Next Stop: Love (12 page)

UNPLEASANT SURPRISE

Two days had passed since that kiss, and I could still feel the warmth of his lips on mine. I didn’t want anyone in the office to know I’d started seeing the boss, so we’d agreed to keep quiet. It was far too early to make it public, and, anyway, I wasn’t someone who immediately rushed to change her relationship status on Facebook.

Luca had had his important meeting with a well-known fashion label the day before, and today he had the day off for the first time in ages. I’d already promised Lisa I’d spend the evening with her, though, so I wouldn’t see Luca until Wednesday morning. I could hardly wait.

New relationships were so exciting. I tried to hide my joy, although my usual tendency was to broadcast my happiness to the entire world. But Aileen immediately noticed that something was different. She hadn’t been at work on Monday; otherwise, she would almost certainly have noticed my stupid grinning then.

“Hey, did you win the lottery, or why are you beaming so obnoxiously?” She sounded amused. “Just looking at your permanent smile is enough to make my cheeks hurt.”

I turned and gave her an innocent look. “I’m just in a good mood.”

“Well, then, maybe you can let me have some of it. All this paperwork here is driving me nuts,” she complained, banging her hand on the desk. The blow caused a few pages to fall to the ground, revealing a fashion magazine underneath. I only glanced at it briefly as I bent down to pick up some of the papers that had fallen, but then I suddenly froze.

“Wait a minute,” I said, straightening up again. I picked the magazine up from the desk and looked at it.

Aileen followed my gaze. “You recognize her, huh? I gotta admit that she gets prettier every year, even though she’s a stuck-up bitch.”

I didn’t recognize any of the women on the cover, so I had no idea who she was talking about. But there was one key detail I
did
recognize: one of them was wearing my necklace, exactly the same one that Luca had given me two days before. Involuntarily I reached up and touched it, just to make sure I hadn’t somehow imagined it. But there was no doubt—that was it!

Aileen ducked down to retrieve the rest of her papers from the floor, so she didn’t see me quickly hide the pendant inside my blouse. “If you ask me,” she said, straightening up, “Luca should have found himself someone who was less successful and more of a human being, but men let themselves get deceived by appearances all the time,” she added with a sniff.

“Luca?” I looked up in confusion.

Aileen gestured at the model. “Yeah, that’s Alexandra, his ex-girlfriend,” she said, as if I ought to know.

I looked at the lovely girl, who seemed way too young to be on a magazine cover, but one could do wonders with makeup and Photoshop these days—for all I knew, she was already in her midthirties. Automatically I glanced at the fine print, and when I saw the publication date, I was thunderstruck. “This came out
today
?”

“They did the cover shoot first thing yesterday, and the magazine came hot off the press this morning. I was the first person to read it,” Aileen said excitedly as she sat back down at her desk.

“Can I borrow it for a while?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the model.

“Sure, you can keep it.” She made a dismissive gesture. “I’ve already read it.” With that, she turned her full attention to her computer screen.

I swallowed, because my mouth was completely dry all of a sudden, and returned to my desk. After a discreet glance around the room, I pulled the necklace out from under my blouse and compared it to the one in the photo. Definitely the same pendant. But how was that possible, if the piece belonged to Luca’s mother, and I’d been wearing it since he put it around my neck?

When I finished work, I stuffed the magazine into my bag and made my way to the elevator. It went up to the sixth floor first.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Marcs,” I said in greeting as he nodded to me.

His eyes wandered to the necklace, which I was playing with absentmindedly. “A lovely necklace you have there,” he said, brow knitted.

“Thank you,” I said, then froze a second later. He was Luca’s father, and if the jewelry had really belonged to Luca’s mother, then Mr. Marcs knew perfectly well that I’d gotten it from his son.

“May I ask where you got it?” he inquired, sounding just as shocked as I felt.

“Um, it was a gift,” I replied, hoping that he wouldn’t pry any further. Just then—thank God—the doors opened, and I practically fled the building. Dammit. Nobody was supposed to know about me and Luca, especially not his father. Now I didn’t know which was more upsetting: the fact that he’d recognized the pendant, meaning it really had belonged to the family, or the fact that Luca had apparently lied to me about it being one of a kind. Clearly, his ex-girlfriend had the same necklace—she couldn’t have worn it during the shoot if he hadn’t made at least one duplicate. So what kind of game was this?

