White Lies (3 page)

“I’
m sorry
,
” Zoey said
.“I’
m not trying to judge you, this is all jus
t
—” She trailed off.

“
New to you
.
”

“
Yes
.
”

He stepped close to her again
.“
Let me put this another way. I promised you dinner tonight. Then I took it away before you got to eat it.
I’
m asking you to research something that could make your career even as I make it so that you feel you ca
n’
t use it
.
” His hands made a whispering sound over her sweater. She could practically hear
conflict of interest
on the air currents
.“
At least let me help you out while yo
u’
re doing it
.
”

Put like that, it was a lot harder to turn down. Mama would walk to New York City just to smack her if she heard about it, bu
t—
well. It was for one night
.“
Sure
,
” she said
.“
I do
n’
t know what I want, though. Something simple, I guess
.
”

“
Grilled cheese and soup? You look like you could use something comforting
.
”

“
That sounds great
,
” she said
.“
And maybe some coffee, if ther
e’
s decaf
.
”

He snorted
.“I’
m sure she keeps some for guests
.
”

“
Death before decaf
?
”

“
I mean, if yo
u’
re worried about staying up all night,
I’
ll be happy to help you work out the energy
.
” His hand cupped her breast, teasing at her, and her moan was much closer to a groan this time.

“
Go take care of your sister
,
” Zoey said, because the alternative was begging him to fuck her where she stood, and she honestly did
n’
t know how much longer she could keep the words behind her teeth.

He nodded
.“
Do
n’
t feel like you have to spend the time researching. Ther
e’
s an eBook reader in the nightstand, and Sophia keeps a pretty up to date variety of books on the house account. Relax a little bit
.
” That faint smile gave her shivers this time. His eyes seemed to see deep inside of her, and the crinkles around the edges made her think that he liked what he saw
.“
I do
n’
t think you do that a whole lot
.
”

“
Maybe not as much as I should
,
” she said
.“
Now go. And come back
.
”

“
I promise to do both
.
” He brushed his lips against hers again, and then he was gone.

CHAPTER TWO

In the living room, Claire was curled up in a corner of the couch, her entire body wrapped around a cup of tea
.“
Sophi
a’
s making sandwiches
,
” she said, without looking up
.“
She asked if yo
u’
d want a drink. I told her that yo
u’
d probably make it yourself, if you did
.
”

Two fingers of whiskey sounded delightful right now, but that was the best reason in the world to avoid it
.“
What happened at home
?
” He sat down across from her. Claire studied the ripples in the surface of her tea; her hands were shaking
.“
You said Aaron came over
?
”

Claire nodded. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“
Claire, did he hurt you? If he so much as looked at you wron
g
—” He choked back the urge to threaten to rip the man to shreds. Aaron Schwartz was his mothe
r’
s personal assistant, and there had been something creepy about the guy as long as Alex had known him. His eyes tended to rest on both Claire and Olivia in a strange way. It was
n’
t as if he found them attractive, more jus
t—
disrespectful. His relationship with Alex had been adversarial since Alex hit junior high school and started to fill out through the shoulders. Of course, Ale
x’
s relationship with his father had always been adversarial; he had
n’
t realized there was anything particularly off about that until h
e’
d seen his friend Leo with his father. The dynamic had been so different, and the young man Alex had been had wanted to be a part of that so very much.

None of that had anything to do with Claire, or the suddenly panicked look in her eyes. She did
n’
t need to hear how Alex would shred the man, strong and white though he might be. For her, Alex got a grip on his temper and forced it back and out of the way
.“
You can tell me anything, Clary. What happened
?
”

Claire wrinkled her nose at the nickname, but it was the first reaction sh
e’
d really given him since he sat down
.“
They were fighting. Aaron and Mom. They were screaming at each other. Olivia kept shrieking that he should
n’
t have done it, that they should have found another way, and he was screaming at her to keep her voice down. He pushed her into a wall, Alex, like Daddy used to. I thought he was going to kill her. And then he saw me
.
” Her knuckles were tight around her mug.

“
Did he hurt you
?
”

She shook her head
.“
But I think he would have, Alex. I think he would have, if I had
n’
t run. I did
n’
t know where else to go.
I’
m sorry you did
n’
t see my message,
I’
m sorry I ruined your dat
e
—”

Tears were streaming down his siste
r’
s face, and he reached out to her, taking the cup of tea and setting it on the table. She curled up in his arms, and cried quietly for a little bit. He stroked her curls and tried to let his urge to comfort her show, not the desire to go obliterate the man who had dared to frighten his precious baby sister.

After a little while, she pulled back, wiping at her eyes. He handed her a tissue, and she carefully blotted under her eyes, picking up the eye makeup that had run
.“I’
m really sorry
,
” she said.

