Irresistible Lies (7 page)

“I think it was meant to be friendly,” she
said quickly. “We are old friends.”

Why was she defending him? Her own mind
was turning on her.

“Old friends? Tell him that. He seems to
think you’re still his girlfriend.”

She frowned, a little frustrated by this
display of jealousy.

“Charlie. If you don’t want me working
with Jamie, just say the word. I already told you, I don’t want to work with
him. This is your decision.”

Charlie didn’t say anything, and Grace
knew he wouldn’t give up the account and his monthly retainer over jealousy.
She understood why, but it still kind of pissed her off. Was money really that
much more important than her? Why couldn’t he be a little more like Jamie?

Great, now she was comparing Charlie to
her ex.

And now she understood why Jamie had left
early. He had accomplished his goal. He was in her head.

 
The waitress came and took their order, and the rest of the
night passed in empty conversation.

THE
REST OF the week was one of the worst Grace could remember. The days passed
slowly and painfully as she tried to stay on top of her other accounts while
keeping up with Jamie’s relentless demands. She found herself staying late at
the office each night, unable to get home before Jake’s bedtime.

Every
time the phone rang and she saw Jamie’s name on the caller ID she jumped,
afraid of what new project he was going to give her or what he wanted changed
about something she had already completed. He had already scrapped a few of her
proposals and had made her redo multiple projects in the late stages, telling
her that he had come up with a whole new concept in the middle of the night.

By
the time Friday afternoon came around, she was exhausted. The promise of a
beautiful September weekend was the only thing keeping her from losing her
mind. She could not wait to spend two whole days being lazy with Jake, watching
cartoons, baking cookies and ignoring her emails.

Jake
had been talking lately about wanting to go to the zoo. She thought of how nice
it would be to take him for a few hours. It would be just the two of them, the
zebras and the monkeys. No Jamie.

The
phone rang an hour before she was set to go home.

“Hi,
Jamie.”

“Grace.
How are you?”

“I’m
fine.” If he didn’t hear the bitterness in that statement, he was deaf. “How
are you?”

“You
sound tired.”

She
couldn’t help but sigh. “I am tired.”

He
was quiet for a moment. “I suppose I have been working you pretty hard.”

She
thought about saying something to him about how she couldn’t keep up with this
pace, but she didn’t want to disappoint Charlie or set Jamie off. The Jamie she
remembered never backed down from an argument, and she knew if she started one
they would be back on personal ground. She needed to try to keep things between
them at least semi-professional if she were going to protect herself.

“I
understand,” she said instead. “This is a brand new market for you and it is
going to take a lot of work for your company to establish itself here.”

“I’m
glad to hear you say that. Something has come up.”

She
had a feeling she wasn’t going to like this.

“I
need you to come to New York with me this weekend.”

Grace
sucked in a breath. “What?”

“I
know weekends are your days off, and I’m sorry to do this to you, but I need
you to come and sit down with our marketing director. You two really should be
on the same page with everything.”

This
was the first Grace had heard of a marketing director. Why hadn’t she been communicating
directly with her instead of Jamie from the beginning?

“I
can schedule the trip for an upcoming weekend,” she told him, trying not to
panic. She felt hot, all of a sudden, and a bit faint. “I’ll set something up
with your marketing director. There is no reason for you to go with me.”

“No,
it has to be this weekend,” Jamie said. “We are hosting a black tie gala at the
brewery for charity. It’s going to be really great PR for us. We need you to be
there and mingle. Some of the attendees own national restaurant and bar chains.
If they like our beer this could be huge for us.”

Grace
wanted to scream. Just the thought of going with Jamie to New York for the
weekend depleted even further the little energy she had left. She needed her
bed, she needed comfort food and she needed to be with her son. She did not
need more stress or to spend time around Jamie. She couldn’t handle it.

“Grace?
Are you there?”

“This
is too short notice. I have plans for the weekend that can’t be canceled. I’m
sorry.”

She
could practically hear his mind working on the other end of the phone, and she
wondered why she was even trying to get out of this when Jamie always got what
he wanted anyway.

