Eight
Abby’s brain had clicked off. Just seeing Eldrick pushed her into a killing rage. He stood there, smiling while he acted as if everyone around him should jump to his command. When he said her name, her brain snapped. All those months of seething backed up on her and she grabbed the drink. Not her usual move but she refused to regret it.
She’d heard people whisper about his good looks. They hadn’t faded as he’d aged. He still possessed that country-club air. The salt-and-pepper hair matched his trim frame. The Champagne dripping down his shirt and stuck in tiny droplets in his hair, not so much.
She hated every inch of his smug face.
She looked around the room. No one seemed angry, but Eldrick sputtered as he wiped his hands down his shirt. His wife patted her hand against his chest, as if that would somehow dry the material.
Well, they could all stare at her or be furious—even kick her out—Abby didn’t care. Eldrick deserved to be drenched. That and so much more.
“What in the world was that about?” Jackie-Now-Beth asked.
“Ask him.” Because Abby wanted to see if he would say it to her face. Spew his lies with her standing right there, ready to pounce.
“Okay.” Jackson put out both hands as if trying to calm down the room. “Let’s all relax for a second.”
“Jackson is right. Let’s not get excited. It isn’t as if that’s the first time someone doused Dad in a drink in this house.” Carter shook his head. “I can think of at least two other wives who used that trick.”
Abby liked him.
“Carter, not now.” Spence issued the order without moving his gaze from her.
He still didn’t get it. That realization moved through Abby, nailing her to the floor. After the sex and the flirting, even the fighting, he didn’t see the truth. He still believed she was a willing participant in that kiss with his father back then.
Some of the fight ran out of her at the thought but she would not back down. Eldrick could not weasel out of this confrontation by throwing his weight around or running away to get married. She stood right in front of him because he needed to face her. He owed her this moment.
“That was unnecessary.” Eldrick kept his voice even as he threw a scowl in Abby’s general direction.
That ticked her off even more. “You made my life miserable.”
“Who are you?” Beth asked. There wasn’t any heat in her voice. More like a mix of confusion and concern.
Abby didn’t know what to think about Beth. In her shoes, if she were married and in love, she’d go ballistic if someone attacked her husband. Then in private, she would shake him until he told her the truth.
But she asked, so... “I’m Abby. I work at Jameson Industries and—”
“Not if you keep behaving like that.” The anger edged Eldrick’s tone now. The threat hovered right there but he didn’t drop it. “Do you understand me?”
He talked to her like she was a child. Dismissive. The man was completely annoying. She had no idea how he’d produced or had any part in raising his otherwise decent sons.
“No one is firing her.” Spence’s tone was clear and firm. The underlying beat of don’t-test-me rang in his voice.
Abby couldn’t figure out if that was aimed at her or his father...or both. She tried to ignore the part of her that cared what he thought. She had to block every memory of his touch and the way his mouth felt against her skin to get through this. Fury fueled her now and she couldn’t back down. She needed all of her focus now. She’d waited for so long for this moment. It was happening.
She turned to Beth, not sure if the woman was an ally or not. “Your husband, on those occasions when he bothered to come into the office, would corner me. He talked about how we should have private dinners. Commented on my skirt length.”
Carter’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“When was this?” Beth asked as she shifted a bit. One minute she was tight up against her husband’s side. The next she put a bit of space between them.
Abby had expected the other woman to lash out and aim all of her disbelief right at Abby, not believing any accusations. But Beth looked engaged. Maybe she’d always suspected her husband could cross the line. Abby wasn’t sure. Beth’s eyes had narrowed but she wasn’t yelling or shouting about Eldrick’s imaginary good points.
That was enough to encourage Abby to keep going. “It happened right up until the time he left to marry you.”
“That’s not true.” Eldrick took a step in Abby’s direction. “You stop this.”
Spence blocked his path. “Let her talk.”
That’s exactly what she intended to do, with or without their permission. She’d laid this out for Human Resources at the office right after it happened. They’d called Derrick in and then she’d shut down. She knew she needed to own that piece, but back then the idea of going up against a wall of Jamesons had panicked her. She needed to hold on to her job, at least until she’d found something else.
It took her months to realize Derrick wasn’t his father. Derrick would have believed her, but by then the damage had been done and Spencer was gone. She’d lost all she could tolerate losing and Eldrick was no longer around to cause trouble, so she let the complaint drop. But now he was back, and that meant he was fair game. She refused to let anyone else suffer because of him.
