Wild For You: Forever Wild #5 (3 page)

I told Wes that I had to leave early again for a morning meeting, but I didn’t tell him where or who it was with. It wasn’t exactly lying, just not telling the whole truth. He knew Max was still my client but I didn’t think he’d exactly appreciate me going over to his condo for a meeting so I just stayed quiet on that part.

Max Green lived in a high-rise condo in Lincoln Park. It was the kind of place I dreamed of living in. It had everything: a doorman, a view that looked over the city, gym, swimming pool, and a price tag that was at least five times my yearly salary. A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

I got out of the taxi and felt like a high-
priced call girl no matter how well I was dressed in my gray skirt suit. I would have worn pants, but it was an unseasonably warm spring day and wearing a suit itself was a stretch, but I didn’t want to wear a dress or anything else and give Max the wrong idea of what I was there for.

A gentleman stood at the front door and nodded to me as I approached
.

“I’m here to
see Maxwell Green. I’m his publicist, Valerie Wilder,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster but really I was shaking in my knock-off Prada heels.

“Ah, yes, Ms. Wilder.
Mr. Green said he was expecting you.” He turned and pressed a button, opening the glass doors behind him.

“Thank
you, sir.” I nodded. I thought I should have tipped him or something but I didn’t carry cash because I was deathly afraid of being mugged. I’d never actually been mugged, but if I was at least I had my credit and debit card on me and those could be replaced by the bank and the money returned.

The front lobby of Max’s complex exuded elegance with everything marble and mahogany. It was like it was just waiting for me to walk in and break one of the crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling or crack one of the tiles on the floor. Okay, so that probably wasn’t possibl
e, but I still walked very soft-footed to the elevators and pressed the button for the penthouse.

The elevator doors opened and were completely empty, Thank God. I stepped in and let out a deep breath once they closed and I could be alone with my sweaty palms. Now I knew why he never
let me go there for late-night booty calls; it was a lot of work to go through a doorman and all of that  just for thirty minutes of pleasure. That, and he was probably embarrassed to have the plus-sized girl with her clearance rack suit up to his fancy condo.

I stared at my reflection in the mirrors of the elevator. I may not have been like the models in magazines or been able to afford the suits they carried in
Nordstrom’s, but dammit I all that I’d accomplished so far in my life. Not many people my age would be where I was. Life was finally not kicking my ass. I had a job that I actually enjoyed, decent clients, and a husband who loved me. Things were looking up. And even if I needed to lose a few pounds, who gave a fuck? I’d rather eat a piece of cheesecake when I wanted to than try to kill myself to be something that I wasn’t.

The doors opened and instead of staring at my reflection I looked
onto a small white hallway with more marble tile. It must have been a bitch to keep all of that so clean. I stepped out of the elevator and saw that there was only one door to my right: Max’s condo. I took in a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and walked toward it. I needed all the courage I could muster to walk in.

I knocked
softly and expected to see some housekeeper answer so my eyes bugged open when the door opened and there was Max standing in a pair of pressed khakis and a navy polo shirt, smiling like he owned the world. Which he basically did.

“Valerie, glad you made it.”

He stepped to the side and I walked into the foyer. I knew the place was built in the 1920s and was completely remolded under Max’s watch. I helped with the publicist piece in the Huffington Post to make him seem like a guy who cared about preserving the architecture in Chicago when really he just wanted to blow a few million so he could have his perfect living space.

It used to be a co-op, but now it was all one living space with 5
,600 feet of floor space and a spiral staircase that connected the two floors. The walls were covered in the original Mahogany that he had refinished with built-in bookcases and leather furniture placed around a wood burning fireplace that was probably never used. I didn’t know how much time he actually spent in the condo.

“It wasn’t too hard to find. You did give me the address for the cab driver and I did remember some details from the Huffin
gton Post piece.”

“Ah yes, I do remember that now.” He put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me toward the open living room that was illuminated by sky lights. I tensed
, feeling his fingers trail down my back, and immediately stepped in front of him as soon as we were in front of the fireplace.

“So where shall we start? You said you had some talking points you wanted to go over?”

His smile grew tense. Forced. “Eager to get down to business, I see.” He took a step closer. “I do have those talking points; they’re in my bedroom if you want to wait here while I get them. Then we can discuss them over breakfast in the dining room.”

“Oh, I’m not hungry. I’m just here to work.” His smile faded to a thin line. “Please, I i
nsist. I had my chef prepare it. I wouldn’t want to upset him. It’s all set up. Please just step through the door on the right there and I’ll meet you in the dining room.”

I sighed. “Okay. I’ll meet you in there. But we’re discussing work.”

The smile returned to his face. “Of course.”

I guess it was better than him inviting me into the bedroom with him. I didn’t even look back and went through the open door toward the dining room
. There was no reason that a bachelor in his mid-twenties needed a dining room, especially not one with a giant claw-foot table that could seat fifteen people and a baby grand piano in the corner facing a set of French doors that opened onto his balcony overlooking Lake Michigan. Too much decadence for one person, just like the meal that was laid out on the table.

When he said that his chef prepared breakfast I was thinking maybe some bagels and coffee, not a freaking brunch that belonged in some fancy restaurant. There were heaping trays filled with lobster, eggs, bacon, pork sausage, lemon curd, eggs, and that was just one side of the table. It stretched onto the other side with carafes of coffee and different juices that I wasn’t even sure what they were judging by the dark orange and red colors.

“Hungry?” Max’s lips were practically at my ear and I jumped almost an entire foot forward, turning around to face him.

