“Are you sure about this? I know you think it’s a good idea, but are you really sure? Because I’m not, I gotta tell you. I’m not sure about this at all.”

Finnley rolled her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time since she agreed to help Garrett with his unusual problem. If he hadn’t been in the process of driving, she would probably have reached over and punched him in the arm, but the last thing she wanted to do was cause him to lose control of the car. She wasn’t sure exactly what kind of car it was she was currently sitting in, but she didn’t need to know the exact brand to know that it was probably worth more than her life. It seemed like a bad joke, that she should be in a car with a billionaire being driven to the millionaire home of one of her best friends. How on earth did something like that happen? How was it that three, normal, seriously talented when it came to all things computers girls had come to find themselves in such close proximity to bona fide millionaires? Elsie and Clara were both living with theirs, and now here she was, in a car so exotic she didn’t even know how to identify what it was. Not that there was anything going on between her and Garrett she reminded herself, feeling foolish for even putting herself in the same category as her friends and hoping Garrett didn’t think she was stupid enough to think there was anything going on between the two of them. She would have been genuinely nervous about the whole thing if it hadn’t been for the fact that Garrett seemed to be nervous enough for the two of them combined. He had been nervous ever since his office, when she’d agreed to help him and told him exactly how she intended on doing so.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Finnley, believe me, it’s not lost on me that I came to you for help and not anyone else—”

“And yet you keep telling me you think this is a bad idea.”

“I’m just nervous, you know? This is kind of a delicate situation, and I don’t want to make waves. I don’t even know if there’s anything worth looking into, which makes the whole thing confusing as hell. I probably shouldn’t be doing anything, right? I should probably just leave everything well enough alone.”

“I don’t know, Garrett. Walk me through everything again.”

And so he started talking, which was exactly what Finnley had been hoping would happen. She got the feeling that Garrett was used to talking, that he was used to using his charm in just that manner. As he talked, she stared out the window, only half listening. She didn’t really need to listen to him, not again. The short story he’d told her back in his office was one she wouldn’t easily forget. Part of it was that it was a story full of sensationalism, something everyone loved whether or not they admitted it to themselves or to others. His story had it all; the emotional tug of the image of him as a small boy stuck between his overbearing father and his slowly unravelling mother. The years of seeing neither of his parents at all, only to be flung back in between them so unceremoniously. Most importantly, there was the mystery of his mother’s words and the possible crimes his father could have committed. That was part of what had her mind racing, but the other part was something harder to put her finger on. She didn’t like to admit it, but she thought it might have something to do with having just seen him as a real person for the first time. He wasn’t acting like a lothario, wasn’t hiding behind his swagger or the pomp and circumstance of his position and family. Sitting behind his ridiculously fancy desk, she’d seen him as an almost broken man, and that was something she could identify with. There was still the fear that somebody would snap his fingers (daddy Wallace, anyone?) and he’d go back to being a dick, but what she had seen made it impossible to deny any help she could give him. Besides, who could resist the chance to play modern day Nancy Drew? It was something she and her friends were getting pretty damn good at. Maybe there was something to Clara and Weston’s new business venture, after all, and she was happy to bring Garrett to them as one of their first clients. Now if only he would stop whining so much about it! Seriously, for a grown man used to running entire companies, he sure did know how to bitch and moan. Even as he told her again all about the details that had led him to ask for her help in the first place, he maintained that worried, almost whining tone until she honestly couldn’t take it anymore.

“Okay, enough.”

“Um, what?”

“What do you mean, what? I said enough!”

“But you asked me to go over it again. That’s what I’m doing. What’s the matter, you don’t want me to anymore?”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to explain what’s going on, but you’re pretty much just complaining about the fact that I’m having us go to Clara and Weston’s place. Honestly, and I know you didn’t ask me to be honest about it, but I’m going to be anyway, it’s getting sort of annoying.”

“Okay, but put yourself in my position. This is a delicate situation, Finnley.”

“Yes, I understand that.”

“And it’s not something I want getting out.”

“Right, I understand that, too. Why do you think I didn’t want us looking into it at Cubed? You can’t honestly think people wouldn’t find out we were looking into your dad if we did it at work. Those people work with computers for a living, Garrett, it’s what they do. And honestly, I don’t know who it is that’s calling the shots on what kind of projects we pick up, but we haven’t been given a lot to work on since you guys came on board. We keep getting promises that things are really going to start picking up again, and it keeps not happening.”