“What
plans?” he finally asked.

She
thought of telling him it was none of his business but knew that would only
make him more determined to find out. “I have appointments.”

“Appointments?”
He sounded frustrated. “I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t important.”

“Jamie.”

“Grace.”

“Why
couldn’t you have told me earlier?”

“It
doesn’t matter.” His tone was clipped. “I need you there. If you can’t come,
I’m going to have to cancel our contract and hire another agency.”

She
gasped. “You wouldn’t do that.”

Would
he? What would Charlie say if she lost the account after only a week? It would
be enough to get anyone else fired. And she was trying so hard to prove that
she could handle this promotion.

“I
would,” Jamie said, not a trace of humor in his voice. “I don’t think I’m
asking for too much, especially with the retainer I’m paying.”

She
could not believe he was doing this to her. It was so disrespectful, like he
didn’t even care about her or her feeling at all. The way he had treated her
all week was worse than he would have treated a stranger. She had never been
angrier with Jamie in her life.

This
was not the man she remembered.

“Fine.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, reminding herself how hard she had worked for this
job. “I’ll go. Are we flying?”

“I
booked your ticket,” he said. She could practically hear him grin over the
phone. “I’ll come pick you up in the morning on the way to the airport. Where
do you live?”

“No!”
she heard the panic in her voice and hoped he hadn’t noticed. “Um, I’ll meet
you there.”

“Okay...”
She could hear his suspicion through the phone and was grateful when he said
nothing further. “I’ll meet you there at 6 a.m. Don’t be late.”

She
slammed down the phone without saying goodbye and tried as hard as she could
not to cry in the middle of the office.

Bastard.

Chapter 6

“I
love you. Be good for Aunt Caroline while I’m gone, okay?”

Jake
looked up at Grace with blue eyes that sparkled with tears. “Please don’t go
mommy.”

Words
no mother could resist.

“I’m
sorry, baby. I have to. I’ll be back before you know it.”

She
was on her knees in the kitchen, hugging the tiny boy goodbye. She had spent
the night before packing and trying to spend as much time with him as she
could, but now she had to leave, and he wasn’t taking it well.

Grace
had never spent a night away from Jake since he had been born. She had never
had any reason to. She hadn’t had a boyfriend for years, and things with
Charlie hadn’t yet progressed to the overnight stage. This would be her first
trip away from her son. She knew it was silly, but she felt like she was going
to cry, too.

“I’ll
call you as soon as I get there,” she told him, giving him a kiss on his
tear-soaked cheek. “You can tell me all about your day with Aunt Caroline.”

He
released her, and she left his side with a heavy heart.

“This
is so wrong,” Caroline told her when she reached the front door. “You shouldn’t
be anywhere near Jamie. Can’t you call him and tell him you’re sick? I’ll call
for you.”

Grace
had already thought about it, but she was seriously worried that Jamie would
find out where she lived and show up just to see if she were telling the truth.

“I’m
going to be fine,” she said to Caroline, standing on her tiptoes to give her a
hug. “I’m barely going to speak to him, and it’s only one night. It won’t get
personal.”

“It
had better not. I wish you’d let me drive you to the airport.”

“Someone
has to watch Jake.”

“We
could bring him.”

“And
risk Jamie seeing him?”

“Ugh,
this is so frustrating.”

“I
know.” She hugged her sister a second time. “Thank you for watching Jake this
weekend. Someday when you have kids I swear I’ll make this all up to you.”

“Don’t
even worry about it. Just try and get some rest while you’re in New York. Don’t
let him work you too hard.” She frowned. “I hate seeing you like this.”

“Hey,
maybe if I’m lucky he’ll decide not to come back to Virginia,” Grace said. “A
girl can hope.”

JAMIE
WAS WAITING for Grace outside at Richmond International Airport. He saw her
before she saw him. She was pulling a small suitcase behind her and was wearing
dark jeans and a white button down blouse. Her hair was in loose waves, and she
had dark sunglasses on so he couldn’t see her eyes.

