Chapter 9
Chamber~
After Ben had left, I’d been too pissed off to think straight. It had taken a few shots and quite a bit of time for me to collect my thoughts before deciding to confront Hayes.
I had also wanted to cry for how stupid I was. I had believed Hayes when he had denied wanting to date me just to get access to the club, but now that I knew the extremes that Carlie Incorporated was willing to go to in order to win, how could I not have doubts about Hayes’ intentions?
So, after drinking myself to a calmer state, I had texted Hayes to stop by the club when he could because I wasn’t about to have this conversation at my place or his house. That’d be too personal, and I needed my head in the game for this.
I still also needed to process that Ben wasn’t the enemy anymore, and depending on what Hayes had to say, that was something that he was going to need to know.
Now, while there was no chance in hell that Ben and I would ever reconcile, the last that Hayes had heard, we barely tolerated one another, and the shift in our relationship was enough cause for an explanation.
However, that was also me being hopeful. When Hayes got here, I wanted him to tell me that he knew nothing about Carlie Incorporated’s scheme, and more importantly, I wanted to believe him. I wanted to look into his face and see that he was telling the truth.
Now, if he knew about the scam, then that was easy enough.
While I couldn’t lie and say that I wouldn’t be hurt and upset, I wasn’t in love with Hayes Rainier, and so the damage wouldn’t be anything near what my divorce from Ben had been.
Yeah, it’d probably put me back to being gun shy, but my heart wouldn’t be irrevocably broken.
Just then, there was a knock on the front door of the club, and I really was going to have to get that intercom installed.
The more visitors that I got while we were closed, the more that it made sense.
Granted, that wasn’t the priority right now, but with how much of my life belonged to this place, it was hard not to always put it first.
Letting out a deep breath, I headed towards the front door, and when I opened it, Hayes was standing on the other side, and he didn’t look ignorantly happy like I’d hoped.
He didn’t look like a man still basking in the giddy bliss of a new relationship.
He didn’t look happy to be here, and at this point, I probably didn’t even need to ask him about what I’d heard.
The look in his eyes was verification enough that it was true.
“Hey, baby,” he greeted as I stepped back to let him in, and while he sounded tired, that didn’t make me feel any better.
Shutting, then locking the door behind us, I decided to get straight to the point. “Did you know about Carlie Incorporated’s plan to take my club from me?”
Hayes slipped his hands in his pockets as he regarded me. “I heard about it this afternoon.”
That hurt.
It was also incredibly disappointing. Now, while it could be argued that Ben had also waited until the end of his day to tell me, I wasn’t sleeping with Ben anymore.
He wasn’t obligated to me the way that I’d assume that Hayes would be, considering.
In fact, Ben could have deemed it none of his business and had not said anything at all.
So, what did it say that Ben had shown me more consideration than Hayes had?
What did that say about my taste in men?
Sadly, it was hard not to question everything that I’d thought about myself.
After divorcing Ben and making The Fantasy Factory come to life, I thought that I’d grown from the person who had put her life on hold to make everything work out for everyone else.
I’d been under the impression that I had become wiser.
I had thought myself stronger and more worldly.
I’d been convinced that I’d never be duped by another man again.
Yeah, wasn’t I wrong.
I mean, what were the odds? Seriously. The first man after my divorce, and I’d gotten suckered in by those baby-blue eyes of his and a few sweet words.
I had found Hayes attractive enough that I had ignored taking it slow, and knowing that it’d been me who had jumped his bones in my office was an especially bitter pill to swallow right now.
Hayes had offered to take me to dinner, giving us both the perfect opportunity to take things slowly, but my neglected hormones hadn’t wanted that at the time, and I could hardly blame Hayes for that, though I did blame him for not telling me about the sabotage as soon as he’d heard about it.
“You heard about it this afternoon?” I echoed.
Hayes nodded. “I found out by accident, actually.”
“By accident?” I repeated, knowing that I sounded like I couldn’t keep up.
“A guy that I work with overheard my boss talking to someone about it,” he explained.
“And how did you find out?”
“The conversation upset him enough that he needed a cigarette,” he answered. “And since he only smokes when he’s really stressed out, we kind of...we check on him whenever we see him smoking.”
“And?”
“When I asked him what was wrong, he spilled everything, questioning how he can continue to work for people who were so unethical,” he went on. “It was a...this whole thing.”
“And when was this?”
“What?” he asked, his brows furrowing a bit.
“When did he tell you what was going on?”
“Around two o’clock or so,” he admitted.
While doing my best to keep my scattered emotions from making me look or feel like a bigger fool, I asked, “And here it is, almost five in the afternoon.”
His back immediately straightened. “Chamber-”
“Do you want to know how I found out?” I asked, stopping whatever he’d been about to say.
“Ben told me. He found out after having lunch with the city clerk who was in on it, and instead of letting me find out the hard way, he came right on over to tell me.” I cocked my head as Hayes’ jaw clenched, but I wasn’t done.
“Can you imagine that? The one man who hates this place more than anyone still managed to put his personal feelings aside to warn me of what was happening. He said that not liking this place and letting someone attack me were two very different things.”
“Baby-”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you just lost the right to call me that, Hayes.”
*****
Hayes~
The woman was pissed, and truth be told, I could hardly blame her.
I knew how this looked, but I hadn’t wanted to sound the alarm without making absolutely sure that Kirby hadn’t gotten it wrong.
However, I hadn’t been expecting Chamber’s ex-husband to ride in and save the day, and I could admit that jealousy was licking at my heels a bit.
I mean, the last that I’d heard, their relationship was supposed to be a cold one.
“Okay, you don’t get to do that,” I told her.
“Do what?”
