Her Secret

by Bloom, Penelope

  I almost beckoned her closer, but decided to stay where I was and listen.

  “I should have told you sooner, but at first, I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t like you. I wanted to prove you wrong and kick ass at the job even though I’m a single mom.”

  That answers that question, at least. I hadn’t given too much serious consideration to the possibility that she was cheating on her boyfriend or even her husband with me, but the thought had nagged at me.

  “And then somewhere along the line, I started to like you. I told myself I would tell you everything when we got back on Monday, just because I thought it would be miserable to be stuck on a business trip with you if it went badly. And I didn’t think everything would move so fast. It was like hating you made it easier to start l—” Violet’s eyes widened, then slowly sank to her feet.

  I could’ve laughed at the look on her face if my heart wasn’t beating so fast. I knew what she had been about to say. I thought I did, at least. Hating you made it easier to start loving you. It was exactly how I’d felt, too. I’d unknowingly been laying the groundwork to feel intensely for her all along. My frustration with Violet had meant I spent nights lying awake and thinking about her. My body had come alive when I talked to her. All the physiological reactions were almost identical. So when the emotional switch flipped, it had felt too natural—too easy.

  Violet licked her lips and blew out a calming breath. “So I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It was a mistake, and I regret it. But I’m the same person you thought I was. I have a daughter I love more than anything, but I’m me.” Her chin quivered as she finally took a few steps closer to my desk, eyes pleading. “It’s just me,” she said quietly.

  I’d had enough. For once in my life, I’d shut up long enough to actually listen. I hadn’t let myself sabotage the moment to avoid my feelings. And fuck was I feeling.

  I got up from my chair and went to hug her. I couldn’t stand seeing her standing there looking so vulnerable.

  “Please,” she said into my shoulder. Her hands squeezed into my back. “Can you say something? I still don’t know if this is a hug or if you thought it’d be easier to snap my neck from this angle.”

  “After Kristen, I told myself love was for idiots. I’d been an idiot for thinking I was in love, and I’d been more of an idiot for giving my trust to Kristen. I promised myself I’d never make the same mistake again. Nobody could betray my trust if I never gave it. Nobody could make me feel like that again if I never let myself feel for them. Then you happened.”

  She pulled back to look up at me. “Sorry.”

  I grinned. “You should be. You came along and ruined two years of hard work. I’d been doing a good job of not giving a shit about anyone until you. Trying to hate you only made me care about you. I’m not going to pretend I know what love is anymore, but I know I care too much about you to listen to good sense. I know I forgive you and I am ready to trust you, even if it means putting myself at risk again. I never thought anyone would be worth that, but you are.”

  Violet buried her face in my chest and laughed with relief. When she looked back up, she looked on the verge of tears. “You’re not so bad, either, you know.”

  “Moving,” I said.

  “Something is…” her eyes trailed down to my cock, which I was irritated to feel stiffening.

  Damn it. Apparently, my cock didn’t realize this wasn’t a throw her on the table and celebrate with sex kind of moment. Then again, I couldn’t really blame my cock for being ready, just in case.

  “I’d apologize, but you don’t look too upset about it,” I said.

  She shrugged and gave me a sexy little half smile. “How does that saying go? Cocks speak louder than words?”

  I laughed. “I’m almost positive that’s not a saying. But I get your point.”

  Violet slid back in to rest her head against my chest. “I’m really glad I didn’t have to resort to stage two of my apology plan.”

  “What was stage two?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  Harry stepped into my office, but instead of backing out like a normal, considerate human being, he smirked and let the door close. “Well, well, well,” he said.

  Violet jumped back from me like we’d been caught in the middle of breaking the rules.

  “Privacy would be nice,” I said.

  “Privacy is for pussies,” Harry said.

  I laughed. “That’s actually one of the dumbest things I’ve heard you say, and you’ve said some really dumb things.”

