Resisting Redemption

by Amabel Daniels

  Worrying of a premature snafu to what they might have for a future together, Roxie resolved to tell him as soon as she could about the bonus. Better to hash it out preemptively than risk him discovering her truth.

  Chiding herself for hosting double standards, removing herself from the category of money-driven evil-doers, Roxie set out to see just how everyone compared. The VIP guests, Ben, Josh, even Tara. She made a column on a new page, lining them up with simple timelines of debts and gains. In organizing the main players in a linear space, it was obvious to distinguish who had been born with money, and who had to earn their way.

  Tara and Kylie were the only two with money from youth. Jaydon and Ben were both basketball stars who’d obtained their monies when signing into the NBA. Dave and Josh were not raised in show business but came into it later in life. Richelle, she was from a middle-class family, not struggling nor well off. Wayne, he came from the most destitute of backgrounds before he hit the big screen. Weighing all their entrances to wealth, Roxie had to consider how their backgrounds could dictate their present actions. If they had been without, would that render them even more determined to get ahead?

  Detailing her chart further, Roxie absently added other biographical information to the main names of the case, adding birthplaces, family info, locations of jobs, residences owned, etc. When she penned down the name of Dave’s occupation prior to becoming Josh’s manager, she stalled. How he’d gone from a measly little dime a dozen customer service position to corralling and directing one of America’s prominent music talents—stars. She refused to attribute him as having true melodic skill. God, his music was crap. Rolling her eyes, she continued listing facts, hoping something would stand out.

  When cross-checking facts about Jaydon, she became skeptical of his residences. Yeah, he made a lot of money as a guard for the Hawks. But didn’t he ever worry about running out of money? Dollar signs didn’t drop from trees for even the super-elite, right?

  Riffling through her notes, she found the pages Tara had in her apartment. Smoothing out the crinkles of the sheets, she studied the numbers again. Yes, Jaydon would profit higher if Ben was out of the equation of the pro-ball contract dealings. But as Grant said, that would have taken even more planning and near-impossible assumptions.

  So engrossed in her shuffling of facts, Roxie missed Lucy’s fusses to get out of the pack-n-play. It wasn’t until Grant scooted over on the couch, with Lucy in his arms and a new pouch of baby food in her chubby hands.

  “What’s eating you?”

  “Hmm?” She tore her attention from her chart and turned to him.

  When did it get so dark?

  “You didn’t even eat lunch.” Grant nodded toward the plate of sandwich and fruit on the corner of the table.

  As if cued, her stomach rumbled. “Guess I got on a roll. What time is it?”

  He explained the hour was already approaching nightfall.

  Shocked she’d been too wrapped up in her thoughts, she fretted how she’d missed Lucy’s calls for attention. But then watching Grant make silly faces at her daughter, she gathered he’d taken over and helped out—again—with Lucy.

  “Don’t tell me I’m rubbing off on you. Getting too buried in work to remember to eat.” He nudged her shoulder.

  Yes, it normally was her reminding him to nourish himself. What a team they made. Never would she think it’d be him to reciprocate the nagging.

  “No.” She reached for her plate with a grin. “I love to eat.” With a mouthful of roasted chicken, she winked at him. “But I do like the other kind of rubs you’re good at.”

  Cheesy, much?

  He raised his brows. “Good. But really, what had you so distracted to miss food?”

  Shrugging, she chewed her food and gestured at her pages. “Thinking about motives, where people came from, your insistence on the power of money to warrant wrong-doing.”

  “Tara?” he asked as he skimmed the lines. “You think she killed Josh? She wasn’t there, Rox.”

  “No. But I am very curious about her desire to manipulate this case. Just thinking was all.”

  He read on and then set the papers down on the coffee table. Lucy had taken his glasses from where he’d hooked them closed on his collar, and she was now gnawing on the lens.

  She took them from her. “When did Chris leave?”

  “Two hours ago.”

  Damn, she’d really been deep in her thoughts. She hadn’t even said goodbye.

  “So now what?” she asked.

