by Ivy Smoak
I wanted to run my fingers down his abs, but I stayed still. I'm marrying James Hunter. I suddenly felt incredibly giddy. This is really happening.
My mom was coming tonight for my final fitting. James was putting my parent's up in a hotel near our new apartment. I wasn't sure why he always insisted on paying. Probably because I made him feel guilty for not inviting them to stay with us. I guess it was a little weird that my parents knew we were sleeping together. James still felt a little uncomfortable with the dynamic. But now that I was out of school, the age difference mattered even less. When we became husband and wife everything would be even less awkward. And my parents both loved James. He just wasn't used to having that in his life.
He slowly opened his eyes and smiled. "Were you watching me sleep again?" He grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him.
I laughed and rested my head against his chest, breathing in his heavenly scent. "I can't help it. It's hard not to stare at you."
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Two more days."
Two more days!
***
Today was my last day of work before the wedding. And I was excited to get it over with. I just wanted to be able to focus on the wedding. Melissa had called me last night and said she'd come to my dress fitting too. She finally seemed excited about being my maid of honor. Maybe she was just happy that I was tying the knot so I wouldn't run off with Tyler. I laughed to myself. I really hoped that Tyler and her made each other happy. I rested my back against the side of the elevator.
"What are you thinking about?" James asked and squeezed my hand.
I leaned closer toward him and whispered, "That I'm excited this is the last time I'll walk into your office as Penny Taylor."
He smiled down at me. "Do you want to go out to dinner with your parents tonight? I can get us a reservation at that new Thai restaurant near Kleinfeld's."
"Actually, we're going to be around so many people the next few days. Could we maybe stay in tonight, just us? Maybe we can rent a movie or something? I just wanna relax."
He looked even happier than he had a second ago. "That sounds perfect. I'll let Ellen know we'll be there for dinner."
The elevator doors opened. James kept his fingers intertwined with mine as we walked off the elevator. He stopped right in front of his office door. "I have a lunch meeting today that I couldn't get out of. And I'm slammed with last minute things that need to be finished before I take all of next week off. But I'll see you back home for dinner." He leaned down and kissed me.
I didn't care that he was kissing me at work. I was never going to take another moment with him for granted. When he pulled back, my face was flushed.
"Have a good last work day as Miss Taylor." He ran his thumb over one of my rosy cheeks.
"Have a good last work day as a single man."
He laughed. "Don't worry, my friends aren't going to kidnap me again. I'll see you tonight, baby." He kissed me once more and then disappeared into his office.
I felt even giddier than I had back at the apartment. I made my way through the maze of cubicles toward the marketing interns' desk pod. As soon as I saw my desk, my smile disappeared. There was a manila envelope underneath the picture of James and I at the beach. Why couldn't Isabella just leave us in peace? I lifted up the new frame and grabbed the envelope.
"Did you see who dropped this off?" I asked Zach. He was the only one there. I wanted to know who Isabella's minion was. Maybe it was just Austin. They deserved each other.
"No, no one's been over here. Maybe someone dropped it off last night?"
"Yeah, maybe." I sat down and looked over my shoulder to make sure no one was around to see whatever was inside. I pulled out a new stack of photos. There was a post-it note covering up the first picture:
The truth doesn't seem to bother you. It's your life. I can't stop you from marrying him. But I can get you to give me what I need.
I lifted off the sticky note and swallowed hard. They weren't pictures of James. This time, they were pictures of me. Fuck. The first one was of me hugging Tyler outside of Kleinfeld's. Then of him holding my hand inside that diner. The rest were from my bachelorette party. Me talking to guys at the bar, touching some random guy's abs, and dancing. There was another post-it note on top of the last picture:
Wire 20 million dollars to my account number below. I'll go away forever. I'll stop calling James. I'll stop interfering with his parents. I'll be out of your life forever. And if that isn't enough motivation, I also won't show the pictures to James. You can finally have the happily ever after that is your immature vision of reality. You have until the bank closes at 4 o'clock.
There were some numbers at the bottom that must have been the bank account number. I lifted up the last sticky note. The last picture was of Austin kissing me, right before I shoved him off. I bit my lip. That bitch. I took a deep breath. All these photos were taken out of context. I could explain them to James. And it just made me realize even more that the pictures she had given me of James were only half the truth.
She was like an evil villain, but she was a bad one. And I wasn't going to fall for her games anymore. She would never get another dime of James' money. I pushed the pictures and notes back inside the envelope and tossed it into the trash.
I turned around again. It felt like someone was watching me. I guess someone was. Or else these pictures wouldn't exist. Neither would the ones of James. I had been so happy a second ago, and now I felt like I was on edge.
"So, are you going through with it?" Zach asked.
"What?"
"Marrying your abusive boyfriend?"
"He's not. And you're awfully judgmental. You don't know me or him."
"We're all trying to get to know you."
"Fine. You want to know what I'm going through? His ex wife hit me. That's why I had a bruise on my face. And she's been harassing me. And threatening me. She's doing everything she can to make me call off the wedding. So I don't appreciate you hounding me on this. I don't need anyone else against me. It's exhausting."
