Sincerely, Up Yours: A Grumpy Boss Romantic Comedy, page 11
Yes, I thought. Darcy McClain was absolutely fucking with me on more levels than I comprehended yet.
18
DARCY
This was easily my favorite time of year. The trees around Manhattan were beginning to shift from green to oranges and reds and yellows. The warm, muggy evenings were being replaced by chilly breezes that meant I could bust out my favorite coats and scarves. The coming of cold weather felt like the official transition from the monotony of summer into the magic of the holidays, and let me tell you, I didn’t mess around when it came to holidays.
For me, the best holidays came when the cold weather did. I loved the lights, the corny movie marathons, the cozy clothes, and the seasonal treats. The family part? Yeah, I guess that was all fine, too, but I looked most forward to that smell in the air. Everything seemed crisp and clean–like a fresh start every holiday season, and God, I could use a fresh start.
I checked the time and decided I had time to meet up with one of my best friends, Charleston. As kids, we’d been inseparable, but our paths diverged a little after college. I was grinding away at The Squawker and he was becoming Mr. Entrepreneur. It meant we didn’t get to see each other nearly as much anymore, and I had a boatload of drama to unload on him since we’d had our last real conversation.
He’d texted yesterday and let me know he was grabbing an early dinner at a place near my work. I was invited, but there was no pressure if I couldn’t make it.
So I rushed out of the office around three without even glancing in Dominic’s direction. I knew we had a “date” at seven, so I’d be seeing more than enough of him later tonight.
I had to fast-walk a little to the subway to make it on time, but I wound up making my way inside Bistro 101 just a little after four. A blonde, tall hostess greeted me.
“Do you have a reservation?”
“I’m meeting a friend, actually. Handsome, young, dirty blonde hair?”
She nodded knowingly. “This way.”
I followed her through the restaurant. Even at the odd hour, it was already bustling with activity. We entered a private room in the back and I saw Charleston sitting with an appetizer of some kind of flatbread and dip in front of him. He had a drink in one hand and his phone in the other.
The hostess smiled and left.
“Hey, I gotta go,” Charleston said, hanging up the call quickly and rushing to his feet to hug me. “Holy shit, you came!”
“Of course I did,” I laughed.
We spent a few minutes catching up on small talk while I ordered a drink and something to eat. I’d been mostly keeping him posted on the developments at work, minus all the stressful stuff. I knew Charleston had enough on his plate without me adding to it, so I pretty much just told him Jasmine left and we had a new boss. I’d also sort of glossed over the part where I didn’t get my pitch. I definitely didn’t go into any detail about Dominic, because Charleston was infamous for matchmaking.
“So how is this new boss? You’ve barely told me anything about him.” Charleston asked. He looked like a movie star, as always. He had on a pristine white suit with dark blue lapels and a fancy sort of scarf all bunched around his neck that was light gray and shimmery. His fingernails were perfectly manicured and his skin looked so glowing and healthy that he might have tapped his shower into some kind of fountain of youth. Technically, Charleston was bisexual, but watching his dating career up close since we were kids told me it was more like he was gay and prone to moments of horny exploration with women. Still, we’d never crossed the line of friendship, and I was glad for it. Having him as a friend was too important to me. Besides, there were some people I just never saw like that, and Charleston was one of them.
“The new boss,” I said slowly. “Well, he might actually be as handsome as you are, for starters.”
“Bullshit,” Charleston laughed, then popped a piece of flatbread in his mouth. “And if it’s not, I need to see pictures.”
“Believe it or not, I haven’t snapped any pictures of my boss.”
“Duh. What’s his name? I’ll look him up.”
“Dominic Lockwood.”
Charleston had his phone in both hands but he let it fall when he heard the name. “Wait. Dominic Lockwood. That asshole from Columbia who got you expelled? That is your new boss?”
“It turns out he really had nothing to do with me getting expelled. It was all his dad. But yeah, it’s that one.”
