by Alina Jacobs
"It's not enough to ingratiate yourself to Liz. You need to do so with the Holbrooks as well," Rhonda said. "This who's-your-daddy business is a good start, and I'm sure they have other secrets buried in the backyard. We need to expose all of them, make people believe they aren't trustworthy. The company stock will tank, not forever but low enough that we can buy back Walsh Systech."
Robert was grinning. "Isn't she brilliant? And I'm working on a little surprise myself," he added.
"We can't just let the paternity thing play out," Rhonda continued. "Kate and Grant are masters of PR. We cannot afford to allow them to turn the narrative in their favor."
Wes felt bad about Hank. His mother and Dana would be swept up in the negative news as well. "That's my family though…"
"And this is your company," Rhonda snarled. "If you don't have the balls to do what needs to be done, then say the word, and I'll put you on my hit list too."
"I'm good," Wes said hastily. "You don't have to worry about me. But what are you planning on doing?"
Rhonda smiled to herself. "As if I'd tell you. Empires have fallen due to the secrets men swore they could keep but were unable to do so. You'll have to wait like everyone else."
After Robert and Rhonda left his apartment, Wes tried to calm down. He wanted to talk to someone, but Dana wasn't answering her phone.
There was a tentative knock on the door. Wes tried to compose himself. It was probably Robert with another harebrained plan. He didn't have the patience to listen to the man ramble on about his latest chemical discovery.
But when he opened the door, it was Liz standing there.
19
Liz
"How awful!" Liz said as she skimmed the articles lambasting Walter Holbrook for tricking Hank Walsh into raising Wes and Dana. "What are we going to do?"
"At least Wes has enough sense to handle the press," Kate said as they watched replays on the news of Wes dodging the questions about the paternity bombshell.
After leaving Kate to her conference call, Liz went back to her office and pulled up her spreadsheet, but she could barely concentrate. She tried shopping on her tablet for more design materials to add to her scrapbook. But what good was a scrapbook when the real man was somewhere hurting?
She pulled up Wes's address from an expense report he had submitted. Holbrook was temporarily paying for his apartment in the city.
"I have to go," Liz told Grant. He grunted his acknowledgement.
Taking a town car, she had the driver detour to an Indian restaurant to pick up food then drop her off at Wes's building.
The doorman let her come up once she showed him her Holbrook Enterprises lanyard. Adjusting the heavy bag of food, Liz knocked on Wes's door.
What if he wasn't in there? She heard his dog bark, then the door slowly opened.
"Hi," she said, smiling at him.
He had changed out of his suit and was wearing a tight workout shirt and loose pants. It was unnervingly intimate to have shown up at his apartment and to see him like that, loose and undone.
"What do you want?" Wes asked. He seemed annoyed. Maybe this was a bad idea.
"I brought food," Liz told him. "Do you like Indian?" Kal pushed around Wes and stuck his snout in the bag, inhaling deeply, his tail wagging.
Wes smiled slightly then opened the door wider. "Come in."
Liz set down the food. From the expense report, she had read that the apartment was supposed to be fully furnished. She rummaged around for plates and utensils in the cabinets. "Found them," she said, trying to talk about anything other than the fact that his name and sordid family history was being flayed and displayed on the news. "How is your apartment? It seems nice."
"It's fine," Wes said.
"It's a bit small," Liz noted.
"That's what Dana, my sister, said too."
"Holbrook can afford a larger one for you."
"Honestly, I'm perfectly fine."
Liz spooned the food onto the plates. "I hope you like Indian," she said. "I ordered several dishes."
She handed him a plate heaped with food then sat on one of the padded stools at the kitchen island.
Kal whined for a treat.
"Can I give him some?" Liz asked. She wasn't sure if dogs could have Indian food. It was probably too spicy.
"Maybe just some bread."
She tore off a little piece of naan and gave it to the dog. He was very enthusiastic and nipped her fingers slightly when he took the treat. Liz jerked her hand back.
"Kal!" Wes snapped at the dog. "Be nice." The dog shoved his head up Liz's skirt. Wes dragged the dog away. "Sorry," he said. "He's not that well trained."
"You should have him spend a week with my friend Allie," Liz said with a laugh. "She even managed to train Gus, Grant and Kate's spoiled, obnoxious but adorably cute corgi."
"I may have to take you up on that," Wes said. His mouth quirked wryly, and Liz longed to kiss it. "That's not the friend with the baby shower you're supposed to be planning?" he asked her.
"Oh no. Gosh no. I think Allie uses like three different kinds of birth control. Allie is your cousin Carter's girlfriend. No, you're thinking of Brandy."
"What are you planning for the baby shower?"
"She's doing a gender reveal and a baby shower," Liz corrected.
"Seems redundant," Wes said, spooning more food on his plate.
"Brandy's a mess. I don't know what I'm going to do. None of my friends will help."
"I see."
Liz could tell he didn't. "It's weird—the upper-class social structure, I suppose you could call it. Thankfully, this should be the last big milestone for her. You're lucky she's already married and expecting, otherwise she would be all over you. She stalked Grant when he first arrived." Wes snorted and coughed. Liz pushed a glass of water closer to him. "You laugh, but now that the news is out that you're a Holbrook, you're going to have women coming out of the woodwork. Money plus powerful family connections equal gold-digger magnet."
