I read the last line again. “Words without experience are meaningless.” It was a quote from Lolita. There were other lines that seemed familiar, certainly more quips from other literary classics. Hudson Pierce did not read the classics. His library had no books before I’d moved in. Celia, on the other hand…
A flash of movement out the window drew my attention.
I peered out to find that a couple sitting on the other side of the glass was leaving. What kept my focus was the woman at the table behind them.
Goddamn, speak of the devil.
As my eye caught hers, Celia smiled—the same old bitchy smile she always delivered.
I chewed on my lip, deciding what to do. I could continue sitting in the bakery and text Reynold for a ride. Or I could leave and see if she’d follow.
Or I could talk to her.
There wasn’t anything I burned to say to the woman. I knew that any request I made to be left alone would only result in more harassment. And asking her reasons for her actions wouldn’t get me anywhere. Anything she said to me couldn’t be trusted, so what was the point in conversation?
The point was that I was curious. Curious what she’d try to convince me of, what her body language would say.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I threw my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my computer and walked out to the patio.
To her credit, Celia didn’t blink when I sat across from her.
“By all means, Laynie, sit,” she said, her tone pleasant and condescending and a little bit eager, as though she was looking forward to a confrontation. She probably was.
Without any preamble, I turned my laptop to face her and pointed to the email still on the screen. “This is you, isn’t it?”
She scanned a few lines, recognition flashing in her eyes. “I don’t know for the life of me what you’re talking about, Laynie.”
She liked to say my name a lot—it was a trick I’d learned in grad school. When said in the right tone, it made a person feel patronized. She certainly knew the tools of basic manipulation.
But so did I. “That email, Celia. You’re the one who sent it to Stacy. I recognize your choice of literary quotes.”
“Why, that’s crazy.” Her inflection was exaggerated. “This says it’s from Hudson. Did you hack into his email? I hear that’s typical of women with your condition. In fact, Laynie, should you really be sitting with me? I could still file that restraining order.”
I tilted my head, studying her. She wanted me to threaten a restraining order of my own. But we were playing this conversation on my terms. “What I don’t understand is how you got Hudson to go along.”
“Go along with what?” She blinked innocently.
“The kiss.” I turned the screen back to face me and loaded the video. I pushed play and spun it toward her. “This.”
She watched silently, giving nothing away. When it was finished, she raised her eyes to meet mine, her expression suddenly serious. “So you’ve discovered our little secret.”
She wanted me to assume the kiss was real. I didn’t believe it was. “That you played together? Yes.”
She laughed. “Is that what he told you? I suppose he wouldn’t want you to know what we really meant to each other.”
“Ha ha. I don’t buy it.”
“That I was Hudson’s lover? Suit yourself.” She pursed her lips. “It lasted beyond that, you know. Why do you think I had a key to his place? And when I picked him up at the Hamptons—there was no business trip.”
Lies, lies, lies.
I didn’t have any doubt that every word was meant to instigate me. “You’ve fucked with me too many times to believe anything that comes out of your mouth.” I closed my computer and began stuffing it in my bag. There was nothing to learn from her after all.
Celia shrugged. “I could give you proof, if I wanted to. I know all his bedroom moves. Does he dominate you completely? Does he have a nickname for you? Precious, perhaps?”
Unwittingly, my eyes popped up at Hudson’s pet name. How the hell did she know about that? Hudson had promised me it was private.
She caught my reaction. “He does, doesn’t he? Don’t you know that he calls all his lovers precious? Did you think it was just for you? He called me that when he plowed into me over and over on his office desk. ‘My precious, my precious,’ he’d say. I’m sure he simply says it now out of habit.”
It didn’t matter if she was telling the truth or lying. Either way, she’d tainted something sacred. Something that meant a great deal to me. That combined with all the other shit she’d pulled?
I snapped.
“Maybe it wasn’t just for me. But this is just for you.” My hand curled into a fist and flew at her face before she could see it coming. From the cracking sound that accompanied my punch, I guessed that her nose was broken.
“You fucking bitch!” she screamed, her hands holding her nose.
“I was thinking the same about you. Though cunt would have been my choice of noun.”
Blood oozed out from between Celia’s hands. “You want a noun? Try lawsuit.”
That was the last I heard before I darted out the patio gate. Afraid Celia would find someone to come after me, I headed straight for the subway.
A lawsuit, huh? Well, it was fucking worth it.
Chapter Eighteen
I jumped on the first train that was available and found an empty seat in the back, my hands shaking and my heart pounding.
God, what had I done?
I couldn’t decide if I was scared or exhilarated. Probably an equal combination of both. Because, damn. I’d punched Celia Werner. And probably broke her cute little nose. That was surely going to get a cop or two knocking on my door. And, with her power and money, they’d take her charge seriously. I’d had trouble with the law in the past. Having another incident on my record was not something I was looking forward to.
On the other hand—I punched Celia fucking Werner. And holy fuck did it feel good.
I had to do something, tell someone. I considered my options—Brian had always been my go-to person for getting me out of sticky situations. That had been hard on our relationship, and now that we were getting along, involving him wasn’t my ideal choice.
