His Secretive Lover (The Thorpe Brothers) (17 page)

“Any chance we could announce our eng
agement to my brothers after the wedding?” Ryker asked, adjusting his tuxedo tie in the mirror. 

Cricket had disappeared into the closet several minutes ago and he had no idea what was going on.  “Cricket?” he called out, picking up the gold cufflinks Ash had given him as a groomsman gift. 

Cricket emerged from the closet and Ryker’s eyebrows dropped low over his eyes as he angrily looked at her figure hugging, blue satin dress.  “What the hell are you wearing?” he demanded, looking at her gorgeous, lush figure wrapped up in the blue satin.

Cricket smiled warmly, spinning around for him.  “I’m wearing a bridesmaid dress, silly!”  She smoothed the satin down over her hips and Ryker’s mouth went dry.  “What do you think?”

He stared at her hard, thinking he wanted to peel that dress off of her, not take her out in it.  “I think you should find something else to wear,” he told her grimly. 

Cricket looked up at him, surprised.  She walked over to him with a huge grin on her face.  “I think Mia might be trying to spur you into action,” she explained as she smoothed her hands over his silk tuxedo shirt.

Ryker’s hands gripped her hips firmly.  “Mission accomplished,” he told her as his voice became huskier while his fingers explored her curves under the satin dress.  His hands stilled and he looked down at her with surprise. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, nervous about the look in his eyes. 

“Are all the bridesmaids wearing this dress?” he asked, thinking of one person in particular he was hoping would be wearing the same dress. 

“
Similar, yes,” she replied, confused.  “Why?”

Ryker grinned and kissed her behind her ear.  “Because that means Xander is going to see Autumn in this dress.”

Cricket’s eyes were blank for a long moment, then she realized what he was saying and her grin matched his.  “Why yes, he is!” she said and lifted up onto her toes to hug him.  “Do you think it will work?” she asked, almost bouncing with anticipation and excitement. 

Ryker shrugged his broad shoulders.  “Nothing else has snapped those two out of their habit of fighting with each other.”
  He’d thought they had worked out a détente recently because they’d stopped fighting but their animosity towards each other was right back, at an even higher level than before. 

“I don’t know why Autumn doesn’t just grab Xander and kiss him,” Cricket said, stepping away from Ryker to put
on a pair of fake pearl earrings. 

Ryker watched her, his eyebrows drawn low.  “You need real pearls,” he stated firmly.  “And
Autumn won’t because Xander’s been such an ass to her.”  He pulled a box from behind him and handed it to her.

Cricket looked at the box, afraid to touch it.  “What’s that?” she asked, putting her hands behind her back
so she couldn’t take whatever was inside. 

“Why don’t you open it and find out?” he suggested with an almost evil twinkle to his eyes. 

Cricket shook her head.  “No. It’s jewelry and I’m not going to accept anything else from you.  You’ve already spent too much with this ring,” she told him, covering her engagement ring with her other hand as she often did because she loved it so much. 

“Take the box, Cricket.”

She shook her head.  “Ryker, put it away and take it back to the store.”

“Take the box,” he repeated, the glint in his eyes turning into a challenge. 

Cricket crossed her arms and shook her head once again.  “You can’t order me around,” she stated firmly. 

He didn’t answer, but just raised one eyebrow. 

She huffed.  “Okay, so you can order me around in bed.  Sometimes.”

He chuckled and set the box down behind him.  But that wasn’t the end of it.  He opened the box himself and pulled out a stunning diamond necklace, the icy rocks draping over his fingers like a shining waterfall. 

Cricket gasped and stared hard, her whole body in shock that he would purchase something so extravagant.  “No!” she whispered with reverence and indignation. 

He smiled at the look and whispered back, “Yes,” while kissing her neck.  His hands were deft as they reached around her, fixing the clasp in place.  He looked at her in their mirror, his hand smoothing out the diamonds that formed a perfect circle around her delicate neck.  “That looks better,” he said.

Cricket’s hand went up, touching the diamonds in amazement.  “This is too much,” she said softly, her worried eyes catching his in the mirror.  “I can’t accept this.”

“You don’t have a choice,” he replied, then reached around her and lifted the black box once again. 

