Friendship on Fire (26 page)

RILEY, JADE, MAX, and Savannah sat in a café in the village of Allure. They’d spent the morning walking through shops and talking about how crazy Claudia was, Max’s wedding, and the house Jade and Rex were having built. Riley tried to add to the conversations, but as each hour passed, the fissures in her heart deepened. She hadn’t heard from Josh since the text he’d sent at four in the morning, and she couldn’t get the photo out of her head.

“What does my brother have to say about the latest?” Savannah asked. She looked chic in her jeans, long-sleeved white shirt, and suede blazer.

Riley drew in a breath, trying to formulate an answer that didn’t sound whiny or clingy. The best she could come up with was “Not much.”

“Do you think he’s all right? Gosh, maybe he needs one of us down there with him.” Savannah pulled out her cell phone.

“Treat’s with him,” Max said.

“What?” Savannah and Riley asked in unison.

“He chartered a plane in the middle of the night. He said he was worried about Josh. Apparently, he had tried to call him several times, and he said Josh had a tendency to pull into himself and block out the world when things went awry.” Max sipped her iced tea and then continued. “He’s with him now. He texted me about half an hour ago.”

Treat texted you? Why didn’t Josh text me?

“What did he say? Is Josh okay?” Savannah asked.

Riley was dying to know the same thing. She was relieved Savannah had stepped in to ask.

“He said he’s having a hard time, but they’re going to meet with the PI and get this figured out today,” Max explained. “He sounded pretty firm, like neither of them was going to let this nonsense continue.” She touched Riley’s arm. “Treat said Josh was worried about Riley but that he was in no shape to call and that they were rushing around taking care of things.”

“No shape to call? What does that even mean?” Riley asked.

“I guess he’s really angry about everything, but, Riley, he’s also probably in that befuddled stage that guys go through, where they don’t know up from down when they’re first in love. Imagine being newly in love and thrown in a blender with your lover’s nemesis.”

“I’m living that nightmare, remember?” Riley said.

Jade touched her arm. “Oh, I know that befuddled stage,” Jade said. “Remember, Ri, when Rex was all tied in knots? He was so cute and so passionate.”

Riley knew Jade was trying to sidetrack her from her hurt over Josh not calling.

“Please.” Savannah pretended to cover her ears.

“No, I mean he was protective and loving.” She winked at Riley. “And passionate that way, too.”

Savannah swatted her arm. “Ew! That’s my brother, okay. Let me think of him as a brother, please. Gross.”

Jade laughed.

“Well, Josh isn’t that way. He’s loving, but he’s not passionate like Rex is. He’s very in control when it comes to his protective urges. I can’t even imagine him getting that mad at anyone,” Riley said.

“Not even Claudia?” Max asked.

“Well.” Riley reconsidered. “Mad, yes, but viscerally angry, I doubt it.”

“Don’t underestimate my little brother, Riley. I bet this situation is making him see all sides of himself that he’s not used to.” Savannah leaned closer to Riley and whispered, “And please, when he does, don’t use the words
passionate
and
Josh
in the same sentence. He’s still very pure in my eyes,” she teased.

Riley couldn’t take it anymore. Why hadn’t he called her? Why hadn’t he warned her about Claudia? What was she missing?

“Savannah, you said Josh pulls into himself. What did you mean?” Riley finally asked.

“Josh is the most passive of my brothers. When something goes wrong, he tends to close himself off until he has a way to deal with it.” Savannah narrowed her eyes. “Riley, is he doing that to you? Shutting you out?”

“No.” The word shot from Riley’s lips.

“Oh no, honey. Haven’t you talked to him since you saw that picture? Oh goodness, you’ve been with us the whole time. We’ve been monopolizing your time. We’re such idiots.” She looked around the table. “Call him, Riley. It’ll make you feel a lot better.”

Everyone stared at her. She didn’t want to call Josh in front of everyone. What if he hadn’t called because he wasn’t sure about them anymore? What if he didn’t tell her about Claudia because he was on her side now?

“Call him,” Savannah said.

Riley pressed speed dial and put the phone to her ear.
Don’t pick up. Don’t pick up
.

“Riley,” he said in a rushed whisper. “You okay?”

Hearing his voice made her want to climb through the phone and crawl into his lap. “Josh? Yes. You?” Too many questions cluttered her mind.

“Yeah, fine. I’m in the middle of something. I’m sorry about the
Post
and about not calling. I can explain.”

“I don’t care about the
Post
.”
Yes, I do. Explain, please!
“Why are you whispering?”

“I’m in the middle of a meeting. I love you. I’ll call you later. Promise. ’Kay, babe?”

