In Love After Office Hours (Wrong For You series Boxsets #7)

Twenty-Three

"A ND THAT WAS IT?" Mairi Tanner-Leventis exclaimed incredulously. "You told him Gareth Evans wants you to work for him for six more months, and he just said yes?"

Pippi gave her a small nod, and Mairi's astonishment turned to disbelief. Even she knew who Gareth was. The man was one of Miami's most infamous womanizers, and for Acheron Simonides to simply say yes to such an arrangement...

If Damen had been in Acheron's position, her own Greek billionaire husband would've thrown a fit. She had expected Acheron to do the same since both men were made of the same mold, but perhaps she had misjudged the other man incorrectly this whole time?

Pippi uneasily stirred her juice at the older woman's worrying reaction. "I guess he's being understanding?"

"I...suppose." Mairi did her best to sound convinced but knew she had failed when she saw the way Pippi winced ever so slightly. She was about to say something reassuring - anything, really, to stop the girl from worrying - when her phone suddenly rang, and she had to excuse herself from the table.

Pippi watched the men in the restaurant gaze admiringly at Damen Leventis' wife as she walked away. It didn't make her feel a single bit of envy, but it did make her wonder rather wistfully if she could ever inspire Acheron to feel jealous about other men's attention.

She used to think she could, but he had just grown so distant these days they might as well be back to being CEO and lowly secretary.

Weeks had passed since the day she had accidentally heard Acheron speak to Amelia on the phone, and so much had changed since then.

For one thing, he had stopped sleeping at Mariposa House and had instead checked into a hotel next to Excalibur Park's construction site. It would've been a reasonable move...if he had done the same thing to all the other properties Simonides Inc. had previously developed. Moreover, Excalibur Park was neither the company's biggest nor most expensive real estate project to date.

Knowing this, she couldn't help thinking that he was deliberately avoiding spending time with her.

But if he was - why?

"I'm back," Mairi said as she returned to their table, but her smile faded when she saw Pippi's strained expression. "Oh, Pip."

"Could you—-" Just thinking of what she was about to ask made Pippi's hands perspire and she found herself looking away, not wanting to see Mairi's eyes as she heard herself say, "I just need you to be honest."

Mairi bit her lip hard, the woman part of her knowing right away what it was the girl was trying to find the courage to ask, and that same part of her was already crying.

"I don't think he's having an affair with his ex," Mairi said softly.

But even if Acheron wasn't, it wasn't right that Pippi felt the need to even ask such a thing.

The pain in Pippi's heart eased a little at Mairi's words. Maybe she was being willfully blind, but she truly believed the older woman was saying the truth.

So that was one worry taken care of, which only left about 999 more...

The thought made her want to laugh and cry.

Oh, Acheron.

Look what you've turned me into.

"You know...he once thought I had feelings for Mr. Evans," Pippi surprised herself by confiding.

Mairi's brows shot up. "Are you saying he thinks you're the type to cheat?"

"It was the circumstances," Pippi said, feeling defensive on Acheron's behalf. "I used to refuse all offers of transfers, you see, but a month ago, I had this...this school loan to pay off so when the offer to transfer to Mr. Evans' department came up, and it included a hefty pay raise, I had to say yes."

Comprehension dawned, and Mairi sighed. "I get it."

"You do?" Pippi was rather skeptical.

"You didn't want to tell him about the loan."

Pippi nodded. "He would've insisted on settling the loan, and I didn't want that."

"Because it would make you seem like a gold-digger," the older woman concluded.

"Exactly." Pippi was relieved that Mairi readily understood her sentiments. "We had a huge row over it, too."

"Have you told him the truth since then?"

"Well, that's the thing..." Pippi looked down and started stirring her juice again. "When things became weird between us, I thought I should clear the air - get rid of all the lies and be open about our feelings."

"That's a good plan," Mairi murmured.

"You would think so, right?" The girl's smile was pained. "But when I tried to tell him the truth, he said it didn't matter. " Blue eyes filled with innocent entreaty turned to Mairi. "What do you think he meant by that?"

Mairi's lips parted, but no sound came out. Pippi's question might seemed simple and straightforward to anyone hearing it, but they both knew that what the girl was asking for without the words was something entirely.

Help me believe there's still hope.

Please.

Please.

The silence stretched between them, ruthless and unbroken, and Pippi could feel herself cracking under its weight.

It seemed anything could break her these days.

She felt her hands start to tremble and quickly hid them under the table. She tried to smile but stopped when she felt her face start to crack as well. In the end, all she could do was look at Mairi.

Please say something. Please. Please. Please.

Mairi's eyes started to sting, and when she saw Pippi's own eyes begin to shine, it became harder to hold back her own tears.

Her silence was her answer, and Pippi heard it loud and clear.

"I'm sorry," Mairi whispered.

Pippi shook her head. "It's not your fault."

It was no one's fault.

Not even Acheron's.

Because all he promised was that he would keep her from taking any risks.

And he had kept his word.

But he never promised not to hurt her.

****

S HE WAS CALLING HIM .

The world had turned upside down in recent days, and things were no longer how they used to be. These days, it was Pippi calling him first now, Pippi seeking his company, Pippi saying that she missed him.

And he missed her, too, goddammit, but how could he be with her, knowing that its inevitable end was to see her ruined?

His phone had gone silent, but only a few moments had passed before it started ringing again.

It was Pippi, not giving up on him when she should never even have given him the time of the day.

Amelia's words that night had never left him, and every time he closed his eyes, the nightmares that came to him were one and the same. He would dream of the times Amelia had played him like a fool, and somehow the scene would change, and it would be Acheron making a fool of Pippi. He would dream of Millicent Longbourn, alone and broken because of him, and somehow Millicent, too, would transform into Pippi.

Maybe it was just paranoia, but what if it wasn't?

He had seen how being with him had made such a fucking mess of Millie's life, and he had never forgiven himself for it.

His phone started ringing for the third time, and Acheron drove his fist into the wall in a futile attempt to distract himself with the pain.

Why had he made himself forget about what happened to Millie?

Why had he convinced himself that things would be different with Pippi?

The phone rang for the fourth time, and Acheron could no longer help himself.

"Pippi."

Pippi nearly collapsed in relief even as the hollow tone of his voice made her feel cold. "Are you at the hotel?"

"Ne." Yes.

"Can I...can I come over?" She was expecting either a 'yes' or 'no', but instead she heard him curse under his breath, and it hurt. It just hurt so much she could barely think, and somehow all the words came tumbling out.

"It's Amelia, isn't it? She t-told you something."

"Pippi—-"

"She likes you, can't you see that? And that's why she's going to say whatever it takes—-"

"Stop it," Acheron cut in furiously. "You don't know anything about her, so don't speak as if you do." Amelia had been batting for her, dammit, and here she was, accusing Amelia of sabotaging their relationship.

Pippi breathed hard, doing her best not to cry. "Acheron, please." She wasn't exactly sure what she was begging him for, but when she heard him speak -

"I'm sorry," Acheron said tautly.

It seemed he knew, and now that she heard his words, she realized what it was she had been asking.

Please love me.

And he might as well have said he couldn't.