  “I just wanted to see if my little game of playing matchmaker worked.” Harry spread his arms out wide, looking pleased with himself. “One little white lie about a canceled flight, and viola. I’ve created love. Now I know how it feels to be a mother. To watch something you created with your own blood, sweat, and tears grow right before your eyes. It’s beautiful.”

  I briefly debated punching him. “Back up. The flight wasn’t canceled?”

  “Well, no, not technically. I had a hunch that it might get canceled because my shoulder was aching, and I’ve heard old people say they get achy when a storm is coming. Turned out I’d just forgotten about crashing my dirt bike a few days prior. But still, I had good intentions.”

  All I could do was shake my head in disbelief. It was hard to make myself mad. After all, if we’d taken a plane like originally planned, who knew how differently things would’ve gone. I probably would’ve ignored her during the flight and then wound up in a separate room as soon as we got to the hotel. I barely would’ve spoken to her.

  “Thank you,” Violet said.

  “You can secretly be grateful,” I said, “but please don’t encourage him. It’s like feeding a pigeon. He’ll just keep coming back.”

  “He’s not entirely wrong,” Harry admitted.

  I put my hand on Harry’s chest and started pushing him toward the door. “Thanks and screw you for your help, but it’s time for you to go. You’re interrupting.”

  Harry let himself be pushed backward, but he put his hand on the door before it closed on him and winked at me. “I want to be your best man at the wedding. And I want to be in the speech. He who creates can also destroy. Remember that, bitch.”

  “Prick,” I muttered before I slammed the door on him.

  I sat behind my desk a week later feeling slightly naked. My usual stacks of papers—both laminated and not—were considerably smaller. A trio of filing cabinets sat against the far wall where there had previously been empty space. And my eyes were fixated on the tight fabric that was struggling to contain Violet’s ass as she bent down to arrange the files in the bottom drawer of one of the cabinets. I could hardly believe that tight little ass was all mine now. I made a mental note to remind her of exactly that before we left the office, today.

  “I still don’t know how I feel about this,” I said. “I’ve never had a problem with my current organizational system, and I’m not sure why I should change things.”

  “Well, tough cookies, boss.” Violet threw a mischievous grin over her shoulder. She had a way of saying boss like it was the dirtiest word in the English language—like there was an implied undercurrent of fuck me practically pulsing beneath the letters.

  I tugged on my tie, feeling like it was suddenly a little too tight or maybe I was a little too warm.

  She smiled knowingly as she looked back down at the files she was working on. “Besides, your whole idea of having everything printed is fundamentally flawed in the first place. I mean, seriously? You’re worried you might need to quickly get to something, so you bury it in a physical tower of paper? We’re eventually going to turn you into a normal human being who just backs up his documents and uses technology. You can even triple back it up, if that makes you feel better.”

  I bit my lip as I watched her. I secretly liked how she wanted to organize my life, and when she’d talk about what “we” were going to do, all I could think about was that she was planning on “we”
being a thing for the foreseeable future. “And what happens when I finally earn normal human being status? Will I finally get to meet Zoey?”

  Violet’s hands froze for a few seconds, but she quickly resumed her task, even if she had to spend several long moments choosing her words. “I know you don’t completely understand, but I appreciate how you’re willing to humor me on it, anyway.”

  “I understand,” I said, even though I wished I didn’t. She’d told me about Dawson and how he’d decided the life of a father wasn’t for him after only six months. He didn’t even send birthday cards to Zoey, and Violet worried that Zoey would immediately attach herself to any potential father figure. She had to be sure that father figure wasn’t going to disappear before she risked letting that happen. In other words, I didn’t get to meet Zoey until Violet was confident this wasn’t just some lusty, office fling. As much as I wanted to dismiss her fears, I couldn’t fault her for them. She was protecting her kid, and I admired that. “I’m just teasing.”

  “I know.” Violet’s tone was more somber now, and I regretted bringing it up at all.

