20. Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Nova
" T hen Reverend Peterman says that when God said thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, he didn't just mean Cheyenne who lives next door, but all the women in Sentinel who weren't his wife." Maureen kneaded dough as she gave me the latest low down on all things Sentinel, Georgia.
I drank coffee as I sat in the diner. It was familiar and yet I felt tremendously out of place. My life had changed. A part of me would always be from this small town that had such an impact on my life—but it was not my future or even my present in any real way.
"And looks like Alma is gonna be able to set a wedding date," she continued. "Tyler has finally given up and is marryin' her. Hasn't proposed to her yet…but he's goin' to soon enough. The rumor is that the girl he's seein' on the side will remain on his side, if you know what I mean ."
"Why's he proposing to Alma if he loves someone else?" I pondered.
"That's 'cause his daddy won't give him the keys to his trust fund. That's the money from Tyler's granddaddy. So, what I hear," Maureen paused and lowered her voice for effect, "once he has the money, he's gonna divorce Alma so fast, it'll make her head spin."
Since Maureen and everyone on God's green earth knew this, I assumed Alma knew what she was walking into.
"Oh and ," Maureen added as she put the dough in a bowl, and covered it with a towel, "Pete and Anson had a fallin' out. According to Maria, they were at the mansion for dinner, and Pete punched Anson…he had a bruise on his jaw. Now, Anson won't talk to Pete, and you know that ass wipe, he's on his knees beggin' for forgiveness."
I sat up. "Forgiveness for what?"
"No one knows." Maureen looked shocked when she said that because it was unheard of to not know everything about everyone's life. "Even Maria has no clue. Says it's all hush-hush…but I think it's about Bailey."
I quirked an eyebrow.
"You know she's been fuckin' Pete on and off over the years." Maureen washed her hands, and wiped them on a towel.
"I didn't know that," I confessed, and felt something unpleasant slither up my spine.
Did Bailey encourage Pete to get me out of the way? I knew I'd been framed, and I thought it was Alma and Bailey. I'd never thought the Sheriff was involved beyond being cruel, but now….
"We all thought it would stop now that he's…you know, got that, what do you kids call it, a dad bod," Maureen laughed. "But Cynthia, who owns the bakery, says she saw them outside Atlanta, and they were comin' out of one of those motels."
"She's engaged to Anson, and she's sleeping with Pete? Why?" Anson was handsome and wealthy, and I knew he was sex on two tightly muscled legs. Bailey shouldn't need to fuck on the side.
"That girl is trash," Maureen declared. "Now, I'm going to make some biscuits, and you're goin' to eat them with gravy, so you're fortified for your meetin'."
And have clogged arteries. "Yes, ma'am."
I was in Sentinel for a meeting with Diego, Anson, and, sigh , Bailey. After her performance three weeks ago when they were in Savannah Lace, I'd thought she, for sure, would be off the project. But it looked like she had her claws into Anson. I wondered how he'd react if he found out that Bailey was cheating on him. I knew Anson, and that kind of deceit—hell, any kind of deceit would be the first and last straw with him.
I didn't doubt Maureen's intel because she always knew what was going on. I felt bad for Anson. He'd get hurt. He got engaged to Bailey, and knowing him, that meant that he loved her. I didn't know what about her appealed to him, but maybe there was more to her than I could see.
Case and point was me finding Bailey and Anson hot and heavy when I got to Larue Homes.
I'd been asked to wait for Anson outside his office, where his assistant sat. I'd been there for over fifteen minutes when Bailey emerged from the office, flushed. Her blouse buttons were mismatched.
Charmaine pointedly looked at Bailey, her face the epitome of disappointment.
"Oh, Nova…ah…he'll see you in, like, a bit," Bailey said smugly. It was apparent what she and Anson had been doing in his office.
My heart squeezed in pain. I told it to get over it; the man wasn't available. He wasn't mine. He'd never been. For all that talk about professionalism, he was fucking his fiancée in his office while I was waiting to meet with him.
The prize for biggest fucking hypocrite in the world goes to Mr. Anson Larue! And the prize for biggest gullible fool to Miss Nova King!
"Well, git gone, Bailey, 'cause Diego will be here in five, and he doesn't need to see you like this," Charmaine admonished.
