Chapter 64
sixty-four
“Where is she?”
I am fuming . I’ve never been so fucking pissed in my entire life. Which is truly saying something, considering recent events.
Grayson catches me by my shoulder as I charge out of the elevator, holding me in place. “Easy,” he mutters. “I told you; she’s shaken up.” He frowns as he considers my face. “I also told you to use the car ride to calm down—remember?”
Another jolt of fury moves through me. I push against his hold. “Calm down? I’m gonna fucking kill him. Where is he? I will fucking kill him , Grayson.”
My best friend grasps both shoulders of my topcoat and the royal-blue suit jacket underneath, shaking me. “Hey. Hey! Look at me.”
It takes every modicum of control I possess to stop searching the empty executive floor for the miserable piece of shit who tried to violate Jules. Another spiral of regret whips through me. I should have known when we talked last night .
Our call replays in my mind. I figured she had another fight with her father or maybe made a mistake with her work. The fact that I never suspected her sleazeball boss shames me.
I should have known , goddamn it .
“Hey,” he says again, locking eyes with me. “Listen. I know, okay? I know the feeling. Trust me. But she’s freaked out and embarrassed. I’m not letting you in there until you get a grip.”
He thinks she’s some broken, traumatized victim who needs coddling.
I know better. Not my bijou .
Incensed by his presumption, I shove at him. “She’s not Ella,” I bellow. “ I know what she needs! Now, where is she? ”
Grayson drops back. His eyes flash as they run over my expression, examining me as if I’m suddenly a different person. “Pod C,” he mumbles. “Someone once pointed out that there’s a decent amount of privacy in there?—”
I stalk off, not even bothering to shuck my coat before I fly into Pod C and throw myself at Juliet, yanking her out of her seat. With my hand wrapped around her forearm, I spin us both into the corner where our entire affair started.
“Graham?! What the?—?”
“What the fuck?” I finish, raging right into her painfully beautiful face. “Yes, I agree. What the fuck were you thinking, letting that piece of shit threaten you and not telling me !”
Grayson strides into the room. “Graham, good God. This is an office .”
I stare into Juliet’s beloved face, basking in her outrage. She’s mad as hell. Full of fire, with wounded pride snapping in her topaz eyes.
My brilliant bijou .
I spread my hands on either side of her head, boxing her in between my body and the wall. “We need a minute,” I growl.
Grayson hesitates. “Juliet, are you all right with that?”
Her gaze traces my face, seeing my fury. Adoring it. “Yes,” she replies, quiet but steady. “I’ll be fine.”
I wait until I hear the door close behind him. Then I snap, glaring down at her as I demand, “What the hell is the matter with you? How could you not tell me ?”
Hot color fills her high cheeks. “Me? What about you ?! Telling him everything ?! What were you thinking?”
“That I was protecting you, damn it!” I snarl. “You called me for a goddamned reason. Because you know that you can always come to me. You can always tell me when someone hurts you. I don’t give a fuck what our relationship status is— you come to me .”
A sheen of tears glosses her golden eyes, but it doesn’t diminish her spirit. “Fine,” Jules spits. “But if you get to protect me, then I get to protect you, too. And that’s what I was doing, pinchao . Trying to save your business and your relationship with the only friend you have!”
My chest aches as that truth finally sinks in. She’s been through hell… trying to protect me.
Was that the reason I didn’t hear from her after Saturday? Did she want to call but felt afraid?
Renewed fury pours through me at the thought. I make a strangled sound, and her stubborn little chin raises in reply. “You don’t get to be pissed at me right now,” she asserts.
My brows arch. “You have some fucking nerve. The love of my life leaves me, and then her scumbag boss assaults her, and she doesn’t even tell me he was trying to blackmail us . Leaving me to find out from someone else . Why don’t I get to be pissed at you right now?”
She’s so angry, her nose twitches. Seething, her eyes burn into mine as she yells, “Because this is our spot!”
I jerked back slightly. “Our spot ?”
Juliet sniffs, embarrassed but unwilling to back down. “Yes. This is where we had our first… whatever. It’s our spot,” she replies with a regal nod. “You’re not allowed to be mad at me in our spot. You have to forgive me.”
Christ .
I love her so damn much.
The stupid spark of hope reignites in my heart. And I don’t even try to stop it as it melds into the rage burning there, kicking up into wildfire.
