Say Nothing... (The Speak Series Book 2) (23 page)

It's minutes before I talk myself out of the car, and the familiar floral scent wafts through as I enter the front door.

"Hello?"

"It's just me," I call out. A rustling sound comes from the kitchen. I turn the corner, and Amos is sitting at the table with an open laptop and a stack of papers.

"Hey, what's going on?" I ask.

"Nothing. Just catching up on some work stuff. With everything that's happened with Jalen, I'm gonna be back and forth for a while," he says, shoving the papers into his laptop bag.

"I'm actually heading out your way on Friday."

"You're going to London?" he asks surprised.

"Yeah, I had originally passed on the opportunity, but it came up again and Larry wouldn't take no for an answer."

"I guess he hasn't changed much." He's distracted, his eyes flit back and forth between me and his computer.

"No, he hasn't, and my mom seems to have pushed the issue, so there's that." I know she means well; I just wish she wouldn't meddle.

"Is Ari going with you?"

I frown, wishing that she were. "No. I'll be gone for a month. She wouldn't be able to take that much time off."

He nods, eyes still focused on his laptop screen.

"Listen, I'm going to get out of your way. I just stopped by to pick up some stuff before I go."

He offers another distracted head nod before I leave the room and head down the hall to my bedroom. I wish we had a better relationship; I could really use someone to talk to about all of this. Getting the two large suitcases out of my closet, I make quick work of grabbing the rest of my suits, a few pairs of dress shoes, and a handful of ties.

The quicker I can get out of this house, the better. Everything in here holds a memory, so much so I keep expecting Nana to come around the corner to give me a pep talk. She would have been happy I decided to go to London. Always one to want the best for her family, she would have wanted me to make the most of this trip.

Double-checking I have everything I need, I head back to the living room to say good-bye.

"Okay, I'm out,” I call out from the front door. He appears in the hall seconds later.

"Did you get everything you needed?" I nod. "Where are you staying?" he asks.

"The firm has a loft a few miles away from where I'm working. They're letting me use it while I'm there."

"Be safe. If you have any questions about the city, just give me a call. I'll be here a few more weeks." He looks around the living room. "When you're ready, we should talk about what you want to do with this place."

I shrug. "Yeah, maybe when I get back."

He nods, and I walk out the front door to avoid any more conversation about the matter. Some of my tension eases once I get into the car; I take one last look at the house as I back out of the driveway and head to Ari's.

My brain is still trying to process the information I just received as the elevator stops on the twenty-first floor.
Why?
Why would he have me followed all of these years? Another chill covers my skin as the thought begins to sink in. He knows who I am; he's known this whole time. Is Ben somehow part of his sick plan?
No, he can't be.

I'm jerked out of my thoughts when a tall brunette comes barreling out of the double doors of the new office. She's talking to someone behind her and nearly knocks me down.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," she says, helping me to keep my balance. She stares at me for a few seconds. "You must be Ari."

"Yes, I am." With the news I just received, I'm a little apprehensive. "I'm sorry, you are?"

"I'm Natalie. Mr. Dietrich and Mr. Bell's secretary. Here, let me help."

She pulls the box from my hands and steps back to allow me to pass. My eyes widen as I take it all in. It's beautiful, just like the view downstairs. All of the office walls and doors are made of glass making it possible to see all the way to the ocean.

"It's great, right?" she asks from behind me.

"This view is ridiculous," I say, still in complete awe.

"It almost makes the extra forty-five minutes I'll be stuck in traffic worth it." Pulling my eyes away from the windows, I turn to her and laugh.

"Exactly what I was thinking." She seems nice, and it'll be good to have someone in the office to talk to.

"I was just about to go down and grab some coffee. Did you want to come with?" she asks.

"That sounds amazing, but I need to wait for the movers to bring up our stuff."

"No problem. I'll grab something for you. Hot or iced?" she asks cheerily.

"You're a lifesaver. Iced would be great."

"Cream and sugar?"

"Yes, please," I say while digging in my purse for a five.

"No worries. You can get me next time." And with that, she's out the door.

After getting all the boxes situated, we start the tortuous task of unpacking. Natalie and I spend the afternoon getting to know each other. So far, I've learned that she's single, twenty-five, lives in the Valley, and has been working for Mr. Dietrich and Mr. Bell for six years. The single part shocked me because she's gorgeous. If she weren't so nice, her looks alone would have intimidated me. She has piercing green eyes, long wavy black hair, and a body men drool over.

"So do you have a boyfriend, Ari?" she asks while situating picture frames and knick-knacks on her desk. A smile spreads across my face when I think of Ben.

"I'm guessing by that smile that you do. Spill."

"It's still new. We've been together a few months, and he's leaving on Friday."

"Where is he going?"

"London." The thought causes me to frown.

"Is it for work or a vacation?"

"It's an internship. He was offered a spot in his dad's old firm before we met, and he passed on it. Then the opportunity came up again." I shrug. "His boss isn't taking no for an answer this time. It's a good opportunity. I'm just a little bummed about it."

"I'm sorry. How long will he be gone?"

"A month."

"Then I guess we'll have to squeeze a girls’ night into that four weeks."

"That would be great." Distracting myself is going to be the only way to make the time go by quicker.

"Hello," a man's voice calls from the front lobby. Natalie and I look at each other confused. We weren't expecting anyone but the attorneys today.

Curious, I get up from my desk to check on our unexpected visitor.

"Hi," I say peeking out from behind the wall that divides the