Mendacious (12 page)

“Of course I am. He’s my brother at the end of the day, and you brought this on yourself.” Alice stands her ground, but I notice she is looking more unsteady on her feet.

“I think we had better call this a night,” I say, beckoning for Alice to come to my side, which she does without a second thought. “Holli, I will see you to a taxi and then I will take Alice home.”

“Arsehole, don’t bother,” she hisses, grabbing her bottles of VK off the bar and stomping through the thickly packed bodies on the dance floor.

Usually, I wouldn’t just leave a girl like this, but I know I need to get Alice back to my flat and into bed. Holli will probably wake-up and regret everything she has said and done, so I can leave with a clean conscience.

“Come on,” I murmur, taking most of my sister’s weight, and helping her out onto the main road. “We need to try and get a taxi.”

~

With my arm wrapped securely round Alice’s waist, I walk her into my building and toward the lifts where Jeffery is waiting. Considering our roles were reversed the other night, and Alice was the one taking care of me, I’m sure he must think we are a family of alcoholics.

“Good evening, Mr. Lewis,” Jeffery greets me. “Is Ms. Lewis, alright?”

I chuckle when Alice lolls into my side. “One drink turned into a lot of drinks,” I reply, putting my hands behind her knees and sweeping her into my arms. “I don’t see this side of her very often. She tends to go out in Coventry, so it’s my mum that has to put up with this usually. I’m afraid tonight is my turn.”

Jeffery nods and presses the button for my floor.

“What time is it?” I ask, realising I still haven’t heard a peep out of Libby.

“It is almost midnight, sir.”

We are quiet on the short journey up to my floor, apart from Alice’s heavy breaths filling the small space. I note the briefest of smiles on Jeffery’s lips at her sleepy form in my arms.

“I’ve got the big brother of the year award tonight,” I say, stepping off the lift when we reach the top floor. “Night, Jeffery.”

Walking to my front door, I try and jar my pocket against the control panel, hoping to God I can get it open without having to actually take the fob from my pocket.

“Come on, you bastard,” I mutter, lifting my leg and rubbing my thigh awkwardly. If anyone were to walk past, right now, at this very moment, they would wonder what the fuck I’m doing.

When I finally hear the heavenly beep of the door unlocking, I use my foot to kick it open and carry Alice inside. I’m about halfway down the hallway, after successfully kicking off my shoes and closing the door, when my phone starts to ring in my pocket.

“Bollocks,” I breathe.

Alice stirs and wakes. “Ugh. Turn it off,” she moans, putting her hand on her forehead.

“I know, I know, give me two seconds. I’ll put you in the guest room.” I’m skidding along the hall in my socks toward my spare room, while my phone continues to rattle loudly in my pocket. But by the time I’ve dropped Alice on the bed and put it to my ear, the call is dead. “I missed it,” I shrug, flicking to my missed calls.

And there I find a call from Libby.

Her name hasn’t appeared in my phone for so long. We exchanged numbers the other day through business cards, and I didn’t waste any time at all in programming her number back into my contact list.

I have no shame.

“Night, Alice,” I say, getting up from the bed and hitting redial on Libby’s number. I put the phone to my ear and listen to the dial tone as I’m walking to my office. I’m happy she made the first move because it makes me look less of a stalker in wanting to know where she is.

“You have reached the voicemail of Elizabeth Lewis. I’m afraid I cannot take your call right now, but please leave a message after the beep.”

My forehead crinkles, confusion spreading through my bones. I called merely thirty seconds after, but she isn’t answering.

Sitting down at my desk, I put my phone on the table and hit redial as I switch on my laptop. This time, it doesn’t even ring, but instead goes straight to voicemail.

“What the hell?” I mumble, picking up the phone just as the beep sounds. I leave her a message along the lines of, “Libby, I have just seen a missed call from you. Alex.”

Thankfully, I keep my shit together and keep my tone curt and very formal. She isn’t affecting me. She isn’t.

“Ace.”

The earlier whisper of her voice penetrates my brain. I’m suddenly thrust back to the hotel room at The Mailbox. I see Libby’s body beneath mine, the sweat glistening between her breasts, and the drawn out sighs escaping from her rosy, plump lips.

