Once Upon A Grump, page 14
I had to remember to breathe. I sucked in a shaky breath, smiling. “You should probably avoid doing that if you want this to stay casual.”
“If you start having feelings for me, let me know. I’ll ramp up the asshole behavior at work and cure you of it. And then I’ll fuck you so good you’ll think of me every time you sit down.”
I nodded. For once, I didn’t even feel like I had a snarky comeback to that. All I could do was watch him button up his cuffs, straighten his tie, and lift two fingers in farewell before he left my apartment.
I sank back into the couch with a sigh. I wasn’t sure if it was a satisfied sigh, a confused sigh, or maybe even a terrified sigh. Then I saw Termite still rolling around happily with Christian’s sock and realized he’d been too kind to take it away from her. The man was only wearing one sock for the sake of my dog he pretended not to care about.
I clutched my hands over my heart, smiling at the door. Somewhere behind the giant, gaping asshole that was Mr. Stone, a man named Christian was hiding. A sweet, considerate man who took care of sick women and donated his fancy socks to their dogs. I guessed the question was which one of them was the real one? Which was the mask and which was reality?
26
LOLA
Call me stupid, but I’d expected to be able to go back to work like normal, even after last night. The first side effect of Mr. Stone’s magical cock was one of the most vivid, enjoyably erotic dreams I’d ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Of course, it was just as ridiculous as it was fun. It was like some porny spin-off of that movie where Jason Statham had to keep his heart rate above a certain point or he’d die. In my dream, Mr. Stone had to keep an erection or he’d die, which meant my job was to constantly keep him aroused every hour of the day.
As it turned out, I was very good at my job and a very enthusiastic employee.
Reality, on the other hand, was a little less perfect.
I made my way into Stone Tower, greeting the front desk girls who, by now, had started seeing me as some sort of rare unicorn. Surviving as Mr. Stone’s executive assistant as long as I had made the already swirling rumors grow to a fever-pitch. If you asked anyone in the office while I wasn’t around, they’d tell you he and I were definitely sleeping together. People were nice enough not to say as much to my face, but I knew what was going around.
I heard them whispering with awed tones as I headed for the elevator. Well, I guess now the rumors had become true, hadn’t they?
I could hardly believe my own memories as I took the elevator up to the penthouse for my tutoring session with Max. Even though I probably should’ve felt guilty or conflicted or any number of other emotions, I honestly just felt good. I felt like I’d done something the old me would’ve never done, and the Earth hadn’t opened up beneath my feet to swallow me whole. I was still standing, still living my increasingly awesome new life, and still smiling. Except now I was enjoying all the benefits without the side effects of crippling sexual frustration.
Max saw me come in and quickly wiped at her eyes, sniffing and then giving me her usual look of practiced disinterest.
I frowned, coming into the room and sitting across from her at the polished black kitchen table. Her nose was red and her eyes were puffy. It didn’t take a detective to see she’d been crying.
“Hey,” I said. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?” Max snapped.
I looked down, thinking through my options. What would I have wanted at her age if I was upset about something? Probably not for a lame old grownup to pester me for details. I’d just want something to take my mind off whatever it was.
“Wanna play hookie again?” I asked. I’d gotten sick almost immediately after bringing Max out for her pedicure and she hadn’t so much as hinted at wanting to do anything of the sort since. I wondered if Christian had laid into her.
Max picked at her peeling nails and gave a little tilt of her head. “I’m pretty sure Uncle Stones will murder us both if we sneak out again. And I promised I wouldn’t.”
“It’s part of the girl code,” I said. “Some emergencies allow for a little bending of promises. Besides, we’ll disguise you again and this time, we won’t leave any evidence like dolled up fingernails. We could go see a movie, grab milkshakes, or anything you want. What do you think?”
Max smiled to herself, shrugging. “I haven’t been to the movies in forever. There’s this new one out with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. I wouldn’t mind seeing it.”
