The Player (39 page)

“Blair!” he grunted in a low voice. “Now is not the time to air our dirty laundry.”

She tilted her head, her eyes icy blue. “So when exactly
is
the best time, Neil? After the wedding? Should we have Reverend Baker speed this up so we can go to a private room and discuss in
private
how you’re
cheating
on me and have been since we met?”

The arrogance bled from his face.

“Oh, yeah. I know about Layla.” She turned, and her gaze scanned the crowd. “And isn’t that a surprise. She didn’t come to the wedding, even though Neil added his
girlfriend
’
s
name to the guest list to
our wedding
along with all his other co-workers.” She turned her attention to the groom. “That took a lot of fucking balls. Where’d you dig those up? Off a corpse in the hospital?”

The rattle of coins interrupted the silence. Debra stood, holding out the battered cat jar. “That’s five dollars, Blair.”

Blair slowly turned her cold gaze to Neil’s mother, the look in her eyes terrifying. The woman sank back onto the pew without uttering a word.

“I’m surprised Layla’s not here.” Her eyebrows rose in mock surprise. “You and I know it’s not because she’s
shy
,” Blair said in a coy voice. “She had no problem stripping to her
underwear
in Neil’s cousin’s hotel room this morning.”

Several people gasped, including Garrett’s own mother. He would have some explaining to do later.

“Little Layla must get around, because she was busy screwing Neil earlier in the week. I’m pretty damn sure you were too busy banging the nurse you worked with that you couldn’t be bothered to wonder why I didn’t come home Monday night.”

“Blair,” Neil pleaded.

She pointed her finger at him. “I’m just getting started with you.” She took a breath. “But I’m not here to talk about Layla. I’m here to honor Neil.”

“Blair.
Stop this.
”

She snatched the bouquet out of Megan’s hand and hit him in the chest, sending several roses flying. “
You
will be
quiet
. I’m talking right now.” He made a move toward the steps, and she whacked him again. “Don’t even think about it, asshole. I’m not done with you yet.”

His jaw set, and he looked furious.

“One would expect a man who has a girlfriend
and
a fiancée to be a man of confidence, and why not? He had the world by the tail, right? Yet he was so worried about his cousin coming to the wedding and stealing me away from him that he convinced his friend, a junior partner in my firm, to
lie
to me and tell me that my job at the firm was dependent on my wedding. If my wedding went
perfectly
, I’d make partner. But if I didn’t go through with the wedding, I would be fired.” She scanned the crowd until her gaze landed on the guilty man. “And Ben Stuart was so convincing I fell for it.” She began a slow clap, the stems of the bouquet muffling the sound. “Bravo, Ben. You deserve a Tony nomination for that performance.”

“Blair,” Neil pleaded. “I didn’t know that Ben—”

“Don’t you
even
.” She hit him in the chest with the bouquet again, a shower of roses flying every direction. “Yeah, I figured it out, even if I admit to missing it last night when you mentioned my ultimatum from work without me having told you about it.”

“Blair.”

“Then you mentioned it again this morning when you realized that I truly intended to break up with you. So when you failed to talk me out of dumping you, you sent your slutty girlfriend to Garrett’s hotel room, then insisted that we go back to talk to Garrett
together.
But here’s your mistake with that one, Neil: What are the odds of me finding my fully clothed boyfriend with a lingerie-clad woman
twice?
Because, call me a fool—and I’ve rightly earned the title—but I can’t imagine Garrett would ask me to marry him and then invite a skanky woman to his room twenty minutes later.”

Neil’s face had turned as red as the bridesmaids’ dresses. “Maybe if you knew how to satisfy a man, I wouldn’t have to go elsewhere for sex.”

A horrified gasp spread throughout the crowd.

She put her hands on her hips and eyed him with distaste. “Neil, you wouldn’t know how to satisfy a woman if she supplied her own vibrator.”

Debra and her daughter gasped, but the sounds were practically drowned out by the crowd’s collective laughter. Neil’s fury increased, and he took a step toward her.