  He answered with a slow kiss.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chris didn’t come over the following day, but Grant and Roxie worked from home—his home—again. They hadn’t decided to until waking up late that morning, he and Roxie tucked together in his bed. Moving Lucy’s pack-n-play into his master suite was a no-brainer. From that post, mostly unclothed under the sheets, they had multiple means of attack. Foreplay led to making love, which led to naps, and then spontaneous chit-chat that spawned deeper questions about the case and compelled work sessions.

  Several calls were made to the VIP guests and their personnel about details. Grant spent an hour on the phone discussing the music video contract with Dave. Roxie talked to the spacy and uninformative Richelle a couple times.

  Laptops and pads of paper were so versatile it was a beautiful compromise. Sex, work, and a side of simply hanging out went all hours of the evening around Lucy’s schedule. So when they broke the morning, it was only too easy a decision to keep at their new system.

  Without the constant of sexual tension disturbing them, Roxie felt at ease to center her efforts on the case, and not defending her reasons for holding Grant at arm’s length. And likewise, Grant seemed more carefree, more apt to work. He still spoke with Spock-like semantics and pedantic vocabulary, but she could tell he smiled freer, relaxed more frequently.

  Or maybe it was Lucy, she was the other new variable to their arrangement. Roxie was certainly comforted and overjoyed to be near her daughter so much more than going to the office had allowed her. And Grant, there was no doubt he was opening up so much more as he tickled the chunky monkey’s chin, helped distract her during diaper changes, rocked her into naptimes.

  Then again, maybe it was the sex, Roxie wondered as she ran through packing her tote and getting ready for their return for the office. It was Friday, and Grant gave in to her persistence that they should report to the offices lest they set tongues wagging or give any of them ammunition to start rumors he’d taken off again.

  Every time they meandered into lingering, lazy, sensual paths to orgasms, they learned new tricks, new preferences, new teases to use on each other. That alone would make the world rosier. But would it all change as soon as they left his luxurious apartment? As soon as they stepped off the elevator at Kaniz, would distance spread between them in this awkward attempt of “something more”?

  Because he was a rogue and tortured her with his tongue to get the morning quickie he begged for, Grant was still finishing in the shower while she rushed to dress and get ready for the day. When Roxie had checked in with Sophia the day before, she was amused at how worried the older woman was about not being able to watch after Lucy to accommodate Roxie’s work schedule. Her pulmonary infection was almost a thing of the past, and Sophia swore Trio missed Lucy. It seemed like weeks since life was normal, just three girls in a tiny apartment with a handicapped dog.

  Guilt was unnecessary for Sophia, but it solidified Roxie’s decision to trust Grant’s sister as an alternative sitter. Sophia shouldn’t have had the burden of making Lucy her whole life. Roxie was aware Sophia missed her old hippie friends from time to time, and she shouldn’t hold her back.

  Knocks rapped at Grant’s front door, and Roxie answered, guessing it was Kelly, right on time. Punctual, just like her brother.

  “Hi,” Roxie said as she let her in.

  Slanted brows of disapproval greeted her. “You’d make sure he’d call me, huh?”

&
nbsp; Roxie winced as she resumed her hurry around the great room. “We were busy.”

  “Hmmpf.”

  “Well, not like that. I mean…” Roxie stilled from darting around the room. “Is your brother’s sex life always your business?”

  “Depends. Are you going to use him and ruin him?”

  Use him. Taking the job as his PA with the goal of a bonus isn’t ‘using’, per se.

  “No. I would never deliberately harm him. We were busy with the case. Chris came over. I got snagged on some data.”

  “For two days?” She scoffed. “He’s a workaholic, I’ll give you that and only that.”

  Kelly wasn’t going to be easy to warm up to. Roxie bet she was bristly due to a protective love for her brother.

  “Let’s start this over. I’m sorry if my and Lucy’s presence in your brother’s life bothers you. I don’t mean to intrude. But I care about him. And I do work for him. We were busy. With multiple things. I don’t know how to do girl talk, or handle the whole meeting the family thing—I’ve never done either before. But I’m not the bad guy here, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “And I appreciate you coming to sit with Lucy. My trusting you with my daughter carries more significance in this than you looking out for Grant. Believe me.” Roxie shook the tote she was cramming full to get more space inside. “As soon as you have yours, you’ll know exactly how much I’m putting faith in you.”

