Loving the Best Man (Friends & Lovers Book 2) (3 page)

Muttering a curse, she picked up all the couch cushions and said a quick thank you that her keys were tucked under the middle one.

Locking up as fast as she could, she hurried down the stairs of her four-story apartment building. She usually loved the fact that she lived on the top floor. There were no noisy neighbors above her to disturb her.

But running as late as she was, she resented all the flights of stairs she had to travel down. And of course the elevator was out of order as it typically was.

The beige walls were covered with graffiti but Emerald didn’t mind that. Some of it was actually kind of cool and took honest talent to create. Exiting the building, the chill of the cold air hit her and she realized that she did not have her scarf on. She rushed up the street as quickly as her heels would allow her, careful to avoid the patches of ice that were on the ground.

She came to an abrupt halt when she reached her old white Jeep. The front tires were slashed. A quick walk to the back of the car showed her that those tires had been slashed as well.

A rapid glance around the neighborhood showed a few people either on their way to work or a few kids on their way to school. She looked back at her car, which she’d bought used when she was nineteen. She’d saved for months to buy the car. And now someone had had the nerve to vandalize it.

Warning herself that panicking would accomplish nothing, she felt around in her pockets for her cell phone. First she’d have to call the police, then she’d have to call work to tell them she’d be late. The phone wasn’t in her coat pocket so she checked her purse. It wasn’t there either.

“Fuck!” She yelled angrily, gaining the attention of a woman holding hands with a young boy across the street.

That’s when she noticed the note. It was folded into such a small square that she almost didn’t notice it tucked beneath the windshield wiper. She unfolded it, shaking badly, and wondered vaguely if it was from the cold or because she was getting upset. Finally getting the note open, she read it and stumbled back involuntarily.

Your time just ran out, bitch
.

Chapter Two

Emerald didn’t make it into 50G Studios until nearly eleven in the morning. So much had happened that she’d wanted nothing more than to go home and just hide. But she had never been a punk and she never would be so she’d had her car towed and taken the bus and subway to work.

“Are you okay?” Lacey, one of the receptionists asked as soon as Emerald went behind the island that surrounded their desks. Lacey was a petite blonde who was very perky.

Tasha, the other receptionist, was a young black woman around Emerald’s own age. She put her hand over her heart and huffed.

“I can’t believe someone slashed your tires! That’s so scary.”

“What did the cops say?” Lacey asked.

“Can we talk about this later?” Emerald asked, her voice very low. She went to the back room and hung up her coat, then placed her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk.

Lacey and Tasha silently stared at each other before looking back at her.

“Of course, sweetie,” Lacey replied.

“But if you want to talk, just let us know.”

Emerald nodded stiffly and went to the coffee machine to pour herself a cup of coffee. For a Monday morning, the lobby was pretty empty. There were a couple of people sitting in the waiting area but not much else going on. Near the elevators, one of the security guards was making his rounds.

Devin had gotten her the job at 50G about six months before. It had been a position held by his old friend Casey, who Emerald had had the pleasure of getting fired. Casey had been a plotting, scheming bitch who had lied to keep Robyn and Devin apart. Once the truth had come out, Emerald had plotted her revenge. If she could have, she’d have done worse to Casey.

After Casey had been fired, there had been a series of temps before Devin recommended Emerald for the job. Since he’d also been the one who recommended Casey, his recommendation of Emerald hadn’t been taken seriously at first. But they’d finally given Emerald a chance and she’d done her best every single day.

It really stung that she’d never been even a minute late and now that streak was over because of some loser. She hoped the cops would be able to make an arrest but she didn’t have her hopes up. She’d been raised in the worst part of Jersey City and had lived there for most of her life. Too many times, crimes worse than a tire slashing had gone unsolved or hadn’t been investigated at all.

Of course she knew it was Evan Marley, which she’d told the cops, but she needed proof.

“So how was the wedding?” Tasha asked after a short while.

“It was so beautiful!” Emerald enthused, grateful to be able to focus on something positive. “Robyn was gorgeous and Devin was so handsome.”

“I want to see some pictures!” Lacey said.

“I don’t have my camera,” Emerald said aloud as she realized it.  “I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

“Make sure you do. I love weddings!” Lacey smiled brightly.