"I'll just have to keep you around to scare them off," Wes said.
"I'm not that bad looking," Liz said with a self-conscious laugh.
Wes wiped his mouth. "Fishing for compliments, Liz?"
"I'm not. I'm just saying." She didn't know what she was saying.
"You know, I was just telling Kal the other day how great your tits are. Have I ever told you how much I really enjoy looking at them?"
"I think you might have mentioned it once or twice," she replied. She hoped she didn't have anything in her teeth.
"If you see a glazed-over look in my eyes in meetings, it's because that's what I'm thinking about." He stood up and took two steps toward her. He rested his hands lightly on her hips and slid her off the stool. Resting his forehead against hers, Wes said softly, "Thank you for coming over."
She looked down and traced the seams on his shirt.
"Did I misread the situation?" he asked.
"Oh, no!" Liz replied. "It's just… the magazines say you shouldn't kiss a guy you like after eating spicy food."
"I read that magazine too," Wes whispered, "and I think it's fine if he was eating the same thing as you." He bent down, his body radiating heat. He held one hand on her back, pressing them together. She let her hands wander over his muscled back and broad shoulders, hesitantly at first then more boldly. Wes felt so perfect.
He pulled her blouse out of her skirt and pushed it up. The feel of his rough palms against her skin made her nipples grow hard, and she clenched her fingers in his hair. Wes moaned against her. Then she was jolted as Kal forced himself between them with a bark.
"He thinks we're playing," Wes said. He kissed her bottom lip, and she smiled up at him.
"All that gym time is really paying off," she said, letting her hand splay over his chest. The kiss had made Liz feel charged, like she just wanted to kick off her shoes and do cartwheels down Fifth Avenue.
She wasn't sure what would have happened if Kal hadn't interrupted them. She knew what sh
e wanted to have happen, however.
"Will you let me take you out on a date?" Wes asked.
"We already went on a date."
Wes leaned his head to the side slightly. His hands still rested on her hips. "That's it? A guy is only allowed to take you out on one date in his lifetime?"
Liz giggled and stretched up to kiss him. "You can take me on as many dates as you want, Wes Holbrook."
He stiffened and removed his hands from her.
She felt bad. She'd ruined the moment. "I should go," she said and grabbed her purse to hurry out.
20
Wes
Wes groaned after Liz fled his apartment.
"What are you upset for?" he asked as he packed up the leftover food she had brought him to store in the fridge. "This isn't supposed to be real."
But the kiss had felt amazing. It had been all too easy to reel Liz in. He thought about the feel of her body, the curve of her hips, the softness of her thighs.
Stop it.
He had to manufacture his revenge. He just hoped he didn't lose himself in the process.
The fridge door slammed.
"I'm not going to lose myself." He was strong. He could sleep with her then toss her away.
As he wiped down the counter, Wes couldn't help but think that Liz would probably be a phenomenal girlfriend. She seemed like she cared about him. She brought him food, after all, and his dog liked her.
He knew Dana would yell at him if she heard even a whisper about his revenge plot.
"Dana doesn't understand about having employees," he said as he washed off the dishes. They needed someone to stick up for them. Men like Grant and Walter Holbrook would walk all over the little guy. Just because Wes was a billionaire didn't mean he had to act the same way. If Liz didn't want to be collateral damage, then she shouldn't have screwed over his employees.
Wes wandered back and forth in his apartment, trailed by Kal. They stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass and watched the sun set.
He pulled out his phone. You know what you need to do.
Thanks for the food
I want to see you again
Let me take you out
Her reply came while he was out walking Kal. He smiled at the line of emojis she sent.
I'm guessing that's a yes?
He couldn't schedule the date until the next week, however, because he needed to return to Connecticut for meetings at the Walsh Systech offices. During the days apart from her, he oscillated between longing for Liz and reminding himself that she was ruining his employee's' lives.
The meetings he had with the managers were almost unbearable. No one asked outright what was happening with their jobs, which was good, because Wes didn't have the lack of a moral compass to lie to them and tell them everything was going to be fine.
Morale had taken a nosedive. He was sure none of the engineers were doing any work. All of the good salespeople were probably already looking for jobs; twenty people had given their notice since the announcement of the takeover.
"You see?" Robert asked. "It's those Holbrooks. They're trying to ruin this company. We have to take them down before it grows worse."
"I know," Wes said. "I'm working on it."
He knew what needed to be done, but that didn't stop him from obsessing about Liz. The high points of his days in Connecticut were when he could text or talk with Liz. She sent him pictures of random things she would see outside. He sent her videos of Kal.
One evening, after a particularly brutal day, a box arrived at his town house, filled with toys and treats for his dog.
Dear Wes,
My friend Ginny has a pet-grooming boutique and shop. She recommended these for Akitas.
Best,
Liz
The toys were much more durable than any of the ones he had previously bought Kal. Maybe the dog would stop chewing up his shoes.
Wes sighed. He was treating Liz like a girlfriend. That was the point, though, wasn't it?
