The Player (7 page)

He had another battle to prepare for tonight.

Blair sat in her office, staring at her blank computer screen. How had her life turned so effectively to shit in less than twenty-four hours? What had Sisco thought of her performance during the deposition? She’d been slower to react than usual. Had he noticed? He’d walked out halfway through. Did that mean she’d done well in his eyes, or had he already decided to vote against her?

“Blair?” Melissa stood in the doorway, worry in her eyes. “I’ve made some calls in regard to your earlier request. Do you have time for a report?”

One of the things Blair loved about Melissa was the way she always knew when to press a matter and when to leave it. Melissa had no doubt been desperate to ask her questions all afternoon, but she’d waited until she had her own information to share. Of course, Blair couldn’t tell her the truth without breaking Ben’s confidence.

Blair shook her head and forced a smile. “Yeah.”

Her assistant shut the door and stood in front of her desk, lowering her voice. “I talked to a few sources at some of the bigger firms, and no one’s looking to bring on associate attorneys. In fact, Morrow and Smith is downsizing.”

“And the smaller firms?”

Melissa shook her head. “The only firm that’s currently looking is Chester, Williams, and Horn.”

Blair rolled her eyes. “They’re practically ambulance chasers. So there’s nothing?”

“No. Now what’s going on?”

Blair tried to ignore the tightness in her chest. “I can’t tell you.”

“Blair.”

She shook her head. “I promised not to tell.”

“Are you losing your job?”

She took a deep breath, trying to clear her head. “Of course not.” She forced a smile. “It doesn’t hurt to put out feelers.”

“
Blair.
” Melissa paused and moved forward, crossing her arms over her chest. “I need to know if I should start looking for a job.”

Oh God. She’d lose her position too. Blair wanted to tell her everything was okay, but she refused to lie to her. “I don’t know. But if you do, I’ll write you the best damned reference letter ever written.” A lump formed in her throat, and her numbness finally dissolved into anger. It was one thing to screw with Blair, but another to screw with someone she cared about. “I promise you I’ll make this right.” Her voice shook, and she clenched her fists.

“You can tell me what happened. I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”

Blair looked at her assistant for a long moment, wishing she could bring Melissa into her confidence. While she knew her assistant wouldn’t blab, this was too serious to take the risk. “I’ll know something next week. I’ll tell you then.”

“You’ll be on your honeymoon next week.”

How could she enjoy herself on her honeymoon if her job hung on the balance? The pins holding her control in place had begun to slip loose. She could
not
flip out now. She cleared her throat. “Now tell me what you found out on the status of Brian Norfolk’s side bank account.”

“Blair.” Melissa’s voice was softer than usual. “How do you know Garrett Lowry?”

She turned to look at her assistant, her breath catching in her already tight chest. Just hearing his name sent her heart racing, and that was not good.

“I’m not stupid. I can tell you have a history with that guy.”

Blair shook her head. “That’s water under the bridge in my
ancient
past.” She forced her smile even brighter. “I’m over all that now.”

The look on Melissa’s face said she didn’t buy it for a minute. “For what it’s worth, he was using his charm to get me to set up a lunch with
you
.”

“Why?” Her stomach dropped to her toes. So he hadn’t been trying to get a date with her assistant. The relief she felt from the knowledge was disconcerting.

“He didn’t say, but he seemed determined.”

Blair steeled her back. “That’s out of the question.”

“I figured.” Melissa hesitated. “But he
is
cute.”

Her hand tightened around a pen on her desk. “I’m getting married on Saturday.” She hadn’t seen Garrett in years, yet now she’d seen him twice in a matter of twenty-four hours, and it was making her question everything. She had to focus on what was important. Her job. Melissa’s job. Her upcoming nuptials. Marriage with Neil. She was furious with herself for giving Garrett the power to threaten the world she’d built for herself, simply by walking back into her life, even if it was coincidental. “Melissa. This wedding has to be absolutely perfect.”

“It will be.”

She frowned. “I need to make sure that absolutely
nothing
goes wrong with this wedding.” She paused, then lowered her voice and stared into her assistant’s eyes. “
Everything
is riding on this.”

Melissa watched her for a moment, obviously confused as to how a matrimonial ceremony could affect everything. But typical Melissa, she accepted Blair at her word. “And nothing will. It will be perfect. I promise.”

Blair knew she could count on her assistant, so she had left many of the wedding details in her capable hands, especially since she had so many other issues on her plate.

She offered her a weak smile. “You’ve helped me so much, and this completely goes above and beyond anything in your job description—especially since my wedding planner skipped town. Now it’s more important than ever. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

Melissa held up her hand. “Please stop. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had, and I’d do anything and everything to help you. And right now, I feel obligated to point out that you have a dinner with your future in-laws in less than twenty minutes.”

“Oh shit.” Blair groaned. “I really can’t face them tonight.”

“Maybe you can pretend to have a headache so you can leave early.”

Blair perked up. “Great idea.”

“I know. I’m full of them. See you tomorrow.” She walked out of the office and closed the door behind her.

Blair scanned the mass of files piled on her desk, but instead of cases, she saw women who had been cheated, used, and then dumped. Women like her mother, who’d lost everything in the divorce—her house, her identity, and her dignity. Not to mention the fact that she’d been thrown back into the work force without any experience after nearly twenty years, at her ex’s insistence. Her attorney hadn’t given two shits about her and had done the bare minimum to settle the case. And then Blair’s father had gone and died five years later, leaving nothing to either his ex-wife or his daughter. Blair hadn’t wanted anything of his, but her mother had deserved more.