“Shit. He is hot. So do we hate him or want to get in his pants? I need to know what to root for here.”
“Both?” I laughed and let my face fall into my hands, shaking my head. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated is the best. So have you guys hooked up yet?”
“No. Definitely not.”
“Well, what is he like? Is this purely a physical thing, or do you like him?”
“He’s cold and distant. He’s super serious and all business, especially at work.”
“But,” Charleston prompted.
“But,” I sighed. I should’ve known Charleston would squeeze more out of me. “I just have this gut feeling about him. Like that’s not all there is. I mean, he stood up for me to my dad. He can be really understanding. And I get the impression he has some shit in his personal life, but I don’t think he really lets anybody in to help him with it.”
“Ah, okay.” Charleston twirled the ice in his drink and sipped. “So this is a rescue operation. He’s the cute puppy at the shelter that growls and bites, and you think you can fix him.”
“It’s not that.”
Charleston raised his eyebrows at me, waiting.
“Okay, it’s kind of that. But it’s not all that. It’s kind of cool how much he cares about the magazine, I guess. At first I thought it was all about the money, but he’s got something to prove. It’s really important to him, and he has this vision. I mean, it’s a flawed vision, if you ask me, but I respect the drive I guess.”
“What about him? What does he think of you?”
I chuckled. “Well, I’m pretty sure he likes my ass.”
“You have a fantastic ass,” Charleston agreed.
“Thank you. And unless he’s full of shit, he thinks my writing is good. He has been firing anyone who gives him the slightest excuse, and I’ve given him plenty. But he thinks I’m too useful to let go.”
“So he has good taste. Hm. I don’t know, Darcy. I think this sounds like at least a sampler situation. You take the dick for a ride, see how things go, and don’t make any hard commitments.”
“He’s my boss.”
“That sounds like his problem. If you ask me, the boss is the one who has to be careful about hooking up with employees. He’s the one at risk of abusing his power and all that jazz. You just need to let him know you want to take him for a test ride and leave it up to him.”
I blushed at the thought of being so shamelessly bold. “I don’t even know if that’s what I want.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a dick, not a mortgage. Have him wrap it up and it’s no more consequential than shaking hands.”
I snorted. “I’m pretty sure sex is a little more consequential than that.”
“Fine. I’ll fuck him. Get me his number and I’ll do this one favor for you. I’ll let you know if he’s worth the hassle.”
“Easy there, Charleston. I may not know what I want to do, but that doesn’t mean I am ready to share him.”
He grinned knowingly. “See? You do know, you just aren’t ready to admit it to yourself yet. That’s called denial.”
“I’m not in denial. I’m in not knowal.”
“Well I suggest figuring it out, because from the sounds of it, this guy won’t be off the market forever. Do you want to be old and gray wishing you’d at least given it a shot?”
“Now you sound like Elizabeth.”
“Then Elizabeth must be smart as hell. I still need to meet all your new friends, by the way.”
“Come to my work thing tonight, then. It’s technically for employees, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you came, too.”
“Can’t. I’ve got meetings with my contractors after this. We’re doing a huge reno on this luxury apartment complex. Well, it’s sure as hell not luxury right now, but it will be when I’m done with it.”
“Soon, then.” I glanced at my phone and saw the time. “Oh, shit. I need to go if I don’t want to be late.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just remember to use protection, okay?”
I rolled my eyes and left him, but found myself wishing Charleston could come along tonight. It felt like I could use the emotional support, because I wasn’t myself around Dominic. I never could quite predict what was going to come out of my mouth with him, and that was dangerous, to say the least.
I really did want to finish that interview, though. He’d barely given me anything about himself, but the pieces I did have captured my attention. The man who seemingly had it all, except something was missing. But what? What caused the hole he seemed to be working so hard to fill? Was it a woman? Was it the troubled relationship with his father? Or maybe it was something else entirely.
