Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Lauren
Stupid Husband
I have shared your number with Arkady Volkov. I told him it was just informational, no pressure.
Me
Thank you!
I sent over the divorce papers. Did you get them?
Stupid Husband
I have received so much mail. I will have to check.
Me
You do that.
Esme put her head around the door. “Jason Isner’s here to sign his contract.”
“Oh, great. Send him in.”
But Jason was already pushing his way by my assistant, waving a box, one I recognized. It was from Sweet Mandy B’s, a cupcake place in the city.
“Those had better be—”
“Iced molasses cookies.”
“And?”
“A chocolate cupcake. Because you’re kind of extra.”
“You may enter.”
Grinning, he parked his ass in a seat and pushed the box toward me.
“Did you want coffee?” I asked.
“Actually, I stopped and got beverages for everyone.”
Esme brought a loaded tray holder inside. “I can’t believe you remembered my drink.” She looked all aflutter, though it was a waste of time. This man had eyes for only two women: a nerdy scientist and their baby girl.
“Mind like a steel trap, Ez,” he bragged. “Vanilla skim latte with a splash of cocoa powder—pretty easy to remember.”
Esme sighed. “Wish my boyfriend remembered. You know he—”
“Thanks, Esme,” I interjected, which happily coincided with the phone ringing in the reception area. Once she had closed the door, I glared at Jason. “Why are you encouraging her?”
“I’m merely demonstrating the pinnacle of good boy-friending. I don’t mind being the model for men everywhere.”
I gazed upon him bitterly. Thank God I’d never found him attractive.
Picking up the double tall skim latte he had brought me, I gestured with my other hand. “Please may I see the latest photos of my goddaughter?”
“Eh, Cat and Rosie are her godmothers.”
“I’m her hockey one. I was holding her cute little fingers while you almost drowned her in that Cup during that heathen backyard baptism.”
He grinned and pulled out his phone. As suspected, he’d spent all morning photographing Cammi in her crib, and the results were adorable.
“She’s already smiling,” he said. “Theo claims it’s gas-related, but he doesn’t know how smart my little girl is. He had Hatch as his first, which was probably a great disappointment.”
Competitive with his brother in everything. “So, are you excited to sign with Buntastic?”
“Sure, anything that contributes to Cammi’s college fund and highlights my most excellent ass.
” I had scored a deal with an up-and-coming underwear brand for Jason, one of my proudest achievements because these start-ups usually skewed younger.
They wanted a multi-prong strategy, and a late-thirties hockey butt with a wholesome image was part of it.
“We could video this for your socials.”
He gestured for a pen. “Go for it.” Once the signing was done, he sat back. “How are you?”
“Good. Working on building my stable.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Trying to get Riley Thorne on board. I think she’s going to do great things.”
“She’s Cassie O’Brien’s daughter, right? You know Mia Wallace went to college with her. They played on the Athenas together before your time.”
“Right, I’d forgotten about that. I should talk to Mia and see if I have an in there.” I smiled at him. “Knew you had your uses.”
“Not only am I good at making connections so you can do your job properly, but I’m also good at making other connections. Interesting, personal ones.”
I broke off a piece of my iced molasses cookie, my favorite treat in the world. As I popped it in my mouth, I held up a finger for Jason to shut the fuck up while I enjoyed this moment of bliss, a moment I assumed he was about to ruin. Once I’d swallowed, I gestured for him to carry on.
“You were saying?”
“That I’m good at making connections. Or seeing what the naked eye often misses.”
I rolled my own naked eyes. “Any chance you might reveal all sometime this millennium?”
“What’s with you and Nazarov?”
Not what I wanted to talk about at all. “No idea what you mean.”
“You were kind of weird with each other yesterday. Biting, I would have said.”
“We’ve never really gotten along.”
He frowned. “My recollection is that you got along pretty well. You were good friends.”
“More like acquaintances.”
He shifted in his seat, then leaned forward, forearms on my desk. “How’s the divorce thing going?”
“Slowly. The other party isn’t as cooperative as I’d like.”
“You need me to talk to him? It is a him, right?”
“Yes, it’s a him.”
“Okay. Listen … is it someone I know?”
I couldn’t lie to him. (Oh, but you can lie to your boyfriend, huh?)