  “I finished two chapters last week,” I said, mostly just to change the subject. “On the thriller, I mean.”

  Her face lit up. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. For once, I managed to stop myself from going back and hating everything as soon as it came out. It was kind of like the old days. The words just came. It honestly felt easy.”

  “Please tell me this means you’re considering going along with my plan.”

  I shrugged, but felt a smile pulling at my lips. “You could say I’m considering it.”

  “And what about the party at the Chamberson’s building next week? Are you still considering that?”

  “I wouldn’t want you to have to find a babysitter.”

  “It starts at nine. Zoey sleeps at seven. I can hang out at my mom’s with her until she falls asleep. And my mom already said she’d love to have her over if I decide to go. Now what’s your excuse?”

  “The fact that William Chamberson is a lunatic?”

  “Hailey will be there. She keeps him under control. Mostly.”

  I grinned. “I guess if I’m hoping to earn your trust, I’d better show up. Right?”

  “That’s right,” she said. Violet walked up to me and tightened my tie while biting her lip in a way that made me want to call off productivity for the rest of the day and take her right where she stood. “My foot hardly hurts anymore, but maybe you could come pick me up at my mom’s place and let me lean on you while we walk to their building?”

  “So the truth comes out. You were just using the foot as an excuse to touch me this whole time.”

  “Hey, now. You’re the one who insisted. I specifically remember telling you it really wasn’t that bad. Besides, it’s not my fault if I enjoyed it.”

  When I got home later that night, I sat down at my laptop and made myself a cup of coffee. It had been a long, long time since I’d written outside the office. Somewhere along the line, writing my books became like any other job. I showed up to my office, opened the word processor, and I cranked out words. Once I hit my goal for the day, I’d focus on managing my staff and planning future releases. But I couldn’t deny some of the magic had faded. Kristen had made sure of it.

  When I thought about the fact that she was still riding the success of my book, it made everything else feel empty. That was my work out there with her name on it, and she had fucking stolen it. I could hardly believe it had taken Violet to wake me up. It wasn’t okay to ignore what Kristen had done. It didn’t matter if I could soldier on or not. I wanted her to pay. I wanted her to be exposed for the fraud she was, and I wanted her to regret everything she’d done.

  More than that, I wanted to know what it felt like to put a thriller out there with my name on it.

  Even though I’d dragged my feet on this book for two years, I knew if I kept up this pace, it would be done in mere weeks. The idea that I could start undoing the damage Kristen had done so soon made me want to finish it even sooner. What was more, I felt sure that I couldn’t completely open the door to bringing Violet fully into my life until I’d closed the door on Kristen. This book would hopefully do more than close that door. It’d nail it shut.

  19

  Violet

  The Chambersons liked to have parties on the 36th floor of their office building. Of the few parties Lilith had brought me along for prior to tonight, all but one had been here. Most were open to all of the employees who worked for Bruce and William at their company, Galleon Enterprises.

  So Peter and I were far from the only ones trickling in half an hour after the scheduled start time of the party. I’d become so used to wearing my medical boot by now that I didn’t even feel too awkward wearing a fancy strapless dress and one high heel along-side the plastic monstrosity that covered my foot and most of my ankle. I used the excuse for all it was worth by leaning heavily into Peter, who seemed more than happy to hold me tight and take some of the weight off my feet.

  The party was apparently a slightly more tame variety than the last one I’d been to at Galleon. The music was calm and subdued, which seemed to cue everyone in attendance in on the fact that this wasn’t a wild dance party. It was a friendly get-together where people were happily gathered in small groups to talk with drinks in hand. I was secretly glad. Dancing with an awkward boot on my foot—or dancing at all—wasn’t my forte.

  We found Lilith and Liam sitting at a table with a pair of drinks between them.

  “I think I never properly thanked you for catapulting this one into my life,” Peter said as he extended a hand to shake Liam’s. “If you hadn’t landed her the interview with me, who knows where we’d be.”