Maybe I’d finally get answers tonight.
19
DOMINIC
As promised, Darcy texted me just before seven telling me to get my ass downstairs and into her car. I was expecting some kind of sensible city car–like one of those little European numbers that barely used any gas.
Instead, I was greeted by a wood-paneled station wagon that was visibly shaking and puffing out globs of dark smoke. “What the fuck?” I asked.
Darcy leaned across the passenger seat and manually cranked the window down. “You going to get in, or are you allergic to poor?”
I shook my head and pulled on the handle, but the door didn’t budge.
“Here,” Darcy said. She lifted a leg with impressive flexibility and gave the inside of the door a kick. It gave a metallic groan, but swung open, nearly taking out my shins.
“Is this thing safe?”
“Are you kidding? They used to make cars like tanks. Other than the risk of lead paint or something, I think we’re going to be safe.”
“Why do you even have a car? Hardly anyone in the city does.” I asked.
“Because it’s nice when I drive out to see my parents. It was my grandma’s, then it was my mom’s, and then it was mine when she got herself a new car. So it’s free except when stuff breaks. Plus, I’ve got a sneaky hookup on a free parking spot that’s always available.”
I decided it was better not to ask. I’d spent the past few hours distracting myself from work with plans on how I was going to not fuck things up tonight. I’d let myself be far too familiar with Darcy already. Every time we got together outside work, things got out of control almost immediately. Not tonight.
“So this is a party for Marcus, right?” Darcy asked once she pulled out into traffic. The car smelled like old leather and diesel. Every part of the upholstery was cracked and the yellowing foam beneath was showing through.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Is it his birthday or something?”
“I think his sisters are just celebrating his new job. But the family has an ungodly amount of money and throwing parties is sort of a weekly event for them.”
“Really? Where is the money from?”
“They are Fitzroys. Marcus’ great great great grandfather or something was one of the original settlers to move out to Texas. He bought up tens of thousands of acres of land when it was dirt cheap and they’ve been selling it off piece by piece ever since. All the kids get a huge trust fund allowance and they can work in the family business if they want.”
“So Marcus is a trust fund kid, huh? I didn’t picture that.”
“Yeah, well, not exactly. When he turned eighteen he got access to the whole thing. He decided to donate it all to a charity that opposed his family’s business as soon as he got his hands on it. It was something like twenty million, and he’s a dumbass for giving it all away.”
“Wow,” Darcy said. “I’m guessing there was some bad blood with the family then?”
“He doesn’t talk about it, not even to me. But I have to admit I can’t help respecting that level of spite.”
“No kidding. How many sisters does he have? I met the two at the bar. Christine and Ally, right?”
“Yeah. There are six. The youngest is seven and Christine is the oldest at twenty-six.”
“That’s a lot of people…”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
“So would you keep it if your dad tried to give you trust fund money?” Darcy asked.
“Is this part of the interview?”
“Would you?”
I shook my head. She already knew I hated my old man, so there was no use in pretending. “No, probably not.”
“Do you just not approve of the way he runs his businesses, or is it more than that?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Darcy grinned. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad ever since you stood up to him at dinner. It was like a switch kind of flicked on for me. I realized you were completely right. I’ve been carrying this guilt like he was doing me a favor by pushing me so hard. But when I think about it as him trying to use me to live out some dream he never could, all the guilt goes away.”
I grunted.
“So, thank you. You were right.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Do you think if you flatter me, I’ll suddenly open up to you?”
She shrugged. “It was worth a try.”
I looked out the window, grinning despite myself. So far, so good.
We had to circle Ally’s block for a few minutes before Darcy found a parking spot big enough for her tank of a car. She was surprisingly good at parallel parking. She dusted her hands and gave me a satisfied smile. “Ready?”
“Yeah. I know the way to Ally’s place. Come on.”
