Power Play (17 page)

“But if I lost my job, you'd never speak to me again. So I better get up and shower.”

“Not funny.”

“I know. You're ruthless.” Landon bent down to place a quick kiss on my lips.

Suddenly, there was a violent knock on the bathroom door.

“You have your own bathroom, Landon!” a familiar female voice called from the other side of the door. “You never should have agreed to switch bedrooms when you left for Charlotte, Sasha!”

“Who is that?” I whispered, racking my brains to figure out how I knew the girl's voice.

“Varenkov's fiancée.”

His answer didn't explain how I knew the voice, since I had no clue who Aleksandr Varenkov was engaged to.

“I'm giving you until the count of five, then Sasha's gonna take a piss on your bed.”

Landon's lips twisted in disgust. “She's usually pretty tame, but we should probably move this over to my bathroom floor before anyone takes a piss on my bed.” Landon got to his knees and twisted around to grab his discarded T-shirt.

“Should I put Varenkov's shirt back on for my five-step walk of shame?”

Landon thrust his shirt at me. “Don't even joke.”

Another pound. Against my head.

“Come on, Landon!”

When Landon stood to pull his shorts on, I sat up and slipped the T-shirt over my head, inhaling as it sailed past my nose. The soft fabric smelled like soap and Landon. Might just sneak home with it. Though I'm sure he wouldn't deny me if I asked for it.

Landon helped me up while giving my appearance a thorough once-over before he opened the bathroom door. With my head lowered and my fingers gripping the hem of his T-shirt, I followed him out. As we moved, I spotted the woman's perfectly pedicured bare feet to the right of the doorway.

“Gaby? Gaby Bertucci?” the woman asked.

Recognition of the voice's owner hit me like a sucker punch. I lifted my head quickly.

Auden Berezin. My brother's beautiful, blond best friend since grade school. Drew barely mentioned Auden since their high school graduation, so I assumed they'd lost touch. Until last year, when he suddenly wouldn't stop talking about her. His random obsession made sense now. He wanted her because Aleksandr Varenkov had her.

“Auden. I—” What do you say to a family friend who catches you banging your boyfriend on a bathroom floor?

“So
you're
Hermione.” Auden's eyes lowered to my fingers tugging the hem of Landon's shirt. Then she lifted her wide eyes to mine as if some kind of realization set in. “Of course you are.”

“What are you talking about?” I patted Landon's bicep and turned to question him. “What is she talking about?”

“Nothing.” He tilted his head at Auden and sighed. “Twitter. I call you Hermione on Twitter.”

“Why?”

“I don't want to use your real name. That's my business. So when I talk about you, I call you Hermione.”

“Which makes sense because he's totally in love with Hermione!” Auden's sloppy ponytail swung back and forth as she gushed. But when her eyes caught Landon's, she clamped her lips together and zipped them closed with her thumb and index finger.

Landon shot her an annoyed look. “Didn't you need to use the bathroom?”

A smile crept over Auden's lips as she crossed the threshold.

“Please don't tell Drew!” I blurted out just as a gust of wind from Auden shutting the door sent strands of hair into my face.

The door cracked open and Auden stuck her head out.

“Why?” both she and Landon asked simultaneously.

“I don't know. We're just really close and I'd rather tell him organically. Like bringing Landon to a family dinner or something. And Joey already beat him up, so—” I waved my hand toward Landon's black eyes, even though only one came from Joey.

“Oh my gosh! Joey did that? Both of them?” Auden opened the door wider and reached out to touch Landon's eye.

Landon swiped her hand away with a growl before yelling, “Sasha! Get out here and take care of your woman!”

Auden backed into the bathroom, giving me a wink before closing the door behind her.

As I looked over my shoulder, checking my blind spots before pulling out into the street, I saw what looked like an enormous bear waving his arms and running down the driveway.

Papa.

I shoved the gearshift into park and rolled down the passenger side window, although I was tempted to floor it and avoid the obvious outburst about to come at me.

“What the fuck is this, Gabriella?” he roared before he made it to the window.

Papa's voice startled me. In all my years, I'd rarely been on the receiving end of such a harsh tone from my father.

My head swiveled like a lazy Susan, checking to see if any neighbors heard his outburst. He had some kind of newspaper in his hands, but since I hadn't read it I had no clue why he kept shaking it at me, more frantic with each step he got closer to my car.

What could make Papa so angry? Had something gone wrong with the store? Everything seemed to be fine. Joey and I, despite our initial hiccups, were trying to keep Papa's life the most stress-free it had been since, we imagined, his childhood. A storm brewed in Papa's eyes as he hurried toward my car. His eyebrows and lips scrunched like a toddler's, the anger before the fit.

“I don't even know what you have there, Papa.”

“I'm holding this week's
Metro Times.
And there's an ad for Three-one-three Artisans in there.”

Papa finally held the paper still. The familiar mock-up ad that Landon and I created jumped out at me, printed between advertisements for the Detroit Opera House's current show and the Detroit Institute of Arts' upcoming exhibit.

“Great placement,” I murmured, excited to see our ad nestled between two legendary institutions'.

