Man in Charge

Chapter 21

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

TESS

“ Y our fiancé,” I repeated because no way. No fucking way was Scott Sebastian—the man who’d assured me he was unattached, the man I’d spent the last three weeks flirting with and fucking, the man that had brought me coffee when I’d woken up this morning in his bed—engaged to Kendra Montgomery.

But there he was, standing next to her looking as uncomfortable as I felt as his eyes darted everywhere in an attempt to hide from mine. And there she was with a ring the size of a Chapstick lid on her finger. Which was why I didn’t put a question at the end of the statement because of course he was her fiancé. Of fucking course.

“Surprise!” Kendra’s smile was overly bright. Like she was trying too hard, and suddenly I decided this had to be some prank. That she’d found out about me going behind her back to pitch to the Sebastians and this was her way of revenge.

But then why was Scott letting her thread her arm through his like that?

She must have told him, and this was his revenge for my secrets. This whole ruse was maybe even his idea.

Fuck. I probably deserved it.

No, I didn’t. This was a cruel, cruel joke.

“Are you serious right now?” As I spoke the words, I knew that she was. Because Kendra Montgomery wouldn’t go to these lengths—involving her parents, throwing a party—just to call me out.

She stopped trying to force the smile. “I should have said something to you,” she said guiltily. “I know. And you can hate me later for that, I promise. Right now, you can meet Scott.”

She peered up at her fiancé (her fucking fiancé) and gave him a smile that was more genuine. “This is my assistant, Tess Turani.”

She seemed to expect a handshake, but I didn’t put mine out, and neither did he.

“Tess and I have already…” he began, his brows furrowed, and I realized he was about to tell her that we’d already met, a fact she should have known if she’d actually sent me to pitch to his company in her place.

So he didn’t know about my deceit. And she didn’t either. Which meant this was either all for real, or I was having the most horrifying nightmare of my lifetime, and since the half-size-too-small shoes I’d stolen from Kendra’s closet were currently pinching my toes with legit pain, I decided it had to be real.

I was too shocked/mortified/betrayed to even try to jump in and rescue myself.

Thankfully, he didn’t finish the thought. “Did you say assistant?” Scott asked, zeroing in on my title with the attention to detail he’d displayed over the last three weeks.

If the world opened up and swallowed me on the spot, it would have been an improvement to the night.

“Probably not an apt title for her,” Kendra said. “I can’t do anything without Tess. She keeps my head on straight.”

That could be the description of an employee who steps in to pitch to heavy-hitter clients when the boss is out of town. Right?

Possibly. If Scott would accept that and let it drop, but as seemed to be the current trend for my life, he didn’t. “It’s great that your business has grown to the point that you can have someone help you present to clients.”

I didn’t know it was possible to feel smaller than I already did.

Kendra’s gaze went to the floor. “Oh. Well. She doesn’t pitch. Yet. We keep talking about it.” When she brought her eyes back to mine, there was an apology in them. Or a promise that she really had meant to give me that opportunity, it just hadn’t been the right time, and all that other bullshit she fed me whenever I asked her for a chance.

I was quickly remembering all the reasons I resented my friend turned boss.

Scott appeared rightfully confused. “But you had her present to?—”

“Let’s not talk business on such a happy occasion,” I said, rushing in. So he knew now that I’d deceived him. And Kendra still didn’t. That didn’t mean we needed to cause a scene by getting into it now.

Though a scene couldn’t make the moment any worse than it was now.

He was her fiancé.

I forced an expression that I hoped looked pleasant. “Congratulations to both of you. It’s a hell of a surprise. Oh, there’s your father, K. I haven’t had a chance to say hi to him yet, and I’m sure you have plenty more people to greet, so I’ll just…”

I took off, letting my words trail away as I headed toward Martin Montgomery. I didn’t know what I was going to say when I got to him. There was a ball in the back of my throat, and the only thing I could manage to think was he’s her fiancé over and over again in my head.