But it was partly because of him that she had her career—a career she loved at the end of the day, in spite of the pettiness and sexism of her bosses. If she lost her job, she’d be forced to start from the beginning and probably in some other city. Neil’s practice was in Kansas City, and he’d already let her know he loved his position and had no intention of moving if another opportunity ever came her way. She was stuck.

Neil’s mother, Debra, had picked a hole-in-the-wall barbeque joint on the Kansas side of the city. Someplace Blair would feel totally out of place in with her business attire. She considered going home to change, but there wasn’t time with rush hour traffic, and besides, this was who she was. Take it or leave it. She was already trying to placate her bosses. There was only so much supplication Blair was capable of in a month, let alone a single day. But she was sure to get an earful of disapproval from Neil’s mother. For a woman who sold Tupperware and lived in a double-wide trailer, she was one of the most judgmental women Blair had ever known, and she’d made no secret of the fact she didn’t approve of Blair’s career. Blair would love nothing more than to tell her off, but she didn’t want to make things awkward for Neil. He was caught in the middle enough as it was, what with all the back-and-forth about the wedding arrangements. As an afterthought, she pulled the pins out of her hair and let it tumble down her back. It would definitely be hotter, but she could suffer through some discomfort to appease Debra. Besides, she was already plotting when to execute her headache excuse.

Five minutes after six, she pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and was blasted by a wave of hot, humid air as she opened the car door, adding to her irritation. Neil’s parents had insisted the rehearsal dinner on Friday night take place in the outdoor seating area of a local restaurant. She was going to miss her own wedding due to dehydration from profuse sweating.

Neil and his parents were already seated at a rectangular table when she walked into the room. It was hard not to feel annoyed at the irritated glance Neil gave her as she approached the table.

“There you are. I told you six sharp.”

He was being shorter with her than usual, which only added to her brewing annoyance, but she knew he must have caught an earful from his mother. “I’ve had the day from hell. Then I hit rush hour traffic.”

Neil’s mother pursed her lips in disapproval. “Language.” The woman held a small plastic piggy bank shaped like a cat, with the words “Curse Kitty” handwritten on a piece of copy paper and attached with mailing tape. Coins rattled as she shook the container. “That will be one dollar.”

Blair put a hand on her hip and cocked her head. “What the hell is
that?
”

Debra’s eyes narrowed. “Now it’s two.”

Now Neil’s expression morphed into an apologetic cringe. His eyes pleaded with her to not flip out. “Mom knows your tendency to swear, and she’s bound and determined to make the wedding as stress-free as possible, so she’s created a swear jar. She plans to carry it around all weekend.”

Blair wanted to point out that it was
her
wedding and curse words
relieved
her stress, but she decided to focus instead on the one point she had a chance of winning. “I only cursed once. My first usage of the word hell was in relation to the location.”

Debra shook the jar, making the coins clink. “Now it’s three.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. What am I supposed to call the place where Satan and all his minions reside?” Blair turned to Neil’s stoically quiet father. He was studying his menu with an intensity that suggested he’d be given a quiz later.

Debra cringed. “I wish you wouldn’t use his name, dear.”

“Satan?” Blair asked in disbelief. “Is he like Lord Voldemort? Should we only refer to him as ‘you know who’?”

Debra pursed her lips, deep in thought. “I don’t know who this Lord Voldemort is, but that’s a great idea.”

Blair started to tell her that she was being ridiculous, but it was a pointless endeavor. Debra Fredrick was too simple-minded and stubborn for a fair argument. “Never mind.” She dug out her wallet and pulled out three ones and stuffed them into the jar.

“Is this some new wedding shower game?” a male voice asked from behind her. “Or have you resorted to panhandling, Aunt Debra? I saw a great corner in downtown Kansas City if you’re interested. The homeless guy who sleeps there looked like he’d share his spot
and
his bottle of booze.”

Neil’s mother gasped and clutched her chest again, looking like she was about to have a heart attack, while Neil’s father tried to hide his laughter. It was about the liveliest she’d ever seen him, but she couldn’t focus on his transformation because she
recognized
that voice.

Blair spun around in horror. No. It couldn’t be . . .

But it was. Standing in front of her was Garrett Lowry.

How
was the only word that found its way into her brain. Too dumbfounded to say anything, she simply gaped at him.

The only thing that made her feel better was that the look on her ex-boyfriend’s face undoubtedly matched her own.

“I’m glad you regret making such a crass joke,” Debra finally said, mistaking his dismay.

“So you really showed up.” Neil turned in his seat and glared at Garrett. “That took balls.”

“Neil!” Debra said. “A dollar!”

Neil shook his head as he dug a bill out of his wallet.

Garrett Lowry
was Neil’s cousin? How had this never come up? Neil had told her about his nemesis, the cousin who’d made his every summer a living hell, but he’d never once referred to him by name. He was always
asshole
or
Nana
’
s favorite
. It had infuriated Neil when his nana insisted they invite him to the wedding. Admittedly, Blair hadn’t looked at Neil’s family’s guest list. She’d handed it over to her wedding planner, who had addressed all the invitations before running off to South America with one of her client’s grooms.

Garrett recovered enough to say, “Great to see you too, Neil. And I’m here on Nana Ruby’s orders. We both know that to defy Nana is to skirt one’s own death.” His gaze turned to Blair, and his eyes softened. “Trust me. This is the last place on earth I want to be right now.”

The pain behind his words caught her by surprise.

“Well . . .” Neil muttered.

Garrett tore his gaze away from Blair and turned his focus to Neil. “So you’re marrying Blair . . . Hansen.”