Papa lowered the paper, giving me full view of his rage. “That's all you have to say, Gabriella? ‘Great placement'?”

“Well, I—” The realization of why Papa was so angry hit me like a snowball to the face. He thought I'd placed the ad.

“I'm gonna need a little more explanation than that. And quick.”

I shook my head. “I didn't run that.”

“Come off it, Gaby.”

“I didn't. I swear.”

Sure, Landon and I created a mock-up of what an ad could look like using the photos I'd taken at the hockey game, but I wanted to get Papa's approval before I placed any ads.

“You expect me to believe that?” He waited for me to nod before he spoke again. “You talked about a very similar advertisement months ago, and I specifically told you to forget about it. Now it's in a local newspaper. Did you think your old man forgot about it?”

The realization of how simple it was to tie facts back to people and still be wrong made me suddenly think about all the people falsely accused of real crimes.

“Did you ask Joey? Maybe
he
ran it.”

“Did you give Joey a copy of this to run?”

The scrambled puzzle pieces fell into place as I shook my head “no.” The only people who had access to that ad were me and Landon. And I hadn't placed the ad.

I closed my eyes, defeat pressing me into my seat as if an elephant were reclining in my lap. “I'll call the
Metro Times
today and make sure it won't run again.”

“It shouldn't have run in the first place. I understand teenage rebellion. I went through it with your brothers. But this is different than a simple teenage angst. Why would you outwardly defy me when it comes to matters of
my
store? What's gotten into you?”

Landon.

Completely. Figuratively. Literally.

But the literal part isn't something you tell your father. Ever.

“Sorry, Papa.” My finger hovered over the power window button for the passenger side, as I was overwhelmed by the idea to run away. Away from my father. Away from the store. Away from Landon.

Papa leaned into the car through the open window I hadn't rolled up yet. He blinked and the anger melted away, replaced by a soft kindness. When he spoke, his whisper held a lilt of concern. “Have you been taking your medicine, Gaby?”

Antidepressants. My lifeblood for more than two years. Sanity with the swallow of one yellow and blue pill per day.

Just when I thought I'd gotten my life on the right track, and proven myself to be an asset to my family and my community, someone brings up my weakness.

Everything came back to my medicine. My depression. My craziness. My rape.

“Yes.” I moved both hands to the steering wheel and squeezed. I couldn't make eye contact, terrified that he'd known I'd lied. I'd missed two days, and only because I had forgotten to bring my pills when I stayed the night at Landon's.

“I'm concerned.”

“I'm fine, Papa. Can I go now?”

“Where are you going?”

“Work.”

“Of course.” Papa sighed and straightened up. His slight retreat gave me the chance to roll up the window and peel away from the curb.

I had to talk to Landon about placing the advertisement without my permission. Between that and my annoyance with Joey, I didn't need another complication to add to the 313 fire.

“How's it going?” I felt Landon's massive body against my back before I heard his voice in my ear. The soft kiss he placed on my neck raised my internal temperature and sent my thoughts to our morning sexcapades on his bathroom floor the previous week. As excited as it made me, the kiss didn't quite take away the embers of anger smoldering under my skin since Papa scolded me over the advertisement.

“Come back and see us soon.” I waved to the customer who'd just checked out, then turned around to face Landon.

“What the fuck, man? This is a family business.” Joey's voice boomed, though I'm sure he actually hadn't said it that loudly. He elbowed Landon in the back and Landon fell onto me. I braced myself for the weight and held him up by grabbing his biceps. He flexed under my grip, which sent a flush to my cheeks as I thought about how sexy and strong his arms were. Having a boyfriend could provide a girl with amazing savings on her cosmetics budget. If she embarrassed as easily as I did, she'd never need to buy blush again.

“Nice language for a family business,” I scolded Joey.

“You have another customer.” Joey raised his voice a few octaves.

“I need to talk to you,” I told Landon as I released my grip on his arms.

He backed away, but not before pressing his lips against my cheek. “I'll be hiding in the stuffed-animal bin.”

Watching someone walk away can be great if they aren't walking away in anger, I thought, as I watched Landon's amazing rear end clad in loose-fitting jeans.

“I thought nothing was going on with him, Gaby?” Joey asked, bagging the items as I tapped the prices into the register. “Didn't I warn you about him?”

“Don't even lecture me. You don't know him.”

“I know all I need to know. And—”

“Excuse me.” A customer held up a blue T-shirt. “Do you have this in a large?”

“Go check,” I commanded Joey, very un-Gaby-like. “And mind your own business,” I whisper-hissed as he trudged to the back.

I grinned at the customer as if I hadn't just emasculated my brother in front of her.

“I need to take a break. Five, ten minutes tops,” I told Joey when he returned with a large T-shirt in hand.

Like an angry toddler, Joey didn't even acknowledge my comment.

I caught Landon's eye and I nodded toward the office door. He smiled and jogged to meet me at the office door, his backpack in his hand.

“Did you place that ad in the
Metro Times
?” I asked in full attack mode as soon as I closed the door behind us.

Landon threw his bag on the floor and collapsed into Papa's chair. He stretched his legs out, propping his heels on the desk one at a time and crossing his legs at the ankles.

