Lance let out a short laugh. “She said that?”
Marissa laughed. “I know. It surprised me too.”
“Why those dates?”
“Because the first time something appeared in the tabloids was the eleventh.”
Lance hummed. “That would have been two days after the party at our house. I’ll try to see if anything shakes loose. I gotta run though, babe. Next meeting is here. Love you.”
The rush of excitement every time he said he loved her never grew old. “Love you too,” she said before he hung up.
10
Wednesday, December 19th
Lance
Lance clenched his fists as he listened to someone from Nathan Griffin’s office explain that they needed to cancel dinner on Friday night.
“Can I speak to Nathan, please?”
“I’m afraid he’s busy, Mr. Moss.”
Lance closed his eyes. “Bull shit. Put him on the phone.”
“I beg your pardon. That language is uncalled for.”
“And Mr. Griffin’s behavior is uncalled for. We’ve been trying to get a meeting with him for months and you bail on us last minute? It’s unprofessional, and I’d like to speak to him directly.”
The woman sighed. “Just a minute, please.”
“This is Nathan,” a gruff man said a few minutes later.
“Nathan, it’s Lance Moss. I was wondering if you could tell me why you’re pulling out of our meeting on Friday.”
“I’m sure my assistant told you it was a scheduling conflict.”
“And I call bullshit. You don’t have scheduling conflicts on a deal with this much potential.”
The older man was quiet for a moment. “No. You’re right. I’ll be honest and say I don’t think you’re in a stable enough position to be taking on a project as big as mine.”
Lance dragged a hand through his hair. “What gave you any inclination that we’re unstable?”
Nathan laughed. “I’ve read the gossip rags and like it or not, there’s usually a grain of truth to some of what they say. Not to mention the last time you broke up with your fiancee the police got involved.”
“That was five years ago.”
“And from the sounds of it you’re on the verge of breaking up again.”
Lance had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing. “I assure you we are nowhere near breaking up. Marissa and I are in this for the long haul. We’re getting married over the Christmas holiday.”
He winced. Marissa was going to kill him for spilling that bit of information, but if it saved their meeting, it would be worth it.
“I don’t know, Lance. I respect you as a player in the tech industry and I was looking forward to working with you on this security project but I have to listen to my PR team and right now they say we need to back off. Maybe we can revisit the idea in a few months. Now I really have a scheduling conflict and I need to get off here. I’m late for a meeting. We’ll talk after the first of the year. Have a happy holiday.”
He tossed the phone on the desk in disgust and went to the bar along the wall for a drink.
It was just after six in the evening, so he went to his window and looked out. Chicago was beautiful at night. He’d told Marissa to head home without him if she got done early, but he had a feeling they would wind up leaving together.
His door opened, and he smiled, expecting to hear Marissa’s voice.
“I thought I told you to go home,” he said as he took a drink, keeping his back to her.
“I thought you could use some company. It seemed like you had a rough day.”
He whirled when the voice he heard wasn’t Marissa’s.
Jill stood in his office unbuttoning her coat.
Dear God please don’t let her be naked under that thing, Lance thought as he set his drink down and folded his arms across his chest.
Jill shrugged the jacket off. She wasn’t naked, but she might as well have been.
“What are you…” Lance trailed off when the woman sank to her knees.
“Is this what you like?”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he muttered under his breath as he picked up his desk phone and dialed building security.
“Everything OK Mr. Moss?”
“Fine, Eric, but I’m going to need someone up here to escort Ms. Chester from the premises and make sure her pass gets taken away.”
“On our way.”
The call ended and Lance walked behind the girl who was looking at him as if she didn’t understand what was happening.
“If you don’t want to be escorted from the building in just whatever that get-up is you might want to put your coat back on, Ms. Chester.”
He picked up his cell phone as the woman shrugged the coat back on.
“I don’t understand. I thought you would be interested.”
Lance scratched his head. “Was she stupid or mentally ill?”
“I’m not even sure where to begin, Ms. Chester. I’m a practically married man, I’m your boss, and I’ve never shown so much as a whiff of interest in you. What could have possibly given you the idea that I would be interested?”
She rolled her eyes. “I heard you on the phone last week. You told someone you were breaking up with Marissa and they would be the first to know when it happened.”
Lance just stared at her. What the hell was she talking about? “I’m not even going to justify that with a response. Get up off my floor.”
He pressed a button on his phone and held it to his ear.
“Hello, Kitten,” he said, sounding purposefully seductive.
“Hi,” she said, sounding a little confused. “I thought you were working late.”
“Oh. I am. But I thought you might enjoy a little distraction. Are you still in your office?”
Marissa giggled. “I am. Are you going to make me do something dirty?”
Lance turned away from Jill and grinned. “I’m sure I can come up with something. But I have something different in mind. Head downstairs and wait for security. You’ll understand in a few minutes.”
When she hesitated he said, “Be a good girl, Riss. It’s always so much easier when you just listen to me, isn’t it?”
He’d turned back to Jill who was backing toward the door.
“Yes, Sir,” Marissa said in his ear.
“Good girl. I have to go.”
He stuffed the phone in his pocket and snarled at Jill. “Not fucking step further. You wanted my attention. You have it.”
The woman froze.
“Now, out of respect for Kimberly, I’m not going to have you arrested, nor am I going to have you black listed—and believe me I can do both. But you are fired and I never want to see you in this building again.”
“I’ll just go. I don’t need security to escort me out.”
Lance shook his head. “I don’t think you’re in a position to be telling me what you do and don’t need, Ms. Chester.”
Just then there was a firm knock at the door that made Jill jump.
“Come in,” Lance barked.
The door swung open and two men stepped in.
“Is this Ms. Chester?”