Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
S ebastian
“Mr. Winfield?”
I lifted my head from the file I was working on. The receptionist had popped her head in. Her face was beet red.
“What is it, Jenny?”
“I have a reporter from the St. Louis Sun on the line for you. He insisted he speak with you.”
It wasn’t even nine-thirty in the morning and the shit had hit the fan as expected. I’d recommended Kacey not come into the office, but she’d insisted. However, the press wasn’t getting a minute of my time unless I decided to consider a lawsuit. Fortunately, nothing that had been said up to this point was worth spending the time, money, or effort.
“Not a chance. Tell them I’m in meetings all day.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Fuck,” I hissed under my breath after she left. I tossed my pen and raked my fingers through my hair. This shit was going to get messy. I’d started the battle. I had to see it through, but now, I was dragging Kacey down with me.
She was a smart girl. She knew better than to talk to the press, but as one of the owners of the wealthiest company in town, false news that I had a mistress when I was, as far as they knew, still married was too juicy to bypass.
I’d purposely kept my divorce from the papers, which had been no mean feat. But it also had left the door wide open for speculations. I jerked up from my desk, walking around the end and trying to determine my next move. Until the auditors had completed their examination, I’d still need to face the board. No, they couldn’t shit-can me unless Drake had already managed to fabricate evidence I was stealing from my own company.
My door was pitched open and before I had a chance to react, a brutal punch was thrown in my face. I stumbled backwards, hitting the edge of my desk and immediately offered a swing in return without thinking.
The punch landed squarely in Daniel’s face, forceful enough to toss him backwards, his foot catching on a chair leg. He went flying halfway across the room, landing on the floor.
Within seconds, several people came rushing into my office, their mouths open as they gawked at the sight.
I threw out my arm. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about.” A fucking lie since everything in my life had just turned to shit.
Daniel struggled to get to his feet, blood on his lip, and it sickened me. He sneered at me, his chest heaving as he waited for us to be alone. Finally, the door was closed and the silence and tension between us was more than we’d ever shared.
I wiped my mouth, noticing his aim had been as savage as mine. Exhaling, I stared at the blood before rolling my fingers together.
“You fucking deserved that,” he hissed.
“Yeah, well, so did you.”
“You’re… You’re fucking my daughter? My daughter? Of all the women you’ve had and could have, you chose her. You sick fuck. She’s almost half your age.”
He wanted me to fight with him, but he was right. “It’s not what you think.” Oh, yeah, right. The pictures were vivid and detailed, leaving nothing to the imagination. We were obviously in a steamy affair. The entire office knew.
When I’d walked in, not a single person had been able to look me in the eyes. While they’d chimed in their greetings, they’d done so with utter trepidation.
“Yes, Daniel. We are seeing each other. She’s an adult.”
“And my daughter! Your best friend’s twenty-six-year-old daughter. Did you forget about that?”
“Hardly.” It was only nine-thirty in the morning and I was ready for a damn drink. While Drake had taken a much lower blow than I had, I’d been a fool for not taking more precautions. My need to taste Kacey had been the reason.
She’d blinded me to the necessities of being careful. This wasn’t just a game that was being played.
This was a bloody war and it was soon to get much worse.
He ripped something from his pocket, tossing it in my direction. “I had to wake up to this? This? Are you even going to apologize?”
“For what?” The piece of paper was a printout of the photograph in the pool. There was no mistaking what we were doing.
“For stealing her innocence. Did you threaten her job? That sounds like something you would do. That’s my little girl. My baby girl.”
“I didn’t steal her innocence, Daniel. And she’s not a little girl. She knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s helping me. She’s aware this isn’t what it seems to be.”
“You fucking asshole.” He lunged at me again, almost managing to get in another swing.
I snapped my hand around his fist, twisting his arm just as we were interrupted. Kacey bounded into the room, immediately stepping to the side between us. “Stop it. Both of you. Just fucking stop it.”
The look on Daniel’s face remained filled with hate. Jesus. I could tell by the look on her face she’d overheard what I’d said and misconstrued the words. I wasn’t going to try explaining them in front of my friend. Maybe my ex-friend. I was racking up exes rapidly.