“I know that,” Garrett answered quickly, sounding to Finnley like he might be feeling a little bit on the defensive after her critique. “I’m going to get it sorted out. The direction the company takes isn’t really up to me, to be honest. It’s not my company. It’s my dad’s. I’m supposed to oversee it, but that doesn’t mean I control it. Believe me, I don’t.”

“Sure, that wasn’t my point. I’m just saying that people don’t have a whole lot to do, and that means they’re likely to start snooping.”

“Snooping, huh? Is that what the Cubed employees do when they don’t have anything else to occupy them?”

“Please, Garrett, come on now. That’s what all employees everywhere do when they don’t have anything else to occupy them. It’s just that the ones at Cubed are better at it. If we started looking into your dad at work, somebody would know it by the end of the week, and that’s a generous estimate. Chances are that Travis would find out, too, in which case, it would be no time at all until your dad learned about what we were doing.”

“No way,” Garrett laughed incredulously, sounding genuinely surprised and not a little put off by the idea, “you think?”

“I definitely do. You didn’t know Travis before this whole thing, and I pretty much don’t know him now. He did a complete one-eighty as soon as you guys got here, and from what I can tell, the only thing that really concerns him now is watching his own ass. If he thought telling on us to your dad would keep his job safe, I’m pretty sure he’d do just about anything. Which is why we’re leaving the home base in search of safer ground.”

“Okay, that all makes sense, but it doesn’t make me any more comfortable with taking this to the people you suggested.”

“What’s the matter?” Finnley asked in a cold voice, the annoyance inside of her getting close to reaching the point of overflowing. “You don’t trust my friends? Because I can guarantee you, they’re worth trusting. For one thing, Clara and Elsie both are at least as good with finding information as I am. For another, Clara’s boyfriend is an ex-cop. If you don’t think he’s good at finding fishy things and bringing them to light, you’re out of your mind.”

“There. Right there. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“What, the fact that they might actually find something? Because if you don’t really want to look for something we should turn this car back around right now. Once we start digging, if there’s something to be found, we’re going to find it. Even if it takes a while, we’ll find it.”

“No, not finding the information. The fact that her boyfriend is an ex-cop. That’s what bothers me.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of something like that? It’s an awesome resource.”

“Right, and a really good way to get my dad thrown into prison if there’s something to any of what my mom said. I may want to know the truth, Finnley, but that doesn’t mean I want to land my own father in legal hot water.”

“He’s not a cop anymore, so stop worrying. Anyhow, this is his building so you better make your decision quick. Once we get up there to his loft, there’s no turning back.”

As soon as she said it, she started to worry that Garrett would decide he didn’t want to learn about his dad after all, and that was something she definitely didn’t want to see happen. As it turned out, she was absolutely dying to know if Garrett’s dad was something other than what he presented himself to be. Some of this was simply because she loved a good mystery just as much as the next girl, but part of it was because as soon as Garrett had told her about his time with his mom and the bizarro things his mom had said, something had clicked inside of Finnley’s head. She had no proof that the senior Mr. Wallace had ever done anything criminal, but in her gut, it felt like there had to be at least some truth to it.

It could help explain the strange feeling she got whenever he descended upon them from L.A., a prickling of the skin like somebody had just walked over her grave. It might also explain the strange lack of organization since the Wallace hostile takeover (the way she always thought about Jack Wallace’s purchase of Cubed now, whenever she was forced to think about it at all). That part could also be something as simple as the frenzy that came with a change of leadership, but as soon as Finnley started looking for evidence against Garrett’s father, she seemed to find it under every proverbial surface she came to. Keeping all of this in mind and acutely aware that she had just verbalized an out for Garrett when she should have just kept her mouth shut, she made a point of unfastening her seatbelt and opening the car door as soon as the transmission was put in park. She all but launched herself into the garage, breathing in the cold air and using it to help spur her on even faster.

“So?” she asked pointedly, turning with her hands balled into fists and placed squarely on her hips in an attempt to hide their shaking. “Are you coming or not?”

“You’re a pretty bossy girl, aren’t you?” he asked by way of response, smiling ruefully and shaking his head as he got out of the car himself.

