Circle of Deception

by Skye, M.

  Circle of Deception

  By M. Skye

  Circle of Deception

  * * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Delphine Publications on Smashwords

  Copyright © 2015 by M. Skye

  SmashwordsEdition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work

  CIRCLE OF DECEPTION

  M. SKYE

  TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY, WITHOUT YOU NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING EVERYTHING I DO.

  Chapter 1

  Stuffy Business

  Meg sat in her office staring helplessly out the window, silently wishing for something big to happen. Her life had become less than exciting over the past few years and she longed for a distraction. She was the youngest CEO of her fortune 500 media company, but there was something severely lacking from her life.

  She hadn’t had an exciting day in so long she almost forgot what it felt like. Meg allowed her mind to drift in several different directions until she heard someone calling her name. She swore her ears were playing tricks on her.

  It wasn’t until she heard it the third time that she knew it was real. With excitement flowing through her veins, she stood out of her chair in preparation for what was to come next. When she saw the leggy blonde strut into her office bubbling with excitement, she almost fainted.

  “Megan Marie Cardoza, you get out of this office,” Emily yelled as she walked in and flung her arms around her giddy best friend.

  “What are you doing here?” Meg was under the impression she wouldn’t be in for another two weeks.

  “Gio called me. He said you have been held up in this office for far too long and you needed some intrigue in your life,” she said and flopped down in the empty seat in front of her.

  “Gio talks too much, but I’m glad to see you.” Meg quickly buzzed her assistant to hold all of her calls for the rest of the day. “When did you arrive?”

  “I just got in a few hours ago; I had to stop by and see the parentals,” Emily said. “You know they would have had a fit if I didn’t stop in first.” After scanning the room, Emily developed a big frown on her face and turned back to Meg with angst in her eyes.

  “What is your problem?” Meg asked sounding annoyed.

  Emily shifted herself in her seat looking amused before answering. “There are no pictures in here except for Missy.”

  “What's wrong with having a picture of my cat?” Meg questioned.

  “Your office makes you look like an old maid.” Meg huffed at her inference and replied hastily.

  “It's an office, not a photo gallery.”

  “I know, but where are the pictures of the sexy man in your life?”

  Meg took on a look of confusion. “What sexy man?”

  “Exactly!” Emily shrieked.

  “You're such a bitch Em.”

  “Don’t get all touchy because I’m right. It’s time you got back out there before your eggs begin to rot. I want some nieces and nephews.”

  The expression on Meg’s face had Emily silently kicking herself for being so insensitive. The last time, she saw Meg, look that upset was back in college when her world came crashing down. She felt like such a heel for making her relive such a dark time in her life. “I’m so sorry honey.”

  “It's okay, it's nothing,” Meg said, turning away trying to hide her emerging tears.

  “Aw honey, you don’t have to pretend with me.” Before she could fully gauge her emotions, she collapsed into Emily’s waiting arms and sobbed quietly. “Just let it out. I’m right here.” She moved her hands through Meg’s shiny brown curls wishing she could take it all back.

  “This shouldn’t still be affecting me this much, it’s been six years.”

  “Yes, it has been exactly six years today. That’s partly why I’m here. I knew you would need some support.”

  Meg forced herself to smile. “I’m glad you came.” As her tears began to subside, her mind began to wander into thoughts of Alex, her ex, and she uttered his name softly.

  “Alex? Have you heard from him lately?”

  “It's been a long time. He has reached out, but I don’t want to see him,” she said and turned suddenly.

  “You have to see each other at some point, and just maybe he deserves the right to explain himself,” Emily said quietly as if she knew something she was not telling.

  “What are you hiding?”

  “Don’t shoot the messenger, but Aiden told me that Alex has moved back home.”

  “Oh god. This is just what I need right now.” Meg swallowed a deep breath.

  “Don’t think that way, this could be exactly what you need. I know you still love him,” Emily said and abandoned her seat quickly.

  “I’m not getting into this with you Em. We tried and it just didn’t work. I can’t change that.”

  “You could have worked if you weren't so damn stubborn. You should talk to him, he deserves to know.” Emily folded her arms ready to engage in confrontation.

  “Look, I’m not going to argue with you about this,” Meg said, shutting down her computers and packing up her files.

  “Just what do you think you’re doing Ms. Egotistical Workaholic? Don’t you have two more hours of work left?”

  “You know everyone doesn’t have a schedule like you Ms. Freelance Photographer, and if you keep on poking fun at me I’ll keep both of us here until dusk,” Meg joked.

  “Are you kidding me, I can’t wait to get out of this mausoleum,” Emily said, with a faraway look on her face.

  Seeing her carefree stance gave Meg a sense of jealousy and made her wish she could be as lighthearted. Emily wasn’t the type to stay in one place long. She was always chasing an adventure.

  Meg was the responsible, boring one and Emily was the vibrant, adventurous one. It had been that way since they were kids. Emily was an only child, spoiled rotten by her two doting parents, whereas Meg spent most her teenage years raising her two sisters.

