Chapter 6
Chapter Six
PIPER
“Holy shit! No way.” Alexis’ hands fly to her cheeks and her jaw drops.
She shuffles against the sofa cushions and glares at me in disbelief.
I’ve just told her about Levi Vale.
Everything about him.
I called her quickly during my lunch break just to check in, but I couldn’t talk about what happened over the phone.
Of course, she was eager to know and begged me to tell her, but I managed to hold back.
We planned to see each other anyway for dinner at my apartment. I told her she had to wait until then.
It was a long wait, and it’s felt like an even longer day. I ran into Levi this morning at eleven and left work at six-thirty. It’s now eight at night. I don’t know how I managed to get through the entire day in one piece.
Every time I heard footsteps near my desk or heard a deep male voice, my stomach tightened into a ball of nerves.
“Did you go back with more coffee?” Alexis beams at me, her hands gripping the edge of the cushion like she’s watching a thriller.
I shake my head. “That was my one saving grace. The girl who was supposed to make it came by and took over. My manager needed me back in the training room.”
If that girl had entered the breakroom two minutes earlier, she would have seen me with Levi.
Then I don’t know what would have happened.
I’ve forgotten her name, but she seems to be the office gossip and Helen, the manager’s, sidekick.
Day one, and neither of them like me. It’s to do with my credentials.
I’m better than both of them combined. My plan to impress the hell out of the manager went to hell from the moment Helen met me and rolled her eyes with distaste.
Some women can sense competence like it personally offends them. She was definitely one of them.
“So, you didn’t see him again for the rest of the day?”
“No. And thank God.” Because I honestly don’t know what would’ve happened if he cornered me again. My nerves would have probably ended me.
“Piper—”
“No. Whatever you’re going to say is a no from me.” I hold my hand up and wave it frantically.
Alexis laughs. Typical of her. She always manages to find the humor in pretty much everything.
“Relax.”
“Relax?” I shoot her an incredulous glare.
“Are you kidding me? I was so relaxed I had a one-night stand with a stranger who turned out to be my boss.”
I was right about that part, too. Levi is a Vale, but guess who leads the marketing and PR divisions?
Alexis laughs again.
“It’s not funny. None of it is funny.”
“Girl, please. You’re acting like the world is ending.”
Easy for her to say. She didn’t sleep with her boss.
“It kind of is though. This situation I’m having wasn’t supposed to happen.
I’m not even sure how it happened. I’m normally so careful, especially with my work.
” My breath comes out ragged. “I keep thinking, should I have done more research. Perhaps look up the owners of the company. But who does that? Of course, if you have a senior-level job, you would, but other than that, I don’t think anyone would do that.
” I’m rambling, and I can’t catch my breath.
“I agree. I can’t think of anyone who would check out the owners, especially for a temp job.”
“Exactly.” I flick my palms over, as if that’s supposed to give our assessment weight. “So, I didn’t go wrong.”
“No, ma’am, you did not.”
“But I still…”
“For the love of God, please do not say you regret the one-night stand.”
My chest caves. I stare back at her, wanting to say that I do regret it, except I don’t. Even after the grand discovery, I don’t.
I don’t regret it at all. And that can’t be good.
It means I’d do it again.
“It’s just crazy. Everything feels crazy, and I’m still trying to piece it together. He was only supposed to own a club, not be a billionaire.”
I made full use of my one-hour lunch break and did my research.
Levi wasn’t kidding when he called the club his playground. It is. Wicked Dares is like a side hustle to him in the grand scheme of everything else he does.
He’s a senior hedge fund analyst, one of the best in the country.
The internet practically worships him. I found hundreds of articles about his deals, photos from charity galas, lists ranking him as one of the most eligible billionaires in New York.
All the wealth and luxury I noticed at the club and his Hamptons mansion made sense when I read that. But then it already made sense because the club, which has only been in operation for two years, brings in millions.
“This is not a bad thing.” Alexis taps my hand reassuringly. “Think of it as a shift in the tide.”
“You sound like your grandma.”
We both laugh at that.
“And she’d be right if she said that. I think last night needed to happen.” Her smile falters and the humor in her eyes dims. “You needed to be with someone else after Reece.”
And there lies the heart of all my problems.
Reece St. James.
Yes, after what that monster put me through I absolutely did need to be with someone else, even to remove the cruel sting of his final touch.
“You’re not wrong,” I say with reflection, taking in a slow breath.
“I know and I also think the experience was good for you. Good to show you you’ve moved on completely.”
“I already moved on.”
“Not like this, sweetie. Being intimate with another man after you’ve come out of a long-term relationship is a different kind of moving on. Trust me, I know.”