“Am I?” she said with a straight face that was almost impossible to keep. “Nobody’s ever told me that before.”

“I’m gonna call straight-up bullshit on that one, my dear. Now come here.”

“Excuse me? Did something give you the impression that you were allowed to boss me around now?”

“Good God, you don’t ever let up, do you?”

“Truth time?”

“Sure, why not?”

“No, I don’t, really. It’s sort of one of the hazards of spending time around me. It can be a lot to take.”

“Lucky for you, I don’t scare easily. Now, will you just come here?”

Finnley shrugged and did what Garrett was asking her. She did it more out of curiosity than anything else, but she was definitely surprised by what he did next. She didn’t know quite what she’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t for him to remove his swanky sports coat and drape it over her shoulders. She thought about shrugging it off and telling him that she didn’t need his coat, but she shut her mouth before she could say anything stupid. Because it turned out that she wanted the coat, that it was just about the best thing that had happened to her all day. For starters, she was pretty sure no guy had ever acted like enough of a gentleman with her to actually do something like offer his coat, so whether she would have admitted it or not (and she definitely wouldn’t have even considered telling Garrett what was going through her mind) she was having one of those sort of princessy moments girls didn’t usually get to have once they were all grown up and expected to act like an adult. She hugged it closely to her body and realized that she could actually feel his body heat trapped in the lining of the coat, something she didn’t even know happened. Along with his warmth was his spicy scent, wafting up to her in little waves of sensation that made her shiver all over again.

“Wow, seriously?” Garrett asked, moving in closer to her with a look of concern on his face. “That didn’t warm you up? We need to get you inside. No more bullshit on my part, okay? You’re right. I think probably about all of it, you’re right. This was the place to come, and if you tell me this Weston guy won’t open his mouth, I believe you. Okay? Is that okay?”

“Yes! I mean, sure. Yes, it’s great. Thanks for saying, Garrett. You...I don’t know, I guess you kind of caught me off guard.”

“Made you speechless, did I?” He laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Something tells me that’s not something that happens every day.”

“Something tells you correctly.”

He laughed again, and this time Finnley couldn’t help but laugh with him. Something about the two of them this way just felt kind of right. It had no business feeling that way, especially considering the bumpy start between the two of them, but it felt that way all the same, and although she didn’t want to trust it, she couldn’t help enjoying it, either. She enjoyed it so much, in fact, that she almost didn’t want to reach the penthouse where Clara and Weston lived. Once they got up there, there would be the introductions between Garrett, Clara, and Weston, which Finnley already knew Garrett was feeling pretty uncomfortable about. And although she hadn’t told him, a strategic move if ever there was one, Finnley had a pretty good feeling that Weston wasn’t exactly going to take it easy on him. She hadn’t exactly remained silent to her friends when it came to her myriad frustrations about her new sort-of boss. She had no doubt that Clara had told Weston at least some of her complaints, and being the stand-up guy that he was, that probably meant at least a little bit of the third degree. It felt like it might be better to just stay in the elevator and not push the button that would ring up to Weston’s penthouse loft.

“Um, Finnley?”

“Yes?”

“Does anything about this strike you as odd?”

“Anything about what?”

“The fact that we’re in an elevator, the doors are shut, and we aren’t going anywhere? I think that kind of defeats the purpose of an elevator, don’t you think?”

“Oh! Sorry, that’s my fault.”

“You think it’s your fault that the elevator doesn’t work? Finnley, no offense, but that’s kind of insane. Last I checked, taking on the blame for things like that is a sign of low self-esteem, which sort of surprises me coming from you. Is this something we need to talk about?”

“What?! No, you doofus! I don’t think the elevator isn’t working in like, an existential sort of a way. I mean it’s not going anywhere because I need to press the button to buzz us up. This elevator only goes to the Penthouse loft, and only after someone up there gives it the go ahead.”

“Ha! Oh, I gotcha. My bad. Well, then press away.”

With his arm still around her, the two of them burst out laughing, Finnley feeling like she was a teenager all over again—except better because she had none of the blazing insecurities of a girl in that delicate age range. It was only when the little bell dinged signaling their arrival at the penthouse that he removed his arm, as if by some instinct that the ease they had established between them had come to a close. He was right, too, because when the doors of the elevator slid open there was Weston, looking every bit like an overprotective father ready to go to work with the unravelling of a potential suitor.

