Fight With Me (10 page)

“Holy hell, happy birthday to me,” I murmur and feel him grin against my neck.

He rears back and pulls out of me, stands up and pulls me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest and carries me up the stairs.

“Where are we going?” I ask as I run my fingers through his hair.

“I’m not done yet.  We’re going to bed.”

Holy shit.

***

There are many things that I love about my job.  It makes me think, it’s challenging, I’m surrounded by incredibly intelligent people.  On the down side, it is fiercely competitive, and colleagues can be brutal.  In my experience, women are especially catty.  The men I’ve worked with have been driven, and don’t involve a lot of emotion into work.  There’s just no time for it.

But women are a different breed.  What is it with women and drama?

I’m not here to make friends, I have friends, but having an amicable working relationship with my colleagues is preferable.  This hasn’t been a challenge for me for the most part.

Until Carly Lennox.

Carly joined our firm last summer, and she hated me on sight.  She’s really good at plastering a fake smile on her pretty face in front of the bosses, but her eyes are cutting.  She’d give her right tit to throw me under the bus.  I’ve managed to ignore her for the most part because she works on a different team, and I’m thankful.

And then there are days that I just can’t seem to avoid her.

I breeze into the restroom at five pm on Friday afternoon.  It’s the end of the workday, and Nate and I are going to spend a good portion of the weekend together, again.  We’ve spent every night together since Monday, alternating between his place and mine.  We take separate cars to and from work, leaving at different times so we don’t attract any attention.

Pretending Nate is just my boss, acting professional and detached, has begun to wear on my nerves.  I never realized before how often I see him throughout the day.  A few days away from the office to just be
us
is a welcome reprieve.

“Jules,” Carly sneers as I walk into the large, plush restroom.

“Carly,” I respond, smiling sweetly.  My mom always says, kill ‘em with kindness.  It seems to especially work with the bitchy Carly.

“Plans for the weekend?” she asks and smooths pale pink lip-gloss over her pouty lips.  She really is stunning with naturally curly red hair, big brown eyes, and creamy skin.  She’s super thin, though, with no muscle tone and no boobs.

That’s what you get when you’re a bitch.

“Yes, I have a few,” I respond, deliberately vague.  “You?”

“Oh, I have a date.”  She smirks and looks around, as if she’s about to confide a deep secret and wants to make sure we’re alone.  “With Nate.”

What the fuck?

My face doesn’t change.  I apply my lipstick, smooth my tongue over my front teeth and smirk at her.  “Good luck with that.”

I saunter back out of the restroom, my mind whirling.  Obviously she’s lying.  I have no question that Nate is not seeing her; he spends every free minute with me.

So what’s her game?

I shrug her off and head toward Nate’s office.  He’s requested another “after work meeting” so we can firm up tonight’s plans.

And so he can see me.

It’s really quite ridiculous how addicted we’ve become to each other.  But it feels so damn good.

Walking through the threshold to his office suite, I see that Mrs. Glover isn’t at her desk, so I just continue to Nate’s office door, knock once, and before he can answer, I open the door and breeze right in.

“Sorry I’m late, Mr. McKenna…” the words stop and my world tilts on its axis.

Nate is sitting at his desk, leaned back in his chair, looking up at a very beautiful brunette perched on the edge of his desk, her long legs crossed, black stiletto-clad feet dangling.  She’s wearing a simple, casual maxi-dress.  Nate is scowling up at her.

Her fingers are running down his face.

I want to claw her fucking eyes out.  Nate’s gaze swings to mine when he sees me enter the room and for a brief moment there is a look of surprise, perhaps regret, then he’s his cool, calm, professional self.

Mrs. Glover clambers in after me.

“I’m sorry, Mr. McKenna, I wasn’t at my desk to ask Miss Montgomery to wait.”

“That’s okay, Jenny, Audrey was just leaving.”  He rises from his chair and comes around the desk.  The brunette jumps gracefully off his desk and smiles adoringly up at him but he ignores her, his gray eyes pinned to mine.

I clear my throat and thank the baby Jesus above that I’ve maintained a neutral, professional expression, conscious that Mrs. Glover continues to hover behind me.  “I’m sorry to intrude; I’ll be leaving for the day.”