Garrett had heard enough. “You need to back away from her Neil.
Now.
” The command in his voice was unmistakable. He started down the aisle, the papers in his hand. “Have you listed your grievances, Blair? Because I have a few of my own.”

At the sound of his voice, she twisted to face him, her mouth dropping open in surprise. “Garrett.”

He approached the altar, trying to keep his rage at bay. “Neil, you self-righteous prick.”

Neil pointed to the back door. “Get the hell out of here, Garrett! None of this concerns you!”

“When you send your girlfriend to strip in my room, it concerns me. When you hurt and try to humiliate Blair,
it concerns me
.”

Neil leaned closer and lowered his voice, motioning to the papers in his hand. “I thought you were bringing me an
offer
, cousin. Do you really want to do this?”

Garrett sneered, “You mean the deal where I was going to pay you to call off the wedding?” He looked over at Blair and smiled. “Looks like I don’t need that deal anymore.”

“What about the
other?
” Neil asked, his tone hateful.

“The other?” Garrett asked, feigning innocence. “I think Nana Ruby has something to say about that.”

Neil’s face paled. “Nana Ruby?”

“I’ve had enough of your bratty behavior,” Nana said, standing up from her seat toward the front of the church and shuffling past several people to get to the aisle. “I should box your ears, Neilson Allen Fredrick.”

He clenched his hands at his sides. “Stay out of this, Nana.”

Aunt Debra rose up and rushed over to her mother. “What’s going on here?”

“What’s going on, Debbie Sue, is that your son is a liar, a cheater, and apparently an extortionist. You should have raised him better.”

“They’re lying!” Debra shouted. “My little Neil wouldn’t do any of this!”

Nana Ruby waved to him. “The proof is in the pudding.” She looked up at him. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m innocent.”

“Then I guess you won’t mind signing this paper Garrett’s made, ensuring you
stay
innocent.”

Neil glanced around the church at all the curious guests. The back of the church was now full of over a hundred people, who from the state of their attire, were social media onlookers. “This doesn’t seem like the right time.” He took a step down from the altar, and Nana smashed his foot with her cane. He stumbled back onto the altar as fast as he could manage.

She gave him a scowl. “Now seems like the
perfect
time. You were blackmailing your cousin over this wedding and this girl, so you might as well wrap up all your unfinished business at the wedding. Because from the looks of things, that’s all that’s getting finished here.”

Neil’s eyes narrowed. “What does it say?”

Garrett lifted the papers. “Perhaps you should read it.”

“If you want any kind of inheritance at all from me, you’ll sign it.” Nana held a pen toward Neil. “Give him the papers, Garrett.”

Garrett handed them to his cousin, knowing his cousin would sign. Nana Ruby had offered him one-fourth of the land—his expected inheritance, but only if he not only agreed to never release the video and photos of Blair, but also gave Garrett any hard copies Neil might possess.

Neil jerked them out of his hand, and gave them a good shake before he started to read. It was all the opportunity Garrett needed to sneak a glance at Blair. Megan and Libby flanked her now, and he wasn’t surprised by her defiant stance. Yet she snuck a glance at him, and their eyes locked. He saw sadness and regret in her gaze, and his heart sank to his feet. Had he really lost her?

“I’m not agreeing to this.” Neil flapped the papers at Garrett. “I bet you drew these up yourself. How do I know they’re legal?”

“They’re legal,” Garrett said in disgust. “And if they aren’t, then you’ll have your out.” Garrett’s voice tightened. “But I assure you, if you let them leak, I’ll come after you faster than white on rice.”

“Sign it,” Nana barked.

Gritting his teeth, Neil awkwardly bent over and signed the papers on his leg, then tossed them back at Garrett as he rose. “Can I go now?” Then he looked around the church and went slack-jawed as if finally realizing he was acting like an ass in front of over three hundred people, including two hundred of which were his family, friends, and colleagues—not to mention the hundred or more strangers that filled the back of the church, most with smart phones in their hands, recording the entire fiasco.

Dr. Neil Fredrick was about to become a viral sensation of his own.

Nana stepped out of the way, and Neil hurried down the aisle and out the back doors.