Ally Fitzroy lived in an old mansion that she’d spent a fortune renovating and modernizing. Now it was all clean lines, underlit cabinetry, and matte black countertops. They’d kept some of the original mansion, like a few brick walls and some intricate wood moulding they’d restored. The combination was admittedly appealing.
Inside, I was surprised to find she really had only invited people from work. Christine Fitzroy was there, along with Ezzie and Lizzie Fitzroy, the nineteen-year-old twins. They both had the typical Fitzroy jet black hair and good looks.
I planned to split off from Darcy as soon as I could, but we were practically ambushed as we came inside. Ally hugged and kissed us on the cheeks, asking questions such as if we’d come together as a couple. Then Christine followed her and the twins came immediately after.
“I’m going to head up to the roof,” I said once we’d finally escaped Marcus’ sisters. I knew Ally’s place had a huge rooftop patio and hoped maybe I could catch my breath up there. Hell, maybe I could just wait out the evening and keep myself away from Darcy until this thing was over.
“Okay, I’ll come,” Darcy said. She had to practically jog to keep up with me, but that didn’t stop her. We passed Farhad and Kirk–the new hire I’d assigned to work politics with him–chatting by a spread of finger foods and drinks at the base of a long floating staircase. Darcy yelled a quick greeting as she passed, laughing a little in her effort to keep up with me.
Upstairs, we passed Pollie and Elizabeth, who were waiting in line for the bathroom, even though I knew there were at least five bathrooms in this place.
“Mr. Lockwood!” Elizabeth called, reaching out to touch my arm. “I’m so glad you made it here. Have you seen Tristan?”
“No,” I said tightly. “We just arrived.” We. I’d said “we”. I could see the gears in Pollie and Elizabeth’s heads already turning.
“Oh,” Elizabeth said, eyes darting between us. “I didn’t realize.”
“There’s nothing to realize,” I snapped.
“So you gave Darcy a ride?” Pollie asked.
“I gave him a ride, actually,” Darcy said. “It was my turn. He drove last time.”
This fucking woman was going to start the rumor to end all rumors.
“We were both at the office late. That’s all,” I said.
“Ohh,” Elizabeth froze, eyes narrowing. “Late night at the office together, huh? Darcy, since when do you keep secrets from me?”
“There’s no secret,” I growled. “I’m going to the roof.”
“Me too!” Darcy said cheerily, following after me.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“What was what?”
I stopped at the last staircase that led up to the roof. “You practically implied we were having some sort of office affair.”
“No. I just told the truth. I did give you a ride. You’re the one who lied and said we had a late night at the office together. I wasn’t at the office late. I was having an early dinner with Charleston.”
My blood went cold. “Who the fuck is Charleston?”
“Just a friend,” she said, shrugging.
“A guy friend? One you have dinner with?”
“Is that jealousy I’m detecting, Mr. Lockwood?”
“No,” I lied. Yes, it was jealousy. It was burning hot, ready-to-kill-a-stranger jealousy that came out of nowhere. “I’m just wondering why you haven’t mentioned him before.”
“Would you like me to keep you posted on my dating life, Mr. Lockwood? Should I also keep you posted on sexual encounters?”
She was fucking with me. I knew she was, but I still couldn’t stop myself from biting. “So you two are dating?” And what sexual encounters? Had she been fucking other guys since she met me? I felt a headache come on suddenly. Even if she was fucking other guys, it was none of my damn business. I was making a point of trying to keep the line between us clear.
Darcy knew exactly how to press my buttons, and it seemed like that’s exactly what she wanted to do. All she did was grin playfully and gesture up the stairs. “Let’s see this roof you’re so excited to get to.”
I rushed up the stairs and pushed open the door. It was an old fashioned, heavy maintenance door. I had to push hard to get it to swing open, then I gestured for Darcy to go up. She gave a little curtsey and headed out onto the roof. I let the door slam shut behind us and was relieved to see Ally hadn’t set the roof up for the party tonight. There was just the usual patio furniture in one corner and a heat lamp.