I refused to let him go, cocking my head so he knew I had no intention of allowing him any advantage with me.
“Stop it. Now!” she demanded.
We both continued to hesitate.
“Goddamn both of you. I care about you, both of you, but you will not treat each other or me this way. I’m a person here, an adult. And as such, I get to choose who I want to spend time with. I get to decide who I want to date. I’m not your little girl, Dad. Maybe you haven’t opened your eyes, but I haven’t been that in a long time. And you,” she hissed as she snapped her head in my direction. “You don’t have any right to beat up my father. Not under any circumstances.”
“I was just trying to protect you,” Daniel insisted.
I relaxed my hold. This was getting us nowhere.
He ripped his arm away, rubbing his fist but still glaring at me.
“Protect me?” she chided. “You’re suffocating me. I love you, Dad, but I can’t do this. I can’t live this way. I won’t be subjected to the two of you fighting. Grow the fuck up. I will do what I want and right now what I want is to get the hell away from both of you. I’m taking the rest of the day off. If you don’t like it, fire me. In fact, why don’t you.”
“Kacey. We need to talk,” I jumped in.
“What do we have to talk about? You’re using me. Right? You’re just using me.”
She slammed the door on the way out and Daniel took one more hard swing. I gave him that one as I felt it deserved for keeping our relationship behind his back.
Fuck. Fuck.
“Such a bastard. You hurt everyone you come into contact with,” Daniel said. He half laughed. “I should have known. My God. I was fucking blind or just too trusting. I knew something was up that night at dinner. But this? This?”
I rubbed my jaw, closing my eyes briefly. “I wasn’t using her. Your daughter is important to both of us, Dan. I care about her.”
“You’re not the kind of man who is capable of caring about anyone but yourself. You and I both know that, so why don’t you do that beautiful woman a favor and just fucking walk away. You’re going to do it in the future and don’t lie and tell me that’s not going to happen. You will. That’s what you do.”
“I didn’t leave Ashley, Dan. She left me. Or better yet, she decided Jackson was more to her liking. Remember him? He was on the rowing team with us, a guy I considered a friend. That was followed by Bob and Steve and fuck knows who else.” Even though the rumors had gotten out about Ashley and what she’d done, I hadn’t spread them. I’d told no one about her acts of infidelity.
Including Daniel.
Maybe because I’d believed my working hours had been the reason.
He gawked at me, his feature softening. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That I wasn’t man enough? That I pushed her away without realizing it? That I didn’t care enough about her to give her much time? Yeah, that’s not something I wanted to admit.”
Daniel was almost never at a loss for words, but I could tell he was having significant difficulty knowing what to say. The awkwardness between us was something neither one of us were used to. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Sebastian. I truly am. However, that doesn’t change the way I feel about Elizabeth.”
“You’re treating her like a child, Dan. Including by using her given name that she can’t stand.”
He half laughed. “You’re being condescending toward me of all people? Take a look in the mirror, my friend. You’ve a lot to be desired. My daughter is too good for you. Stay away from her.”
His demand issued, he headed for the door, exiting and closing it with a hard thud.
He had one thing right. She was too good for me.
But it was too late to change things now.
I would never be able to let her go.
Kacey
“Men. Assholes. All of them.” I was throwing out nasty words right and left and they still weren’t making me feel any better.
He was using me. I’d heard what Sebastian had said. I had been a fool. He’d gotten what he wanted, someone to dig just deep enough he might be able to save his company, all while dangling diamond-coated crumbs for me to lap up like a dog in heat.
Then there’d been the fringe benefits.
I was absolutely a stupid girl.
“I’m stupid. I’m just a crazy whack job.”
“Yes, you are, but do you mind clueing me in on what’s going on here? You demanded I leave work and meet you at my house after informing me that you’re staying with me. I think I deserve to know a teensy bit about what the fuck is wrong.” Stephanie had one hand on her hip, holding a small space between the thumb and index finger of the other.
“You told me if I ever needed a place to stay, you’d love to have me.” My head was pounding, the ache behind my eyes more intense than I’d felt in a long time. What the hell was wrong with me?