He
waved to her and could swear she almost recoiled when she saw him.

“Hey.
Right on time!”

He
took her suitcase, his hand lightly brushing hers. She yanked her hand away as
though burned and mumbled her thanks.

“How
are you?” he asked. “Sorry the flight is so early, but I’m eager to show you
the place. We have a lot to do today.”

“It’s
okay. I’m an early riser.”

“I
remember. That’s why I figured you wouldn’t mind. So, when was the last time
you went home to New York?”

“It’s
not really home anymore,” she said. “But we go see my parents every Christmas.”

“You
and Caroline?”

“Yes.
It’s just the two of us.”

“How
is Caroline? The last time I saw her she was studying to become a teacher.”

Grace
nodded. “She has her own classroom now. She’s a great teacher. All the kids
love her.”

“I
knew she would be. I always thought she would make a great mother someday.”

Grace
looked at him. “You did?”

“Of
course. She’s got that motherly thing going on.”

“She
certainly does.”

“You
both have it,” he said quickly, sensing that he had somehow upset her.

Grace
changed the subject, her voice flat and disinterested. “She’s engaged.”

“No
kidding! That’s great. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His
name is Will. He’s the best. Really good to her.”

“When
is the wedding?”

“It’s
in April.”

“And
they live together?”

“No.”
He wished she would take off her sunglasses. “She lives with me. She’ll move
out when they get married, but we’ve still got some time left.”

He
got the feeling this was another sore subject and tried to shift gears. “I
can’t believe you haven’t been to New York since Christmas. Don’t you miss it?”

“Not
really.”

For
a woman who used to be so talkative, she sure was using her words sparingly.

They
didn’t speak at all on the line to get their boarding passes or as they were
walking to the gate. They found their terminal and sat across from each other.
Jamie couldn’t believe how uncomfortable they were together. Grace used to be
the one person he was most comfortable with in the world.

He
hated himself for ever putting this distance between them.

 
Grace rummaged through her purse, acting
like she was too busy to pay attention to him.

He
was happy when she finally took off her sunglasses, but the feeling faded when
he saw the dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept in
days.

“Are
you okay?” he asked her seriously.

She
looked suspicious. “Yes. Why?”

“You
look tired.”

“I
am tired. It has been a long week.”

Her
tone gave him the impression that he was responsible. He knew he had been
giving her a lot of work to do, but he had a good reason. Every time he called
her meant hearing her voice. Every minute she spent working on his account was
a minute she spent away from Charlie.

He
had justified it to himself many times, but he did feel guilty now seeing how
exhausted she was. He hadn’t meant to suck the life out of her.

Jamie
smiled, trying to lighten the mood. He wanted this trip to be perfect, and he
was determined to get them back on track. “Can I get you coffee? I remember how
you take it.”

“No,
thanks. I’m fine.”

Her
voice was light, not angry, but it still bothered him. He knew she was trying
to put distance between them. He was even more certain of it when she pulled a
paperback mystery out of her bag and started reading.

He
watched her for a while as she read, remembering how in college she always
carried a book with her. She didn’t like to read anything at all academic or
classic, and he used to poke fun at her choices. She loved murder mysteries,
the ones where she could play detective and try to guess who the killer was.
She told him more than once that reading was an escape for her.

That
was all fine, but he didn’t like the idea of her trying to escape from him.

She
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pressed her lips together, and he
thought for the millionth time how pretty she was. Then she turned her big
brown eyes on him.

“Why
are you staring at me?”

He
smiled, caught. “Sorry. I was just remembering. Watching you read brought back
memories.”

“Oh,”
she said, caught by surprise.

She
was so cute, with her legs tucked up beneath her on the chair. He wanted to sit
next to her and hated that he couldn’t.

“I
remember you used to read on Sunday mornings while you were waiting for me to
wake up.”

She
smiled slightly, remembering, and it gave him hope. “I had to find something to
do. You always slept in so late, and if I turned on the TV you would wake up and
be cranky the rest of the day.”

“Hey!”
He pretended to be offended and she laughed. “I always made you breakfast,
didn’t I?”