Riley ended the call feeling more confused than she was before. “He says he’s okay and that he can explain about the
Post
.”

“Of course he can. Jeez, if there’s one thing about my brothers, none of them are cheats. My father would have whooped their butts if he thought he raised cheaters,” Savannah said.

“I’d never have pegged Josh as a cheater, but I have to admit, I do feel better having heard him say he can explain,” Riley admitted.

“What are you going to do, Ri?” Jade asked. “Have you thought any more about what happens if they don’t clear your name?”

“That’s all I can think about, and if it’s fair to Josh to stay with him. I mean he’s a great guy, but he could do so much better than a woman with an accusation like
design thief
on her résumé.” Riley averted her eyes from Savannah’s dark stare.

“Are you telling me that you would break up with him…to protect him from being—what?—connected to you if they don’t clear your name?” Savannah pushed her chair back and crossed her arms.

“I don’t think she’s saying that,” Jade said.

“I’m so confused, Savannah. What would you do?” Riley needed answers, and since she hadn’t come up with any, she sure hoped someone else had them.

“Any man that would stick with me through thick and thin would be making his own choice.” Savannah clenched her jaw. “If you plan on hurting Josh—”

“No, that’s not my intent,” Riley said.
Great. Now his sister hates me
. “I’m saying that…”
Don’t cry. Please don’t cry
. Her eyes betrayed her and filled with tears. “I just don’t know what to do.” Her voice cracked as warm tears spilled down her cheeks. “I love him, Savannah. I don’t ever want to be without him, but what if being with him hurts him? He loves his career. I could kill his reputation.”

Jade was by her side in a heartbeat, her arms wrapped around her. “Shh. It’s gonna be okay. We’ll figure this out,” Jade said.

“I went through this with Treat,” Max added. “I’m not sure if you knew about this, Savannah, but I didn’t want Treat to give up his work for me. I knew how much he loved the traveling, the negotiations, the fast-paced lifestyle, but in the end, I realized that I could only control what I did, not what he did. These are men, not boys, Riley. They make their own decisions, and from what I’ve experienced with Treat, I can honestly say that he’s never regretted his decision.”

Riley wiped her eyes. “So you think I shouldn’t worry that he’ll change his mind?”

“No way,” Max said. “If Josh says he loves you, he will stand by you. How can you or anyone else dispute what comes from his heart? They're his feelings, Riley, not yours or anyone else’s. Just Josh’s.”

Riley looked at Savannah, who was watching her like a lion on the prowl—one wrong word about her brother and she’d pounce.

“Savannah, I need to know. Do you think if Josh decided to stay with me he wouldn’t turn around and regret it a month, a year, or even ten years later?” Riley held her breath, waiting for Savannah to answer.

Savannah opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She took a drink; then she put one hand on Riley’s hand and the other on her heart. “I’m not Josh, but cross my heart, this is what I believe. If Josh makes a commitment, it’s a commitment that he won’t break unless you force him to.” She pulled Riley into a hug and whispered against her ear, “If you hurt him, I’ll kill you, so decide before he gets here.”

Riley pulled away with her eyes wide, her heart racing.

“Kidding,” Savannah said in a high-pitched voice. Something in her voice told Riley she wasn’t.

“YOU’RE ONE HUNDRED percent sure about this?” Treat asked.

Josh tucked the package he’d just purchased into his pocket as he and Treat climbed into the waiting car.

 “Definitely.” Josh hadn’t ever felt more certain of anything in his life. “You assured me that this desire to hammer anyone who hurts Riley is normal. All I can do is believe you. You have more experience with that than I do. But if I land in jail, you’ve got to bail me out.”

“I’ll bail you out, and then our other brothers and I will stand by your side while Rex pummels the bastard again.”

Josh laughed. “Then he’ll end up in jail.”

“Family honor. Sometimes it’s a vicious cycle,” Treat said with a nod.

“Let’s get this shit over with. I wanna get back to Riley. I’ve wasted enough time on this bullshit.”

“Did you get ahold of Savannah?” Treat asked.

“Yeah, she knows just what to do. By the way, Savannah apparently told Riley that if she hurts me, she’ll kill her. Did she do that shit to Max?”

“Savannah’s pretty protective. I’m sure she said it to Max, to Jade, and whoever the women are who Dane and Hugh fall for will be in for the same threat.”