As I’d promised, I spent the evening with Lisa and took her to see a 3-D movie—something I’d planned to do since I arrived in Berlin as thanks for giving me a place to stay. Personally, I didn’t understand why anyone could be interested in shady creatures like the X-Men. But Lisa was engrossed from beginning to end, and if she was happy, so was I. Well, part of the time, at least, because my thoughts kept drifting back to the pendant.

Afterward we went out to eat and arrived home a little after ten. I was pretty tired and wanted to put the day behind me as quickly as possible. I needed to confront Luca the next day about all of this, so I went to bed early.

Unfortunately, my slumber was brief, because, just as I was dozing off, my cell phone rang. Argh! I didn’t recognize the number but wasn’t expecting an important call, so I was irritated when I picked up. “What is it?” I growled. Was it my mom, calling from a withheld number so she could cry me a river about how I’d let her down?

The line was silent for a moment, and then, to my utter horror, I recognized Luca’s father’s voice. “Ms. Neumann, this is Mr. Marcs. Could you meet me at Seconds in half an hour? It’s important.” He hung up without waiting for a reply. Um . . . okay? Did that actually just happen, or was I dreaming? Why the hell would he call me in the middle of the night and order me to come out to a restaurant? I sat there with my phone in my hand for a few seconds, not sure what to make of it all, but then I jumped up hastily and began whirling around my room. Oh God, it was because of the necklace. He probably wanted to know what was going on between Luca and me.

When I stumbled out of my room ten minutes later and passed through the living room, Lisa blinked at me sleepily. As always, she’d fallen asleep in front of the television long before the clock had even struck midnight. Stubborn woman. Why didn’t she just go to bed when she was tired? She simply had to watch the movies that were on late at night, even though she never managed to finish even one of them.

“Meeting on short notice,” I explained as I went by, already opening the door. She nodded and turned back to the TV, and probably fell asleep a second later.

I hailed a taxi, because, otherwise, I wouldn’t arrive on time, and I didn’t want to keep Mr. Marcs waiting. When I finally walked into Seconds, a high-end restaurant in Charlottenburg, I saw him sitting in the back of the room. The place was pretty full, even at this time of night, but the tables around him were empty. No doubt he was a regular here.

“Good evening,” I said uncertainly, sitting down across from him. “I got here as fast as I could.” I wasn’t sure what he wanted from me and prayed it might just be something business related, so I’d brought my notebook.

He cleared up that misapprehension quickly, though. “Put your notebook away,” he said without returning my greeting. “You don’t need it.” He regarded me with cool precision, and when I gave him an inquiring look, he explained, “My concern is not related to business. Rather, I would like to speak to you about my son.”

Why did this have to happen to me of all people? Why couldn’t I have just left the necklace under my blouse? “All right. How can I help you?” I asked, my mouth dry.

He gestured to offer me a glass of wine, but I declined politely. “You and Luca seem to have grown closer?” he asked at last, studying me with a piercing gaze.

I laughed awkwardly. “Um . . . well, I—”

“You must have,” he broke in, interrupting my stammering. “After all, he gave you an extremely expensive piece of jewelry. A necklace that I would recognize anywhere, because I once gave it to my wife.”

My face felt hot. Could this possibly get any more embarrassing?

“I admit that I am not keen to have this conversation and would prefer to impart this information more gently, but it seems that my son is playing another one of his famous games, and I am not sure whether you are aware of it.”

I’d left the pendant at home, of course, but his eyes still flitted briefly to my throat. “I don’t quite understand,” I said, doing my best to endure his steely gaze.

“You know, normally it does not interest me who my son dates. After all, he has always amused himself with successful models and actresses. But you seem . . . Well, you appear to be a bad influence on him. At least, I cannot remember him ever having missed a conference to visit the zoo.” The tone of his voice suggested that even saying the words repulsed him.

“I didn’t know he missed an important conference, but I can assure you that he was the one who invited me.” I had to suppress a grin, knowing that Luca had skipped an important appointment for my benefit. Bet that really got old Dad’s shorts in a twist.

