Chandler: A Standalone Contemporary Romance (18 page)

“I’d be nothing without Alayna,” he says somberly. “And that’s why I can’t risk her for a woman you still know almost nothing about.”

“I know enough. I’ve done my research. And you haven’t even heard me out. I’m not asking for you to bring Genevieve into the family. I’m asking—”

Trish’s voice cuts over the intercom. “Mr. Pierce, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you have a visitor that insists on seeing you right away.”

“Tell him to make an appointment,” Hudson responds.

But Trish continues. “It’s not a him. It’s Celia Werner-Fasbender.”

I
stand
up to block Hudson on his way to open the office door.

“I’m staying for this.” Like hell am I missing a showdown between Celia and Hudson, and not just because of the entertainment value.

“This doesn’t concern you.”

He tries to take a step around me, but I put my hand on his shoulder. “It concerns me very much, thank you. You owe me this.”

Hudson maintains eye contact for three full seconds before he shrugs me off. “We’ll see,” he mutters, and before I can talk to him any more about it, he’s opening the door and stepping out into the lobby.

I hang back but stay close enough to see the perfectly coifed, blonde, blue-eyed woman waiting for him. She must be in her thirties now and is visibly pregnant, but she’s as stunning and beautiful as I remember. Anyone with looks like hers is dangerous, no matter what her agenda is.

“Celia Werner.” Hudson keeps his hands to himself, not offering any form of touch as a greeting. “I didn’t expect I’d ever see you step foot in my offices again.” It sounds like a threat and I’m pretty sure that’s the way he means it.

Celia’s lip curls up slightly. “Don’t get your panties all twisted. This visit is harmless. And it’s Werner-Fasbender now, which I’m sure you already know.”

“Yes, I’d heard.”

Silently, the two study each other. The animosity surrounding them is thick and noxious like pesticide, and I briefly consider ducking out of this reunion.

But only briefly. My curiosity wins out, and I stay.

It’s Celia who breaks the standoff. “Are you going to keep me in your lobby all morning, or are you going to invite me in? I’ll say what I have to say wherever. I just think you might prefer the privacy.”

Hudson’s eye twitches. “Very well. Come on in.” He spins to lead her in then spots me. “Celia, I’m sure you remember my brother, Chandler.”

“Of course I remember Chandler. My,” she scans the length of my body, “you sure grew up.”

In general, I enjoy being looked at like man candy. It’s flattering. Even when the onlooker is more than ten years my senior and was once basically engaged to my older brother.

But I’ve learned too much about this particular onlooker and what she’s done to Hudson, and maybe I’m more protective about my family than I realize, because instead of flattered, I feel hostile, and what I really want to do is tell her to fuck off.

Don’t worry—I don’t do it.

“It’s good to see you again,” I say icily, taking Hudson’s lead and keeping my hands to myself. “It’s been a while.”

“Yes. I’ve kept my distance. Haven’t I, Hudson?” She’s trying to goad him, which only makes me more antagonistic.

Hudson is cooler. He responds with a tight smile and doesn’t acknowledge whatever Celia’s referring to. I have a feeling that’s how most of this encounter is going to go.

It’s about now that I expect to be dismissed. I can understand why Hudson doesn’t want me around while she drags up their rocky past. But I was serious when I said I’m staying. I’m tired of being left in the dark, especially where my own business is concerned, and Hudson does owe me the chance to be part of it.

More importantly, though, I don’t want to leave him alone with her. Not that he can’t handle things by himself, I just don’t want him to have to. I have a soft spot for the guy. Don’t tell anyone.

So I’m sure to give him my
I’m not going anywhere
look when he glances over at me, a look that has never worked where my brother is concerned.

Which is why I’m surprised when he turns back to his guest and says, “Whatever you have to say, Celia, I hope you’re comfortable stating it in front of Chandler because I’d like him to stay.”

Sometimes, man. Sometimes that guy really comes through for me.

The grin I give is quite cocky. “You won’t even know I’m around.”

“Afraid to be alone with me, Huds? I suppose that’s fair.” Her cold smirk sends a chill running through me.

It’s not something Hudson will put up with. Not on his turf. With a no-nonsense attitude, he ignores her dig and asks point-blank, “Why are you here, Celia?”

“So we’re jumping right in then. I suppose it was too much to expect we’d catch up first.” I have a feeling that Hudson has kept close tabs on her. He doesn’t need to catch up. “You’ve changed the décor,” she adds, scanning the room in a way that feels possessive. “Not what I would have done, but I like it. It suits you.”

