11. Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
Why would he do this to himself?
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Grayson glanced at his watch. There were two minutes left on her break and she still wasn't back yet. With more shame than he cared to admit, he clicked the camera icon on his computer and brought up the building's security feed. Out of all the years he ran this place, he never had any reason to check the security cameras until now—until her.
She was driving him mad.
Toggling through the feeds, Grayson stopped when he found the lovely figure of his assistant standing at the elevators chatting animatedly with his sales manager, Nathan. Leaning back, Grayson let his gaze linger on her while idly twirling the fountain pen between his fingers. Wearing a simple black dress that fluttered around her hips and black heels that strapped delicately around her ankles, Golden was mesmerizing. A flicker of annoyance crossed Grayson's features as he noted Nathan's blatant admiration; clearly his sales manager thought the same thing.
Annoyed, Grayson pushed away from his chair and stood up. Walking to the window, he stared out at the street below. This was only supposed to be a favor, an absolution for his mistake two years ago. This was supposed to be a way to help someone he cared for, that's it. Grayson wanted to laugh. Even he couldn't convince himself and say all his motives were altruistic.
At some point, the sweet girl with lonely eyes wormed her way into his very being. She had sunk her teeth into his heart and would not let go. He cared for Golden, probably far more than he should have, but what choice did he have? She had needed him—someone to talk to, to pay attention to her, to rely on, and to make her feel special as every young woman deserved. The problem was when those beautiful brown eyes turned to him needing more, needing love. It had stopped him like a gunshot.
Grayson wasn't blind. Back then, he had recognized the girl's growing infatuation with him. He had schooled his expressions at her obvious lust when she caught him getting out of the pool. He had secretly enjoyed her whispered arguments at Gaige's teasing over her lack of a poker face. He even somehow endured her attempts to capture his interest from time to time. The memory he thought he long since suppressed of her dressed in a red bikini walking around his pool still haunted him to this day.
Grayson closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Her love for him had been painfully obvious. And despite that, he still tried to give her everything he could back then, but he could not let himself give her what she truly wanted—as much as it pained him.
Grayson's eyes opened and his body stiffened as the sound of his office door opening and shutting behind him. He felt her soft feminine presence fill the room.
"I'm back and on time," Golden added proudly as she walked to her desk. "I'm just going to pop back out and take these revisions down to the editors and then stop by the art department to see if they have those additional mockups. Be right back," she chirped before dashing back out of the office.
Grayson didn't move, he just continued to stare unseeingly out the window as his mind raced. Goddammit, nothing has changed, he savagely reminded himself. She was still the sweet friend of his son who needed his help. Simply a family friend. So why in the hell did it feel so different now?
Why did he feel like locking the door and demanding she stay in the goddamn office? Why did the thought of her fluttering around the building befriending everyone in sight fucking kill him? Since she arrived, countless friendships had formed right in front of him. Admirers from his staff to clients, old friends from high school meeting up for lunch, even delivery men were affected by her.
But what made it worse was that the palpable reverence she once regarded him with, the unmistakable adoration she had showered him with daily, years ago, was all gone—or so it seemed. Sure, he caught her appreciative glances every now and then, but they felt hollow, fleeting. Instead, she gave him openly wary looks, as if she were trying to decipher his every move. During their handful of dinners together and their time in the office, she regarded him with a casual indifference that did nothing for his pride. He couldn't detect a single trace of those overtly displayed feelings she once wore openly on her face, dealing a blow to his ego nothing short of crippling.
Going back to his seat, Grayson checked his emails, annoyed with his line of thinking. He wasn't even sure why he was thinking this. This was how it should be. He wanted to help her and he did. When she was in school, he had made it his mission to keep the besotted girl at arm’s length—mission more than accomplished considering she had moved across the country, he thought bitterly.
"Everything is as it should be," he muttered grimly to himself.
He heard a loud thump from outside his open office door followed by his executive assistant, Mrs. Baker's, high-pitched voice. "Oh no, Golden! Are you okay?"
