MichaelI opened the door to my front office, and before it could close, someone attacked me. Two strong arms wrapped around my shoulders and a chunk of black hair flew into my mouth. A wet sensation pressed against my cheek.“Michael!” Natalia’s voice filled my ears.I leaned my head back and spat her hair out of my mouth.“Damn, Natalia. You scared the shit out of me.”She dropped back down to the floor. Her hair was much shorter than it had been the last time I saw her. Her physical appearance changed as quickly as the cars she drove.I caught my reflection in the mirror across the room. A big lipstick stain took up most of my cheek.“I told you not to kiss me when you wear that stuff,” I said.She pouted her thick red lips. “I missed you, darling. And I have so much to tell you.”I crossed the room to the sink in the small bar nook. I grabbed a towel and wet it under the stream of water then rubbed at the lipstick stain. Natalia knew that annoyed me yet she always did it whenever
MichaelNatalia waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine. I mean it sucked to see it happening. Especially because that stupid brat of a secretary was grinning like an idiot when I walked in. In the back of my mind, I think I knew it was happening but ignored it. I never expected him to do it in his office. He has no class. I’ll be taking him to the cleaners soon enough. I only wanted to let you know.”“I’m sure it’s routine procedure. If they do suspect foul play, the police have to do their due diligence and speak to everyone in his life. Especially any business partners.” Sal’s mistake was messing with Demetri DeMarco, and he paid with his life. I was only regretful that Teddy had sent Sal to me. Even though I was the best in the area, I had a feeling Teddy knew or at least heard rumors of my involvement with Demetri. With Frederick being my brother and Demetri’s ties to Kadia, it should have been obvious. Had Teddy known this was going to happen? This was all getting too close to home.
RaineyThe elevator couldn’t get down the shaft quick enough. By the time I reached the lobby of Michael’s building, my eyes were burning with angry tears. I couldn’t believe I’d been so stupid. Everything I’d thought about Michael was true. He was a liar, and I should have trusted my instincts. Just because he was rich, that didn’t give him permission to treat people that way.I nearly sprinted through the lobby to get out of that building. I didn’t even care how I looked. And I hoped Michael had the sense not to follow me. I imagined his piercing blue eyes fixing me in place and demanding I tell him why I left.I reached the curb and hailed a cab. Luckily Michael’s home was on a busy street. I wanted to get as far away as quickly as I could. And it was downright freezing outside. Getting to the train wasn’t an option today.I gave the driver my address and leaned back in my seat. I turned to the building and said a silent “good riddance” as we drove off.How could I have been so foo
Rainey“Well, maybe you can lie and tell him that it was an emergency with Tanner. I’m sure he’d understand,” she said. “And then you can tell him about wanting to be professional at work. So then it might not be as awkward as you think.”I hesitated.“Rainey?”“I haven’t told him about Tanner yet.”“What? Still?”“I’ve been avoiding the topic.”“Rainey, if you can’t be honest about your son, that’s a big sign saying that Michael is probably not the one.”“Only because I don’t want to use Tanner as an excuse for anything. I want to keep my job.”Tessa sighed. “I’m not seeing why lying is the best answer. The longer you hold that back, the harder it’s going to be to tell him. And I’m pretty sure he’s not going to feel great about you lying to him when the truth comes out. Lies, even small ones, can affect a relationship big time. Remember Killian?”“Of course I remember Killian. But this is different. I’m not lying to him.”“You’re lying by omission, girlfriend.”This was not how I wan
MichaelWhen Natalia finally left to have a meeting with her lawyer, I confronted Sam about Rainey leaving.“What did she say when she left?” I asked him after pulling him into the other room. I didn’t need Milly involved with this. She already knew enough about my love life. This thing with Rainey was new, and I wasn’t going to share it until I knew it was going to happen for sure.“She didn't say anything, Sir,” he said.“She walked out of here without a word?” This was far worse than I expected. What had happened to make her leave so suddenly?“Yes, after she saw Mrs. Carter.”I leaned my head back and rolled my neck. Damn it, Natalia. Sometimes she had the worst timing. What had Rainey thought? We never directly discussed Natalia, but I had a feeling she had some thoughts about her, especially with her portrait at the lodge.“Might I offer some advice, sir?” Sam asked.“Go ahead,” I said.“This all seems to be a misunderstanding,” he said. “I suggest giving Ms. Foster the space sh
MichaelI opened the office door and found Frederick with his feet up on his desk eating out of a Chinese takeout box.“Hey, there.”“Working hard I see?” I said, closing the door behind me.“I deserve a dinner break, right?”“Sure,” I said, not wanting to stray from why I was here. He’d be distracted soon enough. Right now I needed his undivided attention. “Natalia stopped over this morning.”A wide smile spread across his face. “How is our dear friend?”I didn’t want to get into Natalia and Frederick’s past at that very moment, so I ignored the question. “These two men came to her place this morning.”“What did Teddy do?”“It was about Sal,” I said, waiting for Frederick to catch up.Frederick kicked his feet off the desk and slammed the cardboard box on the surface. “Fuck, Michael. What happened?”If he would let me finish my thought.“She told me two men came to her house this morning asking about Sal. And then they started asking about me too.”Frederick wiped a hand over his fac
RaineyThe next day I woke up for work with a ball full of nerves in my stomach. When Tanner went to bed last night, Mom tried to talk to me about my day but I was in such a peaceful state of mind because of my son, I told her it wasn’t a big deal. I promised to talk to her after work today. I’d have a resolution by the end of the day.I got myself and Tanner ready for the day before dropping him off downstairs with my parents.On the train, I reminded myself why I had been so angry with Michael. He lied to me about his relationship with the woman who owned the lodge, and he flaunted it right in front of me. And Tessa’s words came into my mind. If I wasn’t willing to open up to Michael as someone more than just a boss about my son, then he probably wasn’t the one for me. It was as simple as that.Last night I thought I’d march right up to him when he came in that morning and tell him how I felt. But when it came down to it, I hadn’t done anything wrong. He was the one who should apolo
RaineyWe both stood there across the room from each other in perfect silence. The tension in the air thickened but I held on strong to my resolve.He finally turned around, scrubbed at his chin and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to address the elephant in the room.”Here it was.“I have a hard time understanding why you left yesterday afternoon. I thought…” he paused and fixed me with his piercing blue-green eyes. “I thought we were on the same page with what was going on between us.”“We were,” I said, lifting my chin. “But watching that woman throw herself into your arms changed everything.”He cocked his head. “Anything that happens in my home is my business—”“You were just kissing me,” I hissed, not wanting Sandra to hear our conversation.“If you would let me finish,” he snapped.I opened my hands in front of me. “Go ahead.” I wanted to see him explain himself out of this one.“Natalia and I have known each other since we were young. She is like a sister to me and y