She almost jerked backwards when she saw the matching diamond earrings nestled in the black velvet, right in the center of where the necklace had been. 

“Ryker!” she gasped but he caught her jerk against his body, his arms wrapping around her waist to hold her steady.  “This is outrageous,” she exclaimed.

“I now have the right to shower you with gifts,” he told her, holding the earrings out in front of her.  “And you’d better get used to this.  I have a lot of money stored up and haven’t had someone to spend it on.  So deal with it.  Take out the pearls, Cricket,” he told her, his fingers teasing the skin on her ears. 

“No.  Take them back,” she begged. 

“I can’t take them back,” he laughed softly at her.  “And it makes me feel good to see you in the jewels I gave you.  Would you please wear them?” he asked. 

When he
put it that way, she couldn’t really deny him.  She quickly changed out her earrings and replaced them with the diamonds, then turned to face him.  “You’re going to spoil me,” she said, grinning up into his handsome face. 

“That’s the plan, my love,” he said and kissed her gently.  “Now let’s get out of here and go see how Xander deals with Autumn in that dress.”  He grabbed her hand and led her out the door.  “Besides, the faster we get there, the sooner I can have you back here. 
Minus
that
dress.”

“You’re horrible,” she laughed, but followed just as eagerly. 

Autumn stood by the side of the receptionist’s desk, praying the woman wouldn’t say the words that would once again break her heart.  Unfortunately, fate wasn’t playing nice today. 

“I’m here to see Xander Thorpe,” the blond woman with the almost dripping red lips said while flicking her thick, blond hair back over her shoulder. 

Autumn knew that the hair flip was only to show off her impressive bosom, perfectly displayed by the deep V of her red dress. 

Diane, the receptionist, acted professionally, exactly as Autumn had trained her.  She turned to her computer with a gracious smile, her fingers poised over the keyboard as she said, “Do you have an appointment?” Diane knew that her boss, the amazingly lovely brunette with the deep, brown eyes, was standing beside her stiffly, watching to see how this exchange played out. 

The blond bimbo, as Autumn now thought of her, laughed and waved her hand.  “I don’t, but I’m pretty sure he’ll see me,” she said and smoothed her hands down her hips.  “Just tell him Jessica is here to speak with him.”

Diane knew the process.  She typed the information into the computer, then sent off the notice to Xander’s assistant, currently a new woman by the name of Tilly who, at the moment was only a temporary employee, brought in yesterday when his last one quit without any notice.  Xander had a bad habit of going through assistants at a horrible rate.  With gritted teeth, Autumn slapped the file folder down onto the table and walked quickly out of the area.  Her feet pushed her faster, desperate to not see…

She wasn’t fast enough.  When the woman in red entered Xander’s office and closed the door, the laughter and money started exchanging hands. 

“How much did you win?” James, one of the third year lawyers asked Autumn as she passed by his desk.

Autumn gritted her teeth and shook her head, walking quickly by him but trying to paste a calm-looking smile on her face.  As usual, wagers were being settled now that the previous girlfriend, a lovely brunette, had been replaced by the gorgeous blond.  She desperately didn’t want anyone in the office to know how painful she found the betting.  Xander’s love life served as entertainment for the rest of the office, but it hurt her more than it should.  She hated him so much!  Why should she even care who he dates?  He could date anyone he wanted, just so long as he kept it outside the office. 

Maybe that’s what bothered her so much about his philandering ways.  She walked down the hallway, ignoring the jokes and the exchange of cash as bets were paid up and new ones initiated.  If Xander would keep his private life more private, it wouldn’t bother her so much.  She preferred efficiency and order, trained her support staff to work hard, look and act professionally and be exceptionally helpful and efficient.  The betting about how long the current flavor-of-the-moment would last slowed down her staff’s efficiency. 

Autumn knew that it happened but she never participated.  Everyone thought she was just being noble and not lowering herself to petty gossip.  But she knew better why she wasn’t delving into the bitter world of Xander’s girlfriend office pool. 

Axel and Ash were walking towards her and she quickly looked down.  But Axel wasn’t having any of that.  He caught the flash of pain in her eyes and touched her arm gently, obviously concerned. 

“What’s going on, Autumn?  You look like you’ve just lost your best friend.”