  On the way out of the building, they looked up to see a hilarious sight bounding down the hallway. When Gio walked up with folders falling from his arms, both Meg and Emily rushed over to help him gather his files.

  “Thank you,” he replied, before looking up to realize Emily was standing before him. When he finally looked up, he almost lost his footing. “Emmi, you slut! Get over here and hug me!”

  “Gio you diva!” she supplied and engaged in a strong hug.

  While surveying her appearance, he smiled inwardly. “You look wonderful!”

  She was in a baby-blue spaghetti strap dress that ended just above the knee and silver strap sandals. Her golden hair was draped round her shoulders, and she wore a pair of shimmering diamond earrings that sparkle like her grayish-silver eyes. All of her life Emily had been an enchanting beauty, and she knew how to use it to her advantage. She always held the power and made guys eat out of the palm her hands with little effort.

  “Where are you off to?” He led them off to a secluded corner in the lobby.

  “We are going to have a dinner at a fancy place, on you,” Meg smiled at him.

  When Gio stepped back and surveyed her appearance, he began to shake his head fervently. “Oh, we can go, but you're not going anywhere with us looking like that.”

  “What's wrong with me?” She held her arms out looking herself over. After looking her up and down
, Gio developed a comical expression, and she tilted her head to the side and waited for his response.

  “You look like a stuffy snob,” he chuckled lightly.

  “Gio’s right. We need to make an emergency detour to your house. The boring businesswoman look is so out.” Emily giggled, knowing she what she had started.

  “Oh, honey you're going to have to go a lot further than her house, everything she owns is just as terrible. I have tried to get her out of these boring grays and blues for years,” Gio huffed dismissively.

  “My clothes are not that bad,” Meg snapped. “They’re all designer suits, and I do have to look professional for work.”

  “Honey, what you need are some man catching clothes,” Gio twirled her hair playfully.

  “Well, I guess we are just going to have to go shopping,” Emily said, smiling at Meg apologetically.

  “Oh no, I’m not going shopping with the two of you,” Meg protested. “You will have me looking like I’m ready for the nearest street corner.”

  “Well, at least you would be showing some sign that you were alive in there. You are twenty-six, not eighty-six,” he said in a snappy tone while walking towards the door.

  Meg silently agreed to let them take her shopping after hearing his proposal. She was shaking her head as they walked towards the parking lot. “I’m already regretting this.”

  “Oh my god!” A woman yelled as they all began to file into Meg’s car.

  As she turned to face the two women, Emily yelled out, overcome with excitement. “Melia! Maddie!”

  “When did you get back?” they exclaimed in unison, as they shared an embrace.

  “Just now,” Emily supplied.

  Maddie and Melia, Meg’s younger identical twin sisters, moved back to Los Angeles after graduating college two years ago. They both went to Duke, where Alex’s younger brother, Matthew, attended. At the age of twenty-four, they are doing well. Maddie is a chief editor at a major magazine while Melia became a CPA.

  Melia married Matthew and has a daughter named Cienna, who is three years old,. Maddie has a live-in boyfriend but has no plan of getting married just yet. They grew up together and went their separate ways, but the group was slowly trickling back together.

  With Emily’s arrival, the group was nearly complete. The only people missing were Alex and Aiden. Getting them in the same room would be a challenge in itself.

  “How long are you staying?” Maddie asked, bubbling with excitement. She wanted to convince her friend to stay for good.

  “You know I’m not sure. I did take a few assignments here, it could be a while before I leave.”

  “You know you should just move back,” Melia said with puppy dog eyes.

  “It's a thought,” Emily replied evasively. The truth was she liked moving around, and couldn’t adjust to being in one place long.

  “Well, I hate to break up this little love fest, but you either need to get in the car and follow us or meet us later for dinner,” Gio said in a hostile tone. He had grown impatient with all the waiting. He was desperate to get new clothes for Meg before she changed her mind.

  “Calm down princess, we will follow you,” Maddie said and hugged him.

  “Well let’s go!” He stormed off, and they all headed towards their cars.

  Once they loaded into the cars and drove away, Maddie had a startling realization. “Melia, we are in such major trouble.” She put her hand to her mouth dramatically.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Did you forget who we are meeting for dinner?”

  “Oh god, we have to call and cancel,” Melia declared nervously.

  “It's Alex’s first night back in town, he would be so disappointed if we canceled. We have to think of something else because I’m not backing out of this,” Maddie replied dismissively. “We haven’t seen him in years.”

  When Melia looked over, she realized the wheels were turning in Maddie’s head, and she knew it wouldn’t be good. “Just what are you thinking?”

  Maddie let a devious grin display, letting Melia know whatever was on her mind was sneaky. “What if everyone got together tonight?”

  “Meg would kill us,” Melia said, not looking forward to a blowup.

  “Hey, what's so wrong with letting him realize what he is missing?” Maddie glanced over at her to discover a perplexed look on her face.