“It’s a date,” I said, clapping my hands with finality. Go get your incognito hat and sunglasses. I’ll meet you in the parking lot in ten minutes, okay?”
“Won’t my uncle wonder where you are?”
“He’s only going to realize I’m gone if he stalks me on the security cameras. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to admit he’s still doing that. So let’s take our chances.”
Max sat up a little straighter, smiled, and then rushed off to get her things.
I headed to the parking lot feeling good about my decision, even if it might wind up getting me fired. At least I had my twenty-thousand-dollar bonus sitting prettily in my bank account, just begging me to make it to the weekend so I could celebrate with a little retail therapy.
Anyway, I honestly didn’t think Mr. Stone still watched me on the cameras. I’d made a few test visits to Chase’s desk and hadn’t heard a peep from him. As far as I could tell, Mr. Stone didn’t have the self-control to watch that and not demand I come up to his office at that instant.
* * *
We got popcorn, sweets, and drinks so big I knew we were both going to have to take turns peeing several times and filling each other in on what we’d missed. But the most important thing was that Max seemed to have completely forgotten about whatever had her so upset. She was all smiles as we left the theater and got in my car.
“There’s still time for milkshakes,” I said with a suggestive wiggle of my eyebrows.
“God,” Max said, clutching her stomach. “Aren’t old people supposed to have smaller appetites or something? I just ate a whole box of Sour Patch Kids and drank a gallon of soda. If I even look at a milkshake, I’m going to barf.”
I glared at her. “Old people? Excuse me. I’m not even officially in my mid-twenties yet. You watch that whippersnapper mouth of yours.”
Max smirked as she checked something on her phone. “First sign you’re an old person is that you are actually offended when someone calls you old. That means you’re insecure.”
I groaned. “First sign you’re a little brat is you don’t know how to say thank you when people do something nice.” I gave her a playful little punch on the shoulder and she finally smiled.
“I really enjoyed that, seriously. Thanks, Lola.”
“Any time.”
“I don’t want Uncle Stones to fire you, though. So maybe we shouldn’t do this kind of thing too much.”
“Are you trying to say you like me?” I asked, putting a hand to my mouth in mock surprise.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying I’ve had worse tutors. I might as well keep you around if you’re going to keep taking me to do fun things, you know?”
“I’ve had worse students, for what it’s worth.”
I expected another eyeroll, but Max’s eyes suddenly brimmed with tears, and she reached over to hug me from her seat.
I was surprised enough by the sudden emotion that my own eyes started to water. I reached up, hugging her back.
“He broke up with me,” she said, voice thick with emotion. She sat back and took a shaky breath, then seemed to shove down the tears with a little effort.
I decided the wise move here was to say nothing. I just sat, giving her time to get out what she needed to get out.
“School is starting soon and Uncle Stones said if I want to go to real school, he’ll need to fly me to Denver or something so nobody here makes the connection that I’m at the tower. He thinks people will be watching all the local schools. I really like this guy here, though, and he has been hanging out with a girl who will be at his school. We were kind of talking–dating, maybe, I guess? We never got to see each other except on video chat and stuff, but I think we were together. Anyway, he told me last night that he wanted a girlfriend he could actually see and touch. And he got mad at me when I asked him to wait, because I don’t think it’ll be like this forever.”
She worked her lips to the side, absently turning her phone over in her lap again and again.
“I’m sorry, honey.” I ran my fingers through her hair and tried to think of something more to say–something wise and insightful. But all I could think of was how much it sucked for her. She had a dad who failed her, a mom who wasn’t in the picture, and a surrogate mom who hadn’t wanted her. All she had left was Christian Stone, the man without a heart. This little girl needed someone with a heart in her life–someone to care about her.
“It’s not your fault,” she said, and from the way she emphasized her words, I sensed that I knew exactly who she felt the fault belonged with.