Who was I kidding? What was wrong with the two men who wanted to duke it out?
“That’s not the point,” she insisted.
“And the entire press team corps from like four stations was outside. Cameras and big vans waiting to catch me. I couldn’t believe it. I had to sneak out the back door, moving around the huge garbage bin through the trees to get to my rental car. I need a real car. I deserve a brand new sports car. Anyway, I was certain the bastards were going to follow me.”
“Whoa. Slow down. The press, as in reporters? What in the fuck is going on?”
“I mean the way they were acting was like they wanted to kill each other. Why didn’t they purchase a couple guns and do a shootout on the street? They’re grown adults and acted like they had any right to tell me how to live my life. Damn them. No, damn all men. They suck.”
She took a short breath, huffing it out seconds later. “What the fuck? Who are we talking about? Why is the press hounding you?”
Stephanie walked to her front window, peering out the blinds.
“I was careful when I drove here. I took the back roads, constantly searching the rearview mirror.”
“Talk to me. Now!”
Now she was shouting at me. Well, I couldn’t blame her at this point. I stopped short from where I’d been pacing her living room. “My dad and Sebastian. My dad started a fistfight this morning in the office.”
“What? Why?”
“You haven’t seen the morning edition of the paper?”
“Um, no. I was at work bright and early. Why?” She gave me her most pointed look.
Grousing, I yanked my phone from my purse where I’d tossed it on her couch and pulled up the horrible pictures. Well, they weren’t horrible. They were very expressive about how we felt about each other but to the rest of the world, they were considered damning. Especially when placed underneath the scathing headline.
Sebastian Winfield: Heir to a Throne and his Young Mistress
Mistress? I was no one’s mistress, but half the city still believed he was married.
As soon as I handed her the phone, she blew out hot air.
“Oh, dear God. Well, they’re good pictures of you.”
“Very funny,” I snapped in return. “They’re terrible. They dug into my past. They made our relationship seems sordid. It’s not that.”
“You know how reporters are.”
“Fuck them,” I hissed, more frustrated than before.
“I take it you didn’t have a chance to tell your father about him? I mean about the two of you. I mean… Oh, you know what I mean.”
“No, I was working up to it.” Now I was so angry with myself that I was too chicken. That wasn’t like me at all. “But there is no us. Sebastian made that pretty damn clear I wasn’t anything but a tool in his toolbox.”
“He said that?”
“Not in so many words, but I know what he was getting at. He was spouting off shit to my dad who was eating it up and tossing it back at him. What the hell is wrong with me? Why did my father need to jump in like some damn hero?”
“Because up to this point your father has been your hero. Think about it. He just wants what’s best for you.”
“I’m not nineteen any longer, Steph. I mean come on. I’m a grown woman.”
“A grown woman who came home because she was homesick.”
Now I glared at her. “That’s not the only reason why. I wanted a change. Hell, I was forced into one.”
“Let me get some wine. You need to calm down.” She immediately headed for the kitchen, but I trailed after her.
“What I need is to get revenge.”
“On who? You think someone put that photographer up to tracking the two of you down?” She grabbed an already open bottle of wine and two glasses, placing them on her kitchen table.
“That’s exactly what I think.”
“This calls for Doritos too.” She whipped out a bag, setting them beside the liquid libation.
I slumped down in a chair. “This is insane.”
“Who do you think did this?”
“I know who did it. Sebastian’s partner.” I was taking this so personally. But it hurt.
“Why in God’s name would you say that? Aren’t they tight?”
I poured the wine almost to the rim of both glasses. She laughed and sat across from me.
“Well, let me tell you why.” I proceeded to explain what had occurred and what we were attempting to do and all the while, her eyes opened wide.
She took a hefty gulp of her wine, even allowing a tiny burp to slip. We both laughed, but I sensed her concern. “Shit. Those are some serious accusations. Do you have anything to back it up?”
“That’s what we’re attempting to do. I can’t help but think Drake has more than one accomplice. I don’t know. He’s been going to this hotel frequently.”
“He has a girlfriend.”
“Maybe. But why not use his house?”
