Chapter 22
SAM
"Pity we couldn't fly in Travis's helicopter," I told Avery as we entered our suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York two weeks later.
My brother bought a helicopter a while ago after he sold his first business. He even had a pilot’s license, but he didn't have time to fly himself anymore. He couldn’t find a pilot for today, so we’d come with the commercial airline.
"That’s fine. I enjoyed the plane flight, and it was fun to see LaGuardia.” Avery looked around with a huge smile. “This place is so fancy."
I liked making her happy. New York looked festive at this time of the year. Chicago, too, but not like New York. The whole city was lit up. We’d spotted a few Christmas trees during the Uber ride over, though it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet. Retailers were always rushing the holidays.
Avery looked around, biting her lip. "I'll change real quick, and then we can go." The party was in two hours on Amsterdam Avenue.
“We can stroll a bit in the city before the party too,” I suggested.
“Only if you agree to be my tour guide.”
"Yes, ma'am. At your service."
"I mean, I guess we could also stay inside. It’s a pity to have this huge suite and not make use of it. Especially the bed. But I’ve never seen the city." She tapped a fingertip against her lips. "Decisions, decisions.”
She was adorable, fighting with herself.
“Nah, a tour it is," she finally exclaimed.
I changed much faster than Avery—I kept my jeans on but switched from my sweater to a shirt with cuff links. I wore them so rarely that it felt strange buttoning them up.
I was happy that I was going with her tonight. Avery was strong, and I had no doubt she could kick ass on her own, but I wanted her to know she could count on me.
I had yet to talk to her about the clinic.
I’d spoken to the CEO again, and he’d finally agreed to let me talk to the board.
But when I spoke with them, it didn't go well at all. They said that since they’d already approved the opening of a pro bono clinic in Maine, there was no point doing one in Chicago too.
Bottom line, it just wasn’t feasible for them.
No matter what my brothers said, I’d prefer a pro bono clinic attached to a big hospital. But I didn't want to go to fucking Maine.
“I’m ready,” Avery exclaimed, coming out of the bathroom. She twirled once, smiling from ear to ear. “What do you think?”
She looked stunning in her black dress. It was short and showcased her perfect ass. The caveman inside me was satisfied that her cleavage was well covered by what seemed to be a scarf attached to the dress—I was clueless about stuff like that.
“Babe, you look gorgeous. But you’re going to freeze, especially in those shoes.”
They were silver heels that looked damn sexy, but they’d be no use outside.
"No, I've got my puffy coat. I’ll be fine."
The second we stepped outside the hotel, her teeth started chattering.
“Babe, you’re cold. I’m not allowing this.”
She cocked a brow. “Allow? Is that the doctor tone coming out?”
I cleared my throat, adjusting my voice. “I don’t want you to get sick. Let’s do a cab tour.”
She laughed but nodded. “You’re a genius.”
I nodded at the doorman, who flagged a cab for us. Once inside, I instructed the driver to go around all the major attractions in the area. We drove by Central Park first.
“Oh my God, the Christmas tree is already up,” Avery exclaimed when we passed Rockefeller Center, pressing her nose against the window. “But it’s not lit.”
“Nah, I think the tree lighting ceremony is sometime after Thanksgiving.”
We then passed the Empire State Building. The driver kept pointing out landmarks, but I could tell Avery wasn't truly here with us.
"You're thinking about the party, aren't you?" I asked her.
"Yes. I'm sorry.”
"Don't worry. The tour is about to be over anyway. We have to be at the party in twenty minutes."
Obviously, we ran into traffic, so we arrived thirty minutes late. Avery was fidgeting, but she held her chin high as I helped her step out of the cab.
“You know what?" she said with a glint in her eye. "It's actually better that we’re a bit late. We get to make a grand entrance this way. Hopefully everyone is already here. I can't wait to see the look on Sophia's face.”
I liked her when she was feisty.
