Epilogue
Norma didn’t take her eyes off her phone as she quietly scolded me. “Sit still, would you? You’re bouncing is giving me the jitters.”
“Then sit somewhere else.” We’d only checked in with Hudson Pierce’s secretary two minutes ago, and she’d told us we’d be seen soon. Norma could deal with my twitching for that long.
She put a hand on my knee, stilling it. “Are you nervous or something?”
“No. I’m anxious in general.” It was my latest go-to emotion. Not very comforting but nearly always appropriate.
“And grumpy,” Norma muttered under her breath.
I scowled. It wasn’t like I didn’t have reason. My father still hadn’t been apprehended and I wasn’t sleeping well. I’d been staying in a room at the Gramercy Park Hotel since I’d returned from Vegas a week before because Norma thought it was safer. She’d wanted to hire a fulltime bodyguard, but I refused to be watched and followed twenty-four/seven. It wasn’t like Dad had money or resources. He couldn’t hire someone to find me if he couldn’t find me himself. I just had to not be any of the places that he might look for me on his own. Our apartment. The Eighty-Eighth Floor. So now I was staying in a hotel and looking for a new job.
My entire life was disrupted. Norma was lucky I was only grumpy.
Then there was JC.
I missed him. I’d been used to only seeing him once a week, but knowing I wouldn’t see him anytime soon made me miss him in a way that made my bones and my teeth ache. With the pain and the distance, I’d begun to have doubts, the regret I vowed not to have, sweeping in like high tide. Maybe I should have gone with him. Maybe it didn’t matter that I didn’t really know him. I’d come home only to go into hiding anyway. Wouldn’t I have much rather been hiding with him?
The whole thing left me sullen and surly.
I felt bad about taking it out on Norma, though. Hudson had her working on a project that was taking more of her time than usual, and on top of that, she was dealing with all the bullshit regarding me.
I made an effort to be friendlier. “Have you gotten word on when our apartments will be ready?”
“Just did,” she said, closing an email on her phone. “Beginning of next week.”
“And it doesn’t have my name anywhere on the lease?”
“Nope. It’s all under Eric’s name.”
Eric and Ben moving into the city had made things easier. Unbelievably, they’d found a building that had two apartments available, side-by-side. It was a secured building, and with money from Norma, they’d been able to put a down payment on both of them, stating that they planned to remodel into one in the future. Maybe they would one day, but for now, they would be living in one and I in the other. Well, they would be as soon as they arranged the actual move. It would be a month or so, I suspected.
While the circumstances were not the best, I was actually looking forward to having a place of my own. I’d never lived by myself, and at thirty, I figured it was probably about time. And I’d be next door to my brother. It was perfect and probably the only way things could have worked out that wouldn’t have made Norma feel bad for pushing me out.
I had a feeling she still felt bad, and admittedly, I hadn’t done much to change that. I’d been too preoccupied with wallowing. God, I was such a shitty sister. I opened my mouth to give her a thank you, at least, when Hudson walked out of his office.
“Norma, I apologize for making you wait. I was on the phone.” He saw my sister every day so I wasn’t surprised that their greeting wasn’t more formal. To me, he held out his hand. “You must be Gwen.”
“I am.” I took his hand. It was warm and firm. The kind of shake that I expected a man of power to have. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. Pierce. Norma has told me so much about you.”
I swear I felt her kick me even though she only did it in her mind.
“It’s Hudson. And likewise. Come on in.” He ushered us into his office and gestured for us to take a seat at the armchairs facing his desk while he shut the door. It was a large office—he had a complete sitting area along with his work area. Floor-to-ceiling windows were his walls. I couldn’t help but remember the last time I’d been pressed against windows like that. Naked, panting while JC had showed me how good it could feel to be so exposed.
“Please, sit,” Hudson said.
“Sorry. I was just admiring the view.” Jesus, I probably looked like an idiot. I hadn’t realized I was still standing, staring dumbly out the window, until he’d said something. I sat now, crossing a leg over the other, hoping my blush wasn’t too evident.
“It is rather distracting,” he said. “That’s why my desk faces away from it.” He sat at his seat before asking, “Did you two have a nice holiday?”
The day before had been the Fourth of July. I’d spent most of the night walking around the city. While Norma was being spanked by her boyfriend and the rest of the country ooh’d and ah’d over colors in the sky, I’d made my way to the Four Seasons. I’d wanted to just be in a place that we’d been together, JC and me. My key didn’t work in the door, and when I went to check on it at the front desk, I was told the room wasn’t booked to JC Bruzzo anymore.
It was only then that it truly hit me how gone he was.
“Lovely,” Norma said. “Thank you for asking.”
I sensed that next she was going to ask him how his holiday was in turn. Since small talk was not my thing, I cut her off before she did. “I really appreciate this opportunity. Norma said she faxed my resume over earlier, so I didn’t bring that with me. I’m happy to tell you anything you want to know about my current job duties or my schooling or ideas I might have for The Sky Launch. I think there’s a lot of potential to make that club the ‘it’ place, and I believe I have what it takes to help get it there.”