Sort your fucking head out, Alex!

My hands grip the lip of my desk, my knuckles straining and turning white from the force I’m using. I feel my pulse throbbing in the side of my neck as I think about Libby with another man.

Her kissing another man.

Her sleeping with another man.

I curl my hands into fists and bring them down hard on the surface of my oak desk. Pain radiates throughout my nerve endings, but I welcome it as a blissful escape.

So I do it again.

And again.

I carry on smacking my fists, willing these emotions to leave the confines of my body. She has had me for long enough.

But who am I kidding? There is no way I’ll ever be rid of these feelings. It has been seven years and I’m still as fucked up as I was the day she left me. Time supposedly heals, but for me, it’s nothing but an endless loop of pity.

I’m a man that strikes fear into the everyday life of those around me with my demanding and controlling personality. Yet, I’m also a man who gave the ultimate power to one woman who used it to bring me to my fucking knees.

And still is.

Needless to say, Alice had one heck of a hangover this morning, when she finally got her arse out of bed. At least four times I tried waking her up, but she wasn’t having any of it. So in the end, I did the unforgiveable in her eyes, and I threw a glass of cold water over her head.

Hitting the button for the lift, I chuckle to myself. She was so pissed off with me, but I couldn’t help but laugh. I know she won’t bother ignoring me again.

“Mr. Lewis.” I spin on the spot and face the young girl approaching. “Sir, here is your morning coffee, and you have a visitor in your office.”

She looks flustered as she hands me my coffee and fusses with a stack of papers she is carrying. I don’t actually know who this girl is, but I gratefully take the Costa off her hands.

“Thanks, I guess.” I search for a lanyard or name tag or anything to enlighten me, but she has nothing. A random girl with no name, who brings me coffee, and has rosy red cheeks. Interesting stuff for a Friday morning after all.

Shit. Is it really Friday?

It dawns on me that I’ve got a weekend between now and Monday when I’ll see Libby again. I may be a workaholic, but I know she isn’t.

Stepping into the lift car, I clutch my Costa and ponder what today will bring. Yesterday was a good day, but the good has to be evened out with the shit eventually, so I’m expecting something drama filled.

When the lift coasts to a stop on Libby’s floor, I exit and head across the reception toward the offices at the back. As usual, I feel the eyes of everyone in the office on me. I’m used to it now. Let them look, I say.

“Mr. Lewis, you have a visitor—”

“The Costa coffee girl already filled me in,” I say, lifting up the cup and nodding to Libby’s assistant when I walk past her desk.

“You met our new trainee then. That’s Eliza,” she replies as I nod my head and carry on. “She’ll get anything you need. You just have to ask her.”

“I got it. Thanks.”

Pushing open the door to our joint office, I stop at the sight of a bloke sitting in my chair, and at my fucking desk. I’m livid. I don’t tolerate people pissing around with my stuff, ever.

“Get up, you cheeky shit,” I snap, closing the door behind me.

My chair swivels round and Sean stares at me. “About bloody time,” he grumbles, getting up and crossing the room. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“A big one ... Oakley is making a move. I’ve just had word from Benedict that one of our stable Investments is looking at playing the field a little bit. Turns out the bastard is trying to do a deal with Oakley behind our backs.”

“Are you shitting me?”

Sean shakes his head. “I wish I was. It looks like Oakley has been delving his hands in a lot of our business. He’s still after Libby as well. The word is that he has a mole working for him. Not that I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. The bastard has some vendetta against you.”

I wave him off. “Breach of contract. We’ll sue all of them for breaching the agreement they’ve signed.”

Sean sighs. “If only it were that simple, mate.”

“Go on.”

He takes a deep breath. “He must be working with someone we know. Most of our contacts have been persuaded into deals for new ventures that don’t breach the current agreements held. Oakley is taking the back route with this and not even giving us a look in. The cheeky fucker is working his way down our list of partners.”

I blink a few times, registering Sean’s words in my brain. “Call Benedict and get this shit sorted. I need to know who it is and what their motives are—apart from trying to fuck me off.” I mean, honestly, who the heck have I pissed off
that
much?