“She’s married?” Stephanie suggested.
“Or maybe he’s handling business there.” I thought about my bestie’s occupation. She was a whiz with computers. Maybe… No, I couldn’t ask her to hack into records. That could get her arrested.
“You’re serious about finding evidence.”
“I am. And I’m going to help Sebastian before I find another job.”
“You’re going to search for another job?” She gave me a waning smile.
“Think about it. I need to. Sebastian doesn’t really care about me. I can try and tell myself otherwise, but what we were sharing was just physical.”
“You’re certain about that?”
“Right now, I’m not certain of anything. Except that Sebastian doesn’t deserve to lose his company.”
“What about your dad?” she asked timidly, as if I might slap her.
“I love my father, but I’m not going to allow my life to be railroaded by a son of a bitch with no regard for anyone but himself. I also won’t let my dad do it either. I control my destiny.”
“Did you ever stop and think you should be having this conversation with your dad?”
Sighing, I shook my head, but knew she was right. “I will. I did try, but he was more interested in bashing Sebastian’s head in than talking about anything in a rational manner. I couldn’t allow that to continue.”
“So you stormed out.”
“Yes, I… I stormed out. I felt like an idiot and I was angry. No, I was enraged.”
Stephanie laughed softly. “That much I gathered. No matter what you say, it’s apparent how much you like Sebastian.”
“I tried not to. I really did, but I just couldn’t… I don’t know. He gets me. He acts like I’m the most beautiful girl in the world. He treats me like a queen. Like an equal. I never expected it from him. Do you know he took me to this incredible little boutique hotel last night? He had rose petals placed on the bed and the floor. He had champagne waiting and the pool was warm and incredible.”
“And out in the open.”
“There was a wall around the patio. It was romantic with the moon and stars. I loved it.”
“You just said he was using you.”
“Yes, I did, but I can’t believe it. Why would he do that?” I had no idea what to believe. I was babbling on like some lovesick kid when I needed to think this through.
“Maybe as ammunition against Drake. To get you to do the dirty work.”
“Maybe, but I don’t want to believe that. You have no clue what we’ve talked about. He was open with me. Sebastian Winfield, a man I thought had a permanent stick up his butt.”
We both laughed.
She squeezed my hand. “You’re a very kind soul and I just don’t want you to get hurt. I’d love to see you fall in love with the perfect man. As long as I get to be your maid of honor. But keep your eyes wide open here. You could ruin your reputation with every decent company in town. You don’t want that either.”
“No, then I’d need to wait tables and I suck at it,” I told her in jest, although it was the truth.
She shook her head. “So melodramatic as always. If you’re serious about Drake then there’s only one way to play this, you know. You can always decide on whether Sebastian is using you later and we’ll kick him in the balls together.”
“I know that sly look on your face. What are you suggesting?”
“Did you ever hear of dirty pool?”
“Meaning?” I narrowed my eyes, watching as her smirk turned into a sneer.
“We find out exactly who Drake is working for. We take our own photographs. If I need to, we break into his office and I can hack his emails.”
“You’d do that?”
She rolled her eyes. “You really don’t remember the antics we used to get into.”
“You mean when we were sleuths in high school, catching that wicked cheerleader when she placed a stink bomb in that poor guy’s locker?” We slunk around in dark clothes, almost getting caught twice by the principal, but we prevailed. The girl was suspended for two weeks.
“Exactly like that.”
I liked what she was saying. “Are you going to help?”
“Well, duh. That’s what best girlfriends are for.”
“Then let’s get going. Drake leaves the office every day for lunch. I think he’s meeting with his co-conspirators.”
“That’s a good place to start. But first, we need costumes.”
“Costumes?”
“Honey, we don’t need the press on Nancy Drew’s ass.”
At least my bestie could make me laugh.
Meanwhile, I had a terrible feeling my filthy affair was over. It had to be. There was too much at stake.
Sadly, the thought of never seeing Sebastian outside of the office was already close to crushing me. But I had more integrity than to allow myself to continue being used. “By the way, I’m not as kindhearted as you think I am.”
“Then what are you?”
“A royal, conniving bitch.”