Chapter 53
Okay, June, everything will be fine. It’s been my mantra all morning, getting me through the elevator ride. Ever since I left Anderson, I’ve needed pep talks, mantras, and everything else to get me to put one foot in front of the other. It’s been hard not to have him right next to me on my trip to work. I keep jumping whenever someone moves near me or turns a corner too fast. When I saw a jogger, I nearly belted him.
No one is coming to kidnap you again, and even if they do, it probably won’t be the worst thing in the world. The first time has to be the worst time, right?
Weird that I get comfort out of that thought, but I do. I didn’t see it coming the first time, and that was not the kind of surprise anyone wants. But now, I think I’d handle it better. I’ve been there and done that. The only person with cause to kidnap me is Andre, and though he is a sociopath, he doesn’t seem to want to hurt me, so I’m probably in the clear. Ish.
Still, though, blackmailing Elliot gives me pause. I fight not to text Anderson to call it off. It’s wrong. I know it is. But I need the money. For that matter, I earned it. It’s mine. But it still feels wrong to let Anderson blackmail his father for it, no matter how terrible Elliot is.
As soon as the doors open, I half expect to be bombarded by everyone in the office. But thankfully, no one is at the door. They’re buzzing about, getting things done. Like I should be.
As soon as I put my bag down at my desk, though, Garrett’s voice calls out, “Oh my god, she is alive!” He rushes over from the direction of the breakroom behind me, but I spin around to stop the hug I know is incoming.
“Still too fragile for a hug. Might throw up on you.”
He stops in his tracks. “Ew. Are you sure you should be at work?”
I shrug and give a wan smile. Maybe I’m playing this up too much. I don”t know. But after being absent so long, it feels like the right play. “Don’t want to eat up all my PTO. But I”ll go home if I can’t make it through the day.”
He smiles. “Well, I am glad you’re doing well enough to be here, even if it’s just for a few hours. Did the doctors say what it was exactly?”
“Some wicked combination of food poisoning and flu.”
“What ancestor did you piss off to get stuck with that?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Whoever it is, I spent days over the porcelain apologizing to them.”
“Do you need a soda? Crackers?”
“I’m good. I don’t want to eat much of anything, actually.”
He nods knowingly. “Went to Mexico for vacation once. Ended up sicker than a dog for a week. The best, worst diet I was ever on.”
I laugh again and hold my stomach. “I bet.”
“June, is that you?” Madi’s voice cuts right through me from behind, making me hate whoever invented the open floor plan for offices. That trendsetter is the bane of my existence. What I wouldn’t give for a door I could slam in her face.
When I turn around, I begin, “Hey, Mad?—”
“You look like shit!”
Nice to know she thinks that’s appropriate to tell someone who’s been sick. Especially since I haven’t been. “Nice to see you too, Madi.”
“Did you lose weight from your illness?”
No. “Yes.”
“It shows. Never thought I’d say this to you, but I think you’ve lost too much weight.”
“That answers all the questions I didn’t ask.”
She looks taken aback. “Well, I didn’t mean anything bad by it?—”
“You told me I look like shit, and you never thought I’d be too skinny, but now I am. Exactly what part did you not mean bad?”
She flutters her eyes, and it’s like her brain is resetting. Garrett, on the other hand, snorts to keep his laughter down. Madi recomposes herself. “Are you certain you should be back so soon, June? You don’t seem like yourself at the moment. You’re sniping at me. It’s unprofessional.”
“What you’ve been saying about my appearance is unprofessional, Madi. I am pretty sure HR would not enjoy hearing what you’ve told me, but I’d be glad to tell them myself, and Garrett is a fantastic witness, wouldn’t you say?”
She stammers over a few syllables, then mutters, “I was merely expressing concern. You’ve been absent so long, I think you’ve forgotten how people speak to one another.”
“No, I haven’t,” I tell her as I sit at my desk. “What I have forgotten is my ability to let your bullshit slide off my back. I’m not doing that anymore. So, keep your inappropriate comments about my body to yourself, and we won’t have an interesting chat with HR. Got me?”
“Wallace will hear about this?—”
“Good. Tell him. Or would you like me to?”
She huffs, spins on her heel, and stomps away.
That felt so fucking good.
Garrett stares at me, mouth open for a few seconds. “Don’t turn me into HR for this, but I kind of want to kiss you for that.”
I laugh. “Get in line.” I’d kiss me, too, if I could.
“Seriously, you are my new fucking hero.”
“Mine, too.”
I turn to the voice and find Callie there, beaming at me with her arms open. Before I can speak, Garrett says, “She’s strictly no hugging right now. Still vommy.”
Her arms drop. “I’ll wait for my hug, but holy shit, that was awesome.”
“You heard us?”