“I’ll get right on it. We’ll sort this out, mate. Well, I guess we have to if we want the company to survive through this—”

“Ambush,” I say, finishing off his sentence. “Oakley Finance and Investments can kiss my arse. We’ll fight these bastards at their own game. And we will win.”

Sean nods. “You got it.”

He goes silent, his attention focused over my shoulder. I hear the door opening behind me and the shuffle of papers. Sean clears his throat, his eyes bulging wide from their sockets.

“L-Libby?” I watch him scan her up and down with amazement, and I know I’m not the only one enjoying how much she has changed over the years. I’ll let him have this one glance. The next time, he’ll find my fist in his face.

“Sean?” There is confusion in Libby’s voice. “What are you doing here?”

He jerks his thumb in my direction. “Having a meeting with the boss.”

Libby walks over to her desk and puts down the papers. “It’s been a while, right? I had no idea you worked for Alex, he hasn’t mentioned you. Have you been in business together long?”

“He found me when he got the business going, and we’ve been working together since,” Sean replies.

Libby raises an eyebrow. She silently takes a seat and boots up her laptop. She hasn’t said two words to me yet.

Absolute fucking silence
.

Obviously sensing the rapidly growing tension in the room, Sean says, “Well, I’m gonna shoot off. Alex, I’ll get that stuff you’re after.” He turns to Libby. “It was nice seeing you again.”

“Yeah, you too,” she murmurs, her eyes engaged with her laptop.

“That was rude,” I tell her as soon as Sean leaves.

“Excuse me?”

“You snubbed him.”

She shakes her head. “I did not.”

“What’s up with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me one word answers. Tell me,” I ask again, my tone more demanding this time. “Something is eating at you. And I don’t appreciate your lack of response yesterday, either.”

“I called you.”

“And I left you a voicemail,” I counter. “Come on, Libby. I know you better than this. What’s going on?”

Her eyes haven’t left the laptop screen. It’s almost like she is afraid to look at me. As if her eyes are going to reveal whatever secret she is trying to hide.

Walking over to her, I put my hand on the lid of her laptop and push it closed. “Look at me,” I command softly, sitting on the side of her desk.

She can’t avoid me, but she still tries. I catch her chin with my hand when she attempts to turn away, and I direct her eyes toward mine. The air around us charges. Libby’s face softens and she gives me those deep aquamarine irises I’ve been waiting for.

But they don’t look the same.

They look troubled.

The ordinarily perfect blue shimmers with unshed tears. She’s holding back on me. I want her to open up. No, I
need
her to, so I can work whatever it is to my advantage. It’s time to bump up another level.

“Sweetheart, you can talk to me,” I murmur.

“I-I can’t. You don’t understand, Alex.”

“Then tell me.”

“Alex,” she pleads.

Letting go of her chin, I throw my arms in the air exasperated. I can’t deal with this shit anymore. I figured I would try and help because she looks so lost, but she doesn’t want to talk to me.

“Forget it,” I grunt, picking up my phone and heading for the door.

Deciding some fresh air will help cleanse my frustration, I grab the handle and swing open the door. My eyes spot Daniel coming across the office and heading this way. Just the sight of him has me in two minds about leaving Libby in her office. This bastard wants her ... there is no doubt in my mind that he is my competition.

“H-Hi, Dale,” I hear Libby sniff behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I see her sat at her desk, her phone clutched to her ear and a tissue dabbing under her eyes. No doubt because of me and my fucking temper.

Keep moving. What are you playing at?

I manage to talk myself out of going back in the office, and instead, I keep walking until I’m directly in front of Daniel. The smarmy little fuck who thinks he has a chance going up against me.

“She’s on the phone to her brother,” I state flatly, walking straight past him, my sight set on the lifts on the far side of the room.

I don’t make it far before I hear him calling out behind me. “We’ve got a staff meeting in fifteen minutes with some remote based staff. Do you fancy it?”