Lacey and Tasha had been angling to tag along to the wedding but Robyn and Devin -and their moms- had a very specific guest list and she wouldn’t dare bring someone who hadn’t been invited. Devin was friendly enough with Lacey and Tasha but there were lots of people he was cool with who hadn’t gotten invited. And still it had been a huge wedding with a few hundred guests.

The glass lobby doors opened and a man in a white uniform walked in, carrying a bouquet of pink and peach roses sitting in a pink crystal vase. He approached the glass island.

Tasha jumped up before Emerald or Lacey could react.

“Good morning,” The man said, looking at all three women. “Emerald Felton?”

Emerald’s heart started to thump and she stood up on wobbly legs. She’d never gotten flowers before and although it might be foolish to some, she was so touched that she could barely speak for a moment.

She took the flowers and inhaled deeply, enjoying their lovely scent. Lacey and Tasha giggled. After the delivery man had gone, Emerald hurried to her desk and took the card out of the flowers. She opened the envelope, holding her breath.

Thank you for a great weekend. You were amazing and I can’t get you out of my mind.

L.T.

“Ooohhh!” Tasha exclaimed from behind Emerald.

Emerald jumped, completely unaware that the other woman stood behind her reading the card.

“Who is it from?” Lacey asked.

“What have you been up to?” Tasha asked, laughing. “Or should I say
who
?”

“Cut it out!” Emerald said, laughing a little when Lacey snatched the card out of her hand.

Lacey read the card and whistled.

“Who’s L.T.?” Tasha wanted to know.

“No one.” The last thing she needed was to be the center of office gossip.

50G Studios was a big company and Devin was a game designer. He was very well known and well liked. If it got out that she’d slept with his best friend, he’d be involved in gossip by association. That’s not how she wanted to thank him for getting her a job.

Thankfully, the phone on Tasha’s desk rang and she hurried to answer it.

“Somebody was a busy little bee at the wedding, hmm?” Lacey teased.

“It’s nothing,” Emerald said casually. But she was so pleased with the flowers that she kept staring at them. It was so sweet of Lincoln to send them. She was so touched. She hadn’t planned to text him but she knew she had to now, at least to say thank you.

“It doesn’t sound like
nothing
to me,” Lacey said with a laugh.

“It’s just someone I spent time with,” Emerald finally conceded. “But it’s no big deal. Now don’t you have work to do?” She gestured to Lacey’s desk.

“Fine, spoilsport.” Lacey went to her desk and sat down.

Emerald tried to focus on her own work but she made several stupid mistakes because her mind kept drifting. She skipped lunch since her work day had gotten to a very late start and often stared at the flowers while she worked. When it was time to leave, she clutched the vase of flowers to her chest as she rushed from the building.

By the time her name popped up on his cell’s screen, he was pissed off. He’d paid extra money to guarantee that she’d get the flowers before noon and he’d been staring at his phone all day, waiting for her to call. It was already after seven and she was finally getting in touch with him. By text message!

He parked his black Mercedes in the parking lot that served the tenants of his building and looked at her message before he’d even taken off his seat belt.

Thank you for the flowers. They’re so pretty.

“That’s it?” He muttered under his breath. He’d been hoping she would have said that she’d had a good time with him too. He told himself not to dwell on that. It was obvious that she’d had a good time with him. He didn’t need her to say it.

He got out of the car and locked it, waving at the security guard who sat in the small booth on his way out of the gate. He used his key to enter his building. The swank lobby had cream colored walls and a red carpeted floor. It was completely empty. At night, there was a doorman who stood just inside the door but he wasn’t on the clock yet.

Linc lived in one of the best neighborhoods in Hoboken, which was already a quaint little town anyway. Everybody minded their business and it was usually quiet, with the exception of summer when the kids were off of school. That’s when the parks came alive and lots of people had parties. His parents lived only a few blocks away in their own brownstone and his sister lived just a little further than that.

He checked his mailbox and hurried to the elevators. He pressed the UP button and sifted through the envelopes as he waited. A couple of utility bills and a Christmas card. He opened the envelope of the card as he stepped onto the elevator. It was from an old friend that he didn’t really keep in touch with.

Once he was in his apartment he again looked at the message that Emerald had sent him. He was so disappointed that he didn’t even know how to reply. He wondered if she’d be so cool face to face. In that instant he decided to pay her a visit.