“Ultimately, it does not matter whose idea it was. The only thing that interests me is that he is neglecting his responsibilities, and I am not at all pleased about it.”

The fact that he labeled me a bad influence made me furious—and brave—which is why I asked, “Don’t you think you ought to be having this conversation with your son instead?”

“Oh, I have, many times, specifically when it concerned other secretaries. You see, I am not trying to insult you. You are a smart girl, and you do very good work, but please do not fall prey to the mistaken belief that Luca considers you anything special or even loves you. Trust me, he does not. He has always had quite the libido, and most of the time I overlook it, but every now and again, he breaks rank and neglects his duties. Then it becomes my job to get him back on track again.”

“By demanding that I stay away from him, starting immediately,” I surmised.

“ ‘Demand’ is the wrong word. I would say ‘advise,’ because, believe me, the company means more to him than you do.”

I gasped in outrage. CEO or not, I wasn’t going to let him write me off as some worthless toy. Who did this snob think he was? “With all due respect, Mr. Marcs, from everything Luca’s told me, it doesn’t sound like you know what your son wants or doesn’t want.”

He merely smiled. “Luca has his doubts, I know, and he sees you as a welcome change. He has always been somewhat fickle. In the end, though, he always pulls himself together again—and usually with a successful, ambitious woman at his side. No offense, Ms. Neumann, but I do not believe that you and Luca have a future together,” he said.

In other words, he didn’t think I was good enough for his son. “I’m not going to stay away from Luca just because you want me to, or because you tell me a bunch of stories,” I told him, crossing my arms. “He should make his own decisions.”

“Oh, he already has. I was afraid you would say something to that effect.” He handed me the magazine, the same one I’d taken earlier. “Maybe this will help you make your decision. Do you recognize the necklace? I expect he told you it was one of a kind, but that was a lie. Luca has a dozen of them at home and is not exactly stingy about handing them out. The model on the cover is his ex-girlfriend,” he went on, “and the photo was taken yesterday, when he met with her agency, and almost certainly with her as well.”

I felt my eyes fill with tears and quickly blinked them away. “You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to show this to me,” I remarked bitterly.

“I merely want to save you the disappointment, because he
will
disappoint you—he always does.”

I laid the magazine on the table. “How can there possibly be so many of them? You said it was your wife’s pendant.”

“And it is, but when it broke, Luca had it reproduced . . . Apparently, it met with such enthusiasm later on that he simply had more of them made. Now they adorn a handful of women.”

It took me awhile to pull myself together, but Mr. Marcs was patient. “Well, then, I suppose I have to thank you for opening my eyes,” I finally managed to say.

He nodded sympathetically. “Despite the circumstances, I would hate to lose you as an employee. Come to my office tomorrow, and I will have you moved to another floor,” he offered.

“That’s very generous of you,” I rasped, rising from my seat. “Have a lovely evening.” I just barely made it out of the restaurant before the dam burst.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

I didn’t sleep a wink that night—too many emotions raged inside me. Anger, pain, disappointment, vengefulness, helplessness, and then back to anger. I spent hours racking my brain, trying to figure out what to do next. On the one hand, I really wanted to quit and wash my hands of the whole company; on the other, I didn’t see why I should have to give up my position just because of that bastard. I’d finally gotten my first paycheck two days earlier and paid off my bills, so I was even more determined to keep my job. But could I really work for Luca’s father under these circumstances? He’d said some pretty insulting things to me, although he’d also admitted that there was no easy way of letting me know, and he did want to keep me as an employee.

No, I wasn’t going to quit, and I wasn’t going to fall apart because of Luca. Thank God I’d learned the truth about his intentions before I could develop deeper feelings for him. This time, I wasn’t going to spend years curled up in a ball, wallowing in self-pity. There were other, better men out there, and life was too short to waste on scum like him. So I got up at seven sharp, got ready, and went to work—not without the necklace, of course.

“Do you know whether Mr. Marcs is in yet?” I asked Aileen when she walked into the office after me.

“He doesn’t come in until a little after nine,” she replied. “If you want something from him, though, you need to hurry. His meetings start at half past nine.”

I nodded, unpacked my writing supplies, and started up my computer.