“End what we have without even listening to me first,” I replied pointedly. “Not only is that bullshit, but you’re lumping me in with all those losers again, and I thought that we’d gotten past that.”
Chamber didn’t look impressed. “Then why in the hell wouldn’t you call me as soon as you heard? Why...how could you not tell me as soon as you found out?”
“Because I wanted to make sure of the facts first,” I finally told her. “I hadn’t wanted to come over here with...only armed with a rumor, Chamber. If you had questions, I wanted to be able to answer them.”
Still unimpressed, she asked, “So, then what did you learn?”
I pulled my hands from my pockets, then ran them through my hair.
“Not much,” I admitted. “But then something like this wouldn’t be detailed anywhere legitimate, right?
I just have Kirby’s account of events, and the last thing that I want to do is put his back to the wall by naming him as my source. ”
“Not to mention the risk to your job,” she remarked, and that immediately had my back straightening. “I mean, it’d be crazy to defend someone that you just met when it can cost you your job.”
I stepped to her because she was really beginning to piss me off. “Is that what you really think?”
Chamber let out a deep breath before saying, “Look, I’m not stupid. I get that we just met and that you have no obligation to-”
“Just met?” I snapped, grabbing her by her arm. “No obligation to you? Are you fucking kidding me right now? How can you even say that to me? After the weekend that we spent together, you really think that I’m indifferent to you? To this situation? Are you for real right now?”
Chamber tried to jerk her arm from my hold, but I wasn’t having it. “Someone is actually trying to steal my club from me, Hayes,” she spat. “And when you consider that I’ve never done anything to anyone, it’s kind of hard not to see everyone as the enemy.”
“Including me?” I asked incredulously. “Is that how you really see me?”
“Let me go,” she ordered, her silver eyes glowing angrily.
Because I wasn’t completely stupid, I let go of her arm, but only because Chamber was the kind of woman that would have no problem calling the cops or kicking me in the nuts.
Nonetheless, I was still pissed that she was accusing me of not caring about her.
Yeah, it was early in our relationship, and it’d be stupid for her to trust me with her life’s work just yet, but I didn’t care about any of that.
Whether she believed it or not, I was also going through my own shit.
Just like Kirby, I was struggling with working for a company that could be so unapologetically unethical, and when I had started my day this morning, it hadn’t been to the possibility of quitting my job.
“Okay, I think we both need to...to just take a deep breath here,” I said, taking a step back, the both of us obviously needing a moment.
After a few seconds, Chamber asked, “What all did your co-worker tell you, Hayes?”
I let out another heavy sigh before I recited the conversation that I’d had with Kirby, and I was certain to leave nothing out.
I also made it clear that it was hearsay and that he’d only heard Lyle’s side of the conversation, and I even told her about Kirby’s claims that Lyle was having an affair with Stuart Carlie, something else that I was still having difficulty wrapping my head around.
“So, what now?” she asked once I was done telling her everything that I knew. “Do we just pretend that you don’t work for a company that’s...that’s so despicable?”
“You give me a moment,” I told her seriously.
“You give me a second to figure this out, Chamber. While this might not be hitting me as hard as it’s hitting you, I’m still not okay with this.
Even if we weren’t dating, I’m not okay with these kinds of tactics, and it’s hard not to wonder how many times Lyle has done this without me even realizing it.
Do you know how...how sickening the idea is for me?
In all the years that I’ve worked for Carlie Incorporated, it never occurred to me that anyone in leadership would stoop to this kind of thing. So...yeah, I need a moment.”
I watched the tension leave her shoulders, and it really was hard not to storm Lyle’s office to beat the shit out of him.
Not only had he put me in an ethical bind, but he almost cost me something that I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to find somewhere else.
Chamber McLarin wasn’t a dime-a-dozen member of the female population, and while it wasn’t love, it wasn’t going to be long before it was.
“You’re right,” she finally said. “Maybe we both just need some space to-”
“Oh, no,” I said as I stepped to her, reaching for her. “You don’t get space from me, baby. We’re going to deal with this together, and if I have to quit my job in the morning to give you some measure of comfort, then-”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she quickly rushed out. “I can’t have you quitting your job just because-”
“You wouldn’t be having me quit my job, Chamber,” I said, cutting her off. “Again, even if we weren’t involved, I’m with Kirby on this one. There’s no way that I can continue to work for Lyle now that I know what I know about...about his professional practices.”
“Hayes-”
“No, listen,” I said as I placed my hands on her shoulders.
“This...this is about the both of us, Chamber. It’s about your club and my job, and we need to do this together, even if you are.
..are skittish with our relationship being so new and all.
Besides, even if I don’t quit, do you honestly believe that they won’t fire me once this comes out?
If I’m called to testify, I’m not lying for them under any circumstances. ”
Chamber took a step back, and I felt the distance like a slug to the chest. This thing between us was new enough that I could see her thinking that this was too much too soon.
I mean, for fuck’s sakes, we hadn’t even known each other for two weeks.
So, yeah, I could see how this might feel a bit overwhelming, especially when she still had this whole legal fight to defend.
No matter what happened between us, she was now tasked with going up against Carlie Incorporated with only her ex-husband as a direct witness to what they were trying to do, and that also bothered the man in me.
Now, while I had no problem standing with her on this, this wasn’t how I’d wanted to meet her ex-husband, if ever.
“Look, I just think...if not space, then I just need a moment,” she said. “If you say that you didn’t know anything about it, then...well, my only choices are to believe you or not.”
“Baby, I swear that I didn’t-”
Chamber put her hand up to stop me. “Hayes, I’m not trying to be especially rude or mean, but I really need to...” She let out a deep breath, and it had me fisting my hands at my sides. “I need to prioritize right now.”
Yeah, she did, but that didn’t mean that I had to like it.