30
Abby
Her body coursed with the kind of life she had only dreamed existed. Abby stared out of her office window. It was hard to focus with the memories of her weekend in Vegas. The plane ride home topped off the trip like a cherry on a sundae.
Maureen peeked around the corner. She was one of the assistants in the advertising department.
“How was your weekend?” She smiled.
Abby didn’t know what to say. Was there a way to sum up Vegas?
“I saw you went to Vegas with the bosses,” Maureen added. “It was all over the news and my social media alerts were out of control. How did you manage to snag those two? I brought you coffee so you’d give me the deets.”
Abby looked stunned as her new designated friend waltzed in with two cups of coffee.
“It was a business trip,” she lied. “I had to present the new design for Soar. I’m sure you saw that part the press covered. It was purely professional.”
“Sure it was.” Maureen took a sip of coffee. “I’ve worked here three years. It was not a business trip. I saw your dress. You were everywhere with them. So, tell me, who did you sleep with? Or was it both? Please tell me both.”
“What?” Abby choked on her coffee. “You can’t ask me that. That. That’s…not even. No. I’m not answering that.”
“Why not? I want to know. I’ve always had a crush on Cole. But Deacon is seriously hot. I don’t know how you could pick one. Put those two together and you have everything a woman could want.”
Abby felt the tightness in her chest. She didn’t know how to pick only one either. She never wanted to be faced with that decision. Together Cole and Deacon were everything she wanted. They were perfect together. Perfect for her.
“I didn’t pick one.” Abby reached for the coffee. “Tell me how your weekend was. I’m sure it was more fun than a boring tech launch conference.”
“Come on. Not one teeny tiny detail? Nothing?”
Abby shook her head. She knew there was a smirk on the corner of her lips.
“Fine.” Maureen exhaled. “I saw that new romcom with my roommate. It was ok.”
Abby listened to her chatter on for the next twenty minutes. She did want to tell someone about her weekend. She wanted a girl to talk to. But she had known Maureen all of two weeks. It wasn’t going to be her.
By the time Maureen finished explaining the plot of the movie, Abby realized she was late for a meeting with the design team. It was time to push Soar into some celebrity spots for sponsorship.
“Maureen, I don’t mean to rush you, but I have to get to the conference room for a layout meeting.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She stood. “Want to do lunch sometime this week? There’s a new Thai place I want to try.”
“Sure. We could do that.” Abby folded her laptop. “I have to go, though.” She pushed past her. “I’ll see you later.”
She rushed to the elevator, tapping the button. She felt impatient. The meeting wouldn’t start without her, but she knew it was unprofessional to show up late. So many things were suddenly ironic to her.
She was working a job she took only to satisfy a debt. She had accepted the design assignment to bargain for her own freedom. And now she felt as if she had a stake in HiTech Global. It mattered what happened to the company. It mattered because Cole and Deacon cared about it. They had built this empire. And the gravity of keeping it as safe and protected as they kept her seemed more important than ever.
And now she was going to head Soar. The most important venture to them. If that didn’t demonstrate how much they cared, she didn’t know what would. She blushed. She was so crazy about them. It was more than that. She knew she had fallen in love. And it was the best feeling.
Her phone buzzed as she waited in the hall.
“Hello?”
“I saw the pictures, Abby.”
“Cal?” She hadn’t bothered to look at her phone. She had been in too much of a hurry. Her stomach turned at the sound of his voice.
“How are things, cuz?”
“Don’t ‘cuz’ me. We aren’t family. I don’t know that we ever were.”
Where was that damn elevator? She should hang up.
“Oh come on. Looks like my little deal has turned out rather nicely for you.” She could hear the sneer through the phone. “I see you’re being treated like a princess.”
“And what if I am? It’s none of your business anymore. You pawned me off. You don’t give a damn about me. Don’t try to pretend now that things are different.”
“Oh I wouldn’t pretend. How about you pay me back for the nice life you have now?”
She felt her jaw drop. “Pay you?” She looked around the corner to make sure no one could hear her. “You had me carted off in the back of someone’s trunk, Cal. You can’t honestly think I owe you anything. I’m hanging up now.” She wasn’t about to tell him she had wagered and won for her freedom.
“I wouldn’t do that, princess,” he taunted. “Your boyfriends might not be too happy if I told them about what you used to do.”
The hair prickled on the back of her neck. “Cal,” she hissed. “Why can’t you leave me alone? You paid your debt. Move on.” She felt the panic rising. She could almost taste it in her mouth.
He chuckled. “So I struck a nerve? Well, why don’t you make a few payments if you want me to keep your secret?”
“That’s blackmail.”
“You can call it whatever you want. I want the money. You aren’t so innocent, are you? You’ve done your own things for money, cuz.”
“How much?” she whispered. “What will it take to make you go away?”
“See? I knew family was supposed to stick together.”
“How much, Cal?” she insisted. She wanted to throw up.
He paused. “Why don’t you make a few payments and I’ll let you know.”
She squeezed her eyes tightly as the elevator finally arrived. A woman scrambled off.
“I wouldn’t get on there if I were you. I got stuck on the ninth floor.” The woman was flustered.
“Thanks.” Abby smiled meekly. “I’ll take the other one.” It must be why everything was running so slowly.
“Princess?” Cal was still on the phone.
“I’m at work. I’ll call you later. Don’t do anything, Cal. Swear to me you won’t. I’ll get your money. Just don’t say anything to anyone.”
“It’s our little secret. Always has been. Unless you don’t come up with the cash. Then it will be everyone’s secret.”
Abby stepped on to the next elevator. Cal held her future in his hands. And if there was one thing she knew, it was not to trust him for a single second. There was nothing steady or honest about him. He was filled with one thing only—greed.
She leaned into the elevator. This was all going to fall apart. It would crumble at her feet.