That put Hudson at the top of my list. He was better suited to go up against the Werners. While I was pretty sure that he would be one hundred percent supportive and take care of anything I needed, calling him with the news promised to be embarrassing. Especially since I’d ditched my bodyguard. He wouldn’t be pleased with that.
Cell service was spotty underground, but I managed to get through. Unfortunately, I reached his voicemail. I tried a couple of times with the same result. Hudson had said he had meetings all day. I was sure that was where he was. I chose not to leave a message. Instead, I texted him to call me ASAP and hoped to heaven I got to him before Celia did.
Because she would try to contact him too. Of that I was certain.
And what about what she’d told me? As much as I didn’t want to let her get to me, I couldn’t help but think about the things she’d said. I didn’t automatically believe her—why would I?
But her proof…
I shook off the idea. Somehow she found out about Hudson’s name for me. That had to be it. There was no way he’d called her that too. And, yes, he was dominating in bed, but anyone who knew him would assume that.
The only reason it continued to nag at me was that I still hadn’t heard Hudson’s confession. Was this what he meant to tell me all along? That he’d been with Celia? That he’d slept with her while with me?
I didn’t think so. I didn’t want to think so. It was too easy, too predictable. Hudson was never predictable.
Except if that wasn’t it…
The alternate possibility that had started to form in my mind was worse than what Celia had suggested. Much worse. Like, it would shatter my world to discover it were true. I couldn’t entertain the idea long enough to work through it, even to try and
discount it.
So I didn’t think about it at all. Buried it until I had to deal with it. If I had to deal with it.
Meanwhile, I needed someone to give me some advice. Besides Brian, who would know how police handled battery charges? I considered David and Liesl. Mira and Jack were even possibilities. Finally, I settled on someone who I was sure would be able to handle the situation the best.
Jordan answered on the first ring.
“Hey, I know your shift doesn’t start for a bit, but I’m sort of in a situation and I need your help.”
“I can be at the penthouse in twenty-five.”
He was already about to hang up when I stopped him. “Actually, I’m not there. I’m just walking off the subway at Grand Central Station.”
There was only a minor pause before he asked, “Reynold’s not with you?”
“No.” I should have been more regretful, but I wasn’t. “I’ll explain when I see you. Can you come meet me?”
“Yep. In fact, if you’re at Grand Central, I can be there in ten.”
We agreed on a place to meet. Then I hung up and waited for him to show.
True to his word, Jordan was indeed only ten minutes away. He must live nearby. Funny how little I knew about the man.
We found an empty bench and talked without leaving the station. I caught him up quickly, leaving nothing out. Well, very little out. I didn’t mention what it was exactly Celia had said to cause my fist to fly.
Jordan seemed neither surprised nor judgmental of my story. “Have you called Hudson?”
“I tried. I got voicemail.” I’d tried again while waiting for Jordan with the same result.
“That’s fine. It’s really not urgent. Here’s what’s probably going to happen: Celia will likely have gone to the ER. Because of who she is and the pull she has, I’d assume she’d get the police to take her complaint there. With a simple one-swing hit, the cops will often forget the whole thing. They won’t because she’s a Werner.”
“Could I be arrested?” It was the question most pressing on my mind.
He shook his head. “They’ll track you down and give you a court date. No warrants, no arrests. There will be plenty of time for Mr. Pierce to get the whole thing dropped—which he will. You know that, right?”
“I do.” I wrung my hands in my lap. “At least, I think I do. I also feel shitty about being a burden.”
Jordan laughed—I’d never heard him outright laugh. He was nearly as serious and on-task as Hudson. “That man could never think of you as a burden, Laynie. He turned mountains over to get your last charge completely expunged. And the deal he’s working on now has been much more problematic than it will be for him to get rid of any charge from Celia.”
I’d known Hudson had buried my restraining order violation, but Jordan’s last words were news to me. “What does the deal he’s working on now have to do with me?”
He studied me carefully. “I’m sorry, Laynie. That’s going to have to come from him. My point is that you’re not his burden. You’re his reason.”
I savored Jordan’s words. I needed them right then. Especially with Hudson out of reach, I needed the reminder that he was still there for me. “Thank you, Jordan. I appreciate that more than you can understand. Do you know when he’ll be back?”
Jordan’s mouth tightened, and I knew he was being careful how much he said. “Depends on how his meetings go today.”
Why did it feel like everyone knew some big secret about this business deal that I didn’t? Hudson, Norma, even Jordan. From what I’d gathered, it wasn’t anything bad. Then why was I not allowed to know?
Hudson had promised me I could find out anything I wanted to know when we talked. This was definitely going on the list. I’d rather hear things from him than my bodyguard anyway, so I didn’t press.
I checked the clock on my phone. There was only a little over an hour before David’s shindig. Maybe I should just head there. Unless that was going to be a problem. “The club is closed on Sundays, but we’re having a party for my coworker who’s going away. Do you think the police will show up there? I don’t want to ruin anything.”