But he was also thinking of her like a girlfriend. It was nice to know there was someone he could call to complain to. She was a sympathetic ear. At night she haunted his dreams, even after he took Kal out and ran for hours to tire out the dog and himself.
Wes couldn't wait to see her.
Later that week, after returning to Manhattan, he met Liz at an upscale bar one evening.
"Sorry you had to wait," he said when he saw her standing outside the bar. "I had to settle Kal."
"It's okay," Liz said. "It's adorable how much you love your dog."
With the way she was looking up at him through her eyelashes, Wes knew she wanted him to kiss her. That was all he wanted too. He leaned down, drawing her close to him. She moaned against him softly. All the stress of the past week seemed to melt away at her touch. He felt himself grow hard.
"Is that for me?" Liz asked, her lips full from kissing. Wes tried to adjust his pants without being too lurid about it. Liz laughed and kissed his neck.
"You're playing hardball tonight," he murmured in her ear.
They stood outside for a moment while Wes tried to control himself. Every time he thought he had it together, Liz would stroke his back, run her fingernails across his chest, or blow softly on his ear.
"You are driving me crazy."
She giggled and said, "Sorry." Then she put her mouth close to his ear and said, "Think of concrete."
"Wait what? Aren't you supposed to say think of nuns or something?"
"Yeah but then people just imagine sexy nun outfits. Concrete is like… there's nothing sexy about concrete."
"I guess it's working," Wes replied.
"Good," Liz said and grabbed his arm. "I need a drink."
After they were seated and the servers took their orders, Wes listened as Liz chattered. "An update on the situation with your father—Kate called some people. I think the story is going to be buried, so hopefully, you won't have to hear about it."
"Thanks," he said.
"You know," she continued after the servers brought out their drinks. "I spend a lot of time with the Holbrooks, working with them and just hanging out. We should organize a trip or a game night or something. I think you and Grant would get along if you spent some time together outside of the office. And I know you would like Carter. Everyone likes Carter. You and his brother Mark would get along well too." She almost tipped over her drink in her hast to convince him.
Wes smiled and kept the stemware from falling. "I'd like that," he said, "but you know what I'd like more?"
"What's that?"
"To be your boyfriend."
She smiled at him, and her face lit up.
"You know," he said. "After that first time we met, I was going to call you and ask you out."
"I sort of wanted you to," she said.
"Now that you own me," he smiled when he saw her eyes widen, "Do you think it would be improper to have a relationship?"
"A relationship?" Liz asked as she leaned toward him. She seemed like she was doing it subconsciously. His nerves felt frayed from being so close to her.
"Yes," he said softly. "I want to be in a relationship with you." Take the bait. Come into my trap said the spider to the fly.
Liz laughed. She seemed a little light-headed, and he grabbed her arm as she tipped back on the stool a bit. Wes didn't break eye contact with her. Reel her in.
"Don't you want a perfect billionaire boyfriend to show off to your friends?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Perfect."
In the town car after they left the bar, Wes pulled Liz against him. Even though he was a billionaire, he never really felt like it. He lived modestly, looked out for his employees. He didn't go to nice restaurants or buy fancy things or ride around Manhattan in private cars. Being with Liz, he could see how that life appealed to people.
After dropping her off in front of her building, Wes silently congratulated himself. His plan was working perfectly.
"You like Liz, don't you?" h
e asked Kal, riling up the dog. "She's pretty and smart, and she has a great figure." The dog barked. "And I'm going to ruin her the way she ruined me."
The idea didn't excite him as much as it had before he'd kissed her. Wes remembered the adoring way she'd looked at him when he told her he wanted to be her perfect billionaire boyfriend. No one had ever looked at him like that, like he was her knight in shining armor. "Be strong," he ordered himself. "You're doing this for the little guy who is stuck under the boot of a corporation like Holbrook Enterprises. You have to be their hero, not Liz's."
21
Liz
Liz wasn't sure what to wear for her first date as Wes's girlfriend. She was too anxious to decide and started to scrapbook to take her mind off it.
The doorbell buzzed. She panicked slightly. Was Wes early?
"Anastasia," she said when she opened the door to find her friend standing there.
"I'm here to help you pick something to wear," Anastasia said, waltzing into Liz's condo and setting down a bottle of wine. "There's a mass of women trying to land Wes, especially now that everyone knows he's a long-lost Holbrook." Anastasia rummaged around in a drawer and pulled out a wine opener. "If I left you to your own devices, you would wear a suit or something colorful."
Liz blushed. "I was thinking about wearing one of my 1950s-inspired flower-print dresses."
"Absolutely not," Anastasia said when she saw the dress. "You look like a cupcake. You want to look sexy, not cute. Wes is the most eligible bachelor in New York City. You need to bring your' A game. Show Wes you two are a matcha made in heaven."
Liz winced. "That food pun was a bit too much."
"I know. I know," Anastasia said, pouring herself another glass of wine while Liz went to take off the dress.
"What the flounder?" Anastasia asked, almost spilling the wine. "Is that a scrapbook?" She finally noticed the scrapbooking materials Liz had tried to hide under some newspaper.
