Dazzle her: Laws of Seduction Book 3 (15 page)

As I make my way to the kitchen, I glance around looking for the long dark hair that I had caught a glimpse of earlier. I don’t see anything, but Rex catches my eye and motions me over. He introduces me to a few people who give me the startled looks I am starting to anticipate when introduced as James’s girlfriend. After a few minutes of small talk, I continue on to the kitchen for the drinks. I pick out a beer for James and a Champaign cocktail for myself. For some reason my eyes move to the stairs, and once again I catch sight of the long dark hair. This time I am almost positive that I am seeing Becca. I set the drinks down and head up the stairs. At the top of the landing, I look around, and seeing no one, I begin to think I’m imagining things.

The music from downstairs thrums through the air as I open the bedroom doors and peer in, checking for Becca. I start with Rex’s bedroom, which appears empty, before moving on to the guest bedroom. This room is also dark and unoccupied. I feel a prickle of unease as I reach the door to the room that I share with James. What if I haven’’t been imagining things? What could Becca be doing in my room? Cautiously, I open the door and slip in. Just inside the door, I stop and listen. I can still hear music and voices from the party below, but the sounds are much fainter. It takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the room’s dimness. The curtains are open and a pale glow illuminates the area in front of the window. Light reflects off the white duvet cover, and I can see the bed is as immaculate as I had left it a few hours before. Straining my eyes, I try to make out forms in the dark corners. I don’t know whether my senses are playing tricks on me, or if it is the suspense of looking for the woman with the long, dark hair, but I have the eerie feeling that I am being watched. I feel along the wall for a light switch, but can’t find it. Then I remember that remotes on either side of the bed control the lighting. I move further into the room when someone switches the bathroom light on. Looking towards the bathroom, I see a movement, but still don’t know if it is her. I call out, “Hello... Becca?”

No answer. I walk into the bathroom to find Becca standing by the mirror. “What are you doing in here?”

“I wanted to see where you and James sleep.” Becca admits with a shrug.

This is getting creepy. “Okay, now you’ve seen it. Why don’t we go back downstairs?”

Becca doesn’t react to my suggestion. Running a hand along the modern bathroom fixtures, she meets my eyes in the mirror. The silence draws on, so I continue. “Who invited you, or did you crash the party?”

“Oh no. I was invited.”

When she doesn’t elaborate, I press, “Who invited you?”

“What if I said James?”

“I wouldn’t believe you.”

Becca arches an eyebrow and gives me a knowing look in the mirror.

Her smugness is beginning to annoy me, and I have to fight the impulse to confront her, knowing that is exactly what she wants. I don’t want to leave her alone so I consider my options. Other than asking her to leave, the only other thing I can do is to physically pull her out of the room. Getting into a physical fight with her is something I would like to avoid at all costs. Stymied for the moment, I continue to hold her stare in the mirror, hoping for inspiration. The sound of Becca’s voice interrupts my musings. “I don’t understand what he sees in you.””

Now it is my turn to regard her in silence.

“I’m prettier than you, and I am also smarter. I went to Harvard.”

She says this last, as if it entitles her to everything she wants. Is this what this is all about? A girl who was always the most beautiful and smartest, and who had everything she ever wanted handed to her, was now in a position of seeing something she couldn’t have.

Becca is speaking again, and I refocus my attention. “I didn’t let Sonia stand in my way at the office, and I won’t let you stand in the way with James.””

“What do you mean you didn’t let Sonia stand in your way? Did you have something to do with her being fired?”

“Of course not,” Becca says a bit too flippantly. “She thought she knew everything. Little Miss I-know-everything-about-working-in-a-law-firm-because-I-was-a-paralegal. Ha, I guess she didn’t know everything, did she?”

“Do you know why she was fired?”

Becca gives a slight shrug and turns around to face me. “Boyd asked her to e-mail some documents to the opposing counsel on a tax evasion case. Is it my fault that confidential documents were also attached to one of the e-mails?”

I narrow my eyes at her. “What did you do?”

“I’ll never tell, but it’s lucky for Sonia that the client didn’t have to go to prison because of her mistake. He did end up having to pay a hefty fine. Oh well, I guess she learned her lesson.”

“The lesson being not to trust you?”

“The lesson is not to cross me or get in my way. You could definitely learn something from her.”

“Are you going to find a way to get me fired too?”

Becca laughs. “Believe me, I would if I could, but no, that would take more ingenuity than even I can pull off. Since you landed Rothschild as a client, you are untouchable.”

“I’m glad you realize you have limits.”

“It did irk me at first that they gave you your own office. Then I saw how all of the juniors resented you, and I didn’t mind so much. Of course, you didn’t have your office for long either.”

I regard her with dawning horror. “Did you set the fire in my office?”

Becca regards me calmly for a moment before answering. “That would be against the law and stupid, wouldn’t it?”

Becca chose the right profession when she went to law school. She hadn’t answered my question at all, and I am left wondering if she did set the fire in my office. Maybe it hadn’t been Elizabeth after all. Although on the short side, Becca also matched the description of the perpetrator.

I try to coax Becca downstairs again. “Why don’t we go see what’s happening downstairs? It sounds like everyone is having a good time.””

Becca flashes me a brilliant smile. “That’s an excellent idea.”

I try to hurry her along by backing towards the door. Becca breezes past me, and I follow her out of the bathroom and through the bedroom. When we are on the landing outside the bedroom, relief curses through me. I had expected a much worse confrontation. Becca stops suddenly, and I pull up just in time to avoid slamming into her.

“I didn’t notice this door before,” she says as she reaches out and pushes it open. She darts in before I can stop her. Left with no choice, I follow her. The room is a small study that looks like it doesn’t get much use. I had only given the room a glance the first weekend I spent here, preferring to spend most of my time outside by the pool or in the living area downstairs. I hear Becca knocking about in the dark. “Becca? What are you doing?”

“Have you seen this?” Becca asks.

I take a few steps further into the room and am startled when Becca suddenly runs past me, slamming the door behind her. Turning back to the door, I grab for the knob, but not before I hear the sound of a key turning from the other side. Frantically, I twist the knob, already knowing that it will be locked. I pound on the door. “Becca, let me out of here.””

From the other side of the door, I hear her laugh with delight. “I don’t think so. Yell as loud as you want, Lainey. No one will hear you over the music.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I have my reasons,” she replies in a sing-song voice.

“I’ll call James to come and let me out.”

Becca laughs again. “No, you won’t. You don’t have your phone on you. I checked.”

Damn, I couldn’t bluff her. “Let me out of here now! This is silly, Becca. James will come looking for me soon anyway.”

“Not if I can help it.”

Alarm skitters through me. What is she planning? “Becca,” I say pleadingly, “please don’t do this.”

This time I am greeted by silence. I press my ear up against the door to listen, but all I can hear is the sound of music and voices from the party below.

Dear Readers,

I hope you are enjoying reading about James and Lainey. Follow this link for the end of their story, Cherish her.