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Authors: Naomi Chase

BOOK: Deception (Tamia Luke)
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Tamia looked back at Cynthia. Her eyes were narrowed suspiciously.
Blushing harder, Tamia turned back to the Xerox machine, relieved to see that her copies were finally done.
Cynthia advanced into the room, glaring venomously at Addison. “For your information, the bridal magazine and sample book belong to my cousin who just got married. I had pulled them out of my desk drawer so I’d remember to give them back to her when she returns from her honeymoon.”
Addison snorted. “Nice try, but that was the December issue of
Brides
magazine, which didn’t hit the stands until
after
your cousin’s wedding.”
When Cynthia said nothing, Addison taunted further, “What’s in that folder? Are you making copies of the wedding invitations that you liked?”
“Bitch, whatever,” Cynthia hissed.
As Tamia turned from the Xerox machine, she ran smack-dab into her nemesis. Caught off guard, she lost her balance and stumbled backward, dropping her armful of copies. As she watched in dismay, the papers scattered across the floor.
“Oops.” Cynthia smirked at her. “My bad.”
Tamia shot her an evil glare, then bent down to gather the strewn papers.
“Guess you’d better watch where you’re going next time,” Cynthia jeered. “Or better yet, stop wearing those hooker heels to the office so you can keep your balance.”
Tamia’s face burned with anger and humiliation.
As Cynthia stepped around her to reach the copy machine, she left a shoeprint on one of the fallen sheets of paper, adding insult to injury.
“Oh, for God’s sake.” Heaving a sigh of disgust, Addison sank to her haunches to help Tamia while glaring at Cynthia. “That was
real
classy, Yarbrough. Way to show the rest of us those Christian values your parents taught you.”
“I agree.”
All three women’s heads whipped toward the doorway.
Brandon stood there, his face hard with suppressed fury as he surveyed the scene before him.
Cynthia actually withered against the copy machine. “Hey, baby,” she said weakly. “You’re back.”
“Unfortunately for you.” Without sparing her another glance, Brandon stalked across the room.
As he knelt down to help Tamia and Addison gather the rest of the papers, Cynthia stammered out, “I-I would have helped too, b-but I’m sort of in a hurry and I, uh, needed to, uh ...” She trailed off pathetically.
Deliberately ignoring her, Brandon cupped Tamia’s elbow and gently assisted her to her feet. “Are you okay?”
She nodded quickly, clutching the stack of copies to her chest.
He touched her cheek, then looked at Addison. “Thanks, girl.”
She winked at him. “Anytime, handsome.”
Brandon’s gaze shifted to Cynthia. “Can I see you in my office?” His curt tone made it clear it wasn’t a request.
Cynthia wavered, then gave a jerky nod, looking so miserable that Tamia actually felt sorry for her. She watched as Cynthia followed Brandon from the room with the reluctant dread of a misbehaving child who’d been summoned to the principal’s office.
As soon as they were gone, Addison grinned broadly at Tamia, her eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction. “That couldn’t have turned out better if I’d planned it myself.”
Tamia was silent, making another copy of the page that Cynthia had stepped on.
Addison laughed. “Oh, come on, Tamia! Tell me that didn’t feel good, watching that phony bitch finally get her comeuppance.”
Tamia grimaced. “As someone who’s been on the receiving end of Brandon’s anger—and rightfully so—let’s just say I sympathize with Cynthia.”
Addison snorted rudely. “She sure as hell didn’t sympathize with
you
. I seem to recall her floating on cloud nine for weeks after you and Brandon broke up. And call me jaded, but I think she was secretly relieved when you went to prison. She enjoyed having you out of the picture so she could have Brandon all to herself.”
Tamia smiled wryly, shaking her head at Addison. “There you go again, telling me things I already know.”
Addison laughed.
As they started from the room, Addison suggested, “We should do lunch sometime. I’d love to pick your brain and learn your secret.”
Tamia frowned quizzically. “My secret to what?”
Addison grinned. “Keeping a man like Brandon Chambers wrapped around your little finger.”
Chapter 33
Brandon
Brandon closed the door behind Cynthia, then strode to the windows and began pacing, too angry to be confined to his chair.
Cynthia watched him nervously. “Brandon—”
“What the
fuck
was that?” he exploded, rounding furiously on her.
She swallowed visibly. “Can you please keep your voice down? Plenty of our colleagues are still here—”
“I don’t give a fuck!”
Cynthia made a whimpering noise. “I-I don’t understand why you’re so upset. What did I do that was so terrible?”
“Are you kidding me?”
Brandon thundered. “How can you even ask that question after the way you just showed your ass? Even
Addison
was embarrassed for you! Do you realize that? You got taken to task by a woman who’s not exactly known for being Miss Congeniality. So you should feel
real
small right now,” he snarled, raking her with a look of disgust that brought tears to her eyes.
“You don’t understand,” she insisted. “You weren’t there.
Tamia
bumped into
me
—”
“I saw the whole damn thing!”
Cynthia looked stricken. “You ... did?”