I promised to be quiet, but I’m about ready to step in and tell her,
“You don’t know fuck about what suits my brother, lady.”
Except even in my head it sounds lame.

Hudson’s got a better instinct of how to handle the situation. “Why are you here?” he asks again in the authoritative tone he saves for the boardroom.

She lets out a melodramatic sigh. “Can we at least sit?”

Hudson rubs a hand over his chin. “Fine. Sit.” He gestures toward the sofa then waits until she’s sat before taking a seat in his armchair.

I perch on the arm of the loveseat, too anxious to really get comfortable. Somehow I manage to keep my foot from tapping a million beats a minute, but I’m not so sure I can say the same for my pulse.

Hudson remains stoic, and I wonder if he’s as calm inside as he appears. “Out with it, Celia. We don’t have all day.”

With her back straight and her hands resting on her protruding belly, she finally answers. “I have a favor to ask.”

Hudson literally laughs. “That’s ballsy of you.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps I just know what to say to get your attention.”

“You have my attention. But it’s waning quickly.” His tone says he’s seconds from throwing her out. The awesome thing about my brother is that he’d really do it.

Celia seems to know that as well as I do. “I know you aren’t going to go through with the Accelecom merger.”

“Did your stepdaughter tell you that?”

The hair stands up on my arms at the reference to Genny.

“Genevieve?” Celia asks, surprised. Surprised as in she hasn’t heard shit from Genevieve.

It’s possible Celia’s just a remarkable actress, but I’m taking this as a good sign. Such a good sign that I can’t keep my thoughts to myself any longer. “You aren’t the reason she’s gotten close to me, then? That wasn’t your idea?”

Hudson frowns at my interruption, but he looks with me toward Celia for her answer.

Her brow furrows. “I didn’t even realize you knew each other. Genevieve and I aren’t particularly close. We definitely don’t talk business. If you’ve already told her the merger was a no-go, she didn’t pass it on to me or Edward.”

It stings a bit that Genny hasn’t talked about me, but it’s also in line with what she’s told me. She said she didn’t want her father to know she was with me. It’s possible this is all part of their story, and they’ve both talked at length.

I really don’t think so, though. I don’t want to think so.

“If Genevieve didn’t tell you, then how did you know?” Hudson asks, resuming control of the conversation.

“I know there’s no way you’d hand over the company to my husband. It would contradict the reasons that you bought it in the first place.”

At least the lady isn’t dumb.

Hudson raises an amused brow. “Let me guess—you’re going to try to convince me to give him the job anyway.”

“You really do have a bad taste in your mouth where I’m concerned, don’t you? I hope you understand when I tell you I feel the same.”

“That’s fair.”

If I hadn’t realized it before, I do now—there is history between these two that I’m not privy to, and in some ways I understand better why Hudson was so concerned about Genevieve’s presence in our lives. Understand why he’d immediately assume the worst.

I, however, am more convinced than ever that Genny is innocent. There’s no way that she’s mixed up in what Celia is dishing out. I feel it in my bones.

“In answer to your question,” Celia says now, “no. I’m not here to convince you to give him the job. Frankly, I’m happy with our lives the way they are. I’m not interested in moving back to the States, and I’m especially not interested in that kind of move with a baby on the way.”

“Then the favor you want is for me
not
to give the job to Edward.” It’s not stated as a question. More like a clarification.

“I didn’t say that. Let’s be clear—I’d love for Werner Media to be back in the hands of my family. I simply know that isn’t an option on the table.”

I’ll say it again—the lady isn’t dumb.

“Then what is it that you’re asking?” Hudson’s taken the words right out of my mouth.

“My father. This company is his pride and joy. His legacy. He wants Edward to take his place because he thinks it will make me happy, yes, but mostly because he thinks it will be good for Werner Media. He hasn’t even considered giving the job to anyone else. You and I both know that you will give the job to someone else. I’m willing to help convince him that’s best.”

“If…what?”

I sit forward, on pins and needles waiting for her response.

“If you let him believe it’s his idea.”

…and I was not expecting that.

Neither was Hudson, it seems. “I’m not sure I understand.” Yeah, neither am I.

“I’m saying go ahead and pick who you want to pick for the job—I know you have other names in mind. I’m confident that you’ll select the best person to head Werner Media in the future—you’d never let a good business fail, no matter how you feel about me. It’s not in you. I just want my father to believe the decision is still up to him. Let him leave his company in a dignified fashion. Let him think it’s his creative vision he’s implementing, not just yours.”

And this is when I have to bite my tongue. Hard. Because this…I know how to do this.