We walked arm in arm and entered through the main door. The shop was small and, in my opinion, not impressive. It looked like any other shoe shop. There were small tables everywhere with champagne flutes. The shop also had jewelry on display, and I had to admit, it looked damn good.
Avery stiffened.
“Babe?” I asked.
Her eyes were glued to where the jewelry was merchandised.
“Those are my designs. She stole my designs,” she murmured, clearly in shock.
Fucking hell.
There were probably a dozen people milling around.
I spotted Sophia immediately, recognizing her from a picture Avery showed me.
Her hair was ridiculous, red, and piled up in what was supposed to be some sort of updo, but she just looked like she had a snake on her head. Her dress was gold. It looked cheap.
She immediately came up to us. "Avery, what are you doing here?"
"You invited me to the opening. I wanted to come check it out," Avery said. Her voice was serene, as if she couldn't possibly understand why Sophia was out of sorts.
"I didn't think you’d actually come!"
Avery smirked. "Why? Are you afraid I might say something inappropriate? What are you going to do, call security? Oh, that's right, you don't have any."
“You can't come into my store—” she started in an aggressive tone.
Time for me to cut in.
“Be civil,” I said. “Sam Maxwell. We haven’t been introduced.”
She stopped midsentence, folding her arms over her chest. "I’ve heard plenty about you from Avery. I see your taste in women still sucks.”
Interesting. Avery mentioned me throughout the years? I made a mental note of that. Now, Sophia had better prepare herself for my displeasure.
"Really, you're resorting to that?" I asked, cocking a brow. There was another reason I wanted to come with Avery. No one would mess with her if she had the Maxwell name behind her.
I was a hypocrite where the family name was concerned.
I always claimed I didn't want to use it, but I didn't mind if it benefited someone else’s situation, especially for Avery's sake.
For the first time, I understood why my brothers were so overprotective of their women.
It was an instinct. I couldn't help it. I wanted to flat-out protect her from any problems and keep her from harm.
"I see you have investors here," I said. It was an educated guess, considering two of the guys in expensive suits looked like they’d just come from Wall Street.
"Investors, huh?" Avery asked in a high-pitched voice that got the attention of everyone in the room. "Sophia and I used to work together, you know. She swindled me. Can you believe it? I didn’t get another lawyer to double-check the contract, so basically each of us was allowed to take as much money out of the business as we wanted for reinvestment or personal use. I never took one cent except the salary we agreed on. She stole close to a quarter-million dollars from the business. And the jewelry you see on display? That’s my work. My designs."
Sophia gasped. "Take that back. It's not true. I didn't steal anything." But the look on her face said otherwise.
"I have the bank statements to prove that you transferred money to yourself.” Avery looked around the room, gauging the attention of the attendees, then said, “I'm staying at the Plaza for tonight. If anyone needs more information, you can always look for me there. Make sure you have good contracts, legally soundproof and then some. Though even if you do, don’t think that she’ll respect them.
She's got a talent for slipping out of any binding situations. "
"I can sue you for this, you know," Sophia said.
Avery rolled her shoulders back. "Please. Be my guest."
"Get out of here." I could’ve laughed at the look on Sophia's face.
"My pleasure. I did what I came here to do. I sure as hell won't allow you to steal from anyone else." Avery kept her professional poise, which pissed Sophia off even more. It was amazing.
"Get out," Sophia said through gritted teeth.
"Don't come any closer," I warned.
"I will call the police," she threatened.
"Yes, please do. We're going to have a lovely chat with them," Avery said, shaking slightly. I could tell that, despite her calm appearance, she was seething inside, and I couldn't blame her. She glanced at me when I squeezed her arm.
"Come on, Sam. Let's go. We have a wonderful suite waiting for us."
She held her head high as we walked to the front door. Chatter broke out in the room, obvious panic setting in. Sophia was trying unsuccessfully to quiet it down.
When we stepped out, a few of her guests came with us, saying things like "Thanks for the warning" and "Glad you two arrived before we made a dumb investment."