18
DARCY
This was easily my favorite time of year. The trees around Manhattan were beginning to shift from green to oranges and reds and yellows. The warm, muggy evenings were being replaced by chilly breezes that meant I could bust out my favorite coats and scarves. The coming of cold weather felt like the official transition from the monotony of summer into the magic of the holidays, and let me tell you, I didn’t mess around when it came to holidays.
For me, the best holidays came when the cold weather did. I loved the lights, the corny movie marathons, the cozy clothes, and the seasonal treats. The family part? Yeah, I guess that was all fine, too, but I looked most forward to that smell in the air. Everything seemed crisp and clean–like a fresh start every holiday season, and God, I could use a fresh start.
I checked the time and decided I had time to meet up with one of my best friends, Charleston. As kids, we’d been inseparable, but our paths diverged a little after college. I was grinding away at The Squawker and he was becoming Mr. Entrepreneur. It meant we didn’t get to see each other nearly as much anymore, and I had a boatload of drama to unload on him since we’d had our last real conversation.
He’d texted yesterday and let me know he was grabbing an early dinner at a place near my work. I was invited, but there was no pressure if I couldn’t make it.
So I rushed out of the office around three without even glancing in Dominic’s direction. I knew we had a “date” at seven, so I’d be seeing more than enough of him later tonight.
I had to fast-walk a little to the subway to make it on time, but I wound up making my way inside Bistro 101 just a little after four. A blonde, tall hostess greeted me.
“Do you have a reservation?”
“I’m meeting a friend, actually. Handsome, young, dirty blonde hair?”
She nodded knowingly. “This way.”
I followed her through the restaurant. Even at the odd hour, it was already bustling with activity. We entered a private room in the back and I saw Charleston sitting with an appetizer of some kind of flatbread and dip in front of him. He had a drink in one hand and his phone in the other.
The hostess smiled and left.
“Hey, I gotta go,” Charleston said, hanging up the call quickly and rushing to his feet to hug me. “Holy shit, you came!”
“Of course I did,” I laughed.
We spent a few minutes catching up on small talk while I ordered a drink and something to eat. I’d been mostly keeping him posted on the developments at work, minus all the stressful stuff. I knew Charleston had enough on his plate without me adding to it, so I pretty much just told him Jasmine left and we had a new boss. I’d also sort of glossed over the part where I didn’t get my pitch. I definitely didn’t go into any detail about Dominic, because Charleston was infamous for matchmaking.
“So how is this new boss? You’ve barely told me anything about him.” Charleston asked. He looked like a movie star, as always. He had on a pristine white suit with dark blue lapels and a fancy sort of scarf all bunched around his neck that was light gray and shimmery. His fingernails were perfectly manicured and his skin looked so glowing and healthy that he might have tapped his shower into some kind of fountain of youth. Technically, Charleston was bisexual, but watching his dating career up close since we were kids told me it was more like he was gay and prone to moments of horny exploration with women. Still, we’d never crossed the line of friendship, and I was glad for it. Having him as a friend was too important to me. Besides, there were some people I just never saw like that, and Charleston was one of them.
“The new boss,” I said slowly. “Well, he might actually be as handsome as you are, for starters.”
“Bullshit,” Charleston laughed, then popped a piece of flatbread in his mouth. “And if it’s not, I need to see pictures.”
“Believe it or not, I haven’t snapped any pictures of my boss.”
“Duh. What’s his name? I’ll look him up.”
“Dominic Lockwood.”
Charleston had his phone in both hands but he let it fall when he heard the name. “Wait. Dominic Lockwood. That asshole from Columbia who got you expelled? That is your new boss?”
“It turns out he really had nothing to do with me getting expelled. It was all his dad. But yeah, it’s that one.”
“Shit. He is hot. So do we hate him or want to get in his pants? I need to know what to root for here.”
