14. SURE
CHLOE
Bryce was incredibly busy. As the new acting CEO, he had more authority, responsibilities, and legitimacy within the company.
Because Windsor Enterprises had operations around the globe, Bryce was in meetings at all hours of the day and night.
He barely slept. When I saw him, I kissed him, babied him, and admonished him to eat healthily and take care of himself.
“I miss you,” he grumbled. “We’re going to Boston Wednesday night. I’ll have to work over the weekend, but I’m taking enough of a break so that we can spend some time together.”
“Sounds great. But remember, I’m right here.” I leaned up and gave him a hug. “You can always work from the bed, you know. I’ll snuggle up next to you and won’t say a word.”
“Like I’d be able to concentrate.” He pulled me close, and the familiar heat kicked up between us. “Mmm. I have to go.” With another quick kiss, he pulled away, off to meet with the board and ensure the pending charges against his father didn’t implode the business.
I missed him, but it was good that my husband was occupied. Being Gene Windsor’s bitch kept me on my toes.
I had a lot to do.
First up was my meeting with Olivia Jensen.
Even though it was early in the morning after the Nguyen’s party, she was dressed in a blue silk blouse, her hair and makeup impossibly perfect.
“I understand that Gene asked you to find out more about Tate. So.” She leaned over her desk. “What do you know?”
“Not much more than you,” I lied. I’d tossed and turned all night, my head full of Mimi Jones’s threats, mixed with worries about what to report about Tate.
I couldn’t tell Olivia the truth about her being an escort.
That would blow up in my face, and there was already too much about to ignite in my world.
“Will you speak to Gene directly?” I asked. I was curious about Olivia’s actual relationship with her billionaire-mogul client. Did she know that he was basically blackmailing me?
“No, I won’t see him for at least another week—his visitor list hasn’t been approved yet.
I’m preparing notes for his lawyers, and they’ll pass them along.
” She fired up her laptop and started tapping away.
“He’s indicated through the firm that he thought you would be a good point of contact for Tate because you guys are roughly the same age.
But she didn’t seem too friendly toward you last night. ”
I shook my head. “She doesn’t like me very much.
The staff asked me to talk to her about her behavior, but she just got defensive.
When I first met her, she only told me a little bit.
She’s from Boston, the South End, and she met Colby at the pool club.
Also, Chef caught her taking a bunch of wine and food from the kitchen.
She yelled at him and was super rude about it. ”
“So she’s not used to being around all this.” Olivia motioned to the house.
“It seems like that. She’s a little rough around the edges.”
Olivia sighed. “Does it bother anyone besides me that she came out of nowhere? MDI is a small community. Everyone knows everyone. But I can’t find one person from the club who knows who she is. You have to be on a guest list, they don’t just let you in there.”
“I’ll ask her if that helps,” I offered.
“Thank you.” Olivia tapped some more on the keyboard. “This whole thing worries me— Colby seems out of his mind. There’s been a lot of inappropriate behavior, and it’s been very quick and intense. I know he’s a big boy, but he seems over his head with this girl.”
“I agree. I wonder what it is about her…”
Olivia frowned. “I know he’s always had a soft spot for strippers—maybe since she doesn’t come from a lot, he feels sorry for her.”
“I don’t know if he feels sorry.” In fact, the only thing I’d seen him feeling was Tate up on the boat ride home from the party. “But Colby’s a good guy. If he sees something in her, maybe she’s not as bad as we think.”
Olivia’s lip curled. “Unfortunately, that’s not usually how this works. Can you talk to her some more and see if you can find out anything else? In the meantime, I’ll let Gene know you’ve been helpful.”
“Thanks.” I meant it. If Gene was satisfied, it meant I got more time with Bryce.
I’d take whatever I could get.
* * *
The following two days passed without incident.
No one threatened to blackmail me. Gene didn’t send me any video messages; he was quiet from the confines of his jail cell.
Mimi Jones didn’t get drunk and accost me, Felicia Jones was busy doing god-knows-what, Daphne was off-island shopping, and Tate and Colby were nowhere to be seen.
Midge said she’d heard they’d been barricaded in the guesthouse having nonstop sex.
At least they’d gone someplace private! Maybe Tate was getting the message, after all.
Still, the relative calm unnerved me. It felt like the island was holding its breath, just waiting for the next round of drama to unleash havoc on all of us.
The only new pictures of the Windsor family on the internet were from the Nguyen’s party.
The photos were mainly of Bryce and me, and the details were about who’d designed my dress.
One stray headline posed the question: Chloe’s Back—is Brylecia Done for Good?
“Brylecia” was the press’s pet name for Bryce and Felicia, so I freaking hoped so!