Luca came in just before nine and greeted us all, like he did every morning. Instead of grabbing my notebook this time, though, I took the necklace and dropped it into my skirt pocket. Cool air greeted me as I stepped into his office. He was removing his jacket. “Good morning, Sunshine. Sleep well?” he asked as he hung it over the back of his chair.

I had to laugh loudly. “You can say that again.”

The bitter note in my voice made him glance up with a questioning look on his face. “Everything okay?”

I sank down in a chair and leaned back. For a second, I thought about going one better and putting my feet up on his desk, but I wasn’t quite that cool. “Oh, I’ve never felt better . . . so liberated,” I said, folding my hands behind my head.

Visibly confused about the way I was acting, he hesitated a moment, then came over to me. “Can I have a kiss?”

I shook my head. “No offense, but I don’t want to catch anything. Who knows how many other places your lips have been,” I said with a saccharine smile.

Slowly he was beginning to realize that something was very, very wrong. “Okay, I wanted to invite you out this Friday night, but apparently there’s something you need to get off your chest.” He studied me intently.

“I’ve already made plans to go out with Lisa on Friday. I’ve got something to celebrate. But now that you mention it, I do have something on my chest . . . or rather, around my neck.” I stood up, and despite my resolution not to make a scene, I couldn’t stop myself from flinging the pendant onto his desk. “This necklace here, for example,” I hissed.

The loud crack of the black stone chipping was music to my ears, and the appalled look on his face almost made up for everything. “Have you lost your mind? That’s my mother’s necklace!” He stared at me in horror.

I laughed derisively. “Are you sure you don’t have dozens more in reserve?”

He still looked baffled. Shocked, too. God, what a great actor! But that wasn’t surprising since he’d probably done this scene a hundred times already. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But would you please enlighten me before you destroy anything else?”

Of course he’d be more worried about his stuff. “Enlighten you? Isn’t it obvious that I’ve got you figured out?” I asked, indicating the pendant.

“Apparently, this has something to do with the necklace,” he said mockingly, and I just about went for his throat. Ha, so now he was insulting me, too?

Gesturing to indicate that he was not to move from the spot, I walked out of his office, fetched the magazine from my bag, and came back. “Here you go,” I said as I slammed the magazine onto the desk.

He looked at the model first, then the jewelry, and finally dropped into his chair. “That goddamned bitch,” he murmured, so quietly that I wasn’t even sure if he’d actually said it.

So I asked, “Excuse me?”

At that, he laughed bitterly, ran his hand over his face, and looked at me. “Sophia.” He came toward me with his palms raised, as though it would make him seem less threatening. “The necklace in the photo isn’t genuine, I promise you.”

“I know it’s a duplicate,” I said coldly.

“It sure is, but I didn’t give it to her,” he assured me, coming closer.

“Stay where you are,” I warned him, and he did. “You know what? For a second there, I believed that I had isolated myself after breaking up with my idiot ex-boyfriend for no reason. I believed that despite all your money, you were actually interested in me . . . but now I know that you’re just like him. He fulfilled my every wish at first, too, but when I stopped being good enough for him, he just tossed me away. At least he openly admitted it. You, on the other hand, are still pretending you’re interested, even though I’ve seen straight through you.”

“Sophia, I
am
interested in you. Do you think I’d give you my mother’s necklace if—”

“You have”—I shouted and then took a deep breath to lower my voice—“a dozen copies of it at home. Do you really think I’m going to keep buying your lame
heirloom
story?”

He spread his hands. “Where did you get this bullshit? Why the hell would I have copies made of it?” I had to admit that he was pretty good. The furrowed brow, the furious yet confused voice. It was a brilliant performance; I had to give him that much. When I didn’t respond immediately, he said, “I think there’s been a huge misunderstanding, Sophia.”

“You bet there has, and I’m clearing it up right now.” His expression suggested that he wasn’t quite sure what I meant, so I continued, “I have to thank you because, even though it was all a bunch of lies, the evening we spent together two nights ago was wonderful. For a second there, you really made me believe that dreams could come true. But now it’s time to wake up again.”

As I walked to the door, he came after me. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I quit.”

“Go on, tell me,” I pleaded.

“No, that wouldn’t be right,” Lisa protested. “Not after you and Luca . . . after he lied to you like that.”

“But I want to know how your evening went. Besides, Luca is yesterday’s news,” I insisted.