Which mentally brought her to the hardest part of her story. The part she once tried to tell Spence but he was too busy storming off to listen. “You kissed me. Grabbed me in my office and told me that Spence was wrong for me.”
Carter moved then. He turned to face his father. “You did what?”
She couldn’t stop now. The words spilled out of her. “He bragged about how Spence would never believe me. How he’d see us together and immediately blame me and bolt.”
“Oh, man. That’s messed up.”
She was pretty sure that comment came from Jackson. She didn’t look around to see, but Carter and Spence seemed frozen. Neither of them moved. The only sign of life she could pick up in Spence was the way his hands balled into fists at his sides.
“Okay, look.” Eldrick held up his hand as he stepped into the center of the group. “You’re exaggerating this a bit, don’t you think?”
She refused to stop now or let this slide. This time he needed to face the consequences, even if they only amounted to her yelling at him. “You thought it was funny to see Spence back down.”
When Eldrick took another step, Spence grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Funny? How could you possibly think that?”
“I was saving you, as usual.”
Spence made a choking sound. “You can’t be serious.”
“She worked for you. It was too risky for you to make a move. I was proving a point. It all worked out.” Eldrick had the nerve to shake his head.
Between what he said and the patronizing tone in which he said it, Abby wanted to punch him. Worse, open that door and yell her accusations into the hall so that everyone in that big house, on that massive property, knew the kind of man Eldrick really was.
Eldrick stared down at Spence’s hand on his arm. “It was a matter of containing the potential damage. We both know you weren’t in it for the long term, so why endanger our position? Dating was too risky. The potential liability outweighed whatever feelings you thought you had.”
Before Abby could say anything else, Beth turned to her husband. “Eldrick?”
Abby couldn’t read the other woman. She stood tall and her voice never wavered. Abby knew almost nothing about her. No one at work talked about her. Jackson had said something about her being different from the other wives. Not as young. Not demanding or the type to run through money, except for her request that they move away and enjoy life on the beach.
One look from his wife and Eldrick’s stern I’m-in-charge-here glare faltered. His tone morphed into a lighter, more cajoling sound. “Beth, it’s not—”
“We were engaged when this happened. You hadn’t announced it to your family, but you had asked. I wore the ring.”
Eldrick shot a look in Abby’s direction. She sensed a hint of desperation. He no longer stood there as if he could kick them all out at any minute, even though he likely could.
Good, let him squirm.
He shrugged. “Help me out here.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Abby crossed her arms in front of her to telegraph the very simple message that the man was on his own.
“She could have sued you.” Beth took a step closer to Abby. “It sounds like she should have. And hurting your own son? Your behavior was appalling.”
The move was so sudden that Abby lost her balance. She leaned against Beth for a second before straightening up again.
“I figured he was protected. It’s his company, after all,” Abby explained.
An odd sound escaped Spence. “Abby, you can’t believe that his behavior would have been okay with us. With me.”
She almost said words that would cut him down. The sentence was right there. You were too busy running away to care. The only thing that stopped her was Spence’s pained expression. “He was in charge, Spence. He’d been in charge, had that big corner office that Derrick now uses. I didn’t know how many other women—”
“None.” Eldrick practically yelled the response.
Carter snorted. “That’s doubtful.”
Abby blew out a long breath and spilled the last of the truth as she looked at Spence. “I didn’t know who to trust.”
The hit didn’t land any lighter because of her softer tone. She saw Spence wince. So did Jackson. But she wasn’t aiming at either of them. Her target, the man she ached to hurt, stood right in front of her.
In the last few seconds he seemed to have lost some of his height. His shoulders fell and he stared at his wife as if he wasn’t sure how to approach her.
“Beth, listen to me.” Eldrick’s hand brushed against Beth’s arm.
“Did you really say those things to Abby?” When he didn’t immediately answer her, Beth’s eyebrow arched. “Well?”
She sounded like a mom now. A really ticked off one. Abby remembered that you’re-in-trouble tone from her childhood.
Finally, Eldrick exhaled. “I don’t remember exactly what I said.”
Relief soared through Abby. Some of the tension eased from her body, leaving her feeling lighter. “Which means yes.”
Eldrick snapped at her. “This isn’t your business.”
“How can you say that?” Carter asked in a voice that still sounded stunned and confused. “This is about her.”
“And Spence is your son, Eldrick.” Beth shook her head before glancing over at Abby. “Were you and Spence actually dating back then?”
Before she could answer, Spence jumped in. “We were starting to. I was hopeful.”