I turn to leave but he stops me.  “One moment, please.”  He turns to Audrey and says sternly, “The answer is no.  As always.  Don’t come back here.”

She exhales in frustration and looks like a spoiled girl who doesn’t like to be told no.

“Fine.”

She glares at him and turns on her heel to stalk out of the room, pausing by me.  She gives me a cold smile.

“We haven’t met.”  She offers her hand to me and I take it before I hear her say, “I’m Nate’s wife, Audrey McKenna.”

Chapter Eleven

I feel the blood leave my face, but I don’t flinch.  It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

“Hello,” I murmur and shake her hand, then step back, avoiding Nate’s gaze.  I can feel his eyes on me, silently begging me to look at him.

Fuck him.

“Bye babe,” Audrey waves at Nate and saunters out of the room, and I decide to make a hasty escape as Mrs. Glover watches.

“I really do have to go.”  I back toward the door.  “Let’s reschedule our meeting for Monday.”

“Julianne,” I vaguely hear him say my name but I ignore him and walk quickly, and with all the dignity I can muster, with my head up, out of his office.  I know he won’t follow me, not with Mrs. Glover and anyone else still in the office watching.

I use this to my advantage, quickly gather my handbag and jacket and leave the office, just catching the elevator.

What in the name of all that’s holy just happened?

Nate’s married? 
Married?

How is that possible?

My hands start to shake with adrenaline, and I just need to get the hell out of here.  Once in my car, I race out of the underground parking lot and fight downtown traffic.  Tears have started to fall, and they piss me off because I never cry, and he’s made me cry twice this week.

I hear my iPhone ringing in my handbag and I ignore it.  I can’t talk to him.  I don’t want to hear his excuses.

I risked my career for him.  But even worse than that, I risked my heart.

Fuck.

My phone continues to ring.  He just hangs up then dials again.  Finally, I rummage in my bag, pull out the phone and turn it off.

I don’t want to go home.  He’ll just come there and I don’t want to see him, so I go to the only other place I can think of.

I need Natalie.

I guide my little red Lexus through their gate and down to their beautiful, white, modern home.  I ring the bell, and frown.  I hope I’m not waking Nat up from a nap.  She’s so pregnant.  Luke made her stop working a few weeks ago, and she’s been taking it easy.

Natalie answers the door, takes in my tear-streaked face and steps back.

“What’s happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”  I close the door behind me and she holds her arms open for me.  “How do I maneuver around this thing?” I ask and hug her over her baby bump.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way, believe me.”  She hugs me close and strokes her hand down my hair.  “What’s going on, sweetie?”

I shake my head, pull back and rub her belly.  “She’s almost here.”

Natalie smiles widely and covers my hand with hers.  “I’m scared out of my fucking mind.”

“You’ll be fine.  Luke and I will be there.  I’ll kick the doctor’s ass if anything happens to either one of you.”

“That’s why I have you.  You’re the brawn in this operation.”  We laugh and I follow her through the great room into the kitchen.  From behind, you’d never know she was pregnant.  She’s hardly gained any weight, mostly due to the horrible morning sickness she’s had.  Natalie is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty of beautiful women.  She has long chestnut brown hair, green eyes, and her body is kickin’ with luscious curves. 

But her heart is the most beautiful part of her.  She is kind and generous to a fault.  She thinks I don’t know that she paid off my parents’ mortgage last year.  Of course I know.

“Tea?” she asks and fills a kettle in the kitchen sink.

“Please.” I sit on a stool at the breakfast bar and hang my head in my hands, my thoughts returning to Nate.

“Hey, Jules,” Luke smiles at me as he walks in the room from his office.  He kisses me on the cheek then moves into the kitchen and wraps his arms around Natalie, kissing her deeply,  his hands roaming to her belly.

“Jesus, guys, really?  I just got here.”

Luke pulls back and smiles smugly at me and Natalie goes back to making tea.  He really is a handsome son of a bitch with messy blonde hair and the bluest eyes ever.  And he treats Nat like a goddess, so I can’t help but love him.

“What’s up, Jules?  You don’t look so good.”  He leans his hips on the countertop and crosses his arms, frowning.

I shrug and look into the great room at all the baby gear.  “There’s a lot of pink going on here.”