“Saw the whole thing, June. Never thought being sick would turn you into a badass.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Just figured I am done with the bullshit around here. I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t, so no more of that. Madi’s crap isn’t going to go the way she wants it to any longer. I’m done.” It’s true, all of it. But for very different reasons than Callie and Garrett think. That’s okay. They don’t need to know. They’re safer this way.
If I get my money—no, when I get my money—it doesn’t matter what Madi says or does in retaliation. I’ll be gone.
“Shit, I’m late for a meeting,” Garrett grumbles as he gathers his laptop. He gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Glad you’re back and better than ever, June. Missed you.” He jogs down the hall.
And Callie takes his seat. Her voice is low. “Now that we’re alone, what the fuck is actually going on?”
“I told you. Food poisoning and flu. It’s a rough?—”
“Cut the crap, June. Tell me the truth.”
Why is she pressing on this? “I am. What?—”
“You look fine. Maybe a little tired, but I know you. It’s not like you to ignore my texts and my calls. It’s not like you to miss work for an illness. Normal June would have gone to the hospital if she were this sick. Normal June doesn’t show up to work smelling like a man’s cologne. Most importantly, Normal June doesn’t come to work with a hickey.”
I grab my phone and turn the camera to selfie mode to see what the hell she’s talking about. “What? Where?”
She grins. “I knew it.”
“Huh?”
“You wouldn’t have looked for a hickey if you didn’t think there was the possibility of one. It’s Anderson, right?”
I take a breath and blow it out slowly to stall. If I tell her I’ve just been in bed this whole time with Anderson, she’ll think I’ve lost my mind. And I hate lying to Callie. Plus, she’s smart enough to know to keep her mouth shut about the truth. It might be nice to have someone to talk about it other than Anderson. He’s amazing, but I want a neutral party’s opinion on everything …
Crud. Here goes nothing.
“We should go somewhere private, Callie.”
She grabs my hand and yanks me into one of the empty offices, drawing the blinds. “What?—”
“You know, with all of our empty offices, you’d think we could have our own, right?”
She huffs and rolls her eyes. “What happened?”
I sigh, and we sit on the couch. “Keep your voice down when I tell you these things, okay? I don’t want anyone running in here or listening in through the thin walls.”
“You got it.”
“So, Anderson asked me to pretend to be his fiancée …” I tell her everything. To her credit, she manages to keep her squeal inside when I tell her about the ring. And the kidnapping. “… so right now, he’s blackmailing his father for access to his own money. Which is ridiculous, right? I mean, it’s his. Not his dad’s. But he has to play by his rules, or he might not get the CEO gig. It’s complicated and weird, and I just want off this roller coaster already.”
“Can I say something now?”
“Yes.”
“Holy fucking shit.”
I laugh. “In a nutshell, yes.”
Her perfect posture crumbles under the weight of it all, and she slumps back. “That’s crazy, June. All of it. And here I thought food poisoning combined with the flu was the worst thing you could go through. Boy, was I wrong.”
“I’m sorry for all the lying?—”
She waves her hand at me. “Don’t even. We’re good. I appreciate you keeping me out of the loop until now. I’m mildly worried about being in the loop at all, but I did press you about this, didn’t I?”
“Sorry for that, too.”
She smiles sweetly at me. “Not at all. Just makes me wonder what Elliot West is into, you know?”
“Yeah. I keep thinking about that, too.”
“Obviously, it’s not all media and tech. Or if it is, it’s the seedy, violent parts of those industries. If he owes this kind of money, the kind of money that gets you kidnapped, there is something violent happening.”
“You really think so?”
She nods. “Without a doubt. It’s good that you’re getting out before you get too attached to Anderson. Sounds like that whole family is bad news.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“A fish rots from the head. If Elliot is this corrupt, Anderson likely is, too.”
I shake my head. “This has been all new information for him, Cal. He had no idea any of this was going on.”
Her lips form a line and she grunts, “Hmm. If you say so. Either way, it’s good you’re not into him?—”
I give her a helpless smile.
“Crap. You are, aren’t you?”
I nod and sigh. “I think I’m falling for him. No. I know I am. Whatever is going down, I’m in it for the long haul.”
“Well, if you’re going to do something stupid, do it smart.” She cracks her knuckles and smiles at me. “Do you own a gun?”
I laugh. “No!”
“We should fix that. Also, we should get you a smart ring?—”
“A what?”
She flashes her hand out to me, pointing to the pearl ring I’ve always envied. “If I turn the pearl on this, it sends a signal to a satellite to alert my private security team in case I need to be found.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Absolutely not. I had debated giving it to you the night you had your auction, but if you were kidnapped that night, doing so would have breached my contract if they found you instead of me, and they wouldn’t have helped you.” She shrugs.
“Why do you have any of this?”
“My family has a lot of money. People do stupid things for a lot of money.”
She is not wrong. “Tell me more.”
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