“Damn right I did! I was looking for you, and someone told me you were in the copy room. I got there just in time to see what happened between you and Tamia at the copy machine. So I saw what you did, and I heard
exactly
what you said. And I gotta tell you, sweetheart, that was some petty, spiteful, mean-girl bullshit right there. If you’re not ashamed of your behavior, then you’re
definitely
not the woman I thought I knew!”
She gaped at him for a moment, then burst into tears. “I’m sorry! Okay? I was wrong. I let my emotions get the best of me, but it won’t happen again!”
Brandon regarded her skeptically. “Are you sure that’s all it was? Your
emotions
?”
Cynthia stared at him through tear-glazed eyes. “W-What do you mean?”
He frowned. “Ever since Tamia got out of prison, I’ve seen a side of you that I never knew existed. I know you’re not a saint, and I never expected you to be. But I also never expected you to have such a vicious mean streak. And it’s not just that. Before we started dating, you used to complain about how bougie and overbearing my parents are. Now you run to my mother about every little goddamn thing. Before we hooked up, you presented yourself as this proud, strong, fiercely independent sister, and I totally admired that about you. Now you’re clingy and smothering as
hell
.”
Her face reddened as Brandon shook his head, staring at her as if he’d never seen her before. “It’s like you’re a completely different person from the woman I thought I knew. So I have to wonder whether you’ve been conning me all this time. Are you the sweet, sassy, caring woman I met three years ago? Or are you the catty, cold-blooded bitch who just acted a damn fool in that copy room?”
Cynthia swallowed audibly and dropped her gaze to the floor, nostrils flaring, eyes blinking rapidly. “I
love
you—”
“That’s not what I asked you,” Brandon snapped.
“My love for you is all that should matter—”
“Bullshit! If you’ve been running game,
that
matters! If you’re not the person I thought you were,
that
matters! So again I ask. Would the real Cynthia Yarbrough please stand the fuck up!”
At that her head snapped up, and her glittering eyes locked onto his. “You wanna know who I am? I’m the woman who loves you unconditionally and would do anything for you! I’m the woman who was there for you when that lying, treacherous bitch broke your heart! I’m the woman who swallowed my pride and supported you when you rode to her rescue without thinking twice about my feelings! Don’t you
dare
stand there and pretend not to understand why I’ve been behaving the way I have! If I’ve become a ‘catty, cold-blooded bitch,’ it’s because
you’ve
turned me into one!”
“WHAT?”
“You heard me!
You’re
the one who gave Tamia a fucking job when even the janitor knows she’s not qualified!
You’re
the one who’s been sneaking off to her apartment for lunch and God knows what else!
You’re
the one who selfishly jeopardized your father’s campaign because you lost your temper and went caveman on Dominic Archer! And for what? Because he choked Tamia? Have you
seen
any of those filthy
Slave Chronicles
videos? Have you
seen
the perverted things she used to do with her fellow ‘actors’? The anal sex? The gang bangs? That disgusting whore probably
enjoyed
being choked by Dominic!”
Brandon had gone still.
Pulse pounding, eyes narrowing, he stared at Cynthia so long that she took a step backward, then another, as if she were preparing to take flight.
In a deceptively soft voice, Brandon said, “I’m going to ask you a question. And I’m going to give you one opportunity to tell me the truth.
One
. So think long and hard before you answer.”
Cynthia gulped hard, her eyes wide with something akin to fear.
“Have you ever met Dominic Archer?”
“What?”
“You heard me. Have you ever met Dominic Archer?”
Cynthia frowned. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Just answer the damn question.”
“No, I’ve never met Dominic Archer.”
Brandon searched her face, his mind racing with unthinkable possibilities. “So you had nothing to do with him blackmailing Tamia?”
“What?”
Aghast, Cynthia stared at Brandon. “Of course I had nothing to do with Dominic blackmailing Tamia! How can you even ask me something like that?”
Brandon clenched his jaw. “
Someone
told that son of a bitch that Tamia was Mystique.”
“Well, it wasn’t me!” Cynthia’s lips twisted sardonically. “Believe me, if I’d known that your girlfriend was a former porn star, I would have told you as soon as I found out. Not only because we were friends, but because the truth would have set you free of her
a lot
sooner.”
Brandon’s eyes narrowed speculatively. “When did you watch the Mystique videos?”
Cynthia swallowed visibly. “When?”
“When.”
“I don’t remember the exact date,” she hedged.
“Try.”
Her eyes darted around the room before she shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I guess it was about two months ago. I remember we’d been discussing Tamia’s porn career because the prosecution wanted her movies entered as evidence of her shady character, and you were glad that Judge Perlman had granted your motion to suppress the videos. Anyway, I couldn’t understand why you insisted on keeping them if you never intended to watch them, as you claimed. And I’ll admit that I was curious to see just how raunchy they were. So one night while you were out, I snuck into your office and found the videos.” Cynthia wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Believe me,
one
was all I could stomach.”
Brandon frowned. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that you’d watched one of the movies?”
