The Other Woman: A Steamy Contemporary Romance (The Bidden Series Book 6)

by Crystal Cierlak

  “No. Whatever it is Celine, no. I have too much work to finish up tonight.”

  “Relax.” She crossed her thin arms over her chest and said, “I just want to know who the redhead is.”

  “You’re going to have to be more specific than that, Celine. Or you could just leave?”

  Celine leaned against the doorjamb as if she knew her sister was getting ready to close the door right in her face. “You said James might be dating someone but you never mentioned she was a plus-size ginger.”

  Audra kept her face neutral, not letting it show that she knew exactly which redhead her sister was speaking of. Or the fact that she was irritated with Celine’s pettiness. Her sister was the worst kind of woman; the kind who put others down to boost her own self-importance. You know, a bitch.

  “What do you want from me, Celine?”

  Celine narrowed her eyes at her sister, pursed her lips as though in thought before she said, “I want her name.”

  “Why don’t you ask James?”

  “Because I’m asking you.”

  “I can’t help you, Celine. And I really do have a lot of work to take care of so if you wouldn’t mind…” Audra grabbed for the door and started closing it, not caring for a minute whether Celine was in the way or not.

  “I have a right to know her name, Audra. For Frankie’s sake.”

  Audra gave her sister a pointed look. “If you think that excuse is going to work on me then you haven’t been paying attention. Good night, Celine.”

  Audra never mentioned Celine’s late-night visit to James. Likewise, he didn’t share a word of whatever confrontation happened between him and Celine. Whatever happened it seemed to not affect his relationship with Natalie too much. He was all smiles the following week; that is until they received an email from Graham Martin announcing that Ivy Whitcomb, who had managed their account from the San Francisco office of Brighton New Media, was now at the Los Angeles office and would once again be handling their affairs.

  It wasn’t that Audra didn’t like Ivy. On the contrary, she liked Ivy a lot. They’d even paired up for a game or two of tennis over the years of their business relationship. The fact of the matter was Natalie was good at her job, and had taken up the mantle of account manager and made the job her own. For Graham Martin to now give the account to Ivy was like hitting an imaginary undo button on all of the work Natalie had done for them. That she didn’t like.

  And now the both of them were on their way over to Fitson outside of Natalie’s regularly scheduled meeting to discuss the handling of moving from one account manager to another. Again.

  A brisk knock drew Audra’s attention away from her computer to the doorway where April, their receptionist, was standing with an amused smile on her face.

  “Natalie and Ivy Whitcomb have arrived,” she announced, just as James slipped in behind her.

  “Would you judge me if I confessed I’ve never liked Ivy Whitcomb?” James asked, completely oblivious of April’s presence – or maybe he didn’t care if she heard him.

  To April, she smiled and said, “You can send them back.”

  “Right away, Miss Robertson.”

  To James, Audrea said, “You’re biased.”

  “No, I’m honest. Natalie has been doing a fine job and I can’t see why Graham would change his mind after months of transitioning from Ivy to Natalie. Now we have to transition back?”

  “Let’s discuss this later.” Audra set her phone down – she’d been following up with Joe Gallo about an account opportunity she’d managed to arrange with a friend in Las Vegas – straightened in her seat and fidgeted with her blouse a moment before the door to her office opened and in stepped Ivy Whitcomb looking like a Kate Middleton doll.

  “James. Audra. How are you both? It’s been a while.”

  Audra rose and came out from behind her desk to embrace Ivy, offering her a chaste kiss on her cheek. From the corner of her eye, she saw Natalie follow in after her co-worker.

  “Natalie, always a pleasure to see you,” she greeted, offering her hand to shake.

  “Likewise.”

  Audra followed Natalie’s line of sight to James, who was greeting Ivy with a kiss on her cheek. Years of growing a business with James meant Audra had long ago learned to read his body language, to know by instinct when he was upset or frustrated. His posture was stiff, the corners of his mouth taut. Natalie looked equally stressed. She could barely keep up with their constant ups-and-downs.

  “Lunch should be arriving shortly,” Audra announced in an attempt to break the tension in the room that Ivy seemed all but oblivious to. “James ordered so God only knows what we’re getting.”