She cast me a doubting look. “That’s not how you look.”

“Nobody cares how I look, so spit it out already!” I demanded.

She wrapped her fuzzy blanket around herself more tightly and turned the volume down on the television. “It was nice. We talked a lot, and he’s a really good listener.”

They all are, at first!
I wanted to say on behalf of the bitter voice in my head.

“And he gave me a bracelet he made himself,” she added proudly, holding her wrist out with a delighted expression on her face.

You’re sure he doesn’t have any duplicates of that?
Goddammit, I had to stop this already.

“Should I really keep going? You look like you’re about to go for somebody’s jugular.” Lisa looked alarmed.

“No, no, go on,” I told her. “Don’t pay me any mind.” So we spent the night talking about her André, and eventually I even managed to block out my gloomy thoughts.

“And tomorrow,” she finished, “we’re going out for drinks, and we’ll snag you a hot guy.”

“The drinks sound good, but I think I’ve had enough of men for a while,” I said as I went off to bed.

I got up the next day with mixed emotions. My transfer to the top floor wasn’t quite finalized, so I’d have to spend at least the morning at my old desk. Luca tried everything he could to get me to talk things out with him, but I stubbornly blocked his every attempt. No matter what he said to me, I simply switched off. I was good at that and could be goddamned bullheaded. So Luca didn’t have a chance of breaking through my wall, and that frustrated him.

“If you would just let me explain,” he pleaded for what seemed like the hundredth time, but I only picked at my fingernails, looking bored.

“I’m not going to discuss this with you any longer, Luca. I’m only on this floor a few more hours, and to be honest, I want it over with as quickly as possible.”

“So that’s it, then? You’re just kicking me to the curb?” The pain in his voice was impossible to miss. I listened deep inside, but my heart didn’t react one bit. Man, I could really be unfeeling when I wanted to be. That astonished me again and again. But the years spent in servitude to my mother had taught me to shut down my emotions. That was the only thing I was grateful to her for, because it made this situation a good deal easier for me.

“You got it. I’m surprised it’s bothering you so much. I mean, you know that you reap what you sow, right?” I asked. “So are there any business matters we need to discuss?”

“No,” he grunted and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

I stood up. “Okay. Good-bye.”

“Do you know that I fell in love with you on the very first day?” he suddenly blurted out, and I froze but kept my eyes fixed on the door in front of me. “All my life, I’ve gone out with emotionless, calculating women. They were pretty and entertained me for a while, but inside they were cold and fake. Now you’re the one who’s cold, Sophia.”

Something stirred in my heart, and a wave of pain threatened to wash over and drown me. Goddammit, I was feeling something! But instead of responding, I straightened my shoulders, took a deep breath, and walked out of his office.

“I wish I could have protected you from this,” Aileen said, hugging me tightly.

“Oh, nonsense. I’m a big girl, and, anyway, it’s no big deal. It’s not like I was in love with him,” I added breezily and gave her a squeeze. “We can still ride home together after work, and you can come up and visit me on breaks, okay?”

“Okay,” she said as she sat down again. I said good-bye to the others as well, and although I’d been preparing for them, Mary’s words hit me harder than expected.

“I knew you wouldn’t last long. Luca’s assistants come and go, but in the end none of them can keep him.” She punctuated the remark with a satisfied grin, and I smiled coldly back. And she thought she had a better chance with him?

“In that case, I hope with all my heart that he hires you next. You’ve earned it.” Her grin slipped a little when she caught the double meaning, and I marched away, satisfied. I was sure that all her cattiness and resentment toward other people would come back to her twofold. Maybe I didn’t believe in true love, but I
did
believe that people got what they deserved in the end.

I settled into my new position quickly, since it wasn’t much different from what I’d been doing on the fourth floor—just with different coworkers and supervisors. In my case, the supervisor was a tall, stocky woman who was responsible for Marcs Entertainment’s corporate image and advertising. Not much would change about my job, except that I wouldn’t have to attend any more meetings at night, since designing our ads didn’t require my boss to hang around any seedy bars.
No, no, no!
I wasn’t going to start thinking about Luca. It was over between us. What he’d done to me or what we could have had together didn’t matter anymore. Goddammit, I was thinking about him again already!