"I just meant like, where did you grow up?"
I laughed. God, I'm such a mess. I took a deep breath and turned my computer on. "I grew up in Wilmington."
"Isn't that where Fight Club was filmed? What an interesting coincidence. So, did you at least hit her back?"
I looked back up at him. "No."
"You should fight back, Fight Club."
"I have no intention of joining the dark side."
"I'm just saying...it's easier to fight fire with fire."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I just want her to disappear."
"I never said to kill her."
I laughed again. "That's not what I meant."
"I don't know. Rich people make people disappear all the time."
"I'm not rich," I said.
"You're about to be."
I shook my head. "You're ridiculous. Don't you need to go catch up with the tech department in the bathroom?"
"Maybe you should join us. You need to relax. So what if Hunter has a psycho ex? You won. He's marrying you."
"Thanks. But I'm going to pass on your enticing offer."
"I want in on whatever you two are talking about," Tavon said and plopped into his seat.
"We were just talking about how Zach gets high in the bathroom," I said.
"Shit, you told her about that? What the hell is wrong with you? She's sleeping with the boss, man."
I laughed.
"What, did you already tell him?" Tavon asked.
"I guess you'll never know." I hadn't yet, but I would eventually. I was pretty sure that James started his first tech company as a way to distract himself from his drug problem. And he spent most of his twenties getting over that time in his life. He wouldn't be happy to know that his employees were lighting up in the bathroom. It wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with him two days before our wedding.
"You deserve to be fired, Tavon," Sierra said and sa
t down at her desk. "I'll tell Mr. Hunter myself."
"Oh, come on," Tavon said. "You knew what saying yes to a date with me would mean."
Sierra's face turned red. "I did not know. Where I'm from, people don't sleep with each other on the first date. You're disgusting. Tell him, Penny."
"I..." my voice trailed off. I had slept with James before we had even officially had a date. And he was my professor. I wasn't the one to lecture Tavon for being forward. "I mean, you have to read the situation."
Zach laughed.
"Oh my God," Sierra said. "Did you sleep with James on your first date?"
"Um, kind of?"
"Okay," Tavon said. "Tell us the whole story.
***
The rest of the morning I spent laughing and bonding with the other marketing interns. They were all really nice. Extremely nosey, but nice. And I didn't blame them. I kind of did have the inside scoop on their boss.
Before lunch, Andy stopped by with an ad idea he wanted us to go over. They were teaming up with Mason and Bee's advertising agency for it, and it was fun going through the idea knowing that we'd be handing it over to Bee afterwards. Although, I'd be on my honeymoon when it was passed onto them. The afternoon flew by as well.
I was just about to shut down my computer so that I'd be in time for my dress fitting, when I got an email alert. I clicked on the box that had popped up:
You only have half an hour until I give James the pictures.
I deleted the email and shut off the computer. My heart was racing even though I knew the threat was empty. The pictures didn't matter. I didn't even talk to James about the pictures Isabella had sent me of him, and we were fine. It was just creepy that she knew my email.
"See you in a few weeks, guys." I stood up and grabbed my purse.
"I still can't believe you didn't invite us to your wedding," Tavon said and put his hands behind his head.
"I didn't know you when I sent out the invites. And we already gave them a headcount. I'm really sorry."
Tavon sighed. "It's fine. Want to go out with me on Saturday?" he asked Sierra.
"I don't think so." She turned to Zach. "Would you like to hang out Saturday night?"
Zach smiled. "I'd love to."
"Asshole," Tavon said. "I called dibs."
Zach shrugged. "Our bromance isn't strong enough to honor your dibs. Besides, Sierra clearly doesn't like you."
"She's just playing hard to get."
Sierra laughed. "No, I'm not. Congrats, Penny. And I hope your dress fitting goes well."
"Good luck," Zach said with a smile. I was glad that he had finally let go of his theory that James was abusive.
"Break a leg." Tavon laughed. "Just kidding. I don't know what to say. You're too young to get married?"
"Thanks for the support, Tavon."
"Don't listen to him. He's just jealous that you found your person. And he can't even get a date," Sierra said.
"Bye, guys," I said with a laugh. "Take care of James' company while we're gone." I felt a little guilty walking away from them. If I hadn't been such a mess when I first started the internship, I would have bonded with them sooner and could have given our wedding planner an updated headcount. I tried not to think about it as I made my way toward James' office. I wanted to say hi before I went to my fitting.
Right before I grabbed the handle my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my purse and looked down at the text I had just received:
"If you go to James I'll leak all the photos."
Jesus. How did she have my phone number? This was crazy. I needed to tell James right now. He'd know how to handle her. I didn't want to deal with this alone anymore.
I reached for the handle again as another text came through. This one was a picture. But it wasn't one of the ones she had sent me this morning. It was of James and I having sex. On his desk in his office. Holy shit. Another one came through. And then another. And another.