“Both?” I laughed and let my face fall into my hands, shaking my head. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated is the best. So have you guys hooked up yet?”
“No. Definitely not.”
“Well, what is he like? Is this purely a physical thing, or do you like him?”
“He’s cold and distant. He’s super serious and all business, especially at work.”
“But,” Charleston prompted.
“But,” I sighed. I should’ve known Charleston would squeeze more out of me. “I just have this gut feeling about him. Like that’s not all there is. I mean, he stood up for me to my dad. He can be really understanding. And I get the impression he has some shit in his personal life, but I don’t think he really lets anybody in to help him with it.”
“Ah, okay.” Charleston twirled the ice in his drink and sipped. “So this is a rescue operation. He’s the cute puppy at the shelter that growls and bites, and you think you can fix him.”
“It’s not that.”
Charleston raised his eyebrows at me, waiting.
“Okay, it’s kind of that. But it’s not all that. It’s kind of cool how much he cares about the magazine, I guess. At first I thought it was all about the money, but he’s got something to prove. It’s really important to him, and he has this vision. I mean, it’s a flawed vision, if you ask me, but I respect the drive I guess.”
“What about him? What does he think of you?”
I chuckled. “Well, I’m pretty sure he likes my ass.”
“You have a fantastic ass,” Charleston agreed.
“Thank you. And unless he’s full of shit, he thinks my writing is good. He has been firing anyone who gives him the slightest excuse, and I’ve given him plenty. But he thinks I’m too useful to let go.”
“So he has good taste. Hm. I don’t know, Darcy. I think this sounds like at least a sampler situation. You take the dick for a ride, see how things go, and don’t make any hard commitments.”
“He’s my boss.”
“That sounds like his problem. If you ask me, the boss is the one who has to be careful about hooking up with employees. He’s the one at risk of abusing his power and all that jazz. You just need to let him know you want to take him for a test ride and leave it up to him.”
I blushed at the thought of being so shamelessly bold. “I don’t even know if that’s what I want.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a dick, not a mortgage. Have him wrap it up and it’s no more consequential than shaking hands.”
I snorted. “I’m pretty sure sex is a little more consequential than that.”
“Fine. I’ll fuck him. Get me his number and I’ll do this one favor for you. I’ll let you know if he’s worth the hassle.”
“Easy there, Charleston. I may not know what I want to do, but that doesn’t mean I am ready to share him.”
He grinned knowingly. “See? You do know, you just aren’t ready to admit it to yourself yet. That’s called denial.”
“I’m not in denial. I’m in not knowal.”
“Well I suggest figuring it out, because from the sounds of it, this guy won’t be off the market forever. Do you want to be old and gray wishing you’d at least given it a shot?”
“Now you sound like Elizabeth.”
“Then Elizabeth must be smart as hell. I still need to meet all your new friends, by the way.”
“Come to my work thing tonight, then. It’s technically for employees, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you came, too.”
“Can’t. I’ve got meetings with my contractors after this. We’re doing a huge reno on this luxury apartment complex. Well, it’s sure as hell not luxury right now, but it will be when I’m done with it.”
“Soon, then.” I glanced at my phone and saw the time. “Oh, shit. I need to go if I don’t want to be late.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just remember to use protection, okay?”
I rolled my eyes and left him, but found myself wishing Charleston could come along tonight. It felt like I could use the emotional support, because I wasn’t myself around Dominic. I never could quite predict what was going to come out of my mouth with him, and that was dangerous, to say the least.
I really did want to finish that interview, though. He’d barely given me anything about himself, but the pieces I did have captured my attention. The man who seemingly had it all, except something was missing. But what? What caused the hole he seemed to be working so hard to fill? Was it a woman? Was it the troubled relationship with his father? Or maybe it was something else entirely.
Maybe I’d finally get answers tonight.