“Finnley!” He smiled, as he extended a hand to help her out of the elevator, apparently making a point of ignoring Garrett completely. “It’s good to see you. Please, come in. Clara’s in the kitchen, I think, laying out what looks like enough food for about fifty people.”

“What?!” She laughed, wishing there was some signal she could give Weston. A signal to cool it and give Garrett a chance to explain himself and why he was there. “No she isn’t! How come?”

“Because she’s her, why do you think? She wants to be hospitable. And there might have been a comment or two about how we don’t entertain enough, which she seems to place the blame for squarely on my shoulders.”

“And what do you think about that?”

“I think she’s absolutely right. But you’re here now, and it may not be for a social call, but she’s going to turn it into one anyway. I believe she may have actually opened a bottle of champagne when she heard the buzzer go off, so please, make your way to the kitchen and tell her hello.”

Finnley laughed and started towards the kitchen, feeling panic beginning to clog up her chest. It wasn’t that Weston was doing anything wrong, not yet at least, but she had this ominous feeling that he was about to, and that there would be nothing she could when he did. Then again, what did she really care about that for? She was acting like she really had brought Garrett there as a date, and that wasn’t the case at all. He was there for a job, and therefore whether or not Weston liked him didn’t matter at all. At least it shouldn’t matter. It definitely shouldn’t matter, something she was telling herself repeatedly despite the fact that doing so didn’t seem to be making much of a difference, but all the same it just did.

“Finnley! I was wondering when you guys were going to get here! I’ve just about got everything ready. Where’s Garrett?”

“Um, he should be behind me, but I’ve got a funny little feeling that Weston decided to have a little ‘talk’ with him.”

“Oh no,” Clara said with a little frown on her face that for some reason managed to make Finnley feel just a little bit better. “Hold on, I’ll get him. In fact, why don’t the two of you start enjoying the refreshments while I have a little chat with Weston. I actually already had one with him, but by the looks of it, I didn’t make quite as strong of an impression as I had hoped to.”

Still frowning and now looking more than a little bit disgruntled on top of it, Clara thrust a glass of champagne into Finnley’s hand and headed back towards the front room where Garrett was presumably being accosted by her boyfriend. Finnley waited anxiously, feeling far more nervous than she felt justified to and therefore severely aggravated by those nerves. By the time Clara had managed to extract Garrett from Weston’s clutches, Finnley had finished her first glass of champagne and taken the liberty of pouring herself a second one. When she saw Garrett she practically pounced on him, almost knocking Clara over in the process.

“Woah!” Garrett laughed, just barely managing to keep himself on his feet while also catching Clara before she fell. “Everybody calm down, alright? Can we do that?”

“Sure,” Clara laughed, blushing a little as she tried to right herself before Weston came into the room to see what all of the commotion was about. “That sounds like an excellent idea to me. Finnley, why don’t you get him a glass of what you’re drinking, and I’ll go talk to Weston for a minute. When I come back, we’ve got something to tell you. We’ve been doing a whole lot of digging, and we’ve come up with some pretty interesting stuff.”

Either unaware that those last words were something of a bomb to deliver before just walking out of the room, or doing it intentionally just for the hell of it, Clara gave them both a sweet little smile and walked out of the room. That left Finnley and Garrett standing in the large, pristine-looking kitchen all on their own, and while Garrett looked like he was pretty much doing okay, Finnley felt like she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. She should never have brought him here; she should never have thought something like this would work out any way but terribly, and now she was paying the price for it. More importantly, she should never have allowed her emotions about him to get as muddied as they currently were. She didn’t even know him, for Christ’s sake! All she knew was that he represented everything she hated and that he was a part of the takeover of a company she loved, whether or not he wanted to admit he was playing a role. If she was smart, which she knew she had been at one point, whether or not she was willing to admit it, she would get them both out of here as soon as possible and then tell Garrett he was on his own. If she was smart she would just walk away from the whole thing, except that when she looked into Garrett’s eyes, she knew that she wasn’t going to be that kind of smart today.

“So, is there a glass of that for me somewhere?”

“A glass?”