  Kelly smirked. “I don’t even want to think about having someone else watch my child.” She set her hand around her barely-there bump.

  Roxie smiled. “Hear you there. I’m only now coaching myself to let go even that little bit.”

  “Maybe you could coach me then, too. I don’t have a lot of friends who have kids. Nor many female relatives.”

  “Uh,” Roxie stammered. A friend? Why not? “Sure? I wouldn’t call myself an expert, though.”

  “You’re a mom. And you love Lucy. That’s all it takes.” Kelly crossed her arms. “Let’s do lunch.”

  “O-okay. I’ll look on our calendar and see when—”

  “No. Today. I’ll bring Lucy with me and we’ll meet you somewhere close to the office. You have to eat. So does he.” Kelly nodded toward Grant who was just exiting his master suite.

  “Morning, Kel. Thanks for watching Lucy.”

  “Hi, Grant,” she said and turned back to Roxie. “So lunch. Today. I’ll introduce you to girl talk as best as I know it,” Kelly said.

  “What’s this?” Grant asked, sliding his arms into his jacket as they readied to leave.

  Roxie groaned. It wasn’t worth putting off. And seeing Lucy at lunchtime—that was a plus she’d never reject. “Nothing. Kelly and I are just having lunch today.” She forced an over-bright smile. “I left my number and some notes on the coffee table.”

  She picked up Lucy, hugged her tight, kissed her cheek, and then handed her to Kelly. “If you have any questions, call me.” After a glance at Grant, she added, “Well, text me.”

  Grant tickled Lucy’s chin and waved goodbye to her before they took off.

  Instead of a weird apprehension about going to the office after such an unusual and long break away, nothing changed. They held hands in the car, teased each other about Roxie’s tab for profanity slips and how she could pay up her ‘debts’ to him, and also talked about the case. It felt like all they were accomplishing was treading over the same notes, observations, and guesses, but something had to give sooner or later.

  Once they’d stepped onto the floor for Kaniz’s troop of law workers, the charge in the air seemed to thicken. Where was Tara? Was she going to be waiting at Grant’s office door, barely containing an eruption of being pissed off and accusatory? Was Grant going to be questioned for his temporary absence in the thick of Ben’s case? Was someone going to comment and say she had a ‘glow’ about her?

  Their main lobby and receptionist area yielded no landmines to explode. Lia waved a hello as she spoke to someone on her phone. Further, in the carpeted hallways, random assistants and other colleagues of Grant paced to their destinations, most with their attention pointed to smartphones and other devices in their hands, a few with good, old-fashioned paper.

  So far, so good.

  Grant unlocked his office and Roxie followed him. Nothing seemed touched or bothered as far as she could tell. At her side, he exchanged a glance with her, as if to say ‘is it safe in here?’

  If they had the guts to break into Tara’s apartment for Roxie’s notes, what was to say the woman wouldn’t stoop to the same level? But by her observation, Grant’s door lock appeared intact. Plus, as he’d pointed out, they had all their material at his apartment—nothing theft-worthy in his office.

  Regardless, she wouldn’t take chances again. Those notes had been tempting enough for Tara to take them. Even if they seemed to result in a dead end. All those numbers and figures Roxie had researched about Ben’s contract and the dynamics of how Ben’s career moves would impact the monetary heights of Jaydon’s contract? Eh. Didn’t seem to contribute anything useful to the case. She, Grant, and Chris had come to that conclusion at Grant’s place. Still, Roxie wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

  Grant went to his huge desk, tossing his jacket onto his chair.

  “I’m going to make copies of my notes. Just in case. Never hurts to have a backup.” She held up the sheaf of papers and let her burdensome tote slide off her shoulder and onto the coffee table.

  He winked at her as he answered his phone.