“
Does Olivia know where you are
?
”

“
You should call her Mom
,
” Claire said
.“
It breaks her heart that you do
n’
t
.
”

He did
n’
t bother to answer. By the time Claire had been born, their parents had basically maintained separate homes, married only on paper. She had
n’
t had to live through the hell that had ensued while they were still trying to pretend they gave a shit about each other, and not just what they could get from each other.

“
Does she know yo
u’
re here
?
”

Claire shrugged.

“
I have to let her know
,
” he said
.“I’
ll make sure she is
n’
t going to just burst in and demand that you come home
.
”

“
If she tried, Sophia would kneecap her
.
”

Alex chuckled. The girl was
n’
t wrong. Sophia had come with the penthouse, for all intents and purposes, but h
e’
d hired her on full time, and he had told Zoey the truth about what he paid her. H
e’
d found the compensation packages that every person in his social sphere offered their live-in housekeepers, and then h
e’
d topped them all, and told Sophia to tell him if anyone tried to make her a better offer, that h
e’
d match it. She adored his little sister nearly as much as he did, and would probably have less patience than he would for anyone who made Claire cry.

On queue, Sophia brought in a tray of sandwiches. Chicken salad, it looked like, along with chips and salsa. Sophia was a wiry woman, in her forties. Her hair was blonde, threaded with white strands, and her hairs were a crystal shade of blue. Her skin was the extreme pale of northern Europe
.“
Thank you
,
” Alex said
.“
It looks like Clair
e’
s going to be staying with us for tonight, maybe a bit longer than that
.
”

Sophia nodded and smiled at the girl
.“
Excellent
,
” she said
.“
I changed the sheets on your bed just the other day, Claire, everything should be all set for you
.
”

“
We have another guest as well
,
” Alex said, and from the flicker of amusement in Sophi
a’
s bright blue eyes, she already knew that
.“
Zoey Gardener will be staying with us for tonight. Sh
e’
s in the west room. If you would
n’
t mind, sh
e’
d love some soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, maybe a cup of coffee
.
”

“
Of course
,
” Sophia said
.“
Will she be here for breakfast in the morning
?
”

It was absolutely scandalous, the way everyone around him seemed to be just so delighted that h
e’
d finally brought someone home. He did
n’
t dare walk out of the room; Claire and Sophia would probably start tittering about something as soon as he did. Dammit
.“
Yes, I believe so
,
” he said, trying to make it sound like there was some doubt.

“
Anything else tonight
?
”

“
I do
n’
t think so
,
” Alex said
.“I’
ll take care of the dishes once Claire and I are done
.
”

“I’
ll make sure to have a lunch in the fridge for you in the morning, Claire. Coffee for you
?
”

Claire wrinkled up her pert nose again
.“
Absolutely not. Thank you, Sophia
.
”

Sophia nodded, and left the room, her soft bottomed shoes making a shushing sound as they slipped over the hardwood.

“
So
,
” Claire said, her voice stronger, which of course meant that she was ready to tease her brother
,“
Tell me about your new girlfriend
.
”

He shook his head
.“
Sh
e’
s not my girlfriend, sh
e’
s jus
t
—” There was no word to describe what Zoey was. Someone he met at a club, fucked until his balls ached, and then fantasized about for hours on end
?“
Someone I took on a date
,
” he finished. It sounded completely transparent, even to him. Claire was grinning like a maniac.

“
Took on a date, and then brought home, something which is, as far as I know, unique in the history of Alexander Blankenship
.
” She nudged him with one toe
.“
Come on, big brother, spill. Give me the deets. Did you meet her somewhere swanky? Or in some skanky dive yo
u’
re afraid to tell me about
?
”

He shook his head
.“
Sh
e’
s a journalist. For the
Downtown Voice
.
”

Claire wrinkled her nose again
.“
Seriously
?
”

He laughed
.“
Not everyone has the connections to go straight to the
Times
, Clary. And some of the people who do would be better off working in the trenches a little bit, and appreciating what they get
.
” Which was quite a speech from a guy who inherited his fathe
r’
s company, but that was
n’
t the point. He was trying to create a teachable moment without talking to his little sister about kinky sex.

“
So, what, she was interviewing you
?
”

“
Basically
.
” Begging him to keep spanking her, admiring the red marks on her ass in the shape of his long finger
s—
yeah, that was the same. Absolutely.

“
Yo
u’
re not going to tell me anything interesting, are you
?
”

“
Nope
,
” he said, and poked her back with a finger
.“
Not until yo
u’
re of age. Though
I’
m happy to tell you that ther
e’
s a supply of condoms in the bathroom off my room, and if you need some, take some.
I’
m too gorgeous to be an uncle
.
”

Claire snorted
.“
Mom would kill me dead if I made her a grandmother before she was sixty
.
”

“
Finally, a point on which we agree
,
” he said.

“
All right, all right
,
” Claire said. Her fingers were relaxed now, instead of twisting around each other, over and over
.“
I have some homework to do, and I suppose I should keep up the responsible exterior. And you should go boink your girlfriend
.
”