“For what it’s worth. I don’t think your uncle is trying to punish you. I think he genuinely wanted to see you in a better situation. It’s just that he’s… well, not the most equipped man in the world to nurture a young teen girl.”
Max snorted. “That’s an understatement.”
“And hey, I know this thing with the boy is hard. It probably feels like nobody could understand how bad you feel right now. And honestly? Even if an adult says they know what you’re feeling, they probably just think they do. You’re young and everything hurts more right now because it’s the first time. Nothing is ever going to hurt quite the same as that first heartbreak, and that’s okay. You’re going to feel terrible for a few days, you’ll listen to sad songs and cry your eyes out, and you’ll tell yourself he was the one. But give it a little time and I promise it’ll all start to hurt less. And then one day you’ll look back and you might even be able to laugh about how you dodged a bullet, because you’ll see him on social media with some insane conspiracy theory t-shirt on while he’s posing with his beat-up car.”
Max smirked. “You give some very specific examples.”
“Yeah, well, I had my own little heartbreak in middle school. I thought it was the end of the world. He was cool and popular and cute as anything. But twenty years later and I can safely say he was no longer any of those things.”
We both laughed, and it was good to see that Max looked to be in slightly higher spirits. I didn’t expect to cure her heartbreak with a trip to the movies, but at least I seemed to make a dent in the pain.
“Well, I should probably get you back to Stone Tower. You’re sure you don’t want that milkshake?”
Max screwed up her face. “Positive.”
* * *
We both got out of my car in the parking lot of Stone Tower. I was about to say she could head inside first and that I’d go in on my own in a few minutes. But a tall, dark man with black hair and tanned, smooth skin approached us. He had a long face with a pointed, defined jaw and the easy blue eyes of a man who was used to meeting very little resistance. He wore a deep red suit that was almost black except for little decorative trims in a lighter maroon color, and his shoes looked like they probably cost more than my car.
“Uh, hi?” I said, hoping Max would take it upon herself to scurry off towards the building before whoever this was might recognize her.
“Sorry,” the man said. He had a very slight Americanized Italian accent. He pulled a hand from his pocket and extended it toward me. “I’m Adrian Bellamo. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I thought I recognized your friend here.”
I took his hand and shook, pulling my hand back as soon as I could as if by some protective instinct.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but we’re both in a little bit of a hurry, so if you don’t mind–”
“I’ll only take a minute of your time. I promise,” he spoke in a deliberately slow way that seemed to hold me captive. The more I was in his presence, the more I sensed something was off about this man. It felt like walking by darkened alley at night. Sometimes, an alley just like all the rest would make the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and my instincts scream to run. This Adrian guy was like one of those alleys.
Max fidgeted. “Look, dude. She said we’re in a hurry, so–”
“I know you, don’t I?” he asked. He surprised us both by easily plucking the hat and sunglasses from Max, who reached after them but not quickly enough. “Maxine Stone,” he said with a satisfied smile. “That’s so peculiar. Last I heard, your father went to jail and left you in the care of his girlfriend, no? A Miss Melina Budreau, if memory serves.”
I didn’t like this. The man was paying far too much attention to Max, her whereabouts, and the history of her family. “You must just be confused. This is Joseline. She’s my daughter.” I put my hand on her shoulder and awkwardly yanked her towards me for a hug.”
“Hmm,” Adrian said. “You seem quite young to have a daughter her age, Miss Thorn.”
I froze. I hadn’t told him my name. How the hell did this guy know who I was when I’d never met him?
He saw the look on my face and gave an apologetic grin. “Apologies. In my line of work, being informed is the only way to stay out of the ground. I make a habit of knowing.”
“That’s great, but we really do need to go.” I tried to step past him, but he moved to the side, easily blocking my path.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, you’re even more beautiful in person, Miss Thorn. I’d love to take you out some time to dinner. I could answer all the questions you may have about me.”