Before I could muster a suitable response, he said, “Nazarov already told me.”
I shot up from my desk, sending cookie crumbs everywhere. “That dill weed! I’m going to slice his throat with a skate blade!”
He winced. “Ease up there, Attila. He didn’t say a word.”
“But …” I’d only gone and fallen for the oldest trick in the book. “Did he even hint at it?”
“Not at all. I asked him why you were off with each other and he blamed me! Said I must have done something to piss you off that I couldn’t remember.”
That made me chuckle. Typical sneaky Nazarov.
“It’s under control.”
Jason’s eyes bugged out. “That’s it? I think I need a little bit more than ‘it’s under control’. How? When? What the fuck, Lo?”
I offered up an abbreviated version of events while I readied my cupcake for the Great Vanishing down my gullet.
“So as you can see, this is a bit of a pickle. But I’m handling it. And now you can talk to your know-it-all girlfriend about it all you want.”
“The doc knows?”
I smiled, revealing cupcake-covered teeth.
“Maybe your blessed life isn’t as perfect as you think.
She overheard me talking to him at the Cup victory party and I swore her to secrecy.
Don’t give her a hard time—she was just being a good friend.
In fact, I got the impression that she had scientific ways of inflicting pain on any man who might be threatening me. ”
“She thought that about Nazarov?”
I sighed. “He hinted that he might blab to Thad if I didn’t go to dinner with him. Another deke I fell for.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t know that’s his style. So you’re what—dating now?”
“We are negotiating the terms of surrender.”
I thought back to dinner and how much I enjoyed it.
Not just the food and the fact someone else was paying—always loved that—but the company.
When we stayed away from the landmine issues of our past and what happened in Vegas, it was fun.
Talking hockey, careers, how much the game meant to us.
The sizzle of energy between us was electric.
And far too dangerous. I shouldn’t be even thinking of that Russian tool, never mind the fun times. No more martinis!
“What does Thad think?”
I squirmed in my seat. “Nothing. Because I haven’t told him.”
Cue the cartoon double take. “You’re kidding.”
“He’s been so busy putting together a deal, then he had to leave town on business. I had hoped all this nonsense would be squared away by the time he returns. And it will be—I can make it happen. I just need some leverage with Ass-arov to make it go faster.”
Jason put an entire cupcake in his mouth, chewed once, twice, and swallowed.
“Do you want to marry Thad?”
“Of course! Why do you think I’m trying to get rid of the Russian deadweight?”
“Okay. So you’re planning a life with this guy and you’re not going to tell him that you’re married to someone else?”
Cold unease trickled through me. “I’m used to handling problems like this—making them go away before they’ve even become real issues.”
“For your clients, Lo. But this isn’t a client. This is the guy you plan to love, cherish, and the rest. That’s not a good way to start your life with your person.”
Your person. Why did Nazarov’s face swim into focus on hearing that phrase instead of Thad’s? I lay my head on the desk and groaned.
It didn’t stop Jason from droning on with his morality TED talk.
“Believe me, I’m a big fan of the white lie for self-preservation, but that’s one of your things, isn’t it?
Honesty. After what your dad put you through, liars are the kind of people you despise.
And you want to lie about your marital status to your future fiancé and husband? ”
I peeked up. “This upright integrity spiel is very disturbing. I expected better.”
He remained serious, which was when I knew he was right. I had to come clean.
“I get the urge to take the easy road and try to manage this yourself. But you need to be relying on your guy for emotional support. I can’t help you.”
“And why not?”
“Because I might actually think this marriage to Naz isn’t such a bad thing.”
I pointed at him. “Wash your mouth out.”
“Can’t. I’m still enjoying the post-cupcake effect.” He grinned. “Come on, Lo. Are you telling me that this hasty marriage in Vegas was pure accident? Even how you’re reacting now—it’s giving a hundred times more passion than whatever you have with Thad.”
I shook my head vehemently. “No, no, no. This passion you’re witnessing is me feeling trapped by Nazarov and needing out. And don’t start giving me shit about the universe. I need you on my side here, Jason. I need you to talk to him and tell him to make this divorce happen.”
He inhaled deeply, and after a long pause, said, “If that’s what you want.”
“It is. Absolutely.”
And in the meantime, I would think about how to break the news of my marriage to my boyfriend.