  “Do you remember that small Thai restaurant in Noe Valley we once met at? It was the afternoon we were celebrating exceeding our quarterly metrics.” Ivy was an animated speaker, touching her hands to James’ arms or chest as if they had an intimate friendliness. But James only had eyes for Natalie. When Ivy reached out to him again he intercepted her touch and left her standing in her place.

  “Miss Harlow.” He extended his hand to Natalie, smiling when she slipped her own hand into his embrace. “Lovely to see you again so soon.”

  “Mister Fitzgerald,” she responded coolly.

  “Why don’t we convene at the conference table?” Audra offered, then watched as Ivy took the seat Natalie usually occupied opposite James. Usually when Natalie came by for their sometimes-weekly meetings at Fitson Audra had to muddle through the sexual tension between the two of them. But today something was different. The dynamic between James and Natalie was off. And she suspected it wasn’t entirely because of the bullshit coup Ivy Whitcomb had managed in taking the Fitson account back from Natalie.

  Halfway through Ivy’s pitch, Natalie stood from her seat and excused herself from the room under the guise of checking in with her assistant at Brighton. But there was no mistaking the sight of James’ hand falling away from her lap as she stood up, or the desperation with which she fled the room.

  Naturally, James followed, leaving Audra to pretend to listen to Ivy’s spiel – which of course involved dismantling all the work Natalie had done for them in her short time as account manager – while on the inside she was figuratively biting her nails and glancing at the door to her office every five minutes.

  Was it just her imagination that Natalie looked upset? And not just about Ivy but maybe also with James?

  Why did she care? James hardly ever volunteered information about his marriage to Celine unless it was important, and Audra wasn’t keen on hearing about it. So why was she keeping one eye trained on her office door and the other on her watch? It wasn’t like there was any hope for her anyway. Natalie was clearly straight and romantically involved with Audra’s most important friend. It wasn’t like the two of them would suddenly break up and Audra would have a chance.

  Yet she couldn’t keep her eyes from glancing at the door, counting out the minutes. Wondering about-

  James returned first, and to anybody else, he probably looked exactly the same as when he left. But she could see the details hidden beneath the surface. His once-crisp collar was ever so slightly wrinkled. His tie had been loosened and re-tied. His belt unbuckled and re-buckled.

  They’d had sex. Probably in his office on the other side of the wall shared between offices. Only James looked even tenser than when he left.

  Natalie, on the other hand, looked the part of a woman who just had an amazing orgasm. Her footsteps were lighter, her gait less stiff. She resumed her place next to James and set her attention back on Ivy looking like she had exactly zero fucks to give anymore.

  “And according to the prospectus originally drafted by our agency, there is just one Fitson property currently without any representation.” Audra turned her attention back to Ivy, momentarily forgetting all about James and Natalie and their not-at-all subtle office romance. “A private club in the Hills called The Golden Palm?”

  Audra was about to cut Ivy off right there,
to dismiss the idea entirely, when James spoke up first.

  “The Golden Palm is off limits,” he said. Audra hid her nod of approval with a sigh. “You have a lot of good ideas, Ivy, but we’re not going to disassemble everything Natalie built just because she’s no longer on the account. We can reevaluate in a few months if necessary.”

  And just like that, Audra and James were on the same page again.

  “Thank you for coming in this afternoon,” she said as she rose from her place at the conference table. “Let me walk you out.” She cast a brief glance first to Natalie then James, who had chosen that moment make a phone call. With a polite smile, she led Ivy out of her office and out to the elevator.

  “Now just isn’t the time to start over from scratch,” she explained to the still-perplexed looking Ivy as they waited for the elevator to arrive on their floor. “After we moved the account to Los Angeles Natalie preserved a lot of the campaigns you already had set in motion. Over time she made them her own. Let’s just let things move organically and see where we end up, alright?”

  “Absolutely, Audra. And if there is anything I can do in the meantime I am only a phone call or email away.”

