Chapter Twenty-Eight
The meeting adjourned and I closed my notebook. My head was swimming with all the information. And more than ever, I was glad to slowly immerse myself back into PR. The team Garrick had assembled was brilliant—the very definition of a well-oiled machine. And the communication among them was impeccable. This ensured that contrasting public relations statements were not issued.
People shuffled out, introducing themselves to me as they passed. I’d snagged one of the tables closer to the door to observe. Thankfully, the department head, Sally, had simply introduced me as Knoah, the new PR intern. This would give me a day or two—hopefully—for people to get to know me before they realized whom I married.
Sally stopped by on her way out. “It’s great to have you on board, Knoah. Tomorrow, we can meet in my office. I have a few projects I think would be good for you to start on.”
“Great. I’ll be there at three. Thank you, Sally, for taking me on. I know you have a full plate.”
“It’s a pleasure. You came highly recommended. And I admire the fact that you want a good base before you fully immerse yourself.”
Her words were great to hear; my plan had worked. To be taken seriously meant having the respect of my peers. And since my husband owned the company, it made everything a little bit harder.
I grabbed my file folder and was ready to leave when a man made eye contact with me.
“Knoah, right?”
“Yes, I’m the new intern. I also handle event planning.” His eyes roamed my body. Uh-oh. This wasn’t good. Garrick had agreed not to make a big deal about me being his wife unless it became necessary. And I really didn’t want that to become necessary.
“Event planning. I’ll have to stop by to see you.”
Or not. I changed the subject. “How long have you been in PR?”
The last thing I wanted was waves on my first day. I decided I would slip my full, married name in our conversation somehow.
“I’ve been here in the rat race since college. I like Shaw International. I haven’t dealt with the owner much, but he seems like a nice guy.” This guy was clean-cut and relatively good-looking. And based on the flirty smile he was giving, there was more to this conversation.
It’s time to go. Garrick had voiced concerns about men asking me out, but I’d waved them off. How had I been so wrong?
I nodded. “It was nice meeting you…”
“Ed. Ed Stevenson.”
“Nice meeting you, Ed. I’ll see you tomorrow. Another meeting calls.”
At the door, I felt him touch my elbow. Now would be the time to set things straight since my hint had not been received. I pulled my elbow out of his hold, ready to explain I was married, but Ed cut me off.
“What would you say to a drink, Knoah? Maybe dinner?”
“That’s kind of you, but I’m happily married.”
“I won’t tell.” Ed laughed.
Asshole. What kind of person does he think I am? I seethed. “Listen, Ed…Don’t make this an uncomfortable situation. The answer is no. I love my husband. Going forward, I think it’s best if we only discuss work-related issues.”
I turned to see Garrick standing in the doorway, furious. Oh shit. His eyes were tight. I glanced back, and Ed stepped forward, his hand extended.
“Afternoon, Mr. Shaw. Ed Stevenson. I was just letting our new intern, Knoah, know what a wonderful company this is.”
“Really?” He cocked his head to the side. Garrick had certainly heard his offer. Things were about to go poorly for Ed.
Puffing out his chest, Ed continued, “Yes. It’s an honor to be here, working among the staff you’ve hired. I’ve learned a lot. The integrity is unmatched.”
Mentally, I huffed. Ed needed a few lessons in integrity.
“I thought I just heard you hitting on Knoah. And despite the fact that she said no, you pushed to take her out behind her husband’s back. Is this the type of integrity you’ve learned here at Shaw International?”
He blanched, his eyes darting my way, silently begging for my help. Sorry, Ed, you’re on your own. “I…uh…there was a misunderstanding.”
People slowed as they walked by, sensing the tension. I wanted to crawl in a hole, but Garrick was setting a boundary. And honestly, if people knew Garrick was my husband, these types of situations would cease. I wanted to set the same boundaries for the women who flaunted themselves in front of him. It was a two-way street.
Garrick took a step forward while grabbing my hand. Ed’s eyes widened further. “I would suggest you not hit on my wife again.”
“Wi-wife?”
“Yes, wife.” His mouth formed a thin line. Ed literally shrank when Garrick took a step forward.
Swallowing hard, Ed looked around the room. “I didn’t know.”
“You knew she was married.” Garrick refused to let up.
The man nearly melted in front of Garrick. “Yes, sir. I’m going to go back to my office now.”
“That’s probably a good idea. I assume we’re clear.”
“Yes, sir.” Ed scurried away. People kept watching. The sound of a phone ringing filled the otherwise deathly silence. With a slight tug from Garrick’s hand, I followed him as he strode to his office. Eyes followed us, and a bit of humiliation crept in, but I refused to let it take over. If someone had pawed on Garrick, I would have reacted in a similar fashion.
We rounded the corner to his office. “Annie, call Theresa. Have her call me immediately.”
“Yes, sir. Good to see you, Knoah.” The picture of professionalism, Annie gave me a bright smile. Over the last week, I’d gotten to know her better. Her sister had passed away three years ago. Without a second thought, Annie and her husband had taken on her sister’s two children to raise them as their own.
Admiration was not a strong enough word.
“Good to see you, Annie. How did Mariah do in her swim meet?”
“She placed second. Thank you for asking. Means a lot. Mr. Shaw, I’ll forward the call to your cell.”
With a clipped voice, he responded, “Thank you, Annie.”
We entered Garrick’s office, and he closed the door. Almost immediately, his cell phone rang.
“Theresa, I want it made clear that Knoah and I are married. Send out a company newsletter, put it in the paper—I don’t care. But I want our picture with the announcement.” He paused. “Ed Stevenson. He knew she was married. Get it handled. That’s harassment. If he’s pulling it with any of the other employees, I want to know. Completely unacceptable.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Irritation flowed off Garrick in waves. I would let him work through this, and then we would talk it out.