"Mind your own business and know your place, Charmaine," she snapped.
"Honey, Anson is my business. Now make sure your blouse doesn't look like you buttoned it back in a mighty hurry." Charmaine pushed her office chair back and stood up. She sashayed into Anson's office.
Bailey gave me a triumphant look and stomped away, probably to fix her clothes.
While I waited for Charmaine, Diego arrived. He greeted me professionally and we shook hands.
"We're really excited to see the next steps of the project." Diego leaned against Charmaine's desk.
He was a handsome man. Dark, curly, long hair that came below his collar. He had a neatly trimmed beard. Chocolate brown eyes. A seriously toned body rippled under his dress shirt. He didn't have a tie or suit jacket. His suit pants hugged his ass in all the right ways.
Objectively, Diego was hot as hell. Subjectively, he could walk around naked in front of me, and I'd still be wanting the man who'd just fucked his fiancée in his office while I stood a few feet away.
"Are you staying the night in Sentinel?" Diego asked.
"No, I'll go home after the meeting." No way would I stay the night here. I was afraid of being in this town to the point that I drove very carefully as soon as I was in Pete Fontaine's jurisdiction. I didn't need trouble with the sheriff.
"You sure? There's a new steakhouse in town." Was he asking me out? Or was he merely being nice to a colleague?
Before I could respond, Anson marched out, followed by Charmaine. He looked like a thundercloud.
"I'm sorry for the delay, Nova. Diego, can you take her to my office? I'll be right back."
Anson left, and Charmaine grinned. "Told him about the show Bailey put on, and now he's angrier than a rattlesnake in a shoe box."
Diego looked at me inquiringly. I shrugged. I may be from Sentinel, but I wasn't going to indulge in gossip unless I was listening to it.
"Bailey came out of his office, and let us all know that she and the boss were…ah… busy ." Charmaine rolled her eyes, her meaning unmistakable.
"Anson wouldn't do that," Diego said confidently.
"I know that. And that's why I didn't appreciate it none too much that she put the show on for Nova."
I gaped at Charmaine. "Excuse me?"
"Honey, we all know about you and the boss from all those years ago. This is Sentinel; everyone knows everythin' about everyone. She wanted to stake her claim on him 'cause he's getting ready to break off the engagement," Charmaine explained.
Diego stifled a laugh. "Now, now, you know not to gossip about the boss, Char."
"Please," she said petulantly, crossing her arms, "I'm talkin' to you both, which ain't gossip. I'm just…ah…informing you about the state of the affairs."
Diego took me inside Anson's office, and we sat at the conference table.
"He talks about you," Diego said softly as I rummaged through my backpack to find what I needed for the meeting.
I looked at him. "I want to keep this professional," I murmured.
"We're way past that, and you know it," he drawled. "You're here because of your relationship with him."
There was truth in that. Anson wouldn't have asked me to be a project manager on such a significant development but for our history, but for him wanting to find some way to humiliate me.
"Please, Diego." I opened my laptop, not looking at him. "I respectfully ask you not to bring up my personal life or my past. We're here for Sentinel Heights, and I'd like to stick with that."
"And I'd believe you, except you look at Anson with such sadness and longing in your eyes that it breaks my heart."
Tears pricked my eyes at being seen by someone, even if I didn't like it. Someone had noticed my pain, the one I kept hidden behind professional armor.
" Please ," I begged. I was desperate not to be weak now. It was taking so much energy to stay professional, to not break down and cry each time I saw Anson.
Diego didn't speak for a long moment, and then finally said, "When you're ready, we can talk. I've known Anson for years. I see your pain, and I see his. He joined the military right after Yale because he was running away. He was there for four years, and came back when his father died. Larue Homes was a mess, and he spent the last four years bringing it back up."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I'm just telling you that the man you knew isn't this man. This Anson is broken and angry."
"And you're saying I broke him, and he's angry with me?"
He nodded. "Yes, and yes."
I smiled wanly. "You think I'm a deceitful thief as well, Diego?"
"No, querida . I think Anson is a chicken shit who got afraid because of what he felt for you, and took the first opportunity he got to end the relationship that had become his lifeline. And since then, he's hated his life."
"And he blames me for it," I sighed.
"Maybe on the surface. Deep down, he hates himself."