Simon stood. “Glad to help,” he said, not even bothering to try to sound sincere. “I’ll see you out.”
The detectives were quiet as he led them down the hallway and to the elevator bay outside of reception. In case anyone was watching, he made sure to shake their hands and smile as they waited for the elevator to take them away.
But his act wasn’t enough to fool everyone. Victoria waited for Simon by the reception area and fell into step with him as he passed. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“I have it under control.” He gently shut his office door after she entered.
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “As long as I’m paying you, your personal business affects me. Terry is looking for any weakness right now. I need to know if I should be worried about the police showing up to have a super-secret conversation in your office.”
He sighed. Of course she’d realize they were cops. He looked her straight in the eye. “It has nothing to do with Green’s. And I can guarantee you that I haven’t done anything illegal, so I doubt this is going anywhere.”
Victoria’s eyes widened. “What’s going nowhere? There’s an investigation on you? I can have one of the company lawyers call you.”
Simon shook his head. “Not right now. They’re still gathering information and there’s a good chance they won’t find anything. But I’m going to dig into what they’re looking for and try to stop anything before it escalates.”
Victoria stared him down.
“I promise I’ll keep you updated,” he said.
She didn’t look comforted. “West, I know you’re the best at what you do, but don’t get arrogant.” As she turned to leave, she looked back over her shoulder at him. “This isn’t just your ass on the line.”
As she shut the door behind him, he sunk into his chair and rubbed his temples.
Even if Simon hadn’t done anything, DuFord was smart. Too smart. He needed to dig up every bank statement and investment history for his accounts possible. He didn’t bank with the institution DuFord used in his own scams, but the man had connections everywhere. Simon needed to figure out what the hell the man’s plan was and how to fight it.
Victoria had a very valid point. It wasn’t just his ass on the line. If charges were filed, it could reflect badly on her, but it was more than that. DuFord could be going after Grace too. The forger had seen her. In the Hamptons, DuFord thought Simon was only using Grace. If he changed his mind, there was no telling what DuFord would do to her.
Damn it. He’d warned her. He told her to stay away. Why was it so hard for her to fucking listen?
She wouldn’t have a choice now, though. DuFord wasn’t joking around. She barely scraped her business out of the muck. And that’s assuming DuFord only went after her professionally. She needed to stay as far away from this shit as possible.
But she would never see it that way. The last time he told her to stay away, she shot him down. If she was going to back away from this whole mess, it had to be her idea. And as long as they were together, she wouldn’t be going anywhere.
Somehow, he was going to have to make her hate him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Okay, guys. It’s going to be a busy night, but if we play our cards right, it’s going to be a fantastic evening.” Grace looked over her team of Andre, Dean, and the new temp. “Everyone, this is Jennifer. She’s going to be helping out for the next week or two.” Dean and Andre both said quick hellos as Grace handed the three of them a sheet of paper. “Now this is the vendor list for the night. It includes phone numbers and descriptions of what I expect out of everyone.
“Dean, you’re emergency guy. If there are any technical problems, lights going out, mics not working, you’re the man.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
“Jennifer, you’re new so I’m not expecting miracles. Your main job is to stay mobile. I’m making sure everyone knows you’re with me, so if anyone has any questions or requests, your responsibility is to find me, Andre, or Dean. I’m sure I’ll have some odd jobs for you throughout the day, okay?”
Jennifer smiled. “Sounds good.”
Lastly, Grace turned to Andre. “And you know everything already, so I’m going to take a nap and you just get me when the event’s over.”
He snorted. “You’re the crazy one who accepted this gig. I’ll be damned if I’m working even a tiny bit harder than you.”
She let out a melodramatic sigh. “Fine…I guess I’ll help too.”
“Damn straight,” said Andre.
The clacking of heels sounded from behind Grace, and she craned her neck to see Victoria approach. “That’s it for now, guys. You all know how to find me if you have any questions.”
The three turned to get started on their respective tasks as Grace smiled up to Victoria. “Hey. You’re here early.”
The tall, elegant woman tightened her lips as she overlooked the room. “It looks good.”
Grace raised a brow. “Really? Because you look like you hate everything.”
Victoria rubbed at her temples. “I’m sorry. It’s been a stressful week. I think my resting bitch face has gotten worse.”
An unexpected laugh escaped Grace. The few times she’d dealt with Victoria, the CEO had been so serious and determined. The humor was more of a surprise than it should’ve been. “I can relate,” she said.
“So you and Simon are pretty serious?” asked Victoria.
Grace tried to read the other woman, but Victoria remained expressionless. “We’re doing okay.”
“Okay? That doesn’t sound good.”
Grace narrowed her eyes. “I’d rather not discuss my relationship if that’s all right with you.” In truth, things were…strange between her and Simon. She’d barely seen him in the past week due to how busy Victoria and her other clients had been keeping her. The times they’d spoken on the phone, he’d seemed just as busy as her. Every time she tried to mention their night together or the Mark situation, he clammed up and ended the conversation.
Every time she tried to figure out what the hell was going on, she got more confused. It wasn’t as though Simon expected them to have a one-night stand. He could’ve run off long before if that was the case. Even though her schedule was filling up quickly after his patch job on her reputation, she should have time after Victoria’s event to spend with him and get him to admit what was really going on.
“I can understand that.” Victoria pulled Grace from her thoughts. “I suppose it was my roundabout way of asking about his situation.”
“Situation?” Grace’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Victoria sighed. “Damn it. I should’ve kept quiet. It’s not my business to say. You should really ask him.” She took a step back. “Things are looking good so far, though. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Wait!” called Grace, but Victoria didn’t turn back around as she continued to walk away. The sound of her heels clacking on the tile echoed through the large ballroom.