“I
thought it was brunch,” she said, her eyes sparkling.

 
“Call it whatever you want. I know for a
fact I make the best damn pancakes you have ever had.”

“Maybe.
But your eggs are the worst.”

He
laughed. “I can’t be perfect.”

“They
were some of the driest eggs in the world.”

“They
have gotten better.”

She
raised a brow. “Okay, right.”

“What
about you? If I remember correctly, your idea of cooking was heating something
in the microwave.”

Grace
laughed. “It’s not like that anymore. I can cook now. Basics.”

“That’s
new. What else has changed about you?”

Grace
shrugged, her face falling. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

“You
still look the same, mostly.”

She
pursed her lips like she wanted to say something and then thought better of it.
“You look mostly the same, too. Just more... sophisticated.”

He
smiled. “I had to grow up sometime.”

“We
all had to.”

Grace
looked sad, and Jamie searched for something to say that would lighten the
mood. “Do you still have that dog? The big one that we won at the fair?”

“Bubby!
I don’t know, I haven’t seen him in years.” She smiled, and he knew she was remembering
the ugly stuffed animal he had won for her at an outdoor carnival held at their
university. She had pointed out the toy to him, and he had tried to win it for
her as a joke. The game had been harder than he expected, however, and winning
soon became a matter of principle. She had watched, choking on her laughter, as
Jamie sunk much more money than the ugly dog was worth into the game, finally
winning her the prize.

“I
still remember what you said when you gave it to me,” Grace said.

“What?”

“You
don’t remember?”

“No,
what did I say?”

“You
said, ‘this ugly dog will forever be proof of what you are worth to me.’ You
were so proud of that thing.”

“Darn
right. I spent 40 bucks getting it. And it was probably worth five.”

“Not
even. It was missing an eye.”

“Yet
it was so hard to win.”

“Only
because you’re not very good at arcade games.”

Jamie
laughed. “You should have dragged me away from that carnival.”

“I
tried, but you didn’t listen. When you put your mind to something, there’s no
stopping you.” Grace closed her book, still smiling. “You know what? I think I
will take that coffee. You owe it to me after what you put me through this
week. Two sugars.”

“And
one cream. I remember.”

“Wow,
you’re good. Thank you.”

“My
pleasure.”

He
went to get the coffee, thinking that he would get her a chocolate croissant
too. Grace really loved those.

He
was suddenly feeling very optimistic about this trip.

AS
SOON AS the plane took off, Grace fell asleep. Before she knew it they had
landed in New York.

She
blindly followed Jamie out of the airport, thinking how surreal this whole
thing was. She was in New York with Jamie Castleton, a man she never thought
she would see again.

Despite
herself, she felt her anger toward him from the past week fading the more time
she spent with him.

He
had hired a car to take them to Four Brothers Brewery, an hour’s trip. They
spent the time catching up, laughing and filling each other in on the little
things that had happened over the past five years and talking about their
families and friends. From the way he talked, it sounded like Jamie hadn’t
spend much energy on anything outside of his business. He loved it and was
proud of it, she could tell. He didn’t say much about a personal life or
mention there being a woman.

She
was sort of glad he wasn’t involved with anyone. It was weird for her, thinking
of Jamie being happy with someone else.

When
the car pulled up to the hotel, Jamie grabbed their bags from the trunk and
followed Grace inside. The hotel was gorgeous—a lot fancier than she
expected it would be. The lobby was huge, with great big chandeliers hanging
from the ceiling and a woman playing on the piano. There were fresh flowers
everywhere and wealthy-looking people seated on velvet couches.

She
thought of saying something to Jamie about him picking the most expensive hotel
in the area for her to stay in, but she decided against it. Five years ago, he
couldn’t afford to get them a room in a cheap motel for a night. Clearly things
had changed. If he wanted to pay to put her up here, she wouldn’t complain. It
was his money to throw away.

Grace
was still looking around the lobby while Jamie was making arrangements with the
front desk. She tuned in toward the end of the conversation, when Jamie was
handed two room keys.