I see Nat and Luke share a worried glance, then they both look back at me.  I’m so not getting out of here without spilling the beans, but I’m not ready yet. Maybe if I don’t talk about it, it didn’t happen.

“It’s a girl, Jules.”  Natalie smiles and me and rubs her belly.

“I know.  Thank God.  I’m going pink crazy myself.”  I grin and feel my eyes widen when Natalie flinches.  “What’s wrong?”

“She’s kicking the shit out of me.”

“Oh, I wanna feel!”  I run around the island and kneel before her.  She guides my hands where the baby is and I lay my face on her belly, listening.

“This would be so much more fun if you two were naked,” Luke remarks, earning a slap from Nat.

“Shut up, perv,” I mumble and caress the baby bump while Nat runs her fingers through my blonde curls. 
Oh, how I’ve missed them.
  Suddenly the enormity of what happened in Nate’s office hits me, and my loneliness for my best friend overwhelms me and I feel the tears start to roll down my cheeks.

“Hey,” Nat murmurs and continues to soothe me.  “Jules, what is it?  You never cry.”

I shake my head again and feel the baby kick my right hand.  Oh, I can’t wait to meet her.

“Do you want me to leave?” Luke asks and starts to move away from the counter.

“No, stay.” I sigh and sit back on my heels, still holding onto Natalie.  I know they are confused and concerned, but they just watch me warily.  Finally, without looking up, I whisper, “He’s married.”

“Excuse me?” Natalie backs away and grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet.  Both she and Luke are frowning. 

“Nate is married.”  I turn around and go back to my stool at the bar.

They look at each other again and then back to me.  “What happened?” Luke asks, his voice low, and I know he’s in uber protective brother mode.

I am surrounded by over-protective men.

“I walked into his office this afternoon, and there she was, all leggy and hot and perfect, perched on his desk with her hand on his cheek.”  I wince and squeeze my eyes closed at the memory.

“What did Nate do when you walked in?” Nat asks.

“Nothing.  What could he do?  She got up to leave and introduced herself to me as his wife and left.  His secretary was in the room, and to maintain a shred of dignity, I left and came here.”  I shrug and gratefully accept a tissue from Luke.

“Has he tried to call?” Nat asks.

“Yeah, I turned off my phone.”

“Hello, de’ja vu.”  Natalie says dryly.

“Shut up.  Luke wasn’t married for crying in the night,” I respond.

The man in question clears his throat.  “I’m right here, you know.  Jules, you should at least hear what he has to say.  Before I break his jaw and he can no longer speak.”

“He used to be in the UFC.  But thanks for the offer,” I murmur.

“You’re sure she said wife?” Natalie asks, her mind working.

“Yeah, and introduced herself as Audrey McKenna.” I shrug and sip the tea Natalie sets in front of me.

“It’s hard for me to believe that you guys have shared all you have over the past week and he never mentioned her.  You’ve been at his apartment, Jules.”

“I know, it doesn’t make sense.  Trust me, no woman lives there.  It’s a total man’s place.”  I shrug again and shake my head.  I don’t get it.

“Maybe they’re separated?” Nat frowns and rubs her belly again.

“As long as there is no “ex” before “wife”, I don’t give a shit where she lives,” I mutter.  “Besides, even if there were an “ex”, he should have told me.”

Suddenly the doorbell rings and we all look at each other, our eyes wide.

“How do I know who that is?” I ask.

Luke clears his throat.  “Um, Nate called right before I came out of my office and asked if you were here, and I thought I’d heard your voice, so I said yes, but I didn’t know what was going on, Jules.”

I glare at him.  “Tell him to go away.”

“No, don’t.”  Natalie walks to me and takes my hand in hers.  “Just hear him out, then if you don’t like what he says, let Luke kick his ass.”

The doorbell rings again, twice this time.  Luke stalks to the door and opens it.  He murmurs to Nate, and I can’t hear what they’re saying.  After about thirty seconds, Luke steps away from the door and allows Nate to enter.  His eyes search the room and find me, and he moves swiftly through the room, and suddenly he’s right in front of me, his arms on either side of me, braced against the breakfast bar, but he’s not touching me.

“Why did you run?”  His voice is cold, matching his steel-gray eyes. He’s winded and he just looks… pissed.