“Turned out awesome, didn't it?”

The sheer arrogance of his posture and his voice made me realize that he didn't even know he was about to get blasted.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, unable to hide the anger in my voice.

“Wait.” Landon leaned forward. “Are you mad at me?”

“Yes! You knew I wanted to get Papa's approval first.”

“Your dad was never going to give you approval.” He lowered his legs, his feet pounding the floor when they dropped.

“He would have. Once I showed him the final product and brought it to him—”

“In a logical manner. Yeah, I know. And that's bullshit.” Landon stood up and walked around the desk to where I stood. “Your dad has never placed an ad in his life. And it wasn't going to happen now. The only way to go through with your plan was to just do it. So I did it. And I'm not sorry.”

“You don't know everything about us, Landon. You aren't the Bertucci whisperer.”

“I know what you've told me. And your dad was never gonna place that ad. I did it to help you, Gaby. It proved you right.”

“I don't need to be right. I need to be respected. And going behind Papa's back and placing an ad just kicked me down a few rungs on the respect ladder.”

“I don't see it that way. It's already brought in customers. Ten people walked through the store since I've been here. Four purchased. That's a pretty good ratio, right? Better than zero customers and zero purchases.”

“You're not getting it.”

“No. You're not getting it. A simple thank-you would shut this entire argument down.”

“Thank you? Thank you for going behind my back? Thank you for not giving me the heads-up before my father reams me out for something I didn't do? Thank you for being the man that placed the ad so that if it
does
bring us business, you get the glory? Was that thank you enough?”

Landon opened his mouth to say something, but closed it before he released any words. I bet it would've been good, because his eyebrows narrowed and his nostrils flared like a bull ready to charge. A second later, his face calmed and he took my hands.

“I'm sorry. I thought I was helping you, Gaby. I didn't think about any of that. I honestly didn't think about it at all. I just placed the ad. I wanted to help. To do something good for the store. And your family. And you.”

I squeezed his hands. Though anger pumped through my veins, I couldn't continue the argument when he had such sweet intentions for placing the ad. I'd jumped to the worst conclusions, rather than the obvious: kindness.

Why did the business turn me into a raging bitch? Maybe I should find a yoga class and Zen out.

“Thank you, honestly, for thinking about it that way.”

“I didn't realize you'd be so mad.” Landon tipped my face to his and kissed me. “You look sexy when you're yelling at me. Clenched fists, scrunched nose.”

“A scrunched nose is sexy? Good to know.”

A pounding on the door drowned out anything Landon might have said. “What are you doing in there, Gaby?” Joey yelled.

I spun out of Landon's arms and kicked the door, hoping the vibration knocked him on his ass. “We're talking! Geez, dude!”

Landon laughed. “I'll get out of your hair. I wanted to give you something though.” He picked up his backpack off the floor and started digging around.

I leaned over, trying to get a glimpse into his bag.

“Why is it quiet? What's he giving you? I'll bust down this effing door.” Joey pounded again.

Landon stopped his search, threw open the door, and took a step out, challenging my brother with a nose-to-nose stance. In his hand, he clutched a tattered paperback. “It's a book.”

Joey took a step back. “Break's over, Gaby.”

Peering around Landon, I narrowed my eyes at Joey. “Oh, you're so hard.”

“Here, Gaby.” Landon held the book out to me.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
“I have the whole series in here for you.” He patted his bulging bag.

As I flipped the book from front to back and fanned the pages, I noticed the creases and dog-ears of a book read multiple times. “Where did you get these?”

“They're mine. Well, first they were Jay's. Then he passed them down to me.”

The inside cover held a half-peeled sticker. This Book Belongs to: Jason Taylor.

“You don't want to pass them to your brothers?”

“I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have the same appreciation that you would for this particular set of books. Hope there's enough wear and tear.”

There have been numerous times in my life when I've told myself over and over to keep cool, but this wasn't one of them. A tear slipped down my cheek at the amazing thoughtfulness of Landon's gift.

“Awww, Gabster.”

Landon pulled me into his arms and hugged me to his chest. My body shook against his as I held him tight, laughing at my silly burst of emotion. I pulled back and wiped at my eyes.

“I have never received such a thoughtful gift. I mean. I just. I can't.” I laughed. “I love it. I love you. Thank you.”

“I love you, Gaby.” Landon kissed me. “Now, I'm leaving before your brother kicks my ass again.”

“Wait!” I grabbed his forearm before he turned away.

“Yeah?”

I thought about dragging him back into the office, but teasing him with a sexy suggestion in public was more likely to produce the shock effect I was going for.

Using his shoulder to balance, I stood on my tippytoes to whisper directly into his ear. “So, um, this morning was really fun, but I wondered if—” I stepped back and lowered my heels.

“Yes?” Landon urged me on.

After closing my eyes for a moment to gain confidence, I looked up at him through my lashes. “I had this idea.”

Landon shifted his weight from one leg to the other, uncomfortable in his excitement.

I lifted to my tiptoes again, brushing my lips against his ear as I spoke. “Maybe next time, I could lay under you while you're doing push-ups.”