Gene Windsor had instructed me to stay away from her so things looked better for the family—more settled, calmer. So far, it had been working. I prayed my good behavior kept my father-in-law satisfied.
Other items needing my attention were Elena and Akira. When I’d been in trouble, they were the first two people I called. But as soon as I’d returned to Bryce I’d been quiet, except for my questions about Tate. I’d probably given them whiplash with so much back and forth over the past few months.
My lawyer was snippy with me. “I can’t believe it’s back on with him just like that. You told me you wanted out.”
“You told me I should go back,” I reminded her.
“ I told you to not sign the contract in the first place! Remember that?”
“Of course, I remember. I’m sorry—I’ve been all over the place, I admit it.” I sighed. “I’m just glad you’re still taking my calls.”
“You’re still my client.” Akira’s tone softened a little. “And I charge for telephone calls, remember?”
I laughed. “Then we should talk business for a second. Did Noah’s guardianship papers go through yet?”
My father had signed another agreement waiving his rights to Noah in exchange for even more money. We’d filed it with the court immediately thereafter. But if the judge hadn’t approved it yet, there was still a chance he and Lydia could make a legal claim for my brother’s return.
“It hasn’t been approved yet. The family court’s insanely backed up. But it should go through—as long as Bryce isn’t trying to take him from you anymore.” Akira wasn’t about to let me forget about Bryce’s ugly threats.
I winced. “Of course not.”
“No, of course not.”
I hesitated for a moment. “Akira…are you mad at me for going back to him?”
“No Chloe, I’m worried about you. Some of the things you’re doing don’t seem like you.
You took this job because you needed the money and to get Noah away from a bad situation.
But then you ran away from Bryce in the middle of the night like you were scared of something—something you haven’t shared with me.
And then you ran right back to him two minutes after telling me you wanted out of the contract.
” She went quiet for a moment. “Like I said, I’m worried about you.
It seems like there’s more going on here than you’re sharing with me. ”
“I can’t… I can’t talk about it.” I shook my head.
“I’m your lawyer. You can tell me anything and it’s confidential, so long as it’s not in an attempt to commit or cover up a crime or fraud.” When I didn’t speak, she sighed again. “Call me if you want to talk, okay? I’m here for you.”
Once she’d hung up, I stared off into space.
The reason I hadn’t confided in Akira wasn’t that I was worried about being prosecuted.
It was because I feared Gene Windsor. He’d told me to keep our arrangement a secret, and he’d threatened me.
He was just scary enough for me to believe he’d follow through.
I’d love to know if she could help me with that situation, but it seemed too dangerous.
It was best to keep my own counsel.
I called Elena next. “Please don’t tell me you quit or got fired again,” she said. “I just put a deposit down on a private school. Non-refundable .”
“No, it’s nothing like that. I was just wondering… Do you have any peers down there? Like, anyone else in the business you can talk to? I’m still trying to figure out where this girl came from.”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing.” Elena paused for a beat. “I saw her picture on the internet. Let me make some calls, and I’ll get back to you, okay?”
After we hung up, I went and found Noah. We fished down on the dock for a few hours—rather, he fished while I watched and played with Boss. Bryce texted me after lunch: Pack your bags, babe. We’re leaving for Boston tonight.
Great! I texted back. He’d only been crazy with work for a few days, but I was more than ready to be reunited with him. The short plane ride was an opportunity to be close, even if he had to tackle his emails.
Plus, he’d mentioned that shower bench…
I quickly put down my phone. “Noah! Will you be okay if I go to Boston with Bryce for the next few nights? He needs to visit the company headquarters.”
Noah cast his line out again. “You’re kidding, right? I’m so happy here. Chef’s making me homemade pizza tonight. Dale challenged me to a video game tournament, and Lilly said she’d bring her puppy out to play with Boss later. You guys can go to Timbuktu for all I care!”
“Gee, thanks.” But my feelings weren’t really hurt. How could I compete with puppies and X-box?
I glimpsed a flash of blond in my peripheral vision—Colby and Tate were walking down the path from the guesthouse.
They appeared to be deep in conversation.
Colby scratched his head as he watched Tate, who was talking with an animated expression on her face.
They stopped, and he pulled her in for an embrace.
After a moment, they broke apart. Colby headed for the house; Tate made a phone call.
My phone rang. I answered it and looked up.
From the path, Tate stared directly at me. Another unpleasant expression marred her pretty face. “Can you come here? We need to talk.”
We need to talk. Were there ever four worse words than that? They lodged in my stomach, forming a pit of dread.
“Sure.”
I hung up the phone and headed toward her, even though I’d never been less sure in my life.