“Nah. They’ll either show up at the penthouse or wait until normal business hours to find you at work. You’ll be fine.”
“I know I have to face them eventually, but I’d rather not today.” Shit, I was such a coward.
If Jordan agreed with my assessment of myself, he didn’t indicate as such. “Let’s do this: we can take the train back uptown. I’ll leave you at The Sky Launch—I don’t expect Ms. Werner to show up and bother you tonight.”
“No. Not likely.” Though, I wouldn’t mind seeing how much damage I’d actually incurred. Just thinking about it brought a smile to my face.
“The car is parked at the penthouse. I’ll go and get it and come back to the club. Then we can leave whenever you want.” Jordan casually watched the subway passengers as they walked past us. Or it appeared casual. The more I learned about him, the more I realized nothing he did was casual.
And he was always thinking. “I bet that the police will stop by tomorrow morning, Laynie. If you prefer to stay away from them until Mr. Pierce gets back, I could take you to the loft tonight after the party instead.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll consider it.” Except I hoped that when I finally reached Hudson, he’d take care of things for me so I wouldn’t have to hide out anywhere.
But even if Hudson could get rid of a battery charge, he couldn’t protect us from her forever. He hadn’t been able to stop her stalking. Surely now she’d up her game. I thought of Jack’s advice from our lunch—the only way to get rid of her was to let her think she’d won. Punching her in the face definitely wasn’t letting her win. By striking against her, had I made the worst move possible? More than ever I feared that Celia Werner would be a permanent fixture in my future. Could Hudson and I survive that?
***
The problem with holing up at The Sky Launch was that I wasn’t in the mood to be there. Fortunately, I didn’t have to do anything for the party except open the doors for the caterers. Hudson had arranged the whole thing, including an open bar. It was beyond generous on his part—probably his way of apologizing for the circumstances in which David was leaving.
Everyone on staff had been allowed a plus one. With David’s friends and the few regulars that had been invited, the total guest list numbered around a hundred. It was a true party. The whole thing might have been fun if my plus one was there. But he wasn’t. And by ten, I still hadn’t heard from him.
“Put the fucking phone down and boogie with me,” Liesl urged. I’d filled her in on the day’s events when she arrived. Her feeling was that if I was going to face policemen tomorrow, I should party harder tonight.
She and I were definitely different people.
“Laynie, I love you and I’m here for you if you truly need me. But you seem to have moping down on your own so I’m going to leave you to it and go have a good time.” She tugged at a strand of my hair. “Forgive me?”
“Totally forgive you. Go. Have fun.”
She gave me a peck on the lips and joined a raucous group in the center of the floor. I tried not to feel abandoned. It wasn’t Liesl I wanted anyway.
Determined to not spoil the evening for anyone else, I sat curled up on one of the sofas that lined the main floor and nursed my champagne while I watched the crowd dance and mingle in front of me. It was probably a good idea for me to sit out anyway. Most of them were my employees, after all. There should be a level of separation and respect.
I wondered how much respect I’d get if they all watched me get dragged out in handcuffs.
Stop it, I scolded myself. Jordan said there’d be no arrests, and Hudson would fix everything before it came to a head, though it wouldn’t surprise me if Celia reported my assault to the media.
God, the media!
I closed my eyes, wincing at the thought. Please, Hudson, call me. Please!
�
��Mind if I join you?” a voice shouted over the pulsing beat.
Opening my eyes, I found Gwen in front of me.
She was already taking a seat before I answered. “By all means, join me.” I scanned the room again. Though not everyone was dancing, I appeared to be the only loner. Was that why Gwen had come over?
Fuck, I hoped not. I wasn’t in the mood to be jollied up. Might as well let her know that right off the bat. “Why aren’t you out there?” Maybe she’d get the hint and join the crowd on the dance floor.
She furrowed her brow and I realized that the drink in her hand had not been her first. If she wasn’t drunk already, she was on her way. “I’m not really into…” She trailed off as if forgetting what she was saying.
I finished for her. “Dancing?”
“Actually, I was going to say people.” She added an amendment. “Besides, they’re our employees. It doesn’t seem right to party hard with them tonight when I might be writing them up tomorrow.”
Damn, she was a good manager. “Gwen? I’m starting to like you. What’s up with that?”
She almost laughed. “I’m sure it won’t last. Give it time.” Her words were heavy, as if she had a sad story to back them up. Or perhaps she was simply a somber drunk.
If she wasn’t outright going to share, I wasn’t going to ask. I had my own problems. For the tenth time in fifteen minutes I hit the screen of my phone, checking for a missed call or text.
Nothing.
Jordan had already returned with the car and was now hanging out in the employee lounge watching something on PBS. I shot him a message: Any word from Hudson?
His reply came fast. Nope. West coast is 3 hours behind. It’s only six there. Give him time.
It had already been five hours since I first texted Hudson to call me. How much time did he need?
Gwen interrupted my thoughts. “You keep checking that thing. Are you expecting a better offer?”
The Fixed Trilogy: Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever With You Page 77
