Chapter 28
PUT HER FOOT DOWN
“What brings you by?” London shouted when her cousin Nelson popped his head into Paris’s office across from her.
Nelson turned. “Thought I’d come check out the digs. Sorry I haven’t been down. Just been swamped.”
“No worries. It’s not as if we haven’t talked or seen you.”
“I’ve seen you more,” Paris said. “Now that you’re back, did you want to meet about Penelope Plush?”
“We can,” Nelson said. “Didn’t want to stop in unannounced and put you on the spot for that.”
“Then why did you stop in? Because you’ve got a look in your eye that you’re going to tattle on someone. We know. Memphis was the same way,” she said, reminded of her younger brother.
Paris laughed. “She’s not wrong. He was a little snitch more times than not.”
“It didn’t look that way when I worked with him a while ago.”
When West invested in Phoenix’s business, Nelson went down to cut his teeth on his first big undertaking with West overseeing it. Once things were set, Memphis finished his MBA and came in and took over where Nelson left off.
Her oldest brother, Phoenix, was more about the science and his time in the labs. He wanted to create, not manage.
Memphis wanted to tell everyone what to do and slid right into the Director of Operations position with heavy oversight.
London knew that she and Paris would make a trip to Nix Plastics in the future to go over production and HR. Not to fix problems but maybe to prevent any from happening.
“He’s doing well,” Nelson said. “I thought you guys were, but maybe London is making more waves.”
“What?” she asked. “I haven’t heard anything.”
“Which is why I’m here,” Nelson said. “I finished meeting with Braylon not that long ago and I heard your name coming out of Spencer’s office.”
“I was on the phone with him,” she said.
“No, this was after. He was with Noelle. I hadn’t realized it until she opened the door.”
“Were you standing there listening?” Paris asked. Her twin stood up and walked out of her office to stand in the doorway.
She was still looking at Nelson and hoped nothing on her face gave away what was going through her mind.
“I did,” Nelson said. “I’m a pro at that.”
Paris glanced at her again. “What did you hear?”
“That Noelle figured out who you two are.”
“Oh,” she said. “Not that we wanted that, but we knew it wouldn’t stay secret forever.”
“No,” Nelson said. “But she was complaining about you.”
“I can’t believe Noelle is still holding onto the fact that I told her to stay in her lane weeks ago.”
“That came up,” Nelson said. “Good for you, she needs it. I don’t like the way she talked to Kenzie, but she’s dialed it all back. She wasn’t thrilled she was put under Spencer, but from what I heard things were fine.”
“Then why are you here winding up London?” Paris asked.
Nelson grinned. “Sorry. Don’t mean to be. More like watch your back. She’s pissed that she thinks you’ve got a chip on your shoulder and can do and say what you want because of who you are.”
Her lips sucked against her teeth, her tongue aching from holding back the urge to say what she was really thinking.
“That’s not true for us any more than it is for you,” she managed, her voice flat.
“I know that,” Nelson said. “Most people do.”
“But not all?” Paris asked, her tone sharper.
Nelson gave a half-shrug. “Just a heads-up that Noelle knows. And she’s the type who likes to get her digs in. Petty, dramatic, and not above stirring shit or pretending someone else started it.”
“I know,” she said, her jaw tight. “I’ve seen it.”
“Then watch your back,” Nelson continued. “I’ve seen her flirting with Spencer. As if she’s trying to get his ear or get him to lean into her ways more.”
Her fists clenched so hard her nails dug into her palms. She forced her expression to remain neutral, like none of this bothered her. Like hearing that wasn’t setting off warning bells and something disturbingly close to jealousy.
Noelle stirring the pot was one thing.
Noelle hitting on her man—the man she wasn’t even sure she had a right to claim—was another.
Just one more reason to tell Spencer she wasn’t working with Noelle anymore. Period.
Petty or not, it might be time to put her foot down.
“I’d like to think he knows what Noelle is doing,” she said, her voice coming out hoarse and barely controlled.