  Liam wore a charming, subdued smile. “You’re very welcome.”

  “It’s me you should thank,” Lilith said. “I was the one who threatened not to slap him with the dildo like he likes if he—”

  “We don’t do that—” Liam said suddenly. All the charm and confidence had evaporated from his face. He looked absolutely terrified that we’d believe she was telling the truth.

  I sat down while trying to stifle a laugh. Peter took the seat beside me.

  Lilith waved him off with her hand. “He can be so shy. I forget sometimes.” She gestured like she was zipping her lips.

  Hailey and William joined us at the table before Liam had a chance to protest any more.

  “If it isn’t my favorite band of misfits,” William said. For some reason, he was sweating—almost profusely. His shirt wasn’t buttoned evenly, either. Hailey, on the other hand, looked perfectly put together, but highly amused.

  Peter cringed. “You’re still alive, I see.”

  Peter put his hand on my leg beneath the table and gave it a quick, familiar squeeze. I liked that he could never seem to keep her hands off me for long.

  William looked bemused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Because you fly a helicopter about as well as a chimpanzee,” Peter said.

  Hailey furrowed her eyebrows at him. “Fly a helicopter? What is he talking about? We talked about that and you agreed you wouldn’t get a license.”

  William held up his palm toward Peter and Hailey at the same time like he was trying to calm a pack of angry raptors. “Okay. Let’s just go easy here. Yes. I did agree that I wouldn’t get a license, and I stuck to that promise. Besides, Old Barnidge over here is just talking metaphorically. It’s like the bible. You can’t take it literal or you’ll drive yourself up the wall. Right?”

  “Oh, it’s going to get biblical, alright,” Hailey said. She took him by the tie and dragged him toward the elevator.

  Liam and Lilith looked after them like the entire exchange was completely within the ordinary.

  “I’m not even sorry,” Peter said. “He deserves whatever she does to him.”

  “Well,” Lilith said. “I hate to break it to you, but William is crafty. He’ll probably find a way to turn that argument i
nto sex.”

  “Sounds like someone I know,” Liam said.

  “False,” Lilith said. “I’m not crafty. I’m highly intelligent and capable, which is so irresistibly sexy that you can’t stand staying mad at me.”

  Liam thought that over, and then shrugged like he couldn't disagree.

  “So,” Lilith said as she turned her attention to Violet and I. “I promised Violet that I’d stab you if you mistreated her.”

  Peter seemed to wait, like he expected her to say more, but apparently that was all she planned to say. I raised my eyebrows. “Considering I’m not stabbed, I guess I can assume I’m doing okay.”

  “Are you though?” Lilith narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.

  “He is,” I said.

  “Then why have you still been hiding him from Zoey? Got a few skeletons in your closet, Barnidge?”

  Peter looked at me like he was waiting for permission to explain. I decided to save him the awkwardness of trying to word it in a way that wouldn't sound passive-aggressive. "I'm just trying to be careful. After what happened with Dawson… I didn't want to bring someone into her life until I was—yeah.”

  Lilith turned her attention back to Peter. “Sounds like she’s not sure you’ll stick around, Barnidge. What do you think about that?”

  “I think it’s admirable,” he said. I had to commend him, because if he was holding back annoyance about how cautious I was being, he didn’t let a hint of it seep into his tone. “She’s putting her daughter before anything else, even her own needs. Zoey is lucky to have a mom like her.”

  Lilith rolled her eyes. “Oh come on. Did you practice that one in the car, Mr. Robot? Seriously?” she looked to Liam for support.

  Liam was grinning in a way that told me he had long since learned to stay out of this kind of discussion with her.

  Peter leaned forward, and I saw a little bit of a malicious glint in his eyes. “Yeah. I spent the car ride rehearsing canned responses to a series of questions that I thought I might be asked by one of many people I might have run into at this party.”