Grayson was already up and out of his chair in seconds. Rushing through the door, he almost stopped at the sight of Golden sprawled on the ground right outside the elevator. Coming toward her, he noted the turned-over yellow wet-floor sign across the floor and quickly surmised how she fell. With her leg slightly bent underneath her and her black dress pushed up high enough he could see a glimpse of silky blue material underneath, Golden was slowly pushing herself up onto her elbow holding her head with her other hand.
Mrs. Baker was coming around her desk as he knelt in front of Golden. "Mrs. Baker, call the medical concierge service-"
"Please don't," Golden moaned, horrified at the mention. "Please don't call anyone. I can get up."
Grayson didn't give her a chance to try. One arm under her knees and one arm under her back, he lifted her easily into his arms.
"It's okay Mrs. Baker, I got her," he called out to the worried woman over his shoulder as he walked past her desk into his office. "Just have someone come up and dry the floor by hand so we can avoid any other accidents."
He shut the door to his office behind him.
"I can't believe I slipped," Golden groaned. "You can put me down, it's not that bad. All I really want is to crawl off somewhere and die of embarrassment."
Grayson ignored her request with a smile and carried her over to the couch on the far side of his office. The little sitting area was rarely used. He couldn't honestly remember the last person who sat on the couch.
Sitting on the edge of the coffee table he looked at her. "How is your head? How hard did you hit it?"
Not meeting his gaze, her hand went up to the back of her head and held it. "I promise I'm fine."
"Golden," he said warningly. "Answer my questions or I will have you carted off in an ambulance and then send out a memo detailing to everyone to be careful on wet floors."
"It's just a light bump," she whined and gave him a pouting yet defiant look. "The only thing hurt is my pride. I felt so cute today too, and then I do the most uncute thing ever and fall flat on my back in front of everyone."
"You're still very cute and Mrs. Baker isn't everyone." Reaching for her head, he gently speared his hands through her soft, short curls feeling the shape of her head. Ignoring the warmth of her skin and the sheer softness of her hair against his fingers, Grayson pulled away when he felt no bump and looked down at her foot, motioning for her to raise it to his lap.
Gingerly, she lifted her leg and placed her foot on his thigh.
Her voice was smaller when she spoke again. "Nothing you say will make me feel any better…I know…" her voice lowered to a whisper, "I know you saw…my panties."
Grayson glanced up at her and watched her face grow red. Everything inside him told him to deny her statement for her sake. But then he thought of her cool indifference as of late compared to the girl he knew a few years ago and he leveled his gaze on her lovely face—he wasn't that noble. "I did," he finally answered.
Golden covered her face with both hands. "The gentlemanly thing to do would be to say you didn't see anything," she cried behind her hands.
Grayson nodded, considering her words. "Mmm, I suppose you're right," he said, pushing the strap through the buckle until he unlatched the heel and slid it off her foot to better examine her. "Although I never described myself as a gentleman."
"What do you mean?" Dropping her hands, her eyes bounced from him to his hands on her ankle.
Slowly, he worked them gently around her narrow ankle, feeling for any tenderness and swelling. Grayson felt none but couldn't withdraw his hands from her even if his life depended on it.
"I think," Golden continued, her voice noticeably quieter than before. "You're one of the most refined human beings I've ever met. I still don't know how you produced someone like Gaige."
He didn't look at her as he thought of her words. Picking up her shoe, he gently placed it back onto her foot. "What you're seeing is twelve years of Starpoint Academy," he explained as his fingers pushed the material back through the buckle. The all- boys military academy a few miles up the hill, looking down on all of Stardust, had made sure to drill manners into him and his brothers night and day until they couldn't help but act with decorum. "And that doesn't mean much considering all those rules and etiquette went right out the window the first chance I got when I got Gaige’s mother pregnant at sixteen," he added drily.
"That may be so, but I still think you're very polite," she urged, fidgeting with her skirt pleats instead of looking at him.