Hudson sat back in his chair. “I did get your resume. I only looked it over briefly, but I’ll pass it on to Alayna Withers. I’m sure Norma explained what Alayna’s looking for?”
“She did. Is it Alayna that is actually doing the hiring?” I hadn’t gotten many details from Norma. She’d simply said it was a job made for me and to show up at two.
“I own the club, but Alayna is the General Manager. I have very little to do with operations. I’m happy to help with anything I can, but hiring you is not my decision. She asked me to find someone capable of running the place with her, though, and I think from what I know about The Eighty-Eighth club and your education, you would be a perfect fit.”
A beep sounded, like a notification on a phone. “Excuse me,” Hudson said, pulling out his cell from his desk drawer.
As he checked his message, Norma leaned over and whispered, “That’s Alayna’s ringtone.”
“Oh.” From only the few things he’d said, I could tell the guy had a total hard-on for his girlfriend. He talked about her with a note of awe and reverence in his tone. I bet he didn’t excuse himself to answer just anyone’s texts. Hers, though…
For a moment, I let myself be jealous. Until I remembered that I too could have someone loving and adoring everything I did. But I’d told him no.
“It seems Alayna is on her way up now,” Hudson said, tucking his phone back into his desk. “She can meet you in a few minutes.”
“Perfect timing.” Norma smiled stiffly, and it occurred to me that she wasn’t that fond of Alayna. Or the idea of Alayna, anyway. Though my sister was happy with Boyd, she’d loved Hudson from afar for too long to easily accept another woman in his life.
The insight made me strangely feel closer to her than I had in a while.
“Hudson.” Even the way she said his name had a tenderness to it. “While we wait for her to join us, I have to ask. If you do hire—” She paused. “I mean, if Alayna hires my sister, I’d want to make sure there were certain security precautions taken at The Sky Launch.”
“Norma—” I stopped myself before I said something sisterly and inappropriate. I turned to her boss. “Whatever security the club has, I’m sure is fine.”
“You’ll be happy to know that The Sky Launch has top-notch security.” Hudson pinned his focus on Norma. “The thing most precious to me is at that club. Believe me when I say the place is safe.”
“Thank you, Hudson, for understanding.”
It was irritating that I was being talked about like a weak thing that needed protecting. It really wasn’t that dramatic of a situation. “I’m not in any danger or anything. I wouldn’t want you to think I’ll be a problem in that way. It’s just that my father—”
Hudson put up a hand to stop me. “Norma told me that you’d like to keep your reasons for transferring private. If you’d rather not share those reasons with Alayna, I’d prefer not to hear them either. I don’t want to keep any secrets from her that aren’t absolutely necessary.”
There was another exchange of glances between my sister and her boss. Obviously, the two had secrets of their own. Business related, most likely. No wonder she’d had such an epic crush on him—the two of them were tied together through the jobs that they both loved. I wondered if either of them realized exactly how tied they were.
“I believe I just heard the elevator.” Hudson stood from his desk and crossed to his office door. As soon as he opened it, a woman walked in. He cupped his hands around her face. “I got your text. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“No, not hurt.” She was shaking. She was scared. I could sense that kind of fear a mile away. It was familiar.
Immediately, I felt bonded to her. Even if Norma didn’t like her, I did. While her focus was elsewhere, I studied her. She was quite attractive—thin, brunette, dressed well.
“Alayna, what is it?” The way Hudson looked at her with such affection and concern…it was too sweet. It pulled at something in me. Made my chest throb. Made me a little bit bitter.
I turned away.
“I need to show you something. Can I—” Alayna cut off when Norma stood up.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Alayna gathered herself, masking her previous emotion. “I didn’t realize you weren’t alone.”
“Alayna, you remember Norma,” Hudson said.
“Yeah, I do. Norma Anders. We met at the Botanic Gardens event.” Her tone was tight. There wasn’t any wonder as to why—my sister wasn’t very gracious to her.
“We did meet then. It’s good to see you again, Alayna.” Norma focused on Hudson. “If you two need to talk alone, we can step out.”
“No, no. I apologize for bursting in. It’s not like me to interrupt.” Alayna sounded embarrassed.
I twisted again to look at them just as Hudson said, “Actually, Alayna, this is perfect timing.” He nodded at me so I stood. “This is Norma’s sister, Gwen. She’s one of the managers at The Eighty-Eighth Floor.”
“Oh.” Alayna’s expression was unreadable. Then her eyes lit up. “Oh!” She crossed to me, her hand out. “Alayna Withers.”
I smiled, genuinely. “Nice to meet you.” She scanned me over the way someone does when they meet someone they are looking to work with. The way I’d scanned her a moment before.