“What a noble endeavor,” Hudson says. “Unfortunately, I don’t know how I would begin to convince your father of anything.”

I shoot up to my feet. “I’ll do it. I can do it.” The tongue biting obviously didn’t last long. “Get me a meeting with him, and I got this.”

Hudson eyes me with half irritation, half intrigue. “Chandler?”

“The proposal I was telling you about.” I hadn’t actually gotten to any of it before Celia arrived, but I silently say a prayer he goes along with me on this. “I’m confident Warren will be interested in it. I just need to be able to present it to him. Thirty minutes. That’s all.” I’m eager, and it shows, but this is exactly what I needed to make this plan work.

Celia has also perked up from my enthusiasm. “I can arrange that. If Hudson agrees.”

He studies her with an intentness that makes me feel like he can see right through her, can see every thought and motivation that might be behind her request.

But after several long beats, he seems unsatisfied with what he’s gleaned. “I can’t figure out what game you’re playing,” he says steadily.

“Maybe I’m not playing any game.”

“Wouldn’t that be the most conniving scheme of all?”

“Wouldn’t it?”

They stare each other down yet again, and this time, something’s shifted in the energy surrounding them. It’s less pervasive. Less aggressive.

“Random acts of compassion aren’t like you. Thinking of anyone else’s feelings isn’t either.” Hudson’s eyes widen slightly, as though he’s just figured something out. “You fell in love.”

For the first time since she’s arrived, Celia appears thrown. Her mask slips for a split second, and underneath she appears to glow.

But she recovers quickly. “Do you want the meeting or not?”

“We’ll take the meeting.”

I practically sigh in relief. My head starts spinning with all the steps of what to do next. Not the least of which, win Genevieve over to this plan.

Hey, I didn’t say this idea was easy, I just said it was good.

“Thank you, Hudson.” And it actually sounds like it might be sincere.

Without further ado, she stands. “I’ll make arrangements with your secretary. No need for us to have any further contact, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I appreciate that.”

She’s almost halfway to the door when Hudson calls after her. “Celia,” he says, waiting until she turns back to him to go on. “Congratulations on your pregnancy. I once thought you’d make a good mother.”

She nods to the most recent family picture he’s added to his bookshelf. “Congratulations on your own little family. I once thought you’d make a good dad.”

“She’s changed,” Hudson says the minute the door shuts behind her.

“You mean you no longer believe that she sent Genevieve to spy on us?” I’m practically giddy with how this day is turning out. “See? People can change. It’s all good now, right?”

“No, I still don’t fucking trust her,” Hudson says, heading to his desk.

My elation is quickly deflated. “Then why did—”

“I trust
you
.”

Here’s where my jaw drops. Figuratively. I wouldn’t really let Hudson see my shock. That would be giving too much away.

He smiles as though he can read me anyway. “You said you could make this work, Chandler. I believe you can. Go do it, brother.” He sits down and addresses his computer screen, dismissing me.

I kind of want to hug him right now, but since he isn’t really the touchy-feely type, I settle on running over and giving him a noogie.

Yep. That definitely feels more appropriate.

I
spend
the rest of the day finalizing my proposal for Warren Werner. There are financial reports to gather and contracts to look over. Then, after a late meeting with Nathan Murphy, I head over to Genevieve’s hotel.

My stomach knots when she doesn’t answer my knock, and I wonder jealously where she’s at and who she’s with. What if she’s already checked out? What if she’s headed back to London right now while I rap insistently on her door?

This room is the only connection I have to her, though, so I sit my ass down on the floor and wait.

It’s nearly three hours later when I spot her coming down the hall with her father and Celia. She sees me instantly, and for a half a second, she appears to light up.

Just as quickly, her smile fades.

She leaves the others at a door a couple of rooms down and heads down to her own. Down to where I’m waiting.

“What are you doing here?” she asks when she’s only an arm’s length away, her tone even and unreadable.

God, I wish I had the courage to pull her into me. Wish I had the strength to never let her go again. “We need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

“Yes, there is.” I’m conscious of her father standing within earshot as he works the key to his room, but his presence doesn’t stop me from saying what I need to say. “Like, I’m sorry.”

She takes a breath in, but her gaze remains steady and aloof. “You said that already. I told you it didn’t matter.”

“That’s a lie, and we both know it.”

“Do you need me, princess?” Edward’s still in the doorway to his room, Celia having disappeared inside.

For one bleak moment, I fear she’ll say yes. That he’ll have security called, and I’ll be fighting two guards as they attempt to escort me out of the building.

Because I will fight. I’ll fight tooth and nail.