My answer should be no, but I stick my thumb in the air and carry on walking. Keeping a good impression is playing on my mind. And, considering Daniel saw me leaving an upset Libby in her office, keeping in his good books is a must.

~

After getting some air, I head for the boardroom to get a seat before this big meeting starts. I’m going to keep a low profile if I can, but no doubt I’ll be picked out and introduced.

Taking a seat in the corner of the room, I try and discreetly blend between the people who have already found their seats. I spot Daniel coming in a few minutes later with a sombre looking Libby in tow. They both take a seat at the head of the table. Daniel catches my eye and nods. I nod back.

Dickhead
.

“We’ll get started in a few minutes. We have a couple of stragglers that are caught in traffic,” Daniel announces, tapping his pen against his notepad.

The chatter sparks up again and I find myself making idle chitchat with a bloke to my left. He doesn’t have to tell me much before I’ve got him sussed.

A seedy old pervert.

There is a dent on his ring finger after he takes off his wedding band and shoves it in the pocket of his jacket. I scoff as I watch him do it, an incredulous look on my face.

“There are some trainees in here today. New girls,” he says, his eyes practically twinkling.

Filthy bastard.

I cut our conversation short at this point and pretend to distract myself with my phone while keeping a watchful eye on him. He starts talking to a young blonde sat on his other side, but I watch his eyes dropping down to the short, black pencil skirt she has on. She can’t be more than twenty. A timid, nervous little thing that is being leeched on by a bloke more than double her age.

It’s making me uncomfortable.

“Hi, I’m Alex.” I lean across the perv and offer her my hand, which she accepts. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Rosie,” she replies, sporting a big dimpled smile. “Are you a newbie too? I don’t think I saw your name on the list of attendees at today’s meeting.”

“You could say I’m new,” I say, returning her smile with my own. I’m working the charm, but only because I’m trying to protect her. “Can we swap seats, mate?” I ask, tapping the pervert on the shoulder. He glares at me before we wordlessly swap chairs and I’ve got Rosie out of the danger zone. It was just in time as well, because Daniel the dickhead stands at this point to silence the room.

He switches on his PowerPoint presentation and casts a quick look at the closed boardroom door. “We’ll have to start without the others.”

Libby’s phone vibrates on the table. She quickly grabs it and turns away to talk. We all keep silent, but find our attention distracted anyway when the door opens and a young girl saunters in wearing a black skirt suit, showcasing the most amazing pair of legs.

Shit.

“It’s nice of you to join us, Holli.”

The sarcasm drips profusely from Daniel’s words, but it flies straight over Holli’s head. Instead, she walks to a nearby chair, plonks herself down, and puts her hands in her lap.

“Sorry,” she murmurs.

Daniel looks on disapprovingly while Libby shoots Holli a friendly smile across the room. It looks as if the two are good friends if I judge solely on the way both of them are smiling right now. But how the fuck does Holli work for Libby? What sick twist of fate has prompted this almighty cock-up?

I don’t want to draw any attention. Shrinking in my seat, I keep my head turned and out of her line of sight. She is sitting right by the fucking door as well, so it’s not like I can even try and quietly escape. Not even James Bond could get out of this crappy situation.

I’m stuck.

My hand comes up to my chin and I pretend I’m listening to Daniel’s presentation. He babbles on about figures and projections, but also brings up stats for customer service levels and order dispatches. Turns out Holli and two others sitting in the room are team leaders in a small customer service office in Coventry.

Team leader, though? Holli?

I scoff under my breath at the thought of her managing employees. That’s a joke if I ever heard one. Especially with her attitude anyway.

“And our warehouse staff ...” Daniel drones on in the background. He mentions the pervy bloke next to me and his apparent managerial level in the stock warehouse.

It’s idiotic.

These people aren’t managers.

“And Elizabeth and I would both like to introduce Alex Lewis.” I hear my name and try to pay attention. “He and his team will be overseeing the expansion of our business. Stand-up, Alex,” Daniel says, starting to clap.

I’m treated to a round of applause as I push back my chair and stand. My eyes scan the faces around the table, but I make sure to dodge Holli. I’m not ready for that explosion yet. Her heated eyes on the side of my head are enough.