  “Let's see… well our sister would kill us… and our sister would kill us!”

  “You're overreacting as usual,” Maddie said nonchalantly.

  “That would be one uncomfortable dinner,” Melia admitted.

  “Well, it shouldn’t be. We grew up together, and hell, he is your brother-in-law. I just want us to be able to hang together like we used to. You know they still love each other.”

  “That may be true, but don’t you think it's their choice if they want to see each other again. We can’t go playing with their lives. Would you like it if someone did that to you?”

  “It is their decision, but they need a little push in the right direction,” Maddie said. “That’s where we come in.”

  “You know we’re going to burn for this right?” Melia confirmed with a sly grin on her face.

  “So does that mean you're in sister dear?” Maddie asked, dripping with expectation.

  “I’m in, but if she catches on, I’m dropping the dime on you. You will be on your own,” Melia told her.

  Maddie was eager to know what was new in his life. “So it's been a long time since we’ve seen Alex, I’m dying to know what he has been up to.”

  “He has been low-key since college. A few girlfriends here and there, but nothing serious… not since… well you know,” Melia replied.

  “I just wonder what went wrong. Everything seemed so perfect between them,” Maddie voiced.

  As they turned into the parking lot of Gio’s favorite store, Melia started in on Meg’s reluctance to discussing her feelings. “She never talks about it, the subject is always way off-limits.”

  “Well, what does your husband say about it?” Maddie asked hoping to get some insight on the situation.

  “He knows about as much as we do, but he did bring up a ring that Meg never saw.” Melia knew as soon as she said it, she had made a mistake. She knew this would only fuel her sister to push even harder.

  “Oh, this is juicy! He was going to propose!” Maddie screamed out excitedly.

  “The key word is was. He may not feel the same way anymore,” Melia warned, noticing her protests fell on deaf ears.

  “Oh whatever,” Maddie huffed. “If he isn’t holding out hope for Meg, then you tell me why he hasn’t had anyone serious since her? He still wants her, and the bad feelings he may have now are not important.”

  “Well, if that isn’t important, then please tell me what is?” Melia asked.

  “The fact that he wanted to ask her. This means we are doing the right thing,” Maddie said, bursting with excitement. “You worry too much. Everything will be fine.”

  “I hope you're right,” Melia sighed.

  While Maddie convinced herself their plan would work, Melia was a bit uneasy about the setup. The long walk through the parking lot gave her time to think and regain some composure as she thought about the upside to their plan. If all went well, they could be back together, but if not, at least everything would be out in the open.

  Emily instantly noticed the infamous grins they both shared as they walked inside and decided to do a little investigating. “What has you two in such a good mood?”

  “It's nothing,” Melia answered quickly.

  Emily’s suspicions were only heightened by her quick response. “You two are up to something and you're going to spill it now.”

  Maddie stood tough in the interrogation, but Melia began to crack under Emily’s inquisitive stare. Maddie wore her smug expression proudly, until she looked over and saw Melia’s nervous demeanor. At that point, she decided it was up to her to make the next move. “Stop twisting
our arms, we will tell you.”

  “Well, out with it,” Emily demanded with her hands on her hips.

  “We may have agreed to dinner with Alex and they guys tonight.”

  Emily smiled, but quickly cowered when she thought about how Meg would react. “Ooh… Meg is going to flip when she hears this.”

  “Oh no you don’t. You can’t tell her about this,” Maddie whispered, and pulled Emily into a corner.

  “You can’t just spring this on her. She would be livid with all of us,” Emily said. “I don’t want to get killed for this.”

  “This is for her own good. They need to see each other to get all these distractions out of the way so we can all be friends again,” Maddie reasoned.

  Emily paused considering what she said. “I know you're right, but maybe this isn’t the way to go about it.”

  Melia watched the conversation between Emily and Maddie and then glanced over at Meg, who looked happy for the first time in years. She was finally convinced after seeing her sister looking drop-dead gorgeous in a wicked red dress. “If we don’t jump in now, it may never happen,” Melia interjected, shifting the focus over to Meg.

  “She looks amazing,” Emily said as they stood back in awe of the beauty displayed by the reluctant dove.

  In just a few short minutes, Gio took Meg from boring and dreary to wickedly sexy. Her long brown hair was draped around her shoulders and her long tanned legs were on display in the short red dress with a crisscrossed back. The dress was accented by dangling silver hoops and a lengthy silver necklace. Gio picked out the perfect shoes, a pair of silver stilettos with a red accent to tie the ensemble together.

  For the first time in years, Meg looked like the raging beauty they all remembered her to be, and they couldn’t be more thrilled. Once Gio was satisfied with his creation, he walked Meg over to a mirror and stood back like a proud parent.

  “Oh my god,” she said in total shock.

  “Well…?”Gio asked while expectantly awaiting her reaction. After a few moments of silence, he got his response.

  “I love it Gio.”