He flashed her a grin, he couldn't resist teasing her. "But we just established I'm not polite enough not to mention I saw your very blue underwear."
Horrified, she tried to push him away but he didn't budge. Keeping a hold of her ankle, he let out a chuckle.
Folding her arms over her chest, Golden sat back and gave him an accusing look before looking at the office door with widening eyes. As if a thought occurred to her, she sat forward again. "You don't think Mrs. Baker would tell everyone, would she?"
"No, I don't." Letting go of her ankle, he was more than pleased when she kept her foot in his lap. "But what about me? Are you sure I won't tell?"
A playful smile spread across her lips. "I don’t know. Will you?"
A decision formed in the back of his mind and he decided to act on it before reason stopped him. "I think I'm going to take this opportunity to double down on how much of a gentleman I'm not." He watched the curiosity bloom in her eyes matching the satisfaction that welled inside of him. "I won't tell if you curb your social butterfly tendencies."
Her brows furrowed in confusion. "You mean…"
He dipped his chin in confirmation, meeting her wide eyes with a serious stare. "It's awful, I know that," his voice was lower than he intended. "But I've watched you flutter off to other departments and sit in other offices for errands that could easily have been taken care of via email." His features hardened as he thought of the way men looked at her. "Is it wrong that I want to keep you for myself?"
She opened her mouth to say something but closed it as a small, secret smile crept over her lips. "A little…but that's okay," she said breathlessly. "I like it."
Ah there it was, he breathed in relief as he drank in her beautiful face. There was the familiar glimmer of longing he’d missed in her eyes. Grayson could feel her teeth sinking deeper inside his heart, scraping against his soul. He was playing a dangerous game here but fuck if he could stop himself.
Two Years Ago
Grayson parked his car in the garage and got out. Having spent the morning at his country club, golfing with his annoying brother and discussing business, he was more than ready to go inside and take a shower. The Texas summer heat poured in from overhead while the cicadas sang their endless song in the trees. Walking across the flagstone drive and into the house, Grayson paused at the multitude of voices coming from the back of the house.
Girls' laughter, the low pitch of boys’ voices, and the sound of splashing water provided him enough evidence to piece together the facts—it was one of Gaige's pool parties. Grayson sighed. As long as he kept people out of his indoor pool, Grayson didn't care.
Intending on making his way upstairs a familiar voice from the kitchen stopped him.
"Are you really just going to spill that and then walk away?" Golden asked, clearly annoyed.
Another girl laughed before a deeper voice answered, a male's voice. "I know you're not familiar with the concept, but houses like this, owned by people like the Rosebanks, have staff."
As if on cue the giggling girl laughed again.
The male voice continued, dripping with condescension, "I'm sure you're accustomed to a more... hands-on approach for things like this but I’d rather not."
"You know," Golden said with a smile that even Grayson knew without seeing was fake. "When you're thrice divorced and your kids only call for money, I want you to look back on this moment when you inevitably ask yourself how you turned into an asshole."
It was Grayson's turn to laugh.
Other voices laughed as well telling him the kitchen had more occupants than he originally thought.
"Oh my God," the boy groaned. "Here, I'll wipe it up. Are you happy?"
"Aww thank you, Ira. I knew there was hope for you yet," Golden crooned to the boy before the group of voices moved from the kitchen and through the living room and out the French doors.
Sensing that everyone was outside, Grayson stepped closer, trailing the group as they stepped out into the bright sunlight and walked toward the pool down the stairs. Out of the group of girls and guys, Grayson spotted Golden immediately and regretted it. He inhaled deeply at the sight of her. Wearing a red bikini with a black netted skirt tied partially around her waist and a red rose tucked behind her ear into her short black curls, she looked like an Old Hollywood Spanish movie star.
The group moved toward the pool, while some lingered on the edge and some jumped in with raised laughter. Golden stood near the covered loungers where Gaige was standing, talking to another of his idiotic friends, Carter Serrano.