19
DOMINIC
As promised, Darcy texted me just before seven telling me to get my ass downstairs and into her car. I was expecting some kind of sensible city car–like one of those little European numbers that barely used any gas.
Instead, I was greeted by a wood-paneled station wagon that was visibly shaking and puffing out globs of dark smoke. “What the fuck?” I asked.
Darcy leaned across the passenger seat and manually cranked the window down. “You going to get in, or are you allergic to poor?”
I shook my head and pulled on the handle, but the door didn’t budge.
“Here,” Darcy said. She lifted a leg with impressive flexibility and gave the inside of the door a kick. It gave a metallic groan, but swung open, nearly taking out my shins.
“Is this thing safe?”
“Are you kidding? They used to make cars like tanks. Other than the risk of lead paint or something, I think we’re going to be safe.”
“Why do you even have a car? Hardly anyone in the city does.” I asked.
“Because it’s nice when I drive out to see my parents. It was my grandma’s, then it was my mom’s, and then it was mine when she got herself a new car. So it’s free except when stuff breaks. Plus, I’ve got a sneaky hookup on a free parking spot that’s always available.”
I decided it was better not to ask. I’d spent the past few hours distracting myself from work with plans on how I was going to not fuck things up tonight. I’d let myself be far too familiar with Darcy already. Every time we got together outside work, things got out of control almost immediately. Not tonight.
“So this is a party for Marcus, right?” Darcy asked once she pulled out into traffic. The car smelled like old leather and diesel. Every part of the upholstery was cracked and the yellowing foam beneath was showing through.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Is it his birthday or something?”
“I think his sisters are just celebrating his new job. But the family has an ungodly amount of money and throwing parties is sort of a weekly event for them.”
“Really? Where is the money from?”
“They are Fitzroys. Marcus’ great great great grandfather or something was one of the original settlers to move out to Texas. He bought up tens of thousands of acres of land when it was dirt cheap and they’ve been selling it off piece by piece ever since. All the kids get a huge trust fund allowance and they can work in the family business if they want.”
“So Marcus is a trust fund kid, huh? I didn’t picture that.”
“Yeah, well, not exactly. When he turned eighteen he got access to the whole thing. He decided to donate it all to a charity that opposed his family’s business as soon as he got his hands on it. It was something like twenty million, and he’s a dumbass for giving it all away.”
“Wow,” Darcy said. “I’m guessing there was some bad blood with the family then?”
“He doesn’t talk about it, not even to me. But I have to admit I can’t help respecting that level of spite.”
“No kidding. How many sisters does he have? I met the two at the bar. Christine and Ally, right?”
“Yeah. There are six. The youngest is seven and Christine is the oldest at twenty-six.”
“That’s a lot of people…”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
“So would you keep it if your dad tried to give you trust fund money?” Darcy asked.
“Is this part of the interview?”
“Would you?”
I shook my head. She already knew I hated my old man, so there was no use in pretending. “No, probably not.”
“Do you just not approve of the way he runs his businesses, or is it more than that?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Darcy grinned. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad ever since you stood up to him at dinner. It was like a switch kind of flicked on for me. I realized you were completely right. I’ve been carrying this guilt like he was doing me a favor by pushing me so hard. But when I think about it as him trying to use me to live out some dream he never could, all the guilt goes away.”
I grunted.
“So, thank you. You were right.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Do you think if you flatter me, I’ll suddenly open up to you?”
She shrugged. “It was worth a try.”
I looked out the window, grinning despite myself. So far, so good.
We had to circle Ally’s block for a few minutes before Darcy found a parking spot big enough for her tank of a car. She was surprisingly good at parallel parking. She dusted her hands and gave me a satisfied smile. “Ready?”
“Yeah. I know the way to Ally’s place. Come on.”