But eventually she says, “No, Daddy. I can handle myself. Goodnight.”

I’m relieved but still daunted. This is only the first step. There’s two feet between where she stands and where I stand, and yet it feels like a giant chasm that I’ll never be able to cross. The smell of her drifts across the distance. It’s punishing how much it makes me miss her. Need her. And I know in this moment that the way I feel about her is different than how I’ve felt about anyone else before because, though I want her, I want her to be happy more.

So even though I’m desperate to beg for her love, I hold back. “Look, if you’d rather ignore everything personal between us, then I understand. I’m not here for that anyway.”

“Then why are you here?” She flinches as she recognizes the words I said to her when I attacked her at Mabel Shores. “Guess it’s my turn to ask.”

I came to tell you I love you.

Except I didn’t. This isn’t about me—it’s about her. What she wants. What she needs. “I came to talk to you about business.”

She rolls her eyes and turns to her door, pulling out her keycard. “The Accelecom/Werner Media merger is dead in the water.”

“I know. I have another idea. A better idea.” I have her attention. She hesitates, tapping her key against the metal frame instead of sliding it in the card reader. “Give me fifteen minutes.” I’ll take five if that’s all she’ll give. I’ll take one and it will be the best minute of my life. “Please.”

A few more taps, and she closes her palm around the card. “I’m not letting you in.” She’s referring to her room, but I can’t help but think she’s referring to more.

It makes my chest twist and ache. I knew a second chance with her was unlikely, but it hurts to be faced with the truth.

Still, it doesn’t change that I love her, and even if I never say it, I want to give her this one thing. “We can go anywhere you want. You name the place.”

Slowly, she turns back to face me. She bites her lip as she deliberates. After what seems like an eternity, she nods toward the room at the end of the hall. “This way. The Executive Lounge should be quiet at this time of day.”

As she’s predicted, the lounge is practically empty. A couple talks quietly in the corner. In the center of the room, a man in a suit works on his laptop, his headphones leaking strains of something heavy and metal.

She chooses a seat near the doors. “In case I need to escape,” she says, and I’m glad she’s able to joke until I look at her expression and realize she’s not joking at all.

“You’re perfectly safe. I promise.” I won’t touch her because that’s not what she wants, but even as I pull out my reports from my briefcase, I remember the touch of her skin against mine. Can you blame me for brushing my hand against hers as I pass her a copy?

She shivers at the contact. Then she pulls her phone from her purse and swipes at the screen. “I’m setting an alarm. You’ve got fifteen. Better get started.”

Twenty minutes later I’ve laid out the entire plan and still haven’t been kicked to the curb. When her alarm went off, she stopped it without any excuses or commentary and slid her phone back in her purse, letting me finish. Now that I’m done, she sits back in her chair and puts the report that she’s now studied scrupulously on the table between us.

“It’s a good proposal,” she says, unceremoniously. “If Warren doesn’t go for it, he’s a fool.”

But does it make you happy?
“It’s not the scenario you’d hoped for.”

“The scenario I’d hoped for was unrealistic, and to be honest, my father doesn’t have the vision that Nathan Murphy has, according to what you’ve told me. This is a much better move.” She studies her finger as she traces the edge of the papers in front of her. “It’s my best shot at being involved with Werner Media, and I’m grateful.”

I let out a breath, slowly, relieved that she’s on board, but not wanting to let on
how
relieved. “It’s the least I can do,” I start to say.

But at the same time, she says, “Why are you doing this?” Her brow is wrinkled, and her eyes scald me with their burning curiosity.

The heat behind her gaze is too hot, and I have to look away. “Lots of reasons, actually. It’s the best move for Werner Media.” I busy myself with putting my reports back in my briefcase. “It’s the best move for Accelecom, in my opinion. It’s a good move for Pierce Industries, an even better move for me. It’s about time I take more of an active interest in the business.”

“It is a very strategic move for your career.”

“I think so.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Why else are you doing this? Why are you doing this
for me
?” From the look on her face, I can tell I’m going to have to give her a lot more than this. I’m going to have to be a lot more vulnerable.

It’s hard, but I force myself to meet her gaze. “Because no matter what I think I am or what I want to be, I’m still a nice guy at heart. And I haven’t been very nice to you. I want to apologize for that, and this is the best way I know to do that.”

Her features relax ever so slightly. “Then you don’t think I’m a spy anymore?”

“No, I don’t.”

“What made you change your mind? Did you realize your brother really did give those financial reports to my father?” There’s no malice in her questions. She simply wants to know.