But he’d been my excuse for escape, and now that my feet were walking toward him, I didn’t know how to change course. If I had any control over thought in my head, I would have gone straight to my room instead. Or, better yet, I would have called an Uber and gone home to die in Teyana’s arms instead of at a fancy dinner party. I wouldn’t have cared if Scott and Kendra were watching. I would have just run.

“Tess, I thought that was you.” Martin Montgomery gave me the same fatherly hug that he always did when greeting me. “Kendra was quite insistent that you come. In fact, you’re the only person she cared to invite when we decided to throw this together this morning. Something about needing you at her side.”

Even in my daze, that seemed strange. Kendra was sort of a lone wolf. Sometimes, though our friendship had disintegrated since college, I had the feeling I was still her closest friend. But she still had a socialite brand, and she definitely had women in her circle who should have been invited to an engagement announcement. Why was I number one on the list when she hadn’t even bothered to tell me she was engaged?

It was almost as if she didn’t want anyone to know.

More likely, I was making too much out of it. It wasn’t something I could properly think about at the moment. I needed air. I needed out.

“I’m grateful as always for your hospitality, Martin, and glad I could be here for your daughter.” Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. “I hope you don’t mind, though. I’m feeling a bit under the weather suddenly, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m headed to my room for Advil.” And to change because I wasn’t wearing Vera Wang on the train back to NYC, and that was definitely where I was headed next.

“Yes, of course. Sorry to hear that. Please let the staff know if there’s anything they can get you.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I was already moving away, my head turned in his direction, which was why I didn’t notice the bulk of a man standing in front of me until I’d bumped squarely into him. “Excuse me, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Oh. Mr. Sebastian.”

I couldn’t decide if it was better or worse that this particular Sebastian wasn’t Scott but rather his father.

“Henry,” he corrected, his voice as gruff as when I’d last seen him back at Sebastian Industrial during the meeting to discuss his company sponsoring the Dysautonomia Relief Foundation.

The meeting where I’d acted as though I had the authority to be coordinating the sponsorship when I most certainly did not.

And I’d thought my evening couldn’t get any worse.

“Henry,” I conceded. “I apologize for bumping into you. I’m not feeling well, and I was in a rush to get out.” I tried to step out of the way, but he stepped with me.

“Now that Kendra’s back, I’m expecting she’ll take over the negotiations,” he said as though I hadn’t just told him I was sick. What if I’d needed to throw up? I wished I had to so I could puke all over his Berluti Scritto shoes.

“We haven’t discussed it yet. I really don’t want to cloud the occasion with talk of work.” Once again, I took a step to the side.

Once again, he blocked me. “When you do discuss it, I’m certain that Kendra will come to the conclusion that clients as important as SIC deserve to be handled by the top-tier talent.”

Ah. It was a threat. A subtle one, but a threat nonetheless. He’d been the one obstacle to getting the sponsorship contract signed. Scott had promised he’d come around, and that Henry was having this conversation at all seemed to suggest that he would. If Kendra was the one handling the deal and not me.

If I had any dignity, I would have stood up for myself.

But I was in no position to do so. And if there was any chance that the DRF could still get the sponsorship, I had to play nice.

“I’m sure she’ll probably agree,” I said, which was more the truth than he realized since I was definitely fired when Kendra discovered what I’d done.

“If this foundation means anything to you, as I’m guessing it does since you waxed on so passionately the other day, then she will agree.”

I’d understood the first time, but I managed to keep the bite out of my tone. “I’ll discuss it with her first thing tomorrow.” On the phone from my apartment in Jersey City.

“Excellent. We’re staying the night as well. Let me know if you’d like me to pop in on the conversation.”

Goddammit all to hell, they were staying the night?

Kendra’s mother had said there weren’t any extra rooms available. It made sense that the Montgomerys would suggest that their daughter’s future in-laws stayed in Greenwich instead of heading back to the city so late on a Saturday.

Which meant Scott was undoubtedly staying the night as well.

Which meant I had to stay the night too so I could actually talk to Kendra about the DRF and what I’d done. If I wanted the sponsorship to happen, anyway.