JOSH’S HEART SLAMMED against his chest. He and Treat had just come from his attorney’s office after finally taking care of filing a formal sexual harassment suit against Claudia—one he should have filed long ago. Thankfully, his attorney was well connected and had expedited the process. He should have taken the appropriate measures long ago, but he couldn’t change the past. All he could do was concentrate on doing all the right things to ensure his and Riley’s future, and filing that suit made him feel a thousand times better. He had a flash of worry about what doing this would do to his relationship with Peter, but he bit back the worry.  He’d deal with that later. He was taking strides in the right direction, and he had to maintain his focus. As he climbed the narrow apartment stairs, the nerves across his shoulders pulled tight once again. He looked over his shoulder at Treat, stealing confidence from his brother’s determination. He needed a witness. He needed his brother.

Josh threw his shoulders back, straightened his perfectly pressed, white dress shirt, lifted his chin, and knocked on the door of apartment 213. He’d never been in this particular Greenwich Village apartment building, and he hoped he’d never have cause to go there again. He lifted his hand to knock again as the door swung open.

Claudia stood before him in a red silk kimono. He recognized his own design and cringed. She ran her index finger down the open cleavage of the short robe.

“You’ve finally come to your senses?” The right corner of Claudia’s lips lifted. “I was just relaxing. Come in, please.” She stepped to the side, making way for Josh to pass.

Treat stepped behind Josh. The three inches he had on Josh allowed him to look over his head and meet Claudia’s eyes with a harsh glare.

“Oh, you brought Treat.” She smirked. “Long time no see. I didn’t know you were into threesomes.”

Josh fisted his left hand, clenching an envelope in his right, and bit back the inflammatory words that vied for release. Instead he let loose the speech he’d practiced for months and had never found the courage to say.

“Claudia, you have come onto me one too many times. You’ve been rude and manipulative toward other employees and made JBD a tension-filled environment. As of this moment, you are no longer an employee of JBD. Details of your termination are in this letter.” He handed her the letter and stepped to the side as she whipped it from his hands.

“You can’t fire me. My attorney will have a field day with this shit. I’ll file charges against you and Riley Banks,” she spat.

Treat handed her another envelope, and with a calm, measured voice, he said, “You aren’t going to do any such thing, because Josh’s investigator has proof of you stealing the designs. You were clever to cut off the security cameras, but, Claudia, did you forget that those were just the company’s security cameras?”

Claudia’s jaw dropped.

“That’s right, my dear,” Treat continued. “The building has its own cameras, and what Josh’s PI found will put you away for years to come. You might want to read this before calling your attorney.”

She took the envelope with shaking hands.

“You’ve been served,” Treat said with a wide grin. He turned and grabbed Josh by the upper arm, guiding him toward the stairs.

Josh moved robotically beside his brother. As soon as their feet hit the pavement, he pulled from Treat’s grip. “What the fuck? None of that is true.”

Treat opened the door to the waiting car and shoved Josh in, then slid in beside him. “You sure you don’t want to make a quick stop at Reggie’s before we take off? He might have the answers you need,” Treat offered.

“No way. I just want to get home.”
And into Riley’s arms
. “Reggie will call when he knows something. Mia’s given him access to the building and anything else he needs.”

Treat leaned forward. “Jay, Teterboro Airport, please.” He turned to Josh. “I chartered a flight to avoid any further media hassles. Listen. We don’t know if what I said is true or not, but when you reach Reggie, you can find out. None of that matters, though. She’s been fired. She’s been served, and if you’re sure Riley is innocent, then I’m damn sure that between the sexual harassment suit and what I told her, she’s not stupid enough to take her to court.”

“What a fucking mess,” Josh said. “And what a relief.” Laughter bubbled out of him. He threw his head back and scrubbed his face with his hands. “Damn. I always knew it would feel good to be rid of her, but never did I imagine it would feel
this
good.”

“You’re not rid of her yet. As your attorney said, filing the sexual harassment charges against her will probably keep her from taking any of this public, and the security tapes from your office will validate the harassment claims, but she still needs to save face with her accusations about Riley. There’ll be something that comes back at you. This isn’t anywhere near the end of it.” Treat narrowed his eyes, grabbing Josh by the shoulders. “Even though you’re confident about all of this, there’s still the chance that Riley is in the wrong. You still have no proof.”

Josh couldn’t ease the smile on his lips. The freedom that releasing Claudia from JBD brought felt like a noose had been removed from around his neck, and if he’d learned one thing from the past few days, it was that his father had been right. After feeling what he’d felt for Riley, his life
would
never mean anything if his heart wasn’t full.

Josh nodded. “I have all the proof I need.” He covered his heart with his hand.

Josh and Treat pulled their cell phones from their pockets at the same time.

“Who are you calling?” Treat asked.

“Texting Savannah. I need another favor.” He texted her, then began typing another message.

“Who else?” Treat asked, reading the response from Max.

“Riley.”

“Why? I thought you weren’t going to tell her yet.”

Josh smiled. “Because I miss her.”