Those words... Abby never expected to hear him admit that out loud, because that moment had passed. She’d spent so much time being angry and hurt because he didn’t believe her. Because he didn’t stick around long enough to listen to her. She’d never stopped to think about what he saw. That didn’t forgive any of his behavior, but it meant something to see how broken he looked and sounded now that he knew the truth.
He did care.
Beth turned back to her husband. “What is wrong with you?”
“I’ve been asking that for years,” Carter said half under his breath.
Eldrick shot Carter a withering look before answering. “Beth, this is a family matter.”
“I am your wife now.”
For once, Abby thought that was a good thing. This woman did not back down or buy into Eldrick’s ramblings. But she clearly deserved a better husband.
After a few seconds, Eldrick seemed to mentally calm down. His shoulders relaxed and the ruddy color on his cheeks vanished. “We should talk in private.”
Beth nodded. “Let’s go.”
“I haven’t seen Derrick and his fiancée yet.” One look at Beth’s face and Eldrick nodded. “Fine.”
Without another word, they walked across the library and opened the door. Eldrick didn’t look back or say anything as they stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind them.
Abby didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until it seeped out of her. She suddenly felt dizzy and her throat ached. She’d been feeling off for a few days but chalked that up to all the energy she was using trying to tamp down on her attraction to Spence. Now she figured the draining fatigue came from finally letting all of her frustration out.
Carter smiled at her in a way that looked almost like an apology. “Happy?”
“I’m not unhappy.” Tired and out of words, yes.
Spence stepped in front of her then. His face was pale and the sexy grin from the pantry was long gone. “Abby.”
He probably wanted to talk it out, but she couldn’t do it. She needed a break. A few minutes of quiet. “I want to go home.”
He nodded as his voice stammered. “Of course. I’ll take you.”
“No, I will.” Jackson backed Spence away. “You Jamesons probably need to talk this out.”
“I don’t—”
“Hey.” Carter caught Spence’s arm and pulled him back. “Give her a minute, Spence.”
She appreciated the support. With her head spinning and her knees weak, she doubted she could get out of there without falling down. She’d never appreciated Jackson’s supportive arm as much.
But a part of her did ache for Spence. For the grief and pain she saw in his eyes. For the way his mouth dropped open and stayed there, as if he didn’t know what to say.
She tried to smile at him but couldn’t quite get there. “We’ll talk soon.”
She gave his arm a quick squeeze, and then she was gone.
* * *
Spence couldn’t move. His brain screamed to go after her. Forget Carter’s well-meaning warnings and Jackson’s small head shake. He’d screwed this up in every way possible. Let his history with his father ruin his chance with Abby.
Back then it had seemed so simple. His father made moves on women all the time. Married or not, he was always looking for what else was out there. He’d flirted with women Spence dated until he learned never to bring them around the house or work. Having a thing for Abby, who was right there in the office, threw Spence’s usual routine out of whack. He couldn’t keep her away from his dad.
That was his one defense. He’d been using it since high school when Spence walked into the kitchen one night and saw his dad standing at the sink with his hand on Spence’s then-girlfriend’s lower back. They were whispering and laughing. He doubted anything actually happened, but it was so wrong. Dominating and sick.
Spence had been wary and on the lookout ever since. So, when he walked in on that kiss he thought... Bile rushed up the back of his throat at the memory.
“What is going on?” Derrick burst into the library, frowning and wide-eyed with confusion. “You all disappeared and Abby just ran out of here. Not actually, but she sure looked spooked.”
Carter frowned. “Dad.”
“Eldrick is here?” Derrick’s mouth fell and his tone flattened. “Lucky us.”
“He and Beth—”
“Wait.” Derrick held up a hand. “Who is Beth?”
“Yeah, that’s a confusing piece of the story. Apparently, we call his wife Beth now. Believe it or not, you’ll like her.” Carter shook his head. “But the point is Dad admitted to sexually harassing Abby and setting her up with that kiss to scare Spence off.”
Spence appreciated Carter’s explanation because he wasn’t sure he could get one out right now. He wasn’t sure of anything. He glanced at his watch, trying to calculate how much time he should wait before going to see Abby. Jackson might have the answer. Spence half hoped Jackson also would know what to say because Spence was clueless. There wasn’t an apology big enough to handle this.
“I can’t...” Derrick slipped his fingers through his hair. “I asked her back then, but...” He looked at Carter. “Is she okay?”
Carter shrugged. “She unloaded, so hopefully she will be.”
“What about you?” Derrick glanced at Spence. “You okay?”
“No.”
Carter gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You will be, too. Give it time.”
Spence wasn’t convinced.