The Red Eye 3 (The Red Eye Erotic Romance Series) Page 6

As the water cascaded over my body, my tears flowed freely. I hated the thought that I was washing away the last traces of Devon and our love. I knew that I was supposed to spend today starting to look for somewhere to live, but I still hadn’t made up my mind whether I was going to stay in Boston. Okay, being a shepherd was a ridiculous notion, but the idea of getting away from a big corporate firm wasn’t so dumb. With my reputation and success rate, maybe I should set up a business for myself. A small office somewhere in a quiet town might be just the change I needed. I had some savings, and I was pretty confident that I could get a loan for the balance required to set up my own business.

  I made up my mind to start researching the possibilities. Perhaps someone out there was looking to retire and I could take over their business.

  Having something to focus on that wasn’t Devon was a blessed relief. This wouldn’t be the first time I’d lost myself in work to get over a man, but Rick hadn’t been worth my tears.

  Devon was worth ten of him. More. I was never going to get over him.

  If I set up my own business, it would mean long hours and little time off for a personal life. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it became.

  Twelve

  “And this is your office right here. I must admit that we were all very excited when Grayson told us that you would be joining us. I’m sure you’ll be a major asset to our team.”

  Angela Taylor, the lawyer showing me around my new workplace, was saying all the right words, but her tone told a different story. “I’ve arranged a meeting for this afternoon with your new department. I figured that you’d want to introduce yourself, say a few words about your plans going forward, that sort of thing.”

  “Great. Thanks.” I had no idea what I was going to say to my staff. Heading up a team in Boston hadn’t even been on my agenda a couple of days ago.

  “This is Jennie, your secretary.” Angela introduced me to the woman sitting behind the desk outside my office door. “If you need anything, I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to help.”

  “Of course.” Jennie smiled as we shook hands.

  “Well, if you don’t have any more questions, I’ll get back to work. I’ll see you at the meeting later.”

  Angela turned and stalked out, her brusque manner leaving Jennie and I staring at each other.

  “Let me guess. Angela thought she was a shoo-in for my job?”

  Jennie nodded. “We all thought she was. She just won the Charles vs. Riddick Corp case, and under normal circumstances, that would have sealed the deal.”

  “Ah yes.” I knew all about the case. You couldn’t miss it. It had been front-page news in all the industry papers, a complex patent case that could have seen Riddick Corp, our clients, pay out millions in damages. Nobody knew which way the decision was going to go up until the very last minute, but journalists had all reported on Angela’s brilliance in arguing her case and producing evidence in support of Riddick Corp’s right to claim the patent. “No wonder she’s pissed at me.”

  “I’d watch your back if I were you.” Jennie looked at me, then blushed as she remembered whom she was talking to. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, no. It’s fine.” I wasn’t in any mood to work, and an impulsive thought took over me. “Why don’t you route all my calls through reception and come into my office? You can get me up to speed with all the office gossip, help me find my feet here. I bet nothing goes on in this place without you knowing about it.”

  Jennie grinned. “You know, I really wasn’t looking forward to having Angela as my boss. Something tells me you’ll be a lot more fun.”

  I smiled back as Jennie put in a quick call to reception to tell them we were in a meeting, and then followed me through to my new office.

  Gazing around the room, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Although it didn’t have the views that our head office boasted, the windows overlooked the river, an improvement on my old office. The room was larger than I’d had before as well, the desk giving me plenty of space to stretch out my legs.

  “I put some coffee things in here for you,” Jennie said. “I figured you’d need it. If you let me know how you like your coffee, I can make sure you have it waiting every morning just the way you want it.”

  Her sweet gesture was lost on me as I moved slowly forward to examine the large bouquet sitting in front of my chair. I picked up the note that came with it.

  Come back home x

  “Is everything all right?”

  I waved off Jennie’s concern as I crossed over to look at the window, keeping my back to her so that she wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes. News of the separation was still a secret until Grayson deemed it appropriate to issue another press release. I didn’t see how he thought he was going to keep our breakup out of the media for long, though. It wouldn’t take much for people to put two and two together, what with me in Boston and Devon back in New York.

  “I must admit, I was surprised when I heard that you were moving down here.” Jennie chose her words carefully, clearly wanting to be careful that she didn’t overstep her bounds as my secretary. “I didn’t think that Boston was exactly the kind of place Devon would want to relocate to.”

  I sighed and turned round to look her in the eye.

  “Can you keep a secret?”

  “Of course. It comes with the job description.”

  “All right. Sit down.”

  Jennie took a seat opposite me then picked up the coffee jug to pour us both out a drink. I added a generous dose of cream and a couple of sugars, not how I normally had my coffee, but I felt the need for an extra boost today.

  “This stays strictly between the two of us, okay?”

  “Of course.” Jennie nodded, her expression grave.

  I took a deep breath. “Devon and I have split up.”

  “I thought it might be something like that. But it’s just temporary, right?”

  I shook my head. “It’s complicated, but I can’t see any way in which Devon and I are going to get back together again. As far as the public are concerned, I’ve come down here to get our Boston office into shape, but it isn’t a permanent split. The press are being told that we’re deciding where we want to settle after we get married. But the truth is that Grayson has decided that it would be in everyone’s best interest if Devon and I went our separate ways.”

