Chapter 20
Saffron
Tyler drove up to the side of my apartment building and cut the engine. “Thanks,” I said out of habit and tried to open the door, but it was locked.
“You and I are going to have to go to the gun range together.”
“Why? He wants you, not me.”
“That’s not how I saw it. You were rubbing yourself all over an old man; it was embarrassing.”
“I thought you wanted me to please him. It worked, didn’t it?” I tested the door again. “Can you unlock your car?”
He jerked back. “So you were doing it on purpose?”
“I was saving your company, and the least you can say is thank you.”
He rolled his eyes. “You have some nerve.”
“Did I lie? Massimo now thinks you’re a good boy who can do no wrong, thanks to me. Open the door, please.”
I didn’t want to spend any more time in the same space with this guy whose default mode was berating me even after I had practically saved both our necks. Not when he made my blood boil and my skin tingle. The warring emotions had been battling within me all day, and at this point, I was tired.
“Were you flirting with him or was he flirting with you?”
I frowned, wondering what exactly he meant. His hands were taut on the steering wheel. The streetlights streaming into the dark car made it hard to make out, but I was sure his knuckles were white. “Are you jealous?”
“What! No! I just don’t want my wife to act like…”
“Like what? Finish your sentence.” His gaze was piercing. I returned his stare with a taunting one of my own. “Like what?” I leaned closer until my face was an inch away from his.
“Like a slut.”
I slapped him. “Fuck you, Tyler.”
“Is it not true?”
“You’re so ungrateful.” I tried the door again, shaking the handle as though it would magically unlock. “I want out of this car right now.”
Then the sound of the car doors unlocking popped off. I opened the door immediately and jumped out, leaving Tyler alone, and marched to my apartment. I was waiting to hear the sound of his car driving away, but instead, I heard footsteps behind me.
“What the fuck?” I said when I glanced over my shoulder and saw him following me.
“Saffron, wait.”
I turned back to the building, unlocked the main door, and tried to close it quickly, but a neighbor came in behind me, allowing Tyler to follow. I rushed to my place, taking the stairs, but Tyler took the elevator, and he was waiting for me when I got to my door.
“I want to apologize.” He leaned on the wall by my door as I searched for the keys in my purse. “I don’t know what got into me. It’s just seeing you with Massimo…”
“Tyler, he’s an old man with a fucking wife, who was present, by the way. Why the fuck would I flirt with him, let alone want to fuck him? What’s wrong with you!”
“I know. I know. You’re right,” he sighed and rubbed his temple.
“I don’t know what’s going on. You make me feel…
” he dropped his head. When he looked up again, he seemed sorry?
I was clearly seeing things that were not there.
“You make me feel things I’ve never felt before, and it’s driving me crazy. ”
I rummaged through my purse, ignoring him. I had no time for his confessions, as good as they sounded to my ears. Where were the goddamn keys? I hoped to God I didn’t lose them. It would be embarrassing to have to contact the landlord while this asshole was hovering around. He would just love it.
“Are you looking for this?” He dangled the keys in my face. I tried to snatch them, but he swung them away from my reach and unlocked the door. He entered the apartment, leaving me gobsmacked in the corridor. “Well,” he said, venturing further in, “are you coming in?”
I followed him and closed the door. “Did you steal them as some sort of sick joke?”
He went to the living room and threw himself onto the loveseat and spread his arm on the headrest. “You left them in my car. They fell out of your purse as you were getting out.”
“Thanks. Now get out.”
“Not until you hear my apology.”
“I did, and I don’t forgive you. Now leave.”
He got up, and for a split second, I thought he was doing as I said, but he came to stand in front of me. “I shouldn’t have called you that and… I want to thank you for pulling that off.”
I was still angry with him, and the longer he stood in front of me, the more I wanted to give him another slap. How could he act as though what I was saying didn’t matter? “Don’t care. Leave.”
He raised his hands and took a step back. “And if I say I also want to talk about the thing between us, would you let me stay?”
I crossed my arms. “What thing? As far as I am aware, you and I are a married couple about to divorce.”
He gave me a mock-serious stare. “Really? So, Florence doesn’t count? Or as I like to call it, the night we blew each other’s brains out.”
My heart fluttered. Of course, I hadn’t forgotten about it. But he acted as though it didn’t matter. “I thought that was a one-off. Isn’t that what you implied?”
“Yeah, but…” his face went from playful to serious. “I want more.”
“I don’t get you. You’re one unserious man.”
“I don’t get it either. There’s something about you that…” his shoulders dropped. Almost exasperated. Almost perplexed. “I don’t understand why you are the one I can’t stop thinking about.”