If it weren’t for Teyana, my best friend, I might have decided it wasn’t worth it. But Tey was the whole reason I’d deceived everyone in the first place. She had POTS, an autonomic disorder, and getting SIC to sponsor the DRF in order to get more funding, research, and awareness of what my friend went through on a daily basis was a high priority because of her. It was personal.

“I’ll let you know if I need you,” I said, my voice tight. “Now, please, if you’ll excuse me.” I’d stay the night, but I wasn’t staying at this fucking party.

This time he let me step around him.

Only to be stopped by Kendra. Thankfully, she was no longer with Scott.

“Please don’t be mad at me for not telling you,” she pleaded.

Honestly, with as little as she told me about her personal life these days, I wasn’t all that surprised to discover she was getting married when I didn’t even know she’d been seriously dating. In any other circumstances, I would have probably rolled my eyes and said that figures .

But she was engaged to Scott. And though it wasn’t her fault for his betrayal, I was mad at her all the same. And there were plenty of other reasons to be mad at her, like for sending me on one ridiculous task to another at her whim and treating me like I was less than her. Besides, being angry gave me something to barter with tomorrow when she discovered she had just as much (if not more) reason to be angry at me.

“This isn’t the best time to talk about it, K.” Like I had with Henry, I moved to step around her.

And like Henry, she blocked my path. “Tess, please, please, please. I can’t do this if you’re mad.”

“You can’t do what? Be social? Be engaged?” My voice had crept louder than I’d meant it to. I pulled it down when I went on. “I think you’re doing just fine on your own.”

I started around her, then changed my mind, suddenly needing to say more. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Huh, maybe I was more hurt about being left out than I’d initially thought.

“It just happened!”

“It just happened. Like today you woke up and decided ‘I’m getting married, and oh yeah, I even have an engagement ring hidden in one of my designer purses.’”

She made a sound of exasperation. “Okay, part of it happened a few months ago, but today was the day I decided to say yes. I didn’t know if I wanted to. That’s why I had to go away. To figure it all out.”

That didn’t help. Because even if Scott hadn’t been officially engaged when he was with me, he certainly couldn’t have forgotten he’d proposed to a woman not that long ago. A woman who he knew very well was my boss.

“You could have talked to me about it,” I said, trying to stay focused on what her secrets said about my relationship with her rather than my relationship with Scott. “I could have helped. You said you can’t do anything without me. If you really relied on me like you pretend, you would have explained what was going on.”

Nope. None of this was helping. I was just getting more mad.

Actually, it was helping me feel less guilty about my deceit. More vindicated in going behind her back because fuck her.

And fuck Scott Sebastian.

This time when I stepped around her, she grabbed my arm. “Where are you going? Are you leaving? Please don’t leave!”

At least she was aware enough to consider that was an option.

I almost changed my mind again and told her that I was.

But the DRF. But Tey.

“I’m leaving this conversation, and I’m leaving this party. I’m going upstairs to take a bath and a handful of Advil. Anything more you want to say can be said tomorrow.”

She seemed buoyed by the fact that I wasn’t leaving her house. “We can talk tonight! I’ll come by your room after everyone’s gone.”

There was no way I had energy for this tonight.

“No way. Not tonight. I’m tired. I’ve had a long week. After my bath, I’m going to bed.” Where I’d likely cry myself to sleep.

Her face fell, but she conceded. “Tomorrow then. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

I pulled away and beelined for the stairs, her final apology ringing in my ears.

I believed her too.

But it wasn’t nearly enough to make me feel any less shattered. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes. Soon. I could let them fall soon. Just had to get to…

A firm hand wrapped around my arm and dragged me into the butler’s pantry. “We need to talk,” Scott said.

I was hurt. I was heartbroken. But my primary emotion at the sight of him was rage. “You’re fucking engaged!” Despite the shot of warmth that seared through my body at his touch, I pushed him off of me like he had a disease.

“You’re her assistant ,” he said with equal venom.

“Don’t even pretend like that’s the same level of deceit.” I recalled all the times he’d specifically lied and saw now how he’d managed to step around the truth at every turn. I am not currently obligated to anyone in any way , he’d said the first night we were together. Has she ever mentioned me? he’d asked when I’d asked how close he was to Kendra. There you go , he’d said when I’d told him she barely spoke about him at all.