Cynthia’s face flushed. “I was embarrassed. And, quite frankly, I was intimidated by the fact that my competition was a former porn star who knows more sexual positions than I could ever begin to imagine.”
Upon hearing that, Brandon could have assured Cynthia that he had no complaints about their sex life. But there was no point. They were through.
“Anyway,” Cynthia continued, starting toward him, “I don’t want to waste any more time arguing about Tamia. What we have is too special to be poisoned by her, or anyone else. I’m sorry for what happened earlier, but just remember that if
you’d
never hired her, I wouldn’t be forced to deal with her.”
Brandon smirked. “So it’s
my
fault that you behaved like a childish, vindictive bitch.”
Cynthia flinched, pausing midstride. “Can we stop with the name-calling?”
“I just call ’em like I see ’em.”
Cynthia sneered. “Except when it comes to Tamia, right? When it comes to
her
, words like
whore, cheater, fraud,
and
ghetto
are apparently off limits—even though they describe her to a fucking
T
.”
Brandon shook his head, mouth grimly set. “I didn’t want to do this here at the office—”
“Do what?”
He looked her in the eye. “It’s over, Cynthia.”
She recoiled as if she’d been slapped. “What’s over?”
“Our relationship. It’s not working anymore.”
She gasped, eyeing him fearfully. “Don’t say that.
Please
don’t say that.”
“I’m sorry.” And he meant it. “I wanted this to work. I really did. But it’s not.”
“What do you mean?” she cried. “Why are you doing this? Because of what happened in the copy room?”
“No,” Brandon said quietly. “That’s why I was looking for you this afternoon. I was going to suggest that we go somewhere private, because I wanted to let you know my decision as soon as possible.”
“Your decision to break up with me?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“I don’t believe this!” she shrieked, on the verge of hysteria. “She’s only been home for eleven days, Brandon!
Eleven days!
”
His chest tightened. “I never meant to hurt you, Cynthia. You know that. But I can’t keep lying to myself—or to you.”
“Lying about what?”
“My feelings for Tamia. You know they haven’t gone away. It was a mistake for us to get involved. It wasn’t fair to either of us.”
She eyed him incredulously.“Don’t talk to me about
fair
, Brandon Chambers! It isn’t
fair
that you allowed me to believe we had a future together! It isn’t
fair
that you keep choosing that bitch over me! It isn’t
fair
that—” She broke off, her face crumpling into tears.
Brandon blew out a deep, ragged breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. He wasn’t immune to the sight of Cynthia crying. He hated to hurt her like this, which was why he’d been dreading this conversation all day. He knew he probably should have waited until tonight to speak to her, but after what he’d witnessed in the copy room, he’d been so angry and disgusted with her that he couldn’t put off the deed another second.
He exhaled another deep breath. “Cynthia—”
She lifted her head, her face ravaged by tears.“
Please
don’t do this, Brandon. You don’t have to end our relationship! If it’s space you want, I’ve already moved out of your condo, and I promise not to call you so much every time we’re apart! And if you really want me to, I’ll apologize to Tamia for the way I behaved. I’ll do whatever—”
“This isn’t one of your cases, Cynthia,” Brandon gently interrupted, shaking his head at her. “You can’t plea bargain your way out of this. I’ve made my decision, and you need to respect that.”
“
No!
You’re asking me to just give up on us, and I can’t do that!”
Brandon sighed. “Cynthia—”
“Please don’t do this, baby,” she begged, rushing forward and throwing her arms around his midsection. “I love you so much! I
need
you!”
He grasped her arms, peeling her off him and holding her firmly at arm’s length. “Listen to me, sweetheart. You need to let this go and get back on your A game, all right? I didn’t want to mention this before, but some of our colleagues think you’re slipping.”
“What?”
Cynthia burst out, her red-rimmed eyes widening with shocked outrage. “Who told you that? Addison? You know you can’t trust a word that bitch says. She’s always spreading malicious lies about me!”
“It wasn’t just Addison,” Brandon countered gently. “I had a meeting with Mitch yesterday, and he shared some of the same concerns. You know he’s always been in your corner, but he’s worried that you’re hurting your chances at making partner next summer. You and I discussed this when we first started dating, remember? We both agreed not to allow our relationship to interfere with our jobs. But I think I’ve become a distraction to you, Cynthia, and others have obviously noticed as well.”
She sneered at him. “That sounds like just another sorry excuse to justify your decision to break up with me.”
Brandon frowned with frustration. “You’re not listening to me. Remember how you once told me that next to your family, making partner is the most important thing in the world to you? Remember that?”
She hesitated, then nodded grudgingly.
“Refocus your energies on achieving that goal, Cynthia. I’m telling you that as someone who knows how hard you’ve worked to make partner. I’m telling you that as a friend who wants you to succeed and be happy.”
Cynthia held his earnest gaze for a long moment, then wrenched free of his grasp and stepped back. “Thanks for the pep talk,” she said bitterly, taking an angry swipe at her wet cheeks, “but I don’t need your damn friendship.”

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