Possibly A Cheater

Rebecca

“You still here? Damn, Becca, it’s eight o’clock.” Parker walked in and sat in one of the open chairs in front of her.

She turned and tilted her head a little, the look on his face one of built-up tension. “Why are you still here? You have a life, I don’t. Work fills that hole for me.”

He smiled and shrugged. “I’m thinking Jason would fill a few—”

She cut him off. “Hey … shut it. Too much information between friends.”

He laughed as he leaned forward, his smile draining from his features. “Come with me for a drink. I need to talk to a friend.”

Rebecca felt the change in his persona and realized that he wasn’t being comical or jovial anymore. Something was on his mind, and as his partner and, even more so, as his best friend, she’d need to man up and spend her evening playing counselor.

“Okay. Let me pack up and I’ll meet you in the lobby.” She turned and started to shut down her computer, stowing it away, along with a huge handful of papers, in her briefcase. Parker left without another word, his mood giving her a healthy level of concern. He was rarely in the sharing mood, so something heavy must be up. She almost hoped it had to do with his personal life and not their business.

The year before they’d suffered three lawsuits, thanks to a lovely young accountant he’d hired with his hormones instead of his brain. Becca had been out of town for a few weeks visiting some old friends in California, and when she got back, she and Parker had it out over him hiring someone new to help them without her input. He was a happily married man, and yet this vixen did all but undress to get his attention. Rebecca had been the one to finally let her go, the lawsuits not even coming in from various clients until after the girl no longer worked for them.

A new rule had been put in place in the firm. If one of them wanted to make a business decision that was more than changing the brand of staples used in the office, both partners would have to sign off on it. Rebecca hated to play that card, but Parker had jacked things up pretty nicely for them as a firm for a while, and honestly, his wife had to know something was up with him and the young accountant. Or maybe not … men seemed to have the ability to hide their desire for another woman pretty well.

Had Parker cheated on his wife? Becca didn’t know, and honestly didn’t want to, but her guess was no. He was a total flirt, but he’d been cheated on by his first wife and had been an emotional wreck because of it.

The idea of hurting someone you supposedly loved with all your heart for a few seconds of sticky pleasure was abhorrent. It was one of the reasons Rebecca was happy not being in a committed relationship. They didn’t seem to exist or last in the twenty-first century.

Sex sells—and it kills and it steals while it’s raking in its millions.

“You coming?” Parker yelled down the hall.

Rebecca hoisted her computer bag onto her shoulder and reached for her briefcase on the ground, grumbling at him to shut up.

Her phone buzzed on the desk in front of her, a number she didn’t know. She ignored it and slipped the phone into her pocket, wobbling out into the hallway. In front of anyone else she’d have pulled it all together and looked like the perfect picture of success, but this was Parker, and her heels were new and killing her.

“I’m throwing these shoes in the fire pile with my bra and these horrible new panties. Why do women think they have to wear this crap? It itches and hurts, and no one is even going to see it.”

He reached out for her computer bag, taking it and putting it on his other shoulder as he held the door for her. “I’m happy to have a look if it would make you feel better. All that effort and no one to remind you how lovely you look? Shame.”

She swatted at him, smiling as she moved into the hall and pushed the button for the elevator. “You’re horrid.”

“I’m a man.” He moved beside her and wagged his eyebrows, his mop of blond hair giving him a younger appeal, which was a good thing. His wife was in her mid-twenties, and if men had a cougar club, he’d be in it. “So, what was Jason doing at your door for so long?”

“Jealous?” Rebecca asked, moving into the elevator and smirking at her old friend.

“Always. Spill.”

“He wanted me to go to happy hour with the office staff. That’s never a good idea when you own the place.”

“Agreed. They asked me to go too, but I’m thinking it was to buy everyone drinks.”

She laughed and moved out into the chilly March air, reaching back to hold the door open for him. “That’s funny. Maybe they wanted me there for that reason too.”

Parker shook his head. “I’m thinking that if one of the girls had invited you, then that might have been the reason, but Jason was hoping to make you feel better about those horrid underclothing choices you made. Besides, he could warm himself next to your panty-burning fire.”

She reached for her bag, popping the back of his head as they laughed together. It was good to work with someone she could trust, but to have fun along the way was an added bonus. She popped her trunk and deposited all of her stuff into the car before looking over at him.

“Where are we going, and are we taking separate cars?”

“Let’s go to O’Malley’s, and no, come ride with me.”

“The staff are going to O’Malley’s tonight.” She walked toward his car, tugging at her black pencil skirt before sliding onto the cold leather of his Lexus.

“They’ll be in the bar. We’ll get a quiet table near the back. We won’t even see them. Promise.” He got in and started the car as her phone buzzed again.

She checked the number. Same one as before, in her office. “Let me get this real quick.”

Parker just nodded as she answered. “Hello?”

“Hi, Miss Martin. This is the contract supervisor from Wayland Contractors.”

He paused and Rebecca felt something roll over her. She knew that voice, but how? Where from?

“Oh, hi. What can I do for you?”

“I just need to verify the address. The fax the office sent over was a little skewed.”

She pressed the phone tightly to her ear, leaning over a little. Something about the voice caused her heart to race. She shook her head and smiled. “Yeah, sure. No problem. It’s 1244 Lake Woods Drive. See you there around ten tomorrow?”

“I’ll be there around 9:30. Look forward to meeting with you and getting this project wrapped up for you, Miss Martin.”

“Yes, me too. See you then.” She started to hang up before realizing that she hadn’t caught his name. That would help her discern whose voice it was that beckoned her to remember it. “Wait … who is this? Hello? Hello?”

Parker laughed beside her as she dropped her phone into her lap, a sigh of disgust on her lips.

“Don’t people usually ask who they’re talking to before they give out their address? Just saying.”

She pulled at her seatbelt, the lights of downtown Houston pulsing all around them. “Yeah, I just was caught off guard. I know that voice, but can’t seem to place it.”

“Someone mysterious from your past?”

“My past is vast and deep. Who knows if he was part of my past or if I’m so relationship starved that I’ve created a mystery where there isn’t one.” She shrugged as they pulled up to the valet, Rebecca getting out and moving toward the door. Her coat was in her trunk, and it was too cold to stand outside in a white button down shirt and hope for a non-nipping evening.

Parker moved up beside her, holding the door and smiling down at her arms across her chest. “You need me to make sure you’re not showing your arousal?”

She growled at him and walked into the warmth of the restaurant, the sound of life and laughter wrapping around them. She looked back at Parker. “I’m with you, so no need to dream that big, bubba.”