  The copy room was empty, much to Roxie’s delight. It wasn’t as though she really knew anyone at the firm other than Chris and Lia. Seemed other peons in the same caste as hers were apprehensive of her—as though they knew to avoid crossing paths with the infamous hard-to-please Grant as they steered away from her. Or felt sorry for her.

  Three papers into her Xeroxing, she heard the click-clack of heels. A too-quick pace of tap. Had to be Lia. Only she was even clumsier at trekking in heels than Roxie was.

  “Roxie?” Lia spoke in a hushed voice.

  “Morning.” Roxie turned to give the receptionist a polite smile. Please don’t badger me for info. About Grant. About them not coming to the offices. About Tara.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  So much for wishes.

  “You were gone for two days. Both of you! What’s going on?”

  Roxie shrugged and inserted another page into the copier. “He wanted to work from home for a change.”

  Lia computed this with a flustered shake of her head. “With you? You were there?”

  Roxie nodded.

  “Alone? With him?” Lia’s eyes couldn’t show more white.

  “Pretty much.”

  Technically, Lucy was there, and Chris came by.

  Lia swallowed and wrapped her hand around her throat. “My God. I’ve been so nervous. So scared for you, having to put up with him like that.”

  Roxie smirked. “What? He’s supposed to be the big, bad wolf or something?”

  Lia narrowed her gaze. “No, not…really. I just have to imagine being stuck there like that with no escape. All his demands and…”

  Recalling Grant’s demands over the last two days, Roxie winced at the heat rearing up her neck. Not demands, more like begs. Grant propped over her on his bed. Roxie kneeling on the floor of his shower. Escape? Ha. She longed to be back there with him.

  She cleared her throat. “What’s so different? I’m with him day in and day out.”

  “So it was just the two of you there? Prepping for his case?”

  “Uh, Lucy was there.”

  Lia crossed her arms, squinting. “Who’s—”

  “My daughter,” Roxie reminded and straightened her copies.

  A lung-filling gasp sounded louder than the chirps and hums of the copier. “Your—you took your baby there?”

  “My sitter is still down with something contagious,” Roxie explained. As the words came out her mouth, she realized how futile o
f a truth they were. Grant would have asked her to bring Lucy there.

  “But he… Wow. He must really think you’re an asset to the case to put up with that. He hates kids.”

  Now knowing that Lia was dating Grant’s brother, Finn, Roxie was mystified how the receptionist failed to know how far from the truth her comment could be. Grant dreamed of his own family, his own kids. Did his own brother not know this? Was Lia not privy to being familiar with her boyfriend’s siblings? As she mulled it over, it became crystal clear. Grant was that private, that isolated in his own self. It saddened her.

  “Lia, he’s…” Roxie sighed. “He’s not like that, honestly. He’s great with Lucy. A natural. Well, everyone has a learning curve with diapers the first couple times, but he’s…wonderful with Lucy.”

  Other than her initial raised brows and gaping mouth, Lia gave no reply other than shutting her trap and eyeing Roxie closely. “Just the two of you.”

  Roxie gnawed on her lip. “Well, three with Lucy.”

  “You didn’t—”

  Growling, Roxie hugged her papers to her chest. “Dammit, Lia! Fine. Yes. We did. Jesus, how can a woman be in his proximity for more than five minutes and not want to jump his sexy ass?”

  Lia smiled and tilted her head to the side. “Just, wow.”

  “Oh, it was ‘wow’ all right. Beyond ‘wow’.”

  “I know what you mean, though. Those Newlands have some damn strong seductive genes.” Grinning now, Lia’s face brightened. “So you two are…a thing now?”

  Roxie screwed up her face. “Yes. I don’t know. I have no clue how this works.”

  “It’ll work out if it’s meant to. Believe me.”

  “It’s complicated, Lia.” Roxie leaned her hip against the copier, both hating and enjoying the chance to speak about Grant—girl talk. Though she knew it wasn’t wise.

  “I know complicated. Finn, my boyfriend…Grant’s brother, he was my boss. Or I was his manager. It was a mess. But there was something more and it’s lasting so far.”

  Something more. Grant’s words.