I put my face in my hand. What was wrong with me? Obviously she had planted a camera in there if she had gotten that picture of her kissing James last week. I was such an idiot. I didn't think at all. My phone buzzed again, but this time there was a message:
"You thought I was talking about the other photos from this morning? Aw, Penny. You underestimate me. These photos will be leaked to every sleazy tabloid if I don't see the money in my account in 20 minutes. And don't you dare run to James. If you do, I'll leak the photos. If you call the cops, I'll leak the photos. We're ending this right here, right now. And there's more pictures where that came from. You're quite flexible."
You sick fuck. This wasn't just some petty game. She'd ruin James' reputation. My hands were shaking. James was the C.E.O. of a huge company, he was well respected, he was a freaking philanthropist. He was a good person. These pictures would make it seem like he didn't have control. I stepped away from James' office and looked back toward the cubicles. I had tossed out the envelope that had Isabella's account information in it, but I could dig it out of the trash. Would she really leak the photos if I went to James? I had already tarnished his reputation once. I didn't want that to be on my hands again.
My phone buzzed again.
"Step away from his office. Here's my account number again. You're running out of time." The account number was written at the bottom of the text.
I turned around. How is she watching me? I could feel tears begin to well in my eyes. I couldn't risk it. James could lose everything. 20 million dollars wasn't that much to him. And maybe we could get it back later. She didn't say I couldn't tell him afterwards. I didn't have time to think right now. I was running out of time.
I ran toward the elevator and called Ian.
He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, Penny. I'm waiting outside to take you to Kleinfeld's."
I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button to close the doors. "No. Ian I need you to drive me to the bank."
"Okay, which bank?"
Shit. I knew James had set me up with my own account when we moved to New York despite my protests. I had never accessed it before. Every now and then I used the credit card he gave me to buy expensive dresses for functions I went to with him. But I had no idea how much was in the account. Hopefully it would be enough. What bank was it? "Just the normal one."
"United Bank? The one that James uses?"
"Yes." I tried to hide my sigh of relief. "Yup, the normal one."
Ian laughed. "You got it."
I hung up the phone when he came into view. He was parked right outside the office building and the door was already open for me. "How long will it take to get there?"
"It's just down the street."
"Thank God."
He gave me a funny look, but closed the door.
As soon as the car was moving, I felt even more nervous. Was I doing the right thing? James wouldn't want those photos all over the internet. I didn't have a choice. We pulled up outside of a building that said United Bank. "Thanks, Ian," I said and got out the second the car stopped. I ran up the steps and into the bank. It was insanely fancy inside. It looked more like a hotel than a bank. There was no line, so I walked directly up to the teller. "Hi, I need to transfer some money."
She stared at me for a second. "Yes, Miss..."
"Taylor. Penny Taylor. I have an account here, but I don't know the account number off the top of my head." Or at all. I hope this is the right bank. I had a couple thousand dollars in my own bank account. That wasn't going to appease Isabella.
"Okay, hold on one second. Penny Taylor..." She stared at her computer screen as she spoke. "And you're looking to transfer money?"
"Yes, just to a different account."
"How much are you looking to transfer?"
"20 million." I had lowered my voice slightly. She was going to think I was crazy.
The woman's fingers stopped and she looked up at me. "Let me just get a manager for you to sit down with. Excuse me."
"I'm in a bit of a hurry."
&nbs
p; "Okay, Miss Taylor. Just let me go get him." She disappeared through a door.
I pulled out my phone. I only had twelve minutes. It felt like I was having a heart attack. I put my hand on my chest.
"The manager will be right out," the teller said as she came back up to the counter. "If you don't mind taking a seat." She gestured toward a group of plush chairs. This was taking too long. I sat down and tapped my foot nervously. A few minutes later a man emerged from the back.
"Hello, Miss Taylor. You must be James' fiancée." He put his hand out toward me. "I'm Ed and I'll be helping you out today."
I immediately stood up and shook his hand. "Yes, hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm kind of in a rush. I need to get this done before the wedding."
"Of course. Right this way." He took me to his office and sat down behind his desk. "So, James added you to several of his bank accounts when he updated his will a couple of years ago, in addition to the one that is just under your name."
"Mhm." I sat down across from him. I had no idea that James had done that. He trusted me with his money. And I was here giving it away to Isabella. My stomach seemed to flip over. Was I doing the right thing?
"And you understand that all of your joint assets are not liquid. You don't have 20 million dollars sitting in the bank. A lot of your money is currently tied up in investments. Properties, stocks..."
"Yes, of course." I hadn't even thought about that. No one had 20 million dollars just sitting in the bank. That wasn't financially responsible. "Is there any way to liquidate some of those assets?"
Ed scratched the back of his neck. He was starting to look uncomfortable. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
No. "Yes."
"James' portfolio is very diverse, but if you're looking for liquid assets immediately, the best way is probably through stocks. I'd advise you to call James' broker to get his take on what stocks are best to sell at the moment. How about you come back tomorrow? The stock market closes in several minutes as well as this bank and..."