“He does,” Nelson said. “He’s not stupid. And he’s a good guy. Seriously, don’t take it to heart. Everyone knows what Noelle is like. Spencer won’t buy it. Just… stay aware when she’s hovering when you’re on the floor.”
“Got it,” she said.
“I’ll reach out with a time to meet.” He dipped his head and walked away.
She shut her office door before Paris even spoke.
“Get it out. Let it out,” Paris said.
“If I scream as loud as I want to, Molly’s going to think you’re murdering me in here and then you’ll lose your new favorite.”
Paris huffed. “I’m honestly not sure what you’re more pissed about. Noelle knowing who we are, her trashing you, or flirting with Spencer. I want to say it’s the last one, but that doesn’t sound like the sister I know.”
“The first two,” she said immediately.
Paris just raised an eyebrow. “Don’t lie. The last one is at least tied.”
Maybe it was.
Maybe it absolutely was.
She wasn’t used to having to fight for a man. Or dealing with the jealous, possessive storm crowding her brain right now.
And she hated that a woman like Noelle had the power to spark it.
“I need to talk to him,” she said, standing up.
“You think going up there like that is a good thing?” Paris asked. “He’s going to know the minute you walk in the office what happened. Not to mention it might get back to Noelle.”
“Then I’ll have him come here,” she said.
“Don’t you think you should cool down first?”
“No. If I cool down then I’m not going to get out everything I need to say.”
“So you’re going to throw Nelson under the bus? Think about what you’re doing.”
“I can’t think. That’s the problem.” She picked her phone up and sent the text before she could stop herself. “You’ve got a warning to get out of the office. Maybe take Molly with you.”
“You don’t even know if he’s around.”
“We were going to have lunch at one. I just told him to come here so we could talk first.”
“Are you at least giving him a heads up of what he’s walking into?”
“Why, so he can prepare? No,” she said, shaking her head. “I need the next thirty minutes to calm down.”
“I’m taking Molly out for lunch then. You don’t need witnesses.”
“I thought for sure you’d want to know all the deets.”
“You’ll tell me I’m sure,” Paris said, then walked down the hall where she heard her sister telling Molly their lunch plans.
She shut her door and paced. It’d calm her down. It always did in the past.
But it didn’t this time when Spencer popped around her doorway.
“Did you order something for lunch?” he asked.
“Nope. We’re going to talk first.”
His shoulders dropped. “Now what happened?”
“What do you think happened?”
He shut the door behind him and lowered himself into the chair across from her, his posture steady, his eyes locked on hers like he was bracing for impact. Not that he would let anyone know he was, but she knew him well enough by now.
“I’m not guessing,” he said. “And I’m not playing whatever game you think this is. If you’re pissed about something, you’ll tell me. If you just need me to sit here so you can vent and maybe let me help, then that’s what we’ll do.”
Damn him.
Why did he have the ability to cut straight through her defenses like that?
To reach right under her armor and touch nerves she’d rather pretend didn’t exist?
Especially when all she wanted to do was snap at him.
Bite his head off.
Throw all her frustration right in his lap and dare him to handle it.
And she was going to.
She knew it, he probably knew it too, and she’d already accepted she’d regret at least half of it later.
But she had to get out the anger, the jealousy, the irritation, the whole messy knot of emotions she’d been choking on since Nelson’s little visit.
One way or another, it was coming out. Even if it was selfish of her to dump it on him so she could feel better.
“I heard Noelle is trashing me again. That she found out who we are and thinks that’s the reason she got called out.”
“Nelson told you?” he asked calmly.
“Does it matter who did?”
“Not really. But he’s the only one who I can see doing it right now. The timing is right and he was by the door when Noelle was in my office. What else did he hear?”
“You’re not denying it?”
“Nope. She knows. She has an issue with you. She thinks you are riding a high horse because West is your cousin. You know, all those things you thought would happen when people found out. So they are. I’m not sure why you’re upset unless it’s because of the person who found out.”
“You’re right. I didn’t want people to know for that reason.”