  The moment Ivy was safely shuttered behind the doors and on her way down to the lobby Audra walked back to her office. Part of her worried what she’d find therein; hopefully not the two of them fucking on her couch.

  She stopped short at the door when she heard them talking in low voices, taking advantage of Audra’s absence.

  “What is it?” Natalie asked, her voice barely audible across the large office and through the partially-open door. Audra remained still and silent.

  “Nothing,” James replied. At least they weren’t making out. “You really don’t have anything personal on your desk?”

  “It’s not like I can put up a framed picture of you.”

  Audra crossed her arms over her chest and breathed deeply. She’d been in James’ office enough times to know that he didn’t have a framed picture of Natalie either. He did, however, have a picture of her set to the wallpaper of his phone. That was more sentimental than Audra ever was with her girlfriends.

  She chose the following moment of quiet to slip through the doorway, only to find Natalie and James kissing.

  “Ahem. You’re not going to have sex in my office, too, are you?”

  “I’ve got to get back to work,” Natalie groaned before collecting her purse.

  “I’ll see you tonight.”

  Audra watched, an amused smile on her face, as Natalie scurried from the office, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, her eyes unable to look anywhere but the ground.

  “Bye Audra,” was all she could manage, no louder than a whisper, before it was just her and James again. She closed the door behind Natalie and returned to her desk, intent on getting back to her own work and away from the James-and-Natalie drama.

  Blissfully, James made no mention of Natalie or their tryst in his office then or any other day after. For a few days, everything seemed to revert back to normal. There were no emails or visits from Natalie, but phone calls with Ivy Whitcomb instead. And James kept the details of his private life to himself as he always had. The only familiar thorn in their side?

  “Goddamnit, Celine!” James cursed from his side of the desk, his cell phone claiming all of his attention in the middle of a conference call. He glanced up at Audra with an apologetic smile after checking to make sure they were still muted on the call. “She brought Frankie into town and the only reason I get to hear about it is because she wants me for babysitting duty.”

  Audra put a finger on the telephone’s mute button and said, “Thank you, Brandon. Send me the specs and I’ll approve a P.O.”

  “Appreciate it, Audra,” Brandon’s voice carried over the air all the way from Eden in Las Vegas.

  She muted the phone again then looked up at James, her next question in her eyes.

  “She says she has a dinner meeting,” he answered her unspoken question. “I did have plans with Natalie tonight.”

  Audra nodded but cast her eyes down in acknowledgment of Natalie’s name. Whatever sort of a spell Natalie Harlow had the power to weave on Audra, however unknowingly, it seemed to be fading away in her notable absence.

  “Plans we both know you’ll give up in a heartbeat for your daughter.”

  “Just don’t tell Natalie that,” he laughed as he texted out a message in reply to Celine. Audra picked up her computer, notepad, and pen, and stood to leave.

  “Finish this up for me, will you? I need to make a few calls.”

  “Okay but you owe me!” he called out.

  Audra chuckled to herself as she crossed the hallway to her own office. It was the part of the afternoon she always found herself yawning to get through. She could stay up until all hours of the morning burning the midnight oil as it were, but once it hit three in the afternoon she was fighting the urge to lay down on her couch and catch a quick nap.

  She sank into the deep couch cushions before slipping her feet out of her shoes. A few quick swipes on her phone and the call connected.

  “Audra Robertson! What do I owe the pleasure?” Joe Gallo teased from the other side of the line. He sounded very pleased to be hearing from her, which could only mean one thing.

  “I’m guessing my tip paid off?”

  “More than paid off, Audra. Harry Brucker has agreed to let me pitch him at that conference up in Lake Arrowhead this weekend.”

  “That is fantastic news. Congratulations, Joe.”

  “Thank you, Audra. I don’t think this would have been possible without you.”

  “I merely opened the door. It’s you Harry would be working with.”

  “Me and a partner, actually. Or so I hope. I’m planning on pitching her tonight. In fact, you know her. Natalie Harlow?”

  She gave up on massaging her insole and sank even deeper into the cushioning of the couch. “I forgot you worked for Brighton New Media. I thought for sure you’d have already set up your own shop.”

  “Hmmm. Not yet. But don’t count it out.”