Ally Fitzroy lived in an old mansion that she’d spent a fortune renovating and modernizing. Now it was all clean lines, underlit cabinetry, and matte black countertops. They’d kept some of the original mansion, like a few brick walls and some intricate wood moulding they’d restored. The combination was admittedly appealing.
Inside, I was surprised to find she really had only invited people from work. Christine Fitzroy was there, along with Ezzie and Lizzie Fitzroy, the nineteen-year-old twins. They both had the typical Fitzroy jet black hair and good looks.
I planned to split off from Darcy as soon as I could, but we were practically ambushed as we came inside. Ally hugged and kissed us on the cheeks, asking questions such as if we’d come together as a couple. Then Christine followed her and the twins came immediately after.
“I’m going to head up to the roof,” I said once we’d finally escaped Marcus’ sisters. I knew Ally’s place had a huge rooftop patio and hoped maybe I could catch my breath up there. Hell, maybe I could just wait out the evening and keep myself away from Darcy until this thing was over.
“Okay, I’ll come,” Darcy said. She had to practically jog to keep up with me, but that didn’t stop her. We passed Farhad and Kirk–the new hire I’d assigned to work politics with him–chatting by a spread of finger foods and drinks at the base of a long floating staircase. Darcy yelled a quick greeting as she passed, laughing a little in her effort to keep up with me.
Upstairs, we passed Pollie and Elizabeth, who were waiting in line for the bathroom, even though I knew there were at least five bathrooms in this place.
“Mr. Lockwood!” Elizabeth called, reaching out to touch my arm. “I’m so glad you made it here. Have you seen Tristan?”
“No,” I said tightly. “We just arrived.” We. I’d said “we”. I could see the gears in Pollie and Elizabeth’s heads already turning.
“Oh,” Elizabeth said, eyes darting between us. “I didn’t realize.”
“There’s nothing to realize,” I snapped.
“So you gave Darcy a ride?” Pollie asked.
“I gave him a ride, actually,” Darcy said. “It was my turn. He drove last time.”
This fucking woman was going to start the rumor to end all rumors.
“We were both at the office late. That’s all,” I said.
“Ohh,” Elizabeth froze, eyes narrowing. “Late night at the office together, huh? Darcy, since when do you keep secrets from me?”
“There’s no secret,” I growled. “I’m going to the roof.”
“Me too!” Darcy said cheerily, following after me.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“What was what?”
I stopped at the last staircase that led up to the roof. “You practically implied we were having some sort of office affair.”
“No. I just told the truth. I did give you a ride. You’re the one who lied and said we had a late night at the office together. I wasn’t at the office late. I was having an early dinner with Charleston.”
My blood went cold. “Who the fuck is Charleston?”
“Just a friend,” she said, shrugging.
“A guy friend? One you have dinner with?”
“Is that jealousy I’m detecting, Mr. Lockwood?”
“No,” I lied. Yes, it was jealousy. It was burning hot, ready-to-kill-a-stranger jealousy that came out of nowhere. “I’m just wondering why you haven’t mentioned him before.”
“Would you like me to keep you posted on my dating life, Mr. Lockwood? Should I also keep you posted on sexual encounters?”
She was fucking with me. I knew she was, but I still couldn’t stop myself from biting. “So you two are dating?” And what sexual encounters? Had she been fucking other guys since she met me? I felt a headache come on suddenly. Even if she was fucking other guys, it was none of my damn business. I was making a point of trying to keep the line between us clear.
Darcy knew exactly how to press my buttons, and it seemed like that’s exactly what she wanted to do. All she did was grin playfully and gesture up the stairs. “Let’s see this roof you’re so excited to get to.”
I rushed up the stairs and pushed open the door. It was an old fashioned, heavy maintenance door. I had to push hard to get it to swing open, then I gestured for Darcy to go up. She gave a little curtsey and headed out onto the roof. I let the door slam shut behind us and was relieved to see Ally hadn’t set the roof up for the party tonight. There was just the usual patio furniture in one corner and a heat lamp.