God, I was an idiot. Such a big fucking idiot.

“Some people would very much say it is the same level of deceit,” he said, digging his heels in on the You Lied More claim. “They might even say lying to get the support of a billion-dollar company is worse.”

When he put it that way, my lie was bad.

But for it to be worse, it meant that corporations came before people, and I didn’t agree with that at all. “If you’re one of those people, you are not who I thought you were.”

It hadn’t really bore saying. I obviously didn’t know him at all.

Or maybe it had borne saying because it made him clamp his mouth shut and take on a guilty frown.

With his anger reined in, mine didn’t exactly dissipate, but it spread out and thinned so that I could better feel what was underneath it—humiliation, heartbreak, guilt.

“My lie is helping people.” I didn’t know if I was justifying to him or myself.

“It’s helpful to sneak around behind your boss’s back? Kendra had no idea we’d met, Tess. Why wouldn’t she know that you’re working with us? And she said you never pitched.” His eyes flashed as he thought of something. “Wait. If she doesn’t know about your pitch—Jesus, Tess, do not tell me this isn’t a legit deal.”

If he was only considering this now, it had to mean he was feeling thrown too. “It is legit! Of course it is. Your company is the one drawing up the contracts. Anyone could be a liaison between you and the DRF. I could have said I was from anywhere, and the deal would still be good. I only said I was with Conscience Connect because it gave me credibility. Well, and because I do actually work for CC, just not in that capacity.”

Now that I’d started, it all rushed out. “But I’ve been ready to pitch for a long time, and no one knows the DRF like I do; at least, Kendra doesn’t. I knew you would be a perfect fit with them, and I suggested she pitch to you, but she didn’t want us to go to you for it. She wouldn’t even let me suggest it without jumping all over me.”

“Because of me,” he said quietly, sinking back against the counter behind him.

I sank against the counter opposite him. “Then she left town, and I met Brett, and he told me you were looking for an organization to promote, and I wasn’t looking for it, but I saw the opportunity to show what I could do and to help the DRF. And if she kills it all…” I could explain everything to her, and it might not help. She could decide she doesn’t care about keeping face with the DRF. Now that I understood her relationship with SIC, there was no way she was going to damage her relationship with them. Especially not if she could pin all the wasted time and energy on an employee gone rogue. “I really didn’t think this through.”

“I’ll take care of it.” It was the same voice he’d used in the conference room when he’d assured me his dad would sign the contracts.

I’d been as dubious that he had the authority then as I was now. “You can’t?—”

He cut me off. “I can, and I will. The contracts will be signed. Kendra’s business savvy enough not to fight it, and my father will get behind it. You don’t need to worry. Whatever happens, I’ll make sure he does.”

I was still trying to make sense of his emphatic reassurance when he went on. “It makes sense more than ever that I support it now.”

My heart sank with the reminder of why it made sense. “You’re engaged.”

“Tess—” My name sounded as pained as I felt. Like he’d been shot with an arrow in the chest, and it was the sound he made as he went down.

Before he could go on, a woman I only recognized from my earlier internet stalking poked her head into the pantry. “There you are. The photographer wants to get a shot of you and Kendra together.”

Scott’s mother eyed me with a look that said she suspected we’d been fooling around. “Really, Scott? Tonight?”

She almost made it sound like any other night she caught him cheating on his new fiancée would have been fine. It might have been humorous if the mood wasn’t so dire.

He straightened, then looked at his mother as if to say give me another minute . When she didn’t leave, he sighed and looked at me. “This isn’t over, Tess.”

I waited a beat after he left. Not because I cared if anyone saw us coming out of the pantry together because really, I couldn’t give a fuck. I waited because the rage had left when he had, and now I was crippled with the impulse to fall to the ground and weep.

Somehow I managed to stay standing.

Somehow I managed to slip out and make my way to the stairs.

Somehow I managed to make it to my room where I shut my door, put my back against it, sank to the floor, and sobbed.