Avery released a huge sigh once we were alone.
"I'm so proud of you, babe," I said. "Did you plan this?"
"No. I wish I had a diabolical mind, but I don't. When I saw she copied my designs, I think something just snapped inside me.
To be honest, I'd simply hoped I could talk to her partners and warn them individually, but it was easier this way.
I realized she was going to kick me out one way or another, so I wanted to be quick.
" She looked at me intently. "Do you think the others will take my warning seriously or just discard me as some crazy person? "
I couldn't believe this woman. She'd come here to warn others just so they wouldn't fall into the same trap she did. I loved every damn inch of her.
"Based on the few who left along with us, I’d say Sophia’s going to have trouble finding investors. But if the others don't believe you, it's their fault. If nothing else, I’m sure they'll do some more research before they invest in her. Do you have the bank statements you mentioned?”
“You bet I do. Just in case, you know.”
Good to know. When we got back, I’d give those to Declan. Man, she amazed me, and I had such respect for her and what she’d done.
“Want us to do another cab tour of New York?"
"Honestly, I'd rather we go back to the hotel. I'm super jittery. I think I need a workout."
I kissed her forehead. "Is that code for something?"
She laughed, and I felt her whole body relax. "No, I mean a real workout, but I'm not excluding a sexy one after that. Let’s go.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice, babe.”
I'd only been in New York a few times before, and I'd never realized what a shit show the traffic was. Even though we were only a few blocks away, it took us forty minutes to get to the Plaza. Walking would've probably been faster, but Avery would've frozen despite her long coat.
Once inside, she quickly changed and went directly to the fitness area.
I stayed in the suite, mindlessly checking the menu of the restaurant where we had dinner reservations.
I was of two minds about going after Avery, but then I would distract her from her workout, and she really seemed to need it.
I understood that. It was one of the reasons I ran after shifts.
I needed to get rid of excess adrenaline.
I also sensed that she wanted some alone time to digest all that happened, and I respected that too.
The room phone rang. Does reception need something from us? I couldn't imagine who else would call here.
"Hello?" I said.
"Mr. Maxwell, we have someone at the front desk looking for Ms. Avery."
"Who?"
"Sophia Pitt."
I saw red. That viper actually showed up here after what she’d done? She didn't know who she was messing with.
"Send her up to the room, please," I bit out.
"Of course, sir."
I couldn't believe it. I'd stayed out of it at her shop because I wanted Avery to say her piece, but I couldn't believe Sophia had the audacity to show up here.
She knocked a few minutes later, and I immediately opened the door.
"Where's Avery?" she demanded.
"She's not here right now."
"That bitch. I lost investors tonight. I'm going to sue the crap out of her," she seethed, stalking inside the suite. "Where is she? I need to talk to her. She needs to fix this."
"Listen, Sophia. There are two things you need to know about me. One, I would do anything for Avery. And two, I have the whole Maxwell family backing me up. Good contract or not, we’ll find ways to crush you."
“Flaunting your family name, huh? Avery always told me you didn’t like to brag about your resources."
"I've changed my mind. When it comes to Avery, I will use everything in my power to protect her from people like you."
“People like me? I'm a businesswoman. She just made a bad deal. She doesn't get to bad-mouth me."
"Fuck yes, she does. My brother Declan is a lawyer. You don't want him on your case. Be thankful that bad-mouthing you is all Avery did." Once I gave Declan proof that she’d stolen designs—intellectual property—he should be able to hand Sophia her ass in a lawsuit. I personally couldn’t wait.
"All she did? Did you hear what I said? I lost investors."
"And you'll lose more than that if you don't fuck off and pay back every single cent you stole." I was pissed. How dare she?
She burst out laughing, but her eyes were attentive as she looked me up and down.
"You deserve someone smarter than Avery, and much better-looking." She opened her coat and then dropped it on the bed, pulling down the zipper of her dress. "Someone like me."
"What the fuck are you doing?"