  “Grayson?” Jennie looked horrified. “I know that he can be controlling, but I didn’t think he’d interfere in Devon’s life to that extent. Why didn’t he do something before you announced the engagement? I’m surprised that Grayson would have let things go so far. I mean, it was him who arranged the press conference, wasn’t it?”

  A bitter smile twisted my lips. “Yes, it was. But things change. I guess Grayson decided that I wasn’t daughter-in-law material after all. I mean, I don’t exactly come from the same social circles, and there are things in my past—” I cut myself off before I could say too much. Jennie might seem lovely, but I’d only just met her and I didn’t really know if I could trust her. “Anyway, I was sent down here to make sure there was no chance of Devon and I getting back together.”

  “And what does Devon think about that?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t think it matters what Devon thinks. Grayson’s the boss, after all.”

  “You know, Devon doesn’t strike me as the type to just do what his father tells him. Are you really so sure he’s going to let you go so easily?” She glanced pointedly at the flowers sitting on my desk.

  “Maybe not, but I made an agreement with Grayson and I’m going to stick to it. If I don’t get anything else right, I can at least know that I’ve done the right thing this time.”

  “We all make mistakes, Rebecca. I can’t believe that you’ve done anything so terrible that it deserved exile.”

  “Well, I appreciate your faith in me, Jennie, but let’s just say that there’s a reason I didn’t fight Grayson on this one.”

  I wasn’t going to cry. I
wasn’t.

  “You know what? You need cheering up. What do you say to you and me on the town tonight? I’ll show you all the best bars, and we can have a really good gossip about what goes on in this place without worrying about being interrupted.”

  I had been planning on going back to my hotel room and feeling sorry for myself, but I had to admit that Jennie’s idea was tempting. “All right.” I nodded slowly. “I could do with a friend. I don’t know anyone in this town. You’re on.”

  #

  I looked round the room at the faces staring back at me. Some were hostile, some were bored, and none of them looked pleased that I was standing in front of them.

  “You look about as excited as I am to be in this meeting.” My dry remark failed to raise even a smile. “Boy. Tough crowd. Oh well. I’m your new boss, whether you like it or not, so you’d better get used to it. Now, since I’m the new girl in town, I’ll need you all to get me up to speed, so I’d like each team leader to put together a report for me on your current open cases and your plans of action.”

  “Already done. They’re in your in tray.”

  I looked over at the balding, slightly overweight man sitting in the back of the room. “Thank you, er…”

  “Michael… Michael Newport. Team leader and someone who doesn’t need some fancy New York lawyer to waltz in here and tell him how to do his job.”

  I raised an eyebrow. I knew I was going to face some resistance, but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so obvious so soon. “All right. I’ll level with you. I want to be here about as much as you want me here. But Grayson Caesar sent me here himself, and if he thinks that I’m the best person for the job, what does that tell you about the quality of local candidates?” I knew that I was likely to be making enemies right now, but I was past caring. The chances were high it wouldn’t matter what I said. They still wouldn’t want me here, so I might as well go for the jugular.

  “Now we can do this the hard way or we can do this the easy way, but whichever direction you prefer, I’m still going to be here, and let me tell you. I don’t take crap from anyone. So do feel free to try it on, but my advice to you would be that if you think you’re going to have problems working with me, there’s the door. You’re more than welcome to go through it. I don’t need anyone on my team who isn’t willing to give me a hundred and ten percent. So what’s it going to be? Are you going to leave or are you going to stay and help me build the most formidable legal team Boston has ever seen?”

  There was some grumbling from the ranks, but nobody got up to go.

  “Good. I’m glad to see that we’re all on the same page. Now, since you’ve all prepared your reports for me, I’m sure you won’t mind giving me a brief summary right now to save me having to trawl through it all and then booking another meeting to discuss it. Just so that you’re aware, this will be a weekly event, so be prepared to do this again and again. And since you were so vocal, Michael, I think we’ll start with you. What has your team got on right now?”

  I had to admit that I impressed myself with how I’d managed to conceal my true feelings from the team. By the time I’d finished with them, they were convinced that I was there indefinitely and they’d need to bend over backward to impress me. Who knows? Maybe I’d cherry-pick one or two of them once I left to set up my own business. I already knew that I’d want to take Jennie with me.

  Thirteen

  “So how was your first day with the Boston team? You seem to have survived relatively unscathed.” Jennie sat down next to me with a couple of cocktails. She’d taken me to a small bar just around the corner from the office, but she’d assured me that, despite its location, few from Caesar and Krause drank here after work. Apparently, everyone preferred the trendier bars downtown.

  “Ah, well. There are some perks to being the boss’s daughter-in-law-to-be. Since nobody knows that I’m not engaged to Devon anymore, Michael was the only one with the balls to give me attitude.”

  “Ha!” Jennie sniffed. “Michael doesn’t have balls. He’s just stupid. Actually, scrub that—he’s nothing but balls. The guy’s the office letch. He always manages to stay just this side of legal, but we always warn the new secretaries to keep their distance. He’s probably just pissed that you’re the one person he can’t try it on with. You’re just his type, too.”