I cup her jaw in one hand. “I have to forgive you?”
Her gaze blazes. “Yes.”
“You know what?” I whisper, moving to press my lips to hers. “Make me.”
“You should take your coat off,” Juliet mumbles into my neck. She snuggles closer, though, making the task even less likely.
I run my hand over her hair and look down at her, curled into my lap. “It’s probably the one thing keeping this suit from getting wrinkled to hell.”
We’re on the floor, after all. Sitting in our spot .
“I like this one,” she murmurs next, fingering the paisley purple-and-blue vest. “Although, it was a bad day not to bring the red handkerchief.”
My arms tweak tighter at the thought of her crying. “I will never go anywhere without the red handkerchief again.”
She smirks. “Even if it doesn’t match your outfit, pinchao ?”
My joy at holding her easily smothers the frisson of pain caused by her special nickname. I know I probably can’t keep her. I know I’ll end up having to pay for this later. But I’m just so damn happy ; I convince myself it’s a fair trade.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoff, keeping my tone offhand. “I’ll tuck it into the inside pocket if it doesn’t match the suit. I’m not an animal .”
Her giggle tickles my throat. I practically hear her roll her eyes. “ Que gonorrea .”
Everything precious about her hits me all at once. I duck my face to hide in her hair, breathing in her jasmine scent and reassuring myself.
Safe. She’s safe. She’s okay .
Out loud, I mutter, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to murdering someone before.”
“You can’t?—”
“Do anything,” I finish for her, scowling. “I know, I know. I can’t say anything. I can’t do anything. Story of my fucking life.”
I grind my molars for a moment, stewing. “What would hurt more—being decapitated by a trash compactor or having a thousand shallow stab wounds and then getting drowned in a bathtub full of wine?”
A startled laugh blurts out of her. “ What ?”
“When I kill him,” I go on, my tone utterly serious. “I want it to hurt . My building has a trash compactor. That would be quick, I suppose. Cleaner, too. But I love the idea of stabbing him?—”
“Graham!” she snickers, flicking her hand at my chest. “Don’t even joke about that.”
Lord, how I love to make her laugh.
I cover her fingers with my palm, holding them against my chest. “I’m not joking. I honestly think the bathtub is the way to go. I’ll even let you do the stabbing, if you like.”
She shrugs one shoulder, deciding to play along. “I don’t think I’ve have the restraint to make shallow cuts. You better do the stabbing.”
“Suppose I’ll need a new tub after,” I muse, tilting my head back to look up at the ceiling. “And probably some more wine.”
“There are much better uses for your tub,” she points out, brushing her lips over my earlobe. “And your wine.”
Overeager, my dumb dick stirs beneath her. Poor bastard doesn’t know any better. Unlike me, he doesn’t have the foresight to see this fleeting moment for what it is.
“Stop trying to seduce me,” I tell her, mostly to keep from getting ahead of myself. “You’re still in trouble. This is a temporary, location-based truce.”
She makes a content sound and settles her head back into my shoulder. “We’ve been in here a while… What do you think they’re doing out there?”
“Firing that ass-clown,” I grumble, repressing the urge to bolt to my feet and rush out to beat him to death. “Giving the police your evidence. I’m sure Marco and security will escort him out.”
Juliet shrinks slightly, her eyes squeezing shut. “Let’s talk about something else. Tell me about what’s going on with your case.”
With bone-deep weariness, I relay the latest information. Juliet listens, tipping her head back occasionally to give me certain looks. When I finish, I find her chewing on the sides of her lips, thinking hard.
“So, unless Grayson or I submit testimony saying you came up with the idea for G&C Capital a week before you actually did… and we both claim that you mentioned it to us on… oh, say, that first Friday? The morning we met? Unless there’s some sort of evidence to support that claim, you will lose your company?”
I nod, numb to the situation. “Yep.”
Juliet searches my face, her gaze wary. “Then… why didn’t you ask either of us to testify?”
I hold her eyes with mine, needing her to see my earnestness. “Because that would involve you—an officer of the court—lying under oath. And my best friend—a soon-to-be-married CEO—committing perjury. You could both be charged. You could be disbarred. It’s not an option. I would never even consider it.”
Something bright and bold flares in her gaze. If I wasn’t so certain—for so many reasons—that it’s impossible, I might think it was love.