“And you were told it’d come out, so you’ve had time to prepare. What’s the big deal?”
She hated how calm he was. “I’m not acting this way because of West. It’s who I am.”
“I know that. I think most do. If someone has a problem with it, they will take it up with you.”
She crossed her arms, her chair squeaking as she rocked back and forth in it. “What else did she say?”
“Does it matter? I took care of it.”
“I want to know what was said and what you took care of.”
“She thinks you’re bitchy. We’ve all seen signs of it, myself included. I’m not offended by your personality. I’ve learned how to handle it,” he said, a smirk lifting at the corner of his lip.
Now he was joking.
Any other time she might find that statement funny.
But not now.
She ignored it. “She should look in the mirror then if she thinks I’m bitchy since she went to you to complain.”
“She admitted she was that way and then said that, since I’m her boss, she hoped she could come to me to vent behind closed doors.”
“And you let her?” she asked, her voice rising. “You let her trash the woman who was in your bed this weekend as if I mean nothing?”
That got a rise out of him. “London,” he said, his voice low but touched with a growl like quality. “What am I supposed to say to her? No one knows about us. Do you think she’d be stupid enough to say those things about you to me if she knew of our relationship?”
“I don’t know,” she snapped. “Maybe she’s trying to get you to look at her that way.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his patience portal closing in now, his shoulders stiff, his head angled, his eyes ready to drill a hole into her.
“I heard she’s been flirting with you. I saw it myself with the first meeting.”
“I’m not encouraging anything and I sure the hell am not doing it back. Is that what this is about? You’re jealous?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Sounds it to me.”
She growled, picked her pen up and clicked it open and closed while she took several deep breaths. “Ugh, I am. I hate this.”
“Close your eyes,” he said.
“Why?”
“Just do it. Close them.”
She did. What would it hurt at this point? At least she wouldn’t see if he was laughing at her.
“Now what?”
“Breathe in, let it out. Keep doing it. Humor me,” he said when she wasn’t following his directions.
She did as he said, even if it was done with more flare than needed, and felt the tension leave her shoulders, the pen dropping on the desk, but her mind was still racing.
“Can I open them now?”
“Go ahead.”
She lifted her lids and saw him staring at her, concern in his eyes, maybe a little bit of hurt along with it. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”
“I’m disappointed. I can’t control Noelle’s thoughts. I’m not encouraging her in the least. I’d never do that, even if you and I weren’t in a relationship. I’m not sure of the type of men you’ve been with that you think I’d do that, but it’s not me.”
She wanted to dispute his words, but couldn’t. She’d been with men before who had done that and thought nothing of it. It wasn’t cheating in their eyes.
“I didn’t think you would.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“Because I’m annoyed.”
“That seems to be part of your DNA, but I don’t have to be your verbal and emotional punching bag to make you feel better.”
Not wrong there either. The shame filled her with remorse. This was why Paris said she should have calmed down first.
“I don’t like her knowing all this stuff and how she’s acting.”
“When she said that she understood that women in power came across as bitchy even if they acted the same as men, I added it was catty also. Meaning her. She knows and I got my point across when her face flooded crimson.”
“That’s something at least.”
“I think we should tell Braylon, at the very least, about our relationship.”
“No,” she blurted.
“Yes. Your reaction to Noelle flirting with me is going to show the next time you see her. The next time we are in a meeting together.”
“I don’t want to work with her anymore,” she said firmly.
“Don’t be that way. Be the bigger person. She’s not messing up now. She’s on a short leash and knows it. Removing her from your project is doing exactly what she thinks you’d do. What she expects. Don’t be predictable.”
“Grrrr. I hate when you’re right.”
“Then listen to me when I say we have to let Braylon know. It’d be better than him being blindsided. Which can or will happen if we keep hiding this. I can control my reaction...you can’t. You know it.”
“You didn’t want anyone to know either,” she pointed out.
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
“Just... before.”
Her eyes searched his for something. Anything.
One of them had to say the words at some point.
But it wouldn’t be her.