I shake my head. “I didn’t even ask. I decided I didn’t need to. I decided I trusted you.” She chuckles to herself, which was definitely not the reaction I was hoping for. “What’s so funny?”

She shrugs, sobering. “I guess, nothing. Just. I didn’t even defend myself. I ran. I’m exactly like my mother. How on earth can you trust someone who runs?”

There’s an ache in her voice, and I want nothing but to erase it. Want to take the blame. I lean forward, reaching for her hand before I remember myself and rest mine between us. “Why wouldn’t you run? I bullied you.”

“You only asked me a question.”

“I asked it in front of everyone.” I cringe as I remember how shitty I was when I interrogated her. “It wasn’t fair. And I was aggressive. I didn’t provide a safe space to talk it through.”

She lays her hands on the table. “I was afraid I’d answer, and you still wouldn’t believe me.”

“Then you didn’t trust me either.” Like her, I’m not being spiteful—I’m working it out.

“I wanted to. But everything was moving so fast. It felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. When you said what you did, I thought,
well, that’s about right
.”

“Maybe I felt a bit like that too.” Or more than a bit. Wasn’t that why I refused to acknowledge I was falling for her? Wasn’t that why I was so eager to latch onto Hudson’s accusations? It feels so good to admit it. It feels so good to admit all of it.

“I’m sorry I ran,” she says.

“I’m sorry I accused.”

“I didn’t spy on you for my stepmother.”

“I shouldn’t have let you leave.” I should never let her leave again.

Her hand is so close, and when I stretch my fingers out to brush against hers, she brushes back. Warmth shoots up my arm, spreading through me like lightning. Though I’m trying to stay focused on her needs, I’d hoped—of course, I’d hoped—that part of what she needed was me. Touching her like this, the yearning grows. I want her so fucking much. And she feels so within my grasp.

Then she says the words that kill everything. “Chandler, even if this plan of yours works out, I’m still headed back to the UK. It’s hard enough to have a relationship when we work like we do. Long-distance would be near impossible.”

I close my eyes for the briefest second. “I know.” I’m not keen on long-distance either. There is a way that she doesn’t have to leave, but if she doesn’t see it, then I have to think she doesn’t want to. I test the ground one more time, to be sure. “At least you’ll have what you really want—the job.”

“Right. The job.” She pulls her hand back, and that answers everything. She might have developed feelings for me, but the most important thing to her is still her career. It’s what I should have expected.

Then why does it hurt so goddamn bad?

She clears her throat. “Thank you. This means a lot that you would do this. You can expect my help in any way you need.”

For that, I’m glad. Not only because I want to spend as much time with her as possible, but also because I need her brain and her smart ideas. “Don’t thank me yet. We have a lot to iron out, and we still have to win over Warren.”

“You’ll win Warren. I guarantee it. You sell him the way you sold me, and it’s a hole-in-one.”

I’m breaking inside, holding on to any scrap she’ll give me like a starving dog. “You really think so?”

“I know so. You’re really turning into the guy I’ve only seen in private. You should be proud.” My cock stiffens at the reference to our sexual exploration. A vision of her naked and bent across the table flashes in my mind. It’s possible she’d still be up for more of that, isn’t it? She may be leaving, but we could spend the time before that having fun.

Except, holy shit—I’m not interested. I mean, I’m interested, but the idea of being with her now when I know it isn’t going to last…

Well, that just sounds like torture.

Remembering Genny’s earlier words about not letting me in, I think she’s probably on the same page.

“We still have two days until the meeting.” I stand, fiddling nervously with the handle of my briefcase. “Should I get your number so we can talk tomorrow?” It’s funny, after everything we’ve been through, I’ve still never gotten this from her.

But she surprises me with her response. “Already done.”

I glance toward the table, wondering if she’s written something down for me when I wasn’t paying attention. There’s nothing. “What do you mean?”

With a mischievous smile, she gestures to my pocket. “Look at your phone.”

I set my case down and pull out my cell. I flip through the contact screens looking first under Fasbender and finding nothing. Then I look under G, and there it is—
Genny—
followed by her complete number including country code.

I’m confused for a beat.
When—
?

Then I know. “You programmed this in that night in your hotel room.” The night she’d said I’d left it in the bathroom.

“I can’t believe you didn’t notice,” she says somewhat shyly.

“Obviously, I’m an idiot.” I was an idiot the whole time.

“I won’t argue.”

I walk her to her room, and though I long to kiss her good night, I don’t. When I walk away, part of me is proud of myself for showing restraint.

The other part of me thinks I need a kick in the ass, and I can’t help but feel like I’m still the biggest idiot of all time.