“Of the champagne,” he smiled, looking pointedly at the half-full glass she was clutching. “Any chance I could get a glass of that?”

“Oh! Shoot, yes, of course. Sorry, I’m kind of off, I guess.”

“Tell me about it, sister,” he laughed, following behind Finnley so closely she imagined that she could feel the heat coming off of his body. “I’m feeling a little that way myself. This is a little bit more...intense that I expected, let’s just say that.”

“You mean Clara and Weston?”

“No, not both of them. Really just Weston. He’s an intense guy, huh?”

“I guess you could say that,” Finnley laughed nervously, filling Garrett’s glass so full that it almost spilled right over the top. “But it’s just how he is, you know?”

“Sure, and he’s trying to look out for you.”

“No, I don’t think so. He’s a smart guy,” she babbled in response, hardly even sure what she was saying at this point and hating the fact that she was allowing herself to get so flustered. “He knows there isn’t anything for him to look out for.”

“Does he? And what makes you think that?”

“Because, he knows this is all just business. He knows you’re basically my boss, and he gets that we’re here to make things run smoother for the both of us.”

“Well, damn. You sure do know how to cut a guy down, don’t you?”

“What do you mean? I’m not trying to cut anyone down. I’m just trying to explain how Weston is.”

“Sure, I know, but here’s how I’d like to think of it. And before I tell you, let me just make the disclaimer that I realize that you may think I’m full of shit and I’m well-aware that if you do, you’re going to tell me.”

“Um, okay. But that’s not an awesome way to start telling somebody something, just so you know.”

“Yeah, I’m aware. Anyway, the way I like to think of it is that Weston senses something and he wants to make sure it’s all kosher.”

“And what exactly is it that you think he senses?”

“That my intentions towards you aren’t exactly platonic. That I may need to figure things out with work and my dad, and we both know that I do, but that it’s not the thing at the front of my mind. In case you haven’t noticed, Finnley, you’re driving me fucking crazy.”

“Me?” She balked, her breathing starting to speed up as she realized he was slowly moving closer to her with each word. “But I’m not doing anything.”

“You don’t have to do anything. You just have to be yourself. I can’t get you out of my head, you know that? I can’t get the taste of your lips out of my head.”

He was so close to her now that she wouldn’t be able to claim what happened next as a surprise, even if she wanted to. He was close enough that there was nothing for the two of them to do but kiss, both of their glasses of champagne forgotten on the marble island beside them. It was a kiss that ignited immediately, like a fire under the influence of an accelerant, and would probably have gotten hotter still if Clara hadn’t walked back into the kitchen.

“Oh God! Oh, I’m sorry, I should have said something. I should have made it clear that I was coming back.”

“No, no, no,” Finnley answered quickly enough that if it were possible to physically trip over one’s words that’s exactly what she would have done. “Please don’t say that. This is your house!”

“That’s true, but still. I just wanted to tell you guys what we found, although I still don’t really know what it means.”

“What is it?” Finnley asked with that same super-speed. She was just pleased to have something to distract from the embarrassing situation she’d been caught in. “What did you find?”

“It’s about your grandparents, Garrett,” she answered cautiously, watching him closely for whatever reaction was about to come. “The ones you didn’t know you have.”

“My dad’s parents? What did you find?”

When Finnley glanced at Garrett’s face, sure that her own was still bright scarlet from the compromising position Clara had stepped into, she saw something that made her heart lurch a little in her chest. He was still the same handsome man she’d seen that first night in the bar, but there was a whole other level to him now that she hadn’t even imagined existed in him. He looked like she was sure he must have when he was a little boy, a small enough boy that he hadn’t yet learned anything of what it was to be the silver spoon man he’d grown into. He looked so nervous, afraid, even, that she didn’t even mind the way he was gripping her hand so tightly with both Clara and now Weston to see. Whatever Clara was about to tell him, there was a strong likelihood that it would change his life moving forward and forever, and he wasn’t even attempting to pretend that fact didn’t have him rattled through and through. Something about knowing that softened Finnley towards Garrett, and when he squeezed her hand more tightly, something she suspected was an entirely unconscious thing, she squeezed right back.

“Well, I know this might feel like a lot to take, but your mom was right. I don’t know why he told you they were dead, but your father’s parents are both alive and relatively well. Not only that, but they are both still living in New York City.”