The minister, who had stood behind the altar with an admirable poker face throughout all the commotion, finally spoke. “Well . . . in all my twenty years of officiating weddings, I’ve never had anyone object, let alone half the church.” He turned to Blair and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Looks like you dodged a bullet, young lady.”

Blair’s gaze turned to Garrett. “I guess I did.” Then she took a deep breath and started to say something before stopping.

Garrett took a step toward her. “Blair. I’m sorry.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Why?”

“For not telling you about Layla.”

Shock covered her face and she choked out, “She . . . you slept with . . .”

“No!” Horror filled his words. “God. No. I meant I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her and Neil. When I went to the hospital a few days ago to ask him if he loved you, and the two of them were together in his office, Neil admitted he was sleeping with her and intended to keep her as his mistress after your wedding.”

“But why didn’t you tell me that?”

He grimaced. “Because I knew how much it would hurt you. I hoped I could get you to end it another way, so you’d never have to know.”

“You were trying to protect me?” she asked, incredulous.

“Yeah.”

She smacked his arm with Megan’s nearly destroyed bouquet, and the last few remaining flowers flew out. At this point, it was little more than a collection of pointed green spikes. “Well, don’t do that. I don’t need protecting. I can handle it.”

“Yeah, Nana Ruby pointed that out this afternoon.” A sheepish grin spread across his face. “But you have to understand—I love you. Wanting to protect you seems to go hand in hand with that.”

“You still love me?” she whispered.

His smile spread. “Yeah, I do.”

“Even after the horrible, hurtful things I said?”

“You were shocked and hurt, Blair. I would hope you’d be that upset if I were actually screwing around on you.
Of course
I still love you. I’ve loved you for years.”

She reached out to him, and he pulled her into his arms, lowering his lips to hers for a soft lingering kiss. “I’m starving. Know of any place we can get something to eat?”

She grinned and glanced back at her assistant. “As a matter of fact, I do.” Then she turned her attention to the guests, most of who were now standing and filling the room with the roar of their voices.

“If I could have your attention!” she shouted.

When the ruckus continued, Nana Ruby stuck her fingers in her mouth and released a whistle so loud it shocked everyone into silence. When they realized the bride was about to address them, they gave her their enraptured attention.

Blair took a deep breath. “First of all, I’d like to apologize for the spectacle you just witnessed, although from the looks of some of you,” her gaze landed on Kelsey, who bounced a baby on her shoulder and wore a wide smile, “you enjoyed every minute of it. In that spirit of celebration, and if it’s not too awkward for you, there’s a reception with food and music that’s already been paid for . . . so I invite you to come on over and join us.”

Garrett took her hand and led her down the aisle to a chorus of cheers and whistles. A loud cheer rose above the rest, which was when Garrett realized the couple who had given him a ride to the church were sitting in the back pew. The woman was furiously typing on her phone, and the man gave him a thumbs-up.

“Say, Garrett,” he said with a huge grin. “Where exactly is that reception?”

Garrett squeezed Blair’s hand and gave her a sheepish look. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

Her eyebrows rose. “And that is?”

He cringed. “We
may
have become a social media sensation.”

“
What?
”

“Blair,” a man called out from behind them. They turned to see an older, distinguished-looking man approaching them. Blair’s back stiffened, and Garrett instinctively put his arm around her.

“Mr. Sisco.”

He grimaced. “On behalf of the firm, I would like to extend my apologies for Mr. Stuart’s behavior. We do not condone what he’s done, and the partners will meet next week to discuss an appropriate punishment.”

“Thank you,” she said briskly.

He leaned closer. “But I can tell you that there was a nugget of truth to what he told you. We
are
considering you for partnership.”

Garrett expected her boss’s statement to make her relax, but she only seemed to get more tense. “I see. Are you sure I’m partner material? Are you sure I’m not too much of a bitch?”

“What?” he asked, his face turning red.

“You were right, there was some truth to what Ben said. Several truths. I made a few phone calls this afternoon, and it turns out I’ve been considered for partner before, but one of the senior
married
partners refused to vote for me because I wouldn’t sleep with him.”