  “Natalie is a good choice,” she replied after a long moment, steering the conversation back to business. “Hardworking. Bright. And she has experience in Vegas.”

  “I’ve heard all that and more. Had to flirt my way onto her schedule for a dinner meeting tonight. Hey, by the way. Do you know if Kate Mantellini is still open? I heard it might be closing?”

  “I think it’s closing at the start of next month. I’m sure it’s online somewhere. Anyway, Joe, I’m happy to hear things are working out with Harry. Let me know if I can do anything else.”

  “You’ve already done more than enough. Thanks, Audra. Bye.”

  “Goodbye.”

  She inhaled deeply.

  Picked up the square couch cushion nestled against her hip.

  Held it up to her face.

  And screamed.

  Does every fucking man have to be involved with Natalie Harlow?!

  Of all the coincidences in all of the world, Joe and Natalie were co-workers? She repositioned herself until she was laying on the couch, spread out across almost all three cushions. She should have realized it sooner had she remembered Joe was promoted from Brighton’s San Francisco offices. The very same ones Ivy Whitcomb came from.

  More than three million people in the city of Los Angeles alone and her current circle of acquaintances were all interconnected. And at the center was Natalie Harlow.

  The Natalie Harlow her business partner was currently fucking.

  The Natalie Harlow her sister was inquiring about out of pure spite and jealousy.

  The Natalie Harlow who was about to partner up with Joe Gallo, her sister’s ex-boyfriend and father to her niece.

  A headache started to form in the center of her skull. She draped one arm over her closed eyes and tried to not dwell on the fact that she would no longer be able to keep secret from James the fact that his daughter’s biological father was not only liv
ing in L.A. but working very closely with his new girlfriend.

  The headache tugged at her head, intensifying.

  James is gonna go ballistic.

  It wouldn’t be quite like finding out your wife cheated on you and had that man’s baby, but it would be a painful reminder of that very affair and resulting parentage.

  Maybe there was something she could do to spare him that pain? The only way James Fitzgerald would be remotely okay with Natalie and Joe working together was if there was no chance in hell of them hooking up. Natalie was already involved with James. But if Joe were involved with someone else…. Like maybe her sister?

  She sat up and swung her legs over the cushion, toes curling into the rug beneath her feet.

  Celine needed a distraction. Something to divert the importance of signing the divorce papers so that she believed it benefitted her most. Like if a hot ex-boyfriend had recently moved to town and was single (maybe) and interested in rekindling the romance (hopefully).

  In any other scenario, finding out Celine was carrying his child and romantically involved with Joe Gallo would send James off the deep end. But it wouldn’t be long before James discovered Natalie was working so closely with Joe Gallo. If there was any single reason in the world why he would be okay with Celine and Joe hooking up it would be because it meant Joe Gallo wasn’t hooking up with Natalie.

  Or at least, that’s how she assumed men think. Yet another perk of being a lesbian was not having to deal with men and their caveman logic when it came to relationships.

  Celine could move on with Joe and finalize the divorce.

  James could move on with Natalie.

  And Audra… would be exactly the same. Alone and way too involved with the lives of others.

  She missed the spirit of romance. That spark of spontaneity and lust that made two people do things like sneak out of a business meeting to have sex in the office next door.

  It had been so long since she had that spark with Vic. It was the morning the September issue of Vogue hit newsstands, the cover featuring Jennifer Lawrence standing in the gardens of The Jacqueline, Fitson’s swanky boutique hotel in Los Angeles. Page after page of editorial showed the gorgeous actress wearing the most breathtaking gowns in the Hollywood-Glam-themed hallways of the Jacqueline. Grace Coddington herself had come in as fashion editor of the shoot with Mario Testino behind the camera. Victoria came by the office with a bottle of champagne and the most adorable smile on her face. This was when Vic was a network contributor, before taking the helm of her own show. She was young and hungry and eager, and it turned Audra on to feel powerful and strong and capable. It was the first and only time she’d ever made love in her office. Spread Vic’s legs apart with her fingers and fucked her with her tongue right there at the edge of the desk.