Seeing Golden, Gaige pulled away and said something to her. Golden frowned before throwing her head back in laughter. Stepping closer to her, Gaige leaned down and whispered something in her ear.
A muscle in Grayson's jaw ticked as he watched the pair. Golden turned her face away from Gaige and Grayson could clearly see her expression grow nervous as she bit her lip. That only made his son's smile grow wolfish.
Grayson's stomach knotted and his brows furrowed at the scene. Just what the hell was happening? Gaige didn't look at Golden in any other way but as a friend, if not a sister. So, what the hell was he doing now?
Just then Gaige's eyes flicked up and met his directly. In an instant, the worry that had been conjured died away, replaced by the beleaguered resignation of knowing his spawn was up to something. The child was born from the devil—he was sure of it.
Leaning down to whisper in her ear again, Gaige turned Golden by the shoulders until she faced the house. Gaige pointed directly at him.
Grayson should have stepped back. Leave these children to their day and go up and take the shower he had intended on taking, but he didn't move. Instead, he watched as Golden followed Gaige's finger and her eyes landed on him. Like watching a flower open its petals for the sun, Golden's face brightened. Her expression changed to shock before morphing into the sheepish smile she always wore around him.
Grayson wasn't a religious man nor a spiritual one, but he was receptive to evidence. First, he met, impregnated, married, and thankfully divorced the woman who was Gaige's biological mother. Then he was given his hell-spawn of a son. And then he was tormented on a near daily basis with temptation incarnate by his son's best friend. And now this! There was no denying the evidence anymore, he was paying for some sort of past sin, for some sort of serious transgression in his past life. That was the only answer to this suffering.
As Gaige stepped away, Golden hesitantly waved at him. Grayson groaned as he waved back, his eyes taking in every inch of her beautiful figure.
Taking a step back, Grayson was prepared to rip himself away from the scene when Carter ran toward Golden. Without warning, Carter captured Golden in a surprise bear hug, lifting her up high against his bare chest as he ran toward the pool. Golden only had a chance to scream once before Carter plunged them both into the deep end of the pool.
Grayson was already out the door when he saw Golden go under the water. As the laughter of the others still lingered in the air, he was standing by the edge of the pool when Golden surfaced spluttering and yelling at Carter who surfaced laughing beside her. The rose in her hair was now floating some yards away while her netted skirt wrap had sunk to the bottom of the pool.
Kneeling on the side, Grayson held out his hand to her. "Here."
Pushing the water from her eyes, which had smudged her makeup, Golden looked up at him sadly. He could see the anger and embarrassment on her face. Taking his hand, she allowed him to easily pull her out of the water.
Another girl, he couldn't remember her name, came around to them. "Come on, I'll help you fix your makeup," she whispered to Golden.
Watching the pair walk off to the house, Grayson turned to look at Carter whose smile was slowly melting away. Gaige who was standing at the edge of the pool stared at him and then Carter with unholy eagerness.
Grayson crouched down by the edge of the pool, his eyes burning with a cold fury. In a blink of an eye, he grabbed Carter by the neck. A small chorus of gasps and punctuated silence surrounded them. Carter’s eyes widened in shock as he was yanked upward, splashing and gasping for air.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” Grayson growled through gritted teeth, his grip tightening around the kid's neck and his bicep hardening as he lifted the idiotic boy partway out of the water. Carter's face flushed red as he struggled against the iron hold as the other kids stared at them in shock.
"Or," Grayson continued, his voice low and filled with violent promise, "you'll find your whole family sitting in a U-Haul by the end of the week, looking for a new city to live in."
Carter’s eyes flicked helplessly toward Gaige, who only watched with a twisted grin, clearly enjoying the spectacle. With the threat hanging in the air, heavy and very much real, Grayson slowly released his grip, letting Carter fall back into the water, coughing and grasping his bruised neck.
Walking away, he heard his son's grinning voice. "Well, that was amazing."