Refusing to have an internal debate over whether it was the right thing to do, he called a cab. She lived in Jersey City, a nearby city, in a really rough neighborhood and he wouldn’t risk leaving his car parked anywhere near there, especially not at night.

He’d never been inside Emerald’s house before but he’d dropped her off a couple of times. He didn’t like that she lived there but she was accustomed to it after living there for so many years. If anyone expressed concern for her safety, she just brushed them off.

He had the taxi driver stop at a take-out restaurant and he picked up some food for dinner. Hopefully the food would buy him entry into her apartment.

He shook his head when he was able to walk right into the dim halls of her apartment building. No locks on the front door.

He couldn’t remember which floor she lived on but it was listed on the mailboxes. 4C. After finding the elevator out of order, he ran up the stairs, shaking his head at all of the graffiti and written profanity all over the walls. He could hear a baby crying and rap music blasting. The faint odor of marijuana hit his nose as he climbed the last flight of steps.

When he reached the fourth floor, what he was about to do dawned on him and he felt a stab of nerves. He paused for a split second before going to her door and knocking hard. She might kick him to the curb but in his gut, he just knew she wouldn’t.

“Here goes nothing, Thayer,” He whispered to himself. He held his breath and waited for her to open the door.

Emerald looked through the peephole and gasped. Shaking her head at her reaction to him, she opened the door. She was still in her coat, having only just gotten in a minute before.

“Hey,” She said, forcing herself to sound casual. But she felt very jittery after parking her car five blocks away after stopping at the police station.

“Hey.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek then walked into the door without waiting for an invitation.

She was glad she’d cleaned her apartment the day before but it still wasn’t impressive. She wondered what he thought about the old green couch, beat up coffee table and mismatched lamps that were on either side of the couch. The walls were painted a vibrant shade of orange and she had multicolored area rugs throughout the room.

“How are you?” He asked, putting a big plastic bag down on the coffee table.  “You just got home?”

“Yeah, I did,” She replied and removed her coat. “It’s been a long day.”

She thought about telling him about her car, and the notes and messages. But she didn’t want it to get back to her Devin, which meant that Robyn would automatically find out. She didn’t want Robyn to worry. She wanted Robyn to enjoy herself on her honeymoon, not be worried about some idiot who had nothing better to do than harass her.

There had been several times over the past several months that she’d been very tempted to confide in Robyn and their other friends as well. But she never gave in. She didn’t want them to worry unnecessarily. It was her problem to deal with.

“I brought some dinner,” He said as he gestured to the bag. He had a broad smile on his face and she felt her blood heat just a little.

“That’s great,” She replied, hanging up her coat and watching him shrug out of his navy blue pea coat. “I missed lunch. I’m starved.”

He was still dressed in a shirt, tie and slacks but she could clearly see the contours of his chest through his shirt. He had a lean, swimmer’s body. She knew he loved to run and swim. In turn he’d been rewarded with a fine ass physique.

He winked at her and she quickly turned her head, embarrassed to be caught staring even only for a moment.

“Thank you for the flowers,” She murmured, hearing her cell phone vibrate. She would have ignored it if she hadn’t been waiting for a call or text from Robyn. “I love them.”

It’s not over.
Goosebumps rose over her skin as she read the threat and she put the phone into her purse.

“You’re welcome.” He looked at the flowers sitting in the center of her ratty, old coffee table.

“So how was your day?” She asked, stepping out of her heels. With her heels on, he was only a few inches taller than her. Without the heels, she felt incredibly short. But her feet were aching. As hungry as she was from missing breakfast and lunch, she’d planned to get into the tub for a long soak before eating anything.

“It was okay. I had a presentation today. It went well.”

Lincoln was a market research analyst. Knowing he was so successful was slightly intimidating but she usually tried not think about it. She’d never gone to college, hadn’t even tried to apply. Desperate for independence, she’d gone straight to work right after graduating from high school. It was then that she’d been hired at Marley’s Gym. She had loved her job until the elder Marley had retired, leaving control of the gym to his sleazy son.

“How are you feeling?” He asked suddenly, his tone changing from casual to intense. “You seem...sad.”

“I’m not sad!” She denied right away. She emphasized the denial with a laugh and a swat on his arm. “Like I said, I had a long day. And I’m hungry so let’s eat whatever you brought for dinner.”