge over to the woman with me.

  “This is Vivian,” I say to Becker and Jill. I turn toward Viv. “And this is everyone.”

  Introductions are made and everyone scoots around the booth so we can sit. I love round tables for social events—they work better than rectangles for conversation, and they force me closer to my date. My knee brushes Viv’s as we settle into our seats, and I leave mine there.

  She moves hers immediately.

  I’m getting seriously conflicting signals from her. Her words and her actions say one thing, but the way she looks at me like she’s a starving animal about to devour a steak leaves me with a completely different impression.

  I have to go with my instinct. I allow my leg to fall closer to her again, and when my leg brushes hers, she leaves hers for a beat this time before pulling it away.

  “How was Italy?” I ask the newlyweds. Becker launches into a recap of their trip while Jill peppers in additional details, and I’m only half-listening as I think about what I’m going to do. I’m biding my time and waiting for the perfect moment.

  We order drinks and then dinner. Jill and Tess catch up on some gossip on one side of the table as Jason and I fill Becker in on things he’s missed at FDB, including our new hire. Viv listens intently beside me, surely analyzing every detail we discuss to find cost cutting solutions. She manages to keep her mouth shut, which I find both surprising and endearing at the same time. She’s really going all in on our act, which only bodes well for me.

  When the dessert menus come, we’re all too full to even consider it. We always find room for an after-dinner drink, however. We order another round, and then the conversation moves to relationships as Jason asks, “So what’s married life like?”

  I glance at Tess, who shifts uncomfortably beside him. They just got back together. He can’t really be ready to move to that step yet, can he?

  “Pretty much exactly like before, but now I have the hardware to prove it,” Becker says, holding up his ring and drawing a laugh from Jason and me—not so much from Tess or Viv.

  Jill elbows him in the ribs. “And the sex has pretty much stopped, just like all married couples,” she jokes.

  “Which is exactly why I plan to never get married,” I interject with a laugh, and I feel Viv’s eyes turn toward me. I decide to meet her gaze even though all eyes on the table are on us. This is my moment. “I’m not opposed to changing our living arrangements, though.”

  Her brows draw down as she realizes nearly immediately what I’m doing.

  “Viv, will you move in with me?”

  Her jaw drops open when the words leave my mouth, and a blush of red creeps up from the little peek I have of her chest, into her neck, and finally into her cheeks.

  “What?” she squeaks.

  “Move in with me. We spend practically all our time together anyway. It’ll just be more convenient.”

  I can tell she has no idea what I’m doing, and so I soften my eyes at her. It’s part of the act in front of my friends, but it’s also not. It’s something I’ve thought a lot about over the last couple days.

  Why is she staying at the fucking Westin and spending my brother’s money for a hotel every night when I have a huge house with extra space?

  I’m dead serious about her staying with me, and I figured asking in front of my friends, the same people she agreed to lie to, was my best bet in terms of getting her to say yes. I just don’t know whether the yes will truly mean yes and she’ll leave the hotel to stay with me for the remainder of her time at FDB.

  But I do know one thing.

  If I can get her on my turf, if I can get her to spend more time with me...then I can get her to fall for me in just the same way I’m finding myself inexplicably falling for her.

  I feel Tess’s eyes burning holes into me, but that relationship was so fleeting I can’t even call it a relationship. It was two people
having fun in secret a few times. Nothing more.

  “Oh my God, say yes!” Jill squeals.

  I’ve gotten to know Jill over the years she’s been dating my best friend. It took a long time for her to warm up to me after I used her best friend, Reese, in my attempt at revenge on my brother. She still doesn’t fully trust me—and probably never will—but we’ve sort of settled into the roles of two people who tolerate each other because we have to. I’m not going anywhere as her husband’s business partner and lifelong friend, and she’s not going anywhere as Beck’s wife.

  But this is the first time since everything went down with Reese and Mark where I’ve actually seen her as a cheerleader in my corner rooting for me.

  I laugh nervously, again as part of the act but also not, as I stare down at Viv. I raise my brows at her, hoping my eyes tell her to say yes in front of my friends.

  “Okay,” Viv says quietly.

  “Yeah?” I ask as I match her tone.

  She nods, and I can’t help it. I lean down and press my lips softly to hers. Whether or not this is part of the act remains to be seen, but I need to feel her lips under mine.

  She breaks the kiss quickly and plays it off like she’s embarrassed to have a public display of affection in front of my friends, but I kiss her cheek anyway and throw my arm around her shoulder. I act like I would if she really was my girl and I really did just ask her to move in with me, because what other choice do I have at this point?

  We order one more round in celebration, and then we bid my friends goodnight.

  Then it’s time to head home.

  chapter thirty

  “What was that?” Vivian hisses at me once we’re in the car.

  “Dinner with friends.” I start the engine and back out of my space.

  “I thought it would help ease our professional relationship if I earned your trust, so that’s why I agreed to play along with your little lies. But what you did in there crossed the line, Brian.”

  “I wasn’t trying to cross lines,” I say. Despite my defensive words, I feel in control of this conversation. “I was simply trying to put on the act in front of my friends.”