I wondered if this gorgeous asshole had any idea how completely out of touch he was. He opens with a vaguely threatening reveal that he knows who we are, then implies he’s in some kind of shady line of work, and then he tries to get me to go on a date under the assumption that I’m just so curious about him?
I wanted to spit something venomous out, but my survival instincts were on high alert. It was midday and nobody was in the parking lot except us. For all I knew, this guy could summon goons with a text and have us thrown in a van.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” I said.
He finally gave one last smirk and let us pass. I took Max’s hand, not caring if he saw at this point since he seemed to already know everything and rushed her toward the building.
We rode the elevator together and Max looked at me once the doors closed. “That was bad, wasn’t it? He was super creepy.”
“I’m worried that may be one of the people your uncle talks about wanting to take his business away. He knew way too much about all of us for casual interest.”
“Oh, shit,” Max said, frowning at the ground and then looking up to me. “We’re in trouble again, aren’t we?”
27
CHRISTIAN
I braced myself for the barrage of accusations and exaggerated claims. Trisha Frost, David Cullum, and Adrian Bellamo were all once again sitting in my conference room, staring me down from the other side of an oversized table like I was on trial.
I noticed that Adrian and David looked frustrated about something, which I assumed was a good thing. If the people who wanted to ruin me weren’t happy, chances were, I was.
Trisha straightened a stack of papers and set them down carefully in front of her. She made it look like she was reading something before she spoke, but I had a feeling she already knew everything on those pages by heart. “We’ve been keeping an eye on the numbers and account acquisitions, Christian. I’m not afraid to admit it when I’m wrong. It seems you’ve done your best to make a fool out of me for thinking you’d lost your touch. You’ve reclaimed the Foster account, the Maxwell account, and you even convinced Peter Moss to open an account with Stone Financial for the first time. In a few short weeks, you’ve returned tens of millions in yearly earnings to the company.”
I nodded my head. It was all true, of course. I wasn’t about to thank her for noticing or try to make her feel better about doubting me in the first place.
“So I wanted to formally meet with you to let you know that I apologize,” Trisha said. “I was harsh last time we met, and I’d like to rescind what I said about how close you were to being removed. Consider your leash lengthened, Christian.”
David Cullum made a disapproving noise in his throat and Adrian Bellamo was watching me with a predatory glint in his eye. What was the story behind that? I had a bad feeling I would find out before long.
“If that’s everything,” I said. “I need to get back to work.”
Trisha gave a tight smile, nodded, and rose with her papers. David got up and followed her out. Adrian, on the other hand, pretended to be fiddling with something on his phone until the two of us were alone in the room. He slid the phone in his pocket and turned to face me, standing beside the table.
“I’ve just come across some interesting information I thought you would like to know.”
I stared, waiting.
He grinned at my silence. “Oddly enough, I discovered your executive assistant was driving your brother’s daughter around during work hours. In fact, they were just returning to the office when I got here. Strange, isn’t that? Records show Maxine Stone is living with your brother’s girlfriend, Melina Budreau. So what is she doing getting ferried around by your personal assistant?”
“Enough. Come out and say what you mean.”
Adrian smiled, and he clearly wasn’t going to be rushed. The slimy bastard was enjoying himself too much. “Well, I’ve got a mystery on my hands. I was only hoping you could help me shed some light on it all. But I can fill you in on what I’ve deduced so far. This executive assistant of yours is sharing your bed as well as part-time parenting duties. You must be keeping Maxine here in the tower under lock and key. And you have accurately assessed that if Trisha found out about either Maxine or your little office affair, she’d have a change of heart about keeping you around.” He shrugged, pacing by the table and frowning in a mock display of concentration. Finally, he raised a finger. “So far, the last Stone brother has proven he’s no different than Hector. This Lola Thorn woman is your Candice. And if you don’t mind me saying so, after meeting her in the parking lot, I can understand why you’re ready to risk your career for her. She’s spectacular.”