Alexis could be crazy at times, but she is right. And she has the experience. Though the long-term ex she’s talking about moved to a different country. They had an amicable split. I did not.
I haven’t dated or been with anyone since Reece. Not until last night.
That’s three years.
It was never that I didn’t have the chance to date; I just wasn’t in the right head space to be with anyone.
Being with Reece screwed with my mind in ways I can’t even begin to express.
That asshole wasn’t just manipulative. He was reckless, controlling, and just…
insane, a deadly combo that put him behind bars.
The reckless part of him was what made him think it was a good idea to get hooked on drugs and get fired from a good accounting job. The controlling part made him lie to me to get access to my money to set up his own firm. He manipulated me into giving up my dreams with more lies.
When his business failed because he’d ironically lost control, the insanity part took over. That’s the part that made him snap and hold his clients at gunpoint because they told him they were going to take their business elsewhere.
Then there was what he did to me after, when he went on the run…
Even now the memory makes my soul shy away.
I press my lips together and shove it from my mind. I don’t want to think about those parts. The terror alone would ruin me.
I often wonder how I got mixed up with a guy like him. After Reece, I stopped trusting my own judgment and myself.
Even when I remembered it didn’t start that way. Reece was different when we first met. Back then he wasn’t a monster.
“Hey, you okay?” Alexis shakes my elbow.
I blink, centering my mind. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just remembering stuff.”
“Bad stuff.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t. You don’t need to do that anymore.”
“No, I don’t.” I give her a small smile. “And I guess I really did seize the moment last night.” I let out a nervous laugh.
“You certainly did.”
I touch my cheeks and shake my head. “I can’t believe I had a one-night stand, though. Me.”
Mischief returns to her face. “I can believe it. You were like a trapped bird desperate to break free. Besides, Levi Vale is hot. You would be crazy if you’d turned him down.”
Maybe. But that didn’t make me dislike the situation any less.
Alexis sits forward and narrows her eyes. “I just realized you haven’t told me what he said.”
There is a reason for that.
I don’t know what to make of his reaction.
“He was surprised.”
“But what did he say?”
“Basically… that he’d be seeing more of me. And welcome to Vale Global.”
Her mouth drops again, and she snaps her neck so hard it’s a miracle she doesn’t break it. “What? Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“It’s not important.”
“Piper, I can’t believe you right now. Clearly, the guy wants to see you again.”
That’s exactly what I thought, but I shot down the idea. “I don’t want to read too much into it.”
“There’s nothing to read into. It’s clear as day.” She giggles. “He’s giving me Sebastian Drake vibes.”
I roll my eyes at her, though I shouldn’t be surprised she’d say something like that.
When we were younger, she was infatuated with Sebastian Drake, a mafia boss from a series we used to watch.
He was obsessed with a woman who saved his father’s life.
He ended up claiming her and making all her dreams come true because he wanted her for himself.
She fell for him, alright, even with his dark, dangerous lifestyle.
“Alexis, there’s no Sebastian Drake here. Levi is just… different.” I’ve never met anyone like him. Usually, cockiness is a big turn-off for me, but Levi Vale makes cocky look as good as a sin worth committing.
“And what does different mean for you?” Alexis keeps her eyes trained on me. “Different can be a good thing, as you know.”
“Different can also be too much for me.”
The sad thing is, as exciting as last night was, it was too much for me.
“But you like him. I can see that you do. Or you wouldn’t look so nervous.”
There wasn’t much not to like about Levi Vale. It was all about timing. “I think I need to focus on getting back on my feet. Just for now. Moving to New York was a big deal for me.”
I had to rebuild after Reece, practically start from scratch with no money and a big employment gap on my résumé. After we broke up, the one thing I was sure of was that I couldn’t stay in San Francisco anymore. So, I left, leaving all my friends and family behind.
New York was the first place that came to mind because of Alexis. I also figured it could be a good place to get my career off the ground.
Alexis’ expression softens with understanding and her shoulders relax. “I understand.” She nods. “Just don’t take too long and let the hot guys slip through your fingers. There may not be anyone left. I certainly wouldn’t turn down a guy like Levi Vale.”
“I know you wouldn’t.” I chuckle, giving her a playful shove.
Just then, my doorbell rings. That would be our pizza. The normalcy of it feels surreal after the kind of day I’ve had.
“I’ll get it. You put your feet up.” She’s already standing before I can answer.
I let her go and stare ahead at the boxes I have yet to unpack.
I’m worried about tomorrow. It’s all good and well to have this whole conversation, but what about tomorrow?
Levi and I didn’t exactly talk that much. But maybe that’s just the thing; what we said was enough. Saying anything more than we did may have gotten me in trouble.
Silence is safest. So is distance.