I heard shuffling and figured he was moving away from Eli for a bit of privacy so he could talk to me. “Are you okay?”
“I will be after tomorrow.”
There was a brief pause before he spoke again, and when he did, his tone dripped with trepidation. “What’s happening tomorrow? Am I going to need to post bail?”
Man, he already knew me so well if that was his automatic reaction. “I feel like you really get me.”
“Marin,” he said in warning. “What’s happening tomorrow?”
“I’m going to confront him at his office. It’s obvious he’s got his head jammed so far up his ass he can’t manage to make the right choices, so I’m going to help him out.”
There was a long, beleaguered sigh through the line. “I’d try and talk you out of it, but I’m pretty sure that’s impossible, so I’ll just say this: Please try your hardest not to get arrested. I’ll be in court all day tomorrow and won’t be able to get you out.”
“Your concern warms my heart.”
“Smartass,” he muttered into the phone, but I could hear the smile in his voice, and it made my lips curve up as well.
“Did Eli have fun at the botanical gardens today?”
“He did. He ran himself so ragged he’s already starting to fade.”
“Okay, then I should let you go so you can take care of him. I’m pretty tired myself. Give him a kiss for me?”
“I will, but where’s mine?”
I puckered my lips and made an obnoxious kissy noise. “There. That should hold you over.”
“Doubtful. Sleep well, baby.”
“You too. Night, Pierce.”
I hung up the phone and flopped back in my bed, staring up at my ceiling as I thought: Uh-oh. I’m really starting to fall for this man.
23
Marin
I woke up the next morning with a text from Pierce reminding me not to do anything that would get me arrested.
Feeling the need to go into battle with every possible advantage, I donned my most professional outfit; a cream silk blouse tucked into a blush pencil skirt with nude pumps. I left my hair long and loose, but had tamed it with my flatiron, and my makeup was subtle with natural pinks and peaches.
I waltzed down to my car, a woman on a mission, determined to do whatever it took to make things better for my sister. It wasn’t until I was parked at the meter outside Nick’s building, that I stopped to think about what I was planning to do and thought maybe this wasn’t the best idea.
Shaking off my uncertainty, I climbed out of the car, fed the meter, and started across the street toward Nick’s building. I headed for the bank of elevators that would lead me to his floor and hit the button, as I waited for the doors to slide open, I considered how I was going to get to his office without him knowing I was coming.
I pasted a smile on my face as soon as the doors opened onto Nick’s floor. The idea was to treat the receptionist like we were old pals, warm her up so she’d have no problem just waving me on back.
“Hey, Cindy,” I greeted the receptionist, a woman I’d never seen before in my life, like we were longtime friends as soon as I stepped off the elevator. I sent up a silent thanks that she had a name plate on her desk, because I wasn’t sure ‘girl’ and ‘babe’ and ‘sister’ would get me through the door. “How’s it going?”
She looked at me with a furrowed brow, and I knew she was scrolling through her memory bank, trying to figure out how the hell she knew me. “Uh, it’s good . . .” she trailed off awkwardly.
“It’s Marin. Remember? Nick Allen’s sister-in-law?”
“Oh! Right!” Bingo. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you at first. You changed your . . . hair.”
I hadn’t but I wasn’t going to tell her that. Instead, I reached up and gave it a fluff. “I did. Thanks for noticing. You like it?”
“Oh, yeah! Totally. Looks gorgeous.”
“Cindy, you’re the sweetest!” I leaned against her credenza. “I’m just swinging by to pick him up for lunch since I happened to be in the city. He’s expecting me. Is it cool if I just head on back?”
“Oh, um . . . yeah. Sure.”
“Thanks, babe. You’re a total doll.” I started moving to the double doors that separate the reception area from the offices, looking back over my shoulder to ask, “Can we pick you up anything while we’re out?” Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.
“No thanks. That’s sweet though.”
“All right, Cindy. See you around. Enjoy the rest of the day.”
“You too,” she returned as I pushed through the doors and headed in the direction I remembered taking the one and only time I’d come here with Tali five years ago, and prayed he hadn’t moved offices.
If I had to, I’d walk through this entire place until I found him. I was a woman on a mission and I wasn’t leaving until I did what I came here to do. Fortunately, I spotted his name plate on the door before I had to go on a search.
“Um, excuse me. Do you have an appointment?” a flustered little woman sitting at the desk just outside Nick’s door asked as I bypassed her and grabbed the handle to Nick’s office. “Hey, wait! You can’t just go in there—”
I showed her how wrong she was by stomping across the threshold all I am woman, hear me roar and stopped in the middle of the room with my hands on my hips, striking a killer Pissed-off Female pose, if I did say so myself.
Nick lifted his eyes from his computer, looking like absolute shit that had been run over a few hundred times. “Marin? What’s going on? What are you doing here?” His eyes went big and filled with fear. “Is it Tali? Is she okay?”
Instead of answering, I skewered the woman standing beside him, behind his desk, with a look so vicious, I hoped it melted the skin right off her face. Freaking Eve.
“No, Nick, she’s not okay,” I started snidely. “You and I need to talk.” I pinned Slutzilla with a withering glare. “Alone.”
“Excuse me, but we’re in the middle of something here,” she started, but I lifted my hand to silence her.
“Do you know who I am?” I didn’t give her a chance to answer. “I’m his sister-in-law. You know what that means? That means my sister is married to the guy you’re currently rubbing all over like you’re hoping for a genie to pop out and grant you three wishes.”
I’d forgotten all about Nick’s assistant, and discovered that she was still standing behind me when I heard her snort. I turned and found her trying her hardest to cover up her laugh, and winked, feeling a sudden kinship to the woman.
“Nicky, do you want me to call security?” Eve asked, placing her hand on his shoulder like she was trying to offer him support when everyone in the room already knew the truth. She was trifling.
“No, Eve. It’s fine. You can go now.” He looked to the woman behind me. “Heather, can you please close the door on your way out?”
“Yeah, Eve,” I sneered. Admittedly, it wasn’t my most mature moment, but I gave myself credit for not plucking the hussy bald. “Get the hell out of here.”