“Are you expecting some other people to join us?”

He shook his head, dropping a file down at the head of the table. “No, just us. I didn’t know what you’d prefer for breakfast so I asked my chef to make one of each of his specialties.”

I swallowed hard. “Wow. This is ... a lot. I don’t think I could eat any of this.”

“Sure you can. I insist.” He smiled, pulling out a chair.

“No, really. I’m fine. I’ll just have some coffee. For now
, at least.” I thought about maybe putting some of the cranberry scones in my purse for later, but that would have to wait until he was out of the room.

“I’ll pour you some, but
, please, have a seat.”

“Okay ...” I sat down at the chair he pulled out while he rushed to the other end of the table and grabbed a mug, pouring it full of coffee.

“Do you want cream and sugar?” He sat it down in front of my seat.

“Sure.”

He took a small bowl of sugar and cream, setting down in front of me, then poured himself a cup and took the seat next to me, smiling brighter than I’d ever seen him. Something was definitely off.

“So, these talking points, are you speaking at the charity golf outing today
? I don’t remember setting that up for you or even talking about it.”

“Oh, no
, these talking points aren’t for the charity golf outing. We can go over those later. I was just hoping I could enjoy your company first. We never get to just sit and talk anymore. Or see much of each other at all. You haven’t told me anything about your new business or anything else going on with your life.”

I spooned some sugar into my coffee. “Um, I really didn’t think we had that kind of relationship, to be perfectly honest.”

“Maybe that’s the kind of relationship we should have.” He folded his hands on the table. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been such a jackass the past year and treated you like you were second best when I really did need you in my life. Do you know how hard it was for me to walk away the other night when I saw you before the hockey game? How hard it’s been to walk away every time I see you when all I want to do is be close to you?”

He moved his hand across the table until he placed it on mine. “I know it’s almost time for your divorce paper
work to go through and Wes to go home. I’ve respected your wishes with that, but it’s getting very hard to wait for you. I’ve never wanted you so badly. Every part of you.” He traced a line from my thumb to my index finger, sending a chill all the way up my arm.

I quickly pulled my hand back. “Max ... I know we had something in the past, whatever you want to call it, but that’s over. I’m sorry, I’m staying with Wes.”

“I beg your pardon?” His eyebrows shot up. “I thought you said you were getting divorced and he was just staying here with you until everything was finalized and the papers were signed.”

“That was the plan, but things changed.” I let out a deep breath, putting my hands on my lap. They were shaking so badly I had to keep them under the table. “It may seem like the stupidest idea, but I’m staying with him for as long as it works out. If you don’t like that and feel like you can’t keep a professional relationship with me
, then Pamela Rodgers said she would be happy to take you on as a client if you still want to work with my company.”

He smirked, shaking his head slightly. “Well, that wasn’t the answer I hoped you’d give me today, but at least I was prepared.” He
pushed the manila folder he brought from the bedroom in front of me

“You want to discuss your talking points now?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“If you’d like to see what your loving husband has been up to, we can definitely talk about those points.” Max opened the folder and there was a bank statement and a few pictures.

“What is this?”

“Look through them and see for yourself.” He held his hands out as if he was handing me some great present.

I shouldn’t have looked, but my curiosity got the better of me and I picked up the first picture
, which was of Max and Wes shaking hands outside of my apartment. The next one was of them walking in together. The third was a view from the window with Max handing Wes a big envelope.

“What is all of this?” I stared f
rom the pictures and back to Max.

Max
pointed at one of the sheets of paper in the folder that sat underneath the pictures. “I approached Wes a few weeks ago and offered him a large sum of money if he would leave you. Here you will see my bank statement that shows how much money I gave him as well as the name for another attorney.”

I shook my head, staring at the pictures. Wes wouldn’t do this to me. There was no way he would do that. But the evidence was there. The pictures did
n’t look Photoshopped and I had worked with plenty of graphic designers to know Photo-shopping. There he was taking the money.

“Why did you do this?” I asked, feeling tears prick my eyes
, but I pushed them back.

“Honestly, Valerie, I didn’t think he’d take the money. I thought he’d have some southern gentleman complex and refuse it, but he took it without hesitation. I thought maybe he might try to return it to me, but I hadn’t heard anything from him and he looked completely stunned to see me the other night.”

I shook my head. “This can’t be true,” I whispered.

Max sighed. “I wish it wasn’t. I w
ish he could have been the man you needed and I’m sorry that he isn’t. I’m very sorry you had to hear this from me, but I felt I had to be honest with you and let you know what kind of man you were married to.”

I stood up, dropping the pictures onto the table. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and all I wanted to do was run and cry. After saying that he loved me and sharing so many moments with me
, he had betrayed me all for money. I couldn’t believe that the guy I’d given my heart to could hurt me so bad. “I ... I ... have to go.”

“Wait, Valerie.” Max seized my arm and I gasped, turning toward him. “Please know that I offered him that money for us. And I hope that maybe things will work out for the better in the long run.”

I pulled my arm from him. “Don’t think you’re saving me by showing me some pictures and your ledger of bribe money you gave to my husband. It doesn’t make you any better or make me want to date you anymore than when I walked in.”

“But, Valerie ...”

I put my hand up. “Don’t. Just stop right there. I’m sick of this shit. I’m not going to be anyone’s dirty little secret or someone that can be traded for money. I’m my own woman and I’ve done a damn good job of taking care of myself for the past twenty-two years, and if all you want me for is so you have someone else to own then sorry, but fuck you, Max Green, because Valerie Wilder cannot be bought.”