  “Hmm.” I made a mental note to get Michael transferred to another office as soon as possible. He sounded just like Rick, and I was in no mood to put up with that kind of hassle.

  “So who else do I need to watch out for?”

  Jennie shifted about in her seat, clearly desperate to gossip, but still not completely sure whether she could trust me.

  “Let me get you another cocktail.” I signaled to the bartender to bring us another round of drinks. I had a feeling that alcohol would help Jennie loosen up and get her talking.

  I was right. A few more sips of a Long Island Iced Tea and Jennie felt comfortable enough to tell me all the dirty little secrets lurking in the office.

  “Well, you’ve met Angela. She was expecting to get your job, and she’s been on the warpath ever since she heard that you were moving down. But she’s not the one you really need to worry about. It’s Colby who’s the real problem. He and Angela were seeing each other until recently. He ditched her the moment he heard that Angela didn’t get the promotion. He and Angela were a real power couple, and they thought that they had the office sewn up between them. I wouldn’t be surprised if Colby made a move on you instead.”

  “Wow. No wonder Angela was so hostile towards me. I didn’t just cost her a promotion, I’m responsible for her breakup too.” I shook my head in disbelief. When I’d agreed to come out for a drink with Jennie, it was mainly because I didn’t fancy going back to the hotel and being alone with my thoughts. I had no idea that she was going to be such a useful source of information.

  What Jennie had said got me thinking. If I could get Angela on side against Colby, she could turn out to be a major asset in the future.

  My new secretary carried on talking, telling me about the affairs and romances that were going on in the office, but I wasn’t paying much attention anymore. I didn’t really care about who was sleeping with whom. These people didn’t mean anything to me, and if I went ahead with my plan to set up my own practice, they’d be even less important in my world.

  But Angela? Angela I could use. I’d read up on Charles vs. Riddick Corp, and her work had been nothing less than genius. If I could convince her that she had a brighter future in a smaller firm with me, then we could make a big splash in the world of corporate law right from the start.

  “So what do you think?”

  Jennie’s question jolted me out of my reverie. “Sorry, what?”

  “Going on to a club. I know a great place that I think you’ll love.”

  Usually I wouldn’t dream of going to a club on a work night, but anything had to be better than the hotel room.

  I plastered on a smile that I hoped didn’t look as fake as it felt. “Sure. Why not?”

  #

  I’d been expecting a dance club and there was a part of me that had been looking forward to letting off some steam on the dance floor, so I was disappointed when Jennie led me into a dimly lit room with a catwalk running through the middle leading up to a stage. Tables were dotted about the room, the ones closest to the stage already taken.

  Jennie took me over to a table to the left of the stage, not too far away from the front. She motioned to a waiter for a couple of drinks, and a topless man wearing tightfitting underwear came over. “Good to see you again, Jennie. Your usual?”

  “That would be great, Marco.”

  Marco disappeared in the direction of the bar and returned with two glasses of sparkling wine.

  “Let me get this.” I pulled out my company credit card and gave it to Marco. “Put all our drinks on that card, please.”

  “Of course.” Marco nodded and went off to serve another table. I took the opportunity
to admire his backside as he walked. His butt wasn’t as nice as Devon’s, but it still made for a pleasant sight.

  “Are you sure you want to expense this?” Jennie looked at me, a hopeful gleam in her eye, as if she couldn’t believe her luck.

  “Let’s just say that Grayson owes me a drink or two and leave it at that.” Frankly, I didn’t care if Grayson had a problem with funding my social life. I was going to charge as much to the company as I could get away with. “Besides, this is team bonding. That’s very important, you know.” I was starting to slur my words, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone out for a drink with a girlfriend, and even if it was the alcohol talking, right now, Jennie was my best friend in the whole wide world.

  “You might change your mind in a minute.”

  I waved Jennie’s words of warning away, downing my wine far too quickly and waving to Marco to refill my glass.

  “All right, then. It’s your career on the line. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” I barely heard Jennie’s muttering as pulsating music started over the loudspeakers.

  The lights dimmed and a cheer arose from the crowd. For the first time, I realized that the room was full of women. I couldn’t see any men around.

  Good. I was sick of having to fend off men trying to get inside my panties.

  The curtains opened and a spotlight lit upon a man standing in the middle of the stage. I had to admit that he was exceptionally pleasing to look at. He had long, flowing hair that reached just past his shoulder, and he brushed it out of his eyes as women hollered and whooped. “Ladies! Are you ready for a show?”

  “Yes!”

  “I said… are you ready for a show?”

  The roar that erupted from the crowd was deafening. The man reached up and ripped his shirt off, revealing a six-pack to die for.

  Jennie had brought me to a strip club!

  The man tossed his shirt into the crowd to be fought over by the table lucky enough to catch it before disappearing off into the darkness. The curtains opened fully to reveal a troupe of five men in different working uniforms, everything from a builder to a fireman. The music sped up and they broke into a fast-paced routine, each moving perfectly in time with each other.