She didn’t even look over her shoulder or stop when he reached out to touch her arm.
“Are you pissed at me?” he asked as he came to walk alongside her.
She abruptly stopped to turn and push her hands roughly into his chest. “What do you think, West? I’m trying to sell the bit, so help me out!”
He backed away a few steps, but didn’t need to fake his shocked expression. “You’re playing hurt right now?”
She shook her head and continued on her angry march. “I don’t have to play pissed all that hard. It’s taking everything in me to not turn around and wring Mark’s scrawny little neck. I’m just redirecting it. We can use it to our advantage if he thinks I hate you.”
“You’re amazing.” He waved his arms to make it seem as though they were still fighting.
“You better believe it. Ugh! What a little prick! He was trying to hurt me as much as possible. Going right for the jugular.”
“You didn’t believe him, did you?” She seemed as though she’d realized exactly how full of bullshit DuFord was, but his words had been laced with so much venom, he’d be surprised if she wasn’t affected.
“He completely contradicted himself!” she said, not slowing down at all. “He said I wasn’t pretty enough for you! What a jackass. He didn’t have any complaints when I was on his arm.” She stopped in front of the car. “Now make it look like you’re trying to get me into the car.”
“I’m really glad you see things that way.” He roughly grabbed her arms, and she wiggled free. “I can’t believe you think that fast on your feet.” He punctuated the sentence by narrowing his eyes and pointing at the car.
“Mark’s an idiot. I’m fucking brilliant!” She stormed off to the other side and jumped in, slamming the door behind her.
~~~~~
Grace’s heart beat a frantic rhythm in her chest as Simon climbed into the driver’s seat. Mark was a jerk. And not a normal, run-of-the-mill jerk. He was a grade A, lowlife, cold-hearted jackass.
And she’d totally dated him.
She rested her forehead in her palm, just wishing she could roll into a ball and disappear. She was supposed to be able to read people? How could she have been so blind? All his charming smiles and gentlemanly compliments. All lies, and she’d had no clue.
Simon set his hand on her knee and she jerked at the sudden contact. “Don’t worry about what he said, okay?”
“I know.” She turned to stare out the window. But she was an outsider trying to fit in. Trying to dress and look the part as best she could. But some people would never see her as more than “the help” and nothing she did would change that.
For all she knew, Mark was off spreading lies about her to all of his Hamptons neighbors. Would Sarah Cliff take anything he had to say seriously? She’d already narrowly escaped reputation assassination. Now she might have to go through it all over again.
Maybe this was a sign. It was bad enough to have the senator claim they were together, but Mark was an actual psycho she’d been with. She couldn’t talk her way out of their past if he started to spread rumors.
No. Her clients loved her and there was nothing he could say to change that. They knew how hard she worked. Besides, he thought Grace and Simon were on the outs.
So the media needed to believe they were still together and Mark needed to stay convinced of their breakup. How hard could it be?
Simon turned the car in to the driveway for the cottage, and Grace jumped out as soon as it came to a halt. “I’m going to take Princess out for a bit and then we can load up the luggage,” she said, not looking back. She needed to be alone. Away from prying eyes and all the lies that had piled up at her feet.
Once she was back at her apartment, she could truly relax and focus. Tomorrow she’d work from home. Maybe take a day off. Her schedule was sparser than normal thanks to Robert Bar, and she needed some space.
Princess’s nails clattered on the tiled floor as she shifted her weight back and forth in excitement. But seeing her dog’s overjoyed expression didn’t give Grace the same calm as it normally did. “Come on, girl,” she whispered as she hooked the leash onto Princess’s collar and took her out.
Instead of packing up his things like Grace expected, Simon stood on the shore’s edge and looked out over the water.
Princess zeroed in on him immediately and put all of her muscle into getting to Simon as quickly as possible. “Hold on,” muttered Grace as she slipped her sandals off. Heels and sand didn’t mix too well.
The sun was warm, but the cool ocean breeze kept the sand from burning her feet. She focused on the salty smell and the calming ocean waves. It was a crazy weekend, but she would miss this.
“What are you doing out here?” She moved to stand next to Simon.
“Thinking. Trying to figure out my next move.”
His hastily buttoned shirt was pressed tight to his body as the wind kicked up. Grace allowed herself to appreciate the view for once. After the day she’d had, she deserved it.
“Give yourself the day off,” she said.
He glanced in her direction. “The day off?”
She shrugged. “Why the hell not? We had a half-assed plan that ended up with us falling on our faces. We’ve retreated. Now we can regroup and make sure we’re more prepared for the next one. But for now, we need to reset.”
“You didn’t seem like you were all that relaxed in the car.”
A weak smile curved Grace’s lips. “Well, do as I say, not as I do, you know?”
He let out a soft laugh. “I’ll do my best. What do you do to let go?”
She looked out over the ocean. “What is really better than this? Perfect dog. Perfect view.”
“Perfect woman?” he added.
She jerked to the side to stare at him. He couldn’t possibly think she was perfect. If anything, today was a shining example of her bad judgment.
But his eyes didn’t hold any hint of laughter. They had a serious, hungry look she’d seen before. Notably when he’d had her pushed up against the wall at Mark’s party just an hour ago. She felt the blood rush to her face and took a deep swallow. “The perfect woman wouldn’t hurt,” she said, choosing her words carefully.
He turned away. “I should get packing. I have an early day tomorrow.”
She nodded as he walked away. “Probably a good idea,” she murmured.
He said nothing, and she was left staring at his retreating back. Princess took a few steps back toward the house, following Simon. “Leave him be,” she said, not sure whether it was more to herself or the dog.
Her fingers went to her lips of their own volition as she remembered the feel of his kiss. The intensity of his gaze even as they both told themselves it was all for show. Maybe she was wrong when she’d accused him of using her. Something today had seemed so desperate…so real. Simon was the last man she’d ever expect to lose his control, yet holding him in her arms today, he’d seemed like a barely constrained beast, not the cool, calm, collected man she’d grown to know.
She sighed. It wasn’t the first time she’d realized how wrong she’d been that day. And she did make it clear that they needed to regroup and relax. Why shouldn’t she take her own advice? If she had a handsome, brilliant man staying with her who’d made it clear he wanted to be more than colleagues, why shouldn’t she take advantage?