Autumn laughed bitterly.  “Oh, goodness, nothing so dramatic as that,” she came back, her shoulders squared off against the pain ripping through her.  “It’s just the changing of the guard.”  At their blank looks, she sighed and said, “Xander’s old girlfriend is out and a new one is in.  Everyone in the cubicles are paying up on their old bets and placing new wagers on this next woman.”  She was looking downwards, wishing she could just race to her own office and hide away until the pain abated, but then she caught the twenty dollar bill exchange between Axel to Ash.  “That was thirty-one days, right?” he asked.

She nodded numbly, unaware that her mouth was hanging open in shock that even Xander’s two younger brothers would be involved on the betting. 

When those dratted tears threaten to spill over her lashes, she took a deep, frantic breath and started moving around the two extremely large men.  “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, but didn’t bother finishing the sentence as she raced down the hallway and into her office. 

She wasn’t aware of the two men staring after her, both of them frozen into stunned silence.  “Well I’ll be…” Axel said, watching until she slammed the door to her office. 

Ash stopped staring at the now-closed door and grinned towards his brother.  “I think that’s another twenty you owe me,” he said.

Axel looked at his brother, then back at the closed door one more time.  “I would have sworn…” he started to say, then shook his head.  “You were right.”  And he handed Ash another twenty.  “At least it was just around us.”

Ash nodded his head as well, his mouth grim with irritation over his older brother’s insensitivity.  “Yeah.  She’s usually more in control.”

Axel grinned as they both turned to continue their walk down the hallway.  “Want to bet on when he’ll crack and admit it to her?”

Ash was already shaking his head.  “Hell no!  Big Brother Xander realizing what’s going on?”

Both men laughed as they continued towards their destination, unaware of the woman leaning against the doorway fighting back the tears.  Thankfully, Autumn didn’t hear their conversation or she would have been even more humiliated.  As it was, she just had to deal with the pain of seeing Xander with yet another beautiful woman.  She hated this, she told herself, brutally wiping the tears from her cheeks.  He was such a jerk!  Why did he have to bring those women here?  It was such an insult to everyone’s professionalism and productivity. 

He should just be more circumspect about his personal life mixing during business hours.  He should never have his girlfriends trot around here like that.  It was unprincipled and inappropriate! 

And it hurt!  Damn the man! 

She sat down behind her desk and dropped her head onto her hands, trying to control the painful emotions that were threatening to choke her.  She should find another job, she told herself firmly.  She shouldn’t put herself through the pain of watching him come and go with those women. 

The idea of not being here, of not seeing…all the Thorpe brothers, caused another sharp stab of pain.  She liked her job, except when there was a changing of the guard.  She really shouldn’t let it bother her so much.  She should just look the other way and leave him to his philandering ways. 

Or maybe she should talk to him, try and convince him to keep his lady-loves outside the office.  Too many staff members watched them come and go.  Not to mention the younger men on the staff seeing ridiculous stuff like that.  Xander was a role model!  He was teaching them that women were disposable, that they weren’t worth the effort to invest in a real relationship. 

When the meeting notification pinged, she looked at her computer and sighed.  She wouldn’t have time to consider that option right at the moment.  She had yet another meeting to attend.  Thankfully this one was just with her own staff so she wouldn’t have to sit at the conference table and feel Xander’s presence.  Or even worse, fight the growing anger whenever he prodded her temper.  The man was ingenious about getting a rise out of her and no matter how hard she tried to stay calm, she inevitably ended up firing one or two pointed jibes his way just to get back at him.  He changed her, she thought resentfully.  He made her act in a petty manner and she hated it.  She wanted to remain calm and unemotional, to appear professional at all times.  But he just kept on pushing her buttons, making her angry and forcing her temper out in the open. 

She took a deep breath and grabbed a tissue out of her drawer, patting down her cheeks.  With efficient movements, she pulled a mirror out of another drawer and repaired her makeup, furious that he’d reduced her to tears this time.  When her face looked calm once again, she stood up and walked to the window in her office, taking several deep breaths. 