I imagined it then—working with another woman. Managing a club side-by-side. Sharing ideas, building a better business. Becoming friends, even. I’d been too occupied with the need for the job to think about what possibilities could be in store for me in a new place. It was exciting.
“Alayna’s currently the Promotions Manager at The Sky Launch, but as I told you, she’ll become the General Manager once the current manager leaves.” Hudson had actually suggested she was already the General Manager. I sensed he was appeasing her by referring to her as Promotions Manager now. He saw her at her fullest potential.
It made me feel like I could see it too. “Hudson told me you’re looking for an Operations Manager.”
She nodded. “Is that something you might be interested in?”
“Definitely.”
We arranged for me to come into The Sky Launch the next evening for an interview. She’d been concerned about working around my schedule at Eighty-Eighth, but I told her I had the day off to make things easier. I didn’t want to explain that I hadn’t been able to return to my club since I’d had the encounter with my father. It was why I hadn’t argued about finding a new job when Norma suggested it—even thinking about returning to the old one sent me into an embarrassing spiral of fear that I hadn’t felt since growing up.
Based on how frightened she’d seemed when she arrived, I wondered if Alayna might have understood my own fears.
Maybe I’d tell her. One day.
Hudson escorted us to the waiting room where Norma thanked him profusely. I’d thanked him for the opportunity earlier—I thought it was enough, especially considering how he wasn’t the one I needed to thank if I got the job, but Alayna.
When he closed the door to his office, Norma turned to me, obviously relieved. “That went well. You were surprisingly pleasant. I’m impressed.”
Her comment stung. “Yeah, well, she’ll find out soon enough that I’m a cold-hearted bitch.” I started toward the elevator then turned back to Norma. “I’m going through a tough time. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to be professional.”
“That was patronizing, wasn’t it? I’m sorry.” She was motherly now, her business self put away. She walked the few steps to me and put a hand on mine. “I know this is hard. Are you sure this is what you want to do? We could hire security. You could stay at Eighty-Eighth.”
I shook my head. “You know I can’t go back there.”
“I know you don’t want to go back there. I think you can do anything you set your mind to.” She meant it to be supportive and empowering—and it was—but also it made me roll my eyes internally.
I did appreciate her effort. I rewarded her with one of the insights I’d gleaned from our meeting. “Alayna’s totally jealous of you and Hudson, you know.”
“That’s hilarious considering that he’s never given me the time of day. Thank God I’m not hung up on that anymore.” But she couldn’t fool me—she liked hearing what I’d said. “Are you going straight down? I’ll wait for the elevator with you.”
I ran my hands through my hair as we walked. I’d had it cut and dyed only the day before and was still getting used to the shorter length.
“I like it.” Norma gestured to my hair. “It’s a good color on you.”
“You think so?” I pulled a lock out to study the dirty blonde shade that seemed so different from my natural lighter hue.
“I do.” She pushed the down button on the call panel. “Why did you dye it, anyway? To hide from Dad?”
“Nah. I wanted a change. Isn’t that what a girl does when she breaks up with a guy—gets her hair done?”
“You didn’t break up. He’s coming back for you.”
I’d told Norma everything about JC except his last name and the reason he was leaving town. I also didn’t tell her that if I’d married him, I would have disappeared indefinitely. It was impossible to explain without telling her the whole story, and besides, I didn’t want her to realize how close I’d been to leaving her without a word.
She’d listened. She’d nodded. At first she’d been quite upset about his marriage to Tamara, almost madder than I’d been, but she calmed down about it eventually, saying that she understood the crazy things people did because of heartache. Maybe she’d forgiven him entirely, I wasn’t sure, but I suspected that her latest cheerleading and upbeat remarks regarding him and our relationship were meant to cheer me up rather than as a reflection of her true opinion on the man.
Whatever it was meant as, I wanted to believe it. Wanted to believe he was coming back for me. But there was a big obstacle standing in the way of that, that I’d only acknowledged to myself so far. It was the one and only downside to me taking a job with Alayna Withers. It was the only thing that made me hate myself for not being able to go back to my old job.
“What is it?” Norma prodded, reading my distress. “Don’t you think he’s coming?”
“No. I do. Well, just. I don’t know when he’ll come back, for one. And he told me not to wait, which I’m ignoring. But I’ll no longer work at the one place that he knows to look for me. He doesn’t have my full name or my number. How is he supposed to get to me?”
“Hmm.” She thought about it for a moment. “JC strikes me as a very resourceful man. I’m not worried.”
I stopped chewing the inside of my lip and decided it didn’t matter if she was right or not. Fretting about it wouldn’t change anything, and the fear of not being there for JC’s return wasn’t enough for me to stay working someplace that made me uncomfortable. Especially when I had an even better opportunity now at The Sky Launch.
And JC was resourceful. With all the things I didn’t know about him, I did know that. He could make things happen. He could stay committed to a task. He could follow through.
If he really loved me as he said he did, he’d do anything it took to find me.
* * *