“Wow. Here you go, Mr. Romantic,” I said sarcastically. “That’s what every woman wants to hear.”
He took a step closer. I remained rooted even though part of me was screaming to get as far away as possible.
The logical part remembered how callous he could be.
The irrational part was singing the nearer he got.
It wanted him to get even closer. “You know there’s nothing romantic about us.
And in a way, isn’t that a good thing? You’ve obviously gotten over your silly crush on me, and I…
well,” his gaze traveled down my body, undressing me, “I have since seen the error of my ways.”
“Let’s see. You call me a slut. Then you quote unquote ask for forgiveness just so you can get into my pants?
” I dragged him to the door. “You’re not as slick as you think, Tyler.
” I opened the door and pushed him out. “Wait, Saff—” I closed the door in his face and locked it.
I was debating whether I should call the superintendent and have him chase Tyler out when I got a message from him.
TylertheAsshole: Think about it. I know you want me as much as I want you.
Think about what? As far as I am concerned, I no longer wanted anything to do with him.
My relationship with Tyler from now on was going to be strictly professional.
And when all of this is over, if I find who is blackmailing him, I could finally cut the last string tying me to him. That’s what I wanted.
◆◆◆
“Did you see the article?” I said, sipping the hot tea Aunt Pamela had made when I arrived. It was hot outside, but her love for tea was undefeated, and I had gotten used to being served the brew no matter the time of day or the weather.
“What article?” Aunt Pamela added a spoonful of sugar to her already sweet cup and took a sip.
“The one about the Hawthorne bribing scandal. It was all over the news, but I guess you might not have heard of it. Everyone in real estate circles was talking about it.” After Tyler’s promise to sign the papers if I could give him what he wanted, I went to work looking for who could be blackmailing him.
I went through all of Dad’s contacts that I was aware of, looking for who he could have trusted with the information, and pretty much came up empty.
The only people I could think of who were close to my father were his sister and his last wife, Collina.
And judging by how that relationship was, I doubt the wife knew anything, but maybe his sister did.
“Bribing. That sounds serious.” She held her teacup with dainty fingers in a manner that I’m sure Buckingham Palace would approve of.
“I think it’s all fake.”
“Is it?”
“Crazy, isn’t it? I was sure that since Dad died, all of that would be over, but apparently, he must have given the information to someone else, who is now leaking it. Why? I have no idea.”
“How’s Tyler treating you at work? It must be odd working with your husband.”
“How did you know I was working with him?” I made a deliberate effort not to mention Tyler to her.
She scoffed. “You told me, remember?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You must have forgotten. You’ve been so busy at work. But yeah, you mentioned you’re working on his hotel. How else would I know if you didn’t?”
My mind was scrambling, and now I wasn’t so sure of myself. “You’re right. I’ve been too busy.”
“You’re overworking yourself. If only you’d agree to take him to court.”
I sighed. “We’ve had this conversation before.”
Aunt Pamela reached for the cannoli I had brought.
Paired with her tea, the pastries were usually a treat, but I couldn’t stomach them today.
I spent most of the past week trying to look for information on who could be holding the material as well as juggling a job that was getting more hectic by the day, now that supplies were coming in and needed to be fitted.
My go-to meal was mainly fast food and pastries that I was now all full on.
“I know. I know,” Aunt Pamela said before biting into the cannoli. “But think of how much money he has accumulated all the years he’s been married to you. You deserve it. It’s yours.”
I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be right. He has been shackled to me. It’s only right that we end it amicably. And besides, I don’t think the pre-nup would allow it.”
“You can challenge the pre-nup.”
“What I want to do is find out who has Dad’s info. Is it his executor? I spoke to Bill, and he sounded like he knew nothing about it. Unless he was lying.”
Aunt Pamela broke apart the dessert, globs of cream falling to her plate, and casually popped a piece into her mouth as though this was a casual Saturday meeting. As though we weren’t discussing anything important.
“You know I never got into your father’s business. He never told me anything.”
“But he must have mentioned something about some material to do with Tyler, or something.”
“What does it matter? You’re divorcing him, are you not?”
“Yes, but…” This was one of the attitudes I didn’t like in Aunt Pamela. She could be a little too casual about the most serious things and not care to be concerned about anything beyond her comfort.
“You care an awful lot about a man who seemingly doesn’t care about you.”
“We’re working together. The least I can do is help him out. It would bring me into his good graces and might not make the divorce difficult for me.”
“Hmm…” She took another sip and put down her teacup. “Well, I wish I had any idea. You know how it was with me and your father. He never confided in me.”
I knew she was a dead end, but I had to try anyway.