Xander watched with rising fury and frustration as Autumn Hallman walked into her office, closing the door.  Closing everyone out.  He saw his brothers turn the corner and he made a mental note to ask them later if they knew what had upset her.  He would do it now, but he had to get rid of Jessica Lilsedale.  The irritating woman had attached herself to his arm last night at some charity function and he hadn’t been able to get rid of her.  Why had she shown up here?  He’d given her absolutely no encouragement last night.  And now she wanted a private word with him? 

He’d gotten into the office early this morning, needing time to get work done because he had a busy schedule.  Normally, the fall was a slower than normal period in his division, but not this year for some reason.  Business was thriving and he was going to have to bring on a few more lawyers if this pace kept up. 

He ran the family law practice in The Thorpe Group which included all family issues but mostly it came down to the divorce division.  He had a thriving practice with people almost lining up at the door wanting to tear apart the spouse that, only a few years earlier, they’d promised to love, honor and cherish.  It always astounded him that people who had once claimed to love each other so much that they wanted to dedicate their lives together, could reduce their entire world down to money and a desire to hurt someone as painfully as possible, in any way possible. 

Jessica was rattling on and on about some inane issue
.  All the while, he was looking down the hallway towards Autumn’s office door, willing her to come out and show her face just so he could see that she was okay.  Had someone hurt her feelings?  Was she overwhelmed with her work load?  He’d go directly to his brothers if they were laying too much on her slender shoulders.  She was just one woman but she continued to accept more and more responsibility within the firm. 

Good grief, what was Jessica talking about now? 

“So what do you think?” she asked, tilting her head and twirling her bleached blond hair with her talon-tipped fingers. 

Xander hadn’t heard a word she’d said.  “I’m sorry, what was the question?”

Jessica laughed and playfully punched his shoulder.  “Tonight!  The party?  Are you up for some fun?”

That was definitely not going to happen.  With as much patience as he could muster, he walked the irritating woman to the elevators, ignoring her obnoxious chatter.  “I’m sure you’ll have a much better time without me,” he said and took her hand, effectively releasing her grip on his arm.  He lifted her hand to his lips and, as graciously as possible, kissed her fingers in an effort to send her off into the descending elevators. 

As soon as she was gone, he breathed a sigh of relief.  Unfortunately, the cloying cloud of perfume she left in her wake almost made him gag.  Why did women insist on bathing in the rancid stuff?  His mind popped to the way Autumn smelled.  She was always fresh and clean.  He couldn’t think of a single time that she’d worn perfume.  But she always smelled…incredible. 

Back in the office, he stood at the end of the hallway, contemplating Autumn’s closed door.  She was upset and he had no idea why but it tore him apart. 

He had no right to feel this way.  She was an employee, and an exceptional one at that.  He was one of the owners, so he should remain distant, treat her just like he would any other employee.  He and his three other brothers owned equal shares in The Thorpe Group and, between the four of them, they could cover about every area of law possible. 

What he couldn’t cover was his need to hold Autumn Hallman in his arms.  Seeing her like this, her beautiful, brown eyes filled with tears, tore him apart.  He hated seeing her in pain. 

What could be wrong? 

She’d been with the firm for five years and she’d only become more valuable as she’d matured.  And more beautiful.  He’d been aching for her ever since she’d first walked through the doors looking for a job and that need had only intensified as he’d gotten to know her.

He knew that she thought of him as a royal pain in the ass.  At times, he annoyed her just to see her brown eyes sparkle with anger and those pretty, pale cheeks bloom with color.  And other times, he was in so much pain to possess her, to be with her and be near her that he snapped at the world.  His administrative assistants bore the brunt of his irritation, but he couldn’t deny the pleasure of working with Autumn every time he had to replace the previous assistant who had quit. 

Of course, it helped that the last several assistants were completely inept.  He wasn’t one to pressure someone into quitting just so he could have one on one time with Autumn while they worked to hire a new one.  No, he’d never do that to his staff.  The ones that had left over the past two years had genuinely been poorly trained and ill-humored. 

The last one had quit just yesterday, but he didn’t mind since he’d been about to fire her anyway.  The client files were a complete mess and the woman had lost track of all of his appointments, triple scheduling clients and leaving large gaps in between. 

But now he felt like someone was tearing off his arm all because Autumn was upset about something.  And she had to be genuinely upset because, unless she was snapping at him, she never let her emotions interrupt business.  This was extremely unusual.