The door opened, and a beautiful brunette walked into the room. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
Annie was right behind her. “Miss Tamlin, I asked you to wait out here until Mr. Shaw was available. Mr. Shaw, I’m sorry. I tried to stop her.”
“Theresa, I’ll call you back.” He hung up the phone. “Andrea, what are you doing back here again?”
Again? This woman already visited him once today? My possessiveness reared its head. Now I understood more of how Garrick had felt earlier.
The woman turned my way. “Hi, I’m Andrea Tamlin.”
“Cut the shit and get out, Andrea. Leave my wife out of this.”
Andrea gave a devilish smile. She was beautiful. And it was obvious she’d been one of Garrick’s past relationships. Dressed to the nines, legs for miles…she’d be the kind of woman I imagined Garrick dating. For a second, I felt a bit beneath her.
“I forgot something. That’s why I came back.”
Wait. No. I would not fall prey to this woman’s antics. I refused to be intimidated by Andrea. Garrick chose me. With every ounce of confidence in my body, I strode forward with my hand outstretched. “I’m Knoah Shaw, Garrick’s wife.”
That was definitely not what she’d been expecting from me.
Garrick strode to my side and placed his hand on my lower back. We were unified.
She stopped for a second, watching us as my hand remained outstretched. When it became apparent I would not receive a handshake, I dropped it, enjoying the small victory.
With a sneer, she retorted, “Well, you may want to check the couch.”
Garrick watched Andrea carefully. I figured I might as well get this over with and show her I wasn’t going to fall for whatever she’d planted. Garrick’s comment about sharks circling if they smelled blood made sense now. If these women thought I’d be upset every time one of his past relationships showed up, they would exploit it at every opportunity.
Though it bothered me that Garrick had most likely had sex with this woman, I kept it inside. Later, in private, we would talk. For now, I pretended to take the bait. I walked over to the couch and found some itty-bitty underwear stuffed in between the cushions. Knowing Garrick had likely seen her in something like this before made me want to hurl.
I turned, and Garrick became angry. The vein in his neck was throbbing. As he was about to speak, I held up my hand to stop him. “Now Garrick, do you really think I’m naïve enough to fall for this?”
“I would want to know if my husband was cheating,” the woman stated with an absolute poker face.
“Yes, I would, too. But Garrick’s not.”
“You’re a piece of work, Andrea.” I don’t think I’d ever seen Garrick so angry; he actually seethed.
Placing my hand on his arm, I said, “I know you didn’t cheat on me. That never crossed my mind.”
“How are you so sure? He seems awfully defensive.” Andrea crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
And with that last retort, it was time to end this and dismiss Andrea. With my shoulders back, I grabbed Garrick’s hand. “I’m ‘so sure’ because he married me and not you. It means he wanted to claim me as his forever. It means that I’m worth more than any risk he’s willing to take.” I tossed the underwear at her feet. “I would suggest you stay away from my husband. If you see him, walk the other way.”
“Or what?”
This bitch had pushed me beyond my limits and still hadn’t gotten the hint. “I’m married to one of the most powerful billionaires in the country. Use your imagination.”
“Is that a threat?” She held her hand to her chest as if aghast.
I dramatically put my hand to my chest, mocking her. “Never.”
“Garrick? Did you hear that?”
Garrick’s arm wrapped around my waist. “Knoah may not threaten you, Andrea, but I will. You came in here to fuck with my marriage. This is your last warning, or I will follow through. Leave. Now.”
Hurt flashed across her face. At one time, she’d obviously wanted more from Garrick and he’d pulled away. I could almost understand how that must have hurt. Not having him would wreck me…completely.
“Why her?”
“I fell in love with her. Completely.”
It was the final nail in her coffin.
With what little dignity she had left, Andrea turned and left. As she walked out the door, she flicked her hair for show. I imagined this girl had been more attached than the others had been because no other women had come around. Neither of us wanted to deal with the press, so we hadn’t announced our marriage yet. From Garrick’s conversation with Theresa, I assumed it would be public knowledge come tomorrow.
Garrick followed her to the door. “Annie, tell Nixon I’ll be late to the call.” He locked the door and turned to me, his face paler than usual. What an afternoon. “Knoah, I did not cheat on you.”
“I know that. I’m not going to lie…it’s hard knowing you slept with her. Why would she come here?” Besides the fact that she loved Garrick, of course.
Putting his hand in his pocket, he leaned against the conference table. “I had a relationship with her.”
As I suspected. “How long?”
“About nine months.”
Wow, that was longer than I’d anticipated. I knew everything about Garrick except the women in his past. It was something I never wanted to know, and I’d told him so. “Did you care for her?”
Snapping out of his shock, he walked to me at a fast clip. “No. She was the same as the others. Except she didn’t become clingy, so it was easy.”
“Until she did.”
“Yes. As soon as I realized it, I ended things.”
So this woman had hoped to outlast everyone else. But it hadn’t worked out for her. “Was she the last one before me?” Again, the vile feeling swept through me when I imagined her touching him.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes. A tender stroke along my jaw made me open them again.
“I can tell you everything. Anything you want to know. I will not allow this to come between us.”
Putting my fingers over his lips, I let his words caress me and ease the pain. “I don’t want to know. It doesn’t matter. You chose me. You love me. I have you.”
He kissed my fingers. “In sickness and in health. For better or worse. I am yours…entirely.”
Leaning down, he kissed me. Our tongues danced. When the kiss slowed, I saw the desire in his eyes. “Do you need to make that phone call?”
“I would rather be inside you.”
“Finish your call, and then spend the rest of the night inside your wife.”
“Give me five minutes.”
I nipped his lip. “I think I can wait for five minutes.”