She followed me to the main hallway. Out of habit, I glanced down the dark corridor leading to Donovan’s office, feeling a pang in my chest before leading her in the opposite direction to the large open section of the executive floor. Usually, the floor-to-ceiling windows there would be a feature worth pointing out, but the sun had already set and the cleaning crew had turned on the lights so the glass just looked black.
Another light shone farther down the hall, and I steered us in that direction.
“Roxie,” I exclaimed, when we came upon my boss’s assistant gathering her things at her desk. “You’re here late!”
“Just leaving. You caught me.” Eyeing Audrey, she set her purse down and thrust her hand out, introducing herself before I had a chance. “I’ve heard wonderful stories about you. Sabrina is very proud of her sister.”
“Thank you. Great to meet you,” Audrey said, trying not to appear stunned by Roxie’s brusque hospitality.
“You look alike,” the Hungarian native said after studying us for a beat. “Light and dark versions.”
Audrey and I laughed as we exchanged glances. She wasn’t just a lighter version of me in coloring with her chestnut hair and almond eyes, but also in temperament. She was bubbly and romantic. I was serious and practical. She liked men who adored her and were into public displays of affection. I liked a man who enjoyed rape play and apparently had a serious problem with stalking.
It was something we joked about often.
“Night and day,” I said.
“Chocolate and vanilla,” Audrey agreed. “That’s us.”
“Is Weston in there?” I asked nodding to the office behind Roxie. The door was still open and the lights were on, but I didn’t see him at his desk.
“No, but he be back any minute. You can wait inside for him.” Roxie buttoned her coat and picked up her purse. “He in a good mood today. He won’t mind.”
We said our goodbyes and after Roxie went her way, I ushered Audrey into Weston’s spacious corner office, switching off the light as we walked in.
The effect was immediate. “Holy bananas!” Audrey exclaimed. “This is insane!” She ran to the closest wall of glass and gazed out at the city. “It’s an endless sea of lights! I bet you can see everything in the daytime.”
“Not everything. But a lot.” I stood back, watching her with a smile. My reaction to the view had been quite similar. It had been exhilarating, not just because of how much I could see, but because I finally felt like I was on top of it all.
And then Donovan had walked in, putting my new world in a spin. Reminding me it had been his world first.
Whatever. It was my world now. He wasn’t here, and I was. I wasn’t going anywhere.
Audrey craned to look farther out the window. “If this isn’t everything then you’re too greedy. Hey! It’s the empire! Why isn’t this your office?”
“It will be soon enough,” Weston’s baritone sounded behind me. “With the work she’s producing.”
I rolled my eyes while he came to stand next to me. “Oh, hush.”
He frowned as though I’d offended him. “I’m serious. You’re the first name on a short list to replace me if I ever leave.”
Weston was a sweet talker. All the smart women knew it. Still, I was warmed by the compliment, even though it wasn’t one that mattered. “You’ll never leave,” I said dismissively. “I hope you don’t mind we were in here. I was showing my sister the view. This is Audrey.”
The lighter, younger version of me had already abandoned the windows and was prowling toward us, her hands behind her back. “Let me guess—you’re Weston.”
Weston stuck his hands in his pockets and lifted his chin proudly. “You’ve told her about me.”
“We’re close.” I watched apprehensively as Audrey circled my boss, sizing him up. I knew full well she wasn’t evaluating him as my superior, which would have been embarrassing enough. No, she wanted to figure out what it was about him that had lured me into his bed for an entire weekend earlier in the year.
Not that it wasn’t obvious—blue eyes, blond hair, built like he was a personal trainer rather than a CEO. He was eye candy for sure. Add the charm and a smart head on top of that?
Yeah, my panties dropped.
“Nice,” she said appraisingly. “Whoa. Real nice,” she said when she got to his backside. “Good job, sis.”
Weston’s eyes widened as he interpreted her comments. “Ah, you’ve really told her about me.” He turned his attention to my sister. “Maybe Sabrina didn’t get a chance to tell you I’m involved with someone else now. I’m engaged.”
“Fake engagement,” Audrey corrected.
His head spun around to glare in my direction. “Everything about me. Wow.”
“Audrey!” My face flushed. “She won’t tell anyone. I promise.” I shifted to scold her again. “That was supposed to be top secret.”
Weston’s engagement and impending marriage to Elizabeth Dyson was all an arrangement to get Elizabeth her trust fund money and to get Reach, Inc.—our company—access to an advertising firm in France she owned. Once married, Elizabeth would get her inheritance, sell the firm to the men, and the two would divorce.
At least that had been the plan.
That was supposedly why Donovan was in France—to pave the way for an easy merger. Only Weston and I knew it was really just an excuse to get away from me.
Very few people knew about the fake marriage—only Elizabeth, the five guys who owned Reach, Inc., me, and now, my sister.
Weston chuckled. “It’s fine. I mean, you’re not a secret spy for the Dyson’s, are you?”
Audrey lifted a brow. “No.”
“Then we’re cool. Besides, it’s not a fake engagement anymore. Or, it’s not a fake relationship anyway.”
She raised both brows now and looked at me accusingly. “Now I didn’t hear this.”
“Weston and Elizabeth like each other for real now. There. Are you happy?” I didn’t give her time to respond. “It didn’t have to do with me so I didn’t fill you in,” I added, unapologetically. Also it wasn’t really fun to talk about someone else being lucky in love when my own heart was hurting like it was.
She clapped her hands. “Of course I’m happy. I adore a good coupling! Tell us more, Weston.”
“She left today to go to her grandmother’s for Turkey Day,” he said, directing this to me despite Audrey’s eagerness. “I’m joining her Wednesday night, and we’re supposed to do the whole pretend, pretend thing, but all I keep thinking is I’m going to meet her grandmother. This is the single most important person in her life. Which shouldn’t matter because this is all temporary. But maybe it’s not temporary. Maybe it’s something more.”
The last Weston had talked to me about his relationship with Elizabeth, they’d slept together. He hadn’t said anything about more. “Then things are still going well?”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I don’t know what things are. It’s a mess. I want to wring her neck most of the time and she doesn’t really seem to like me much either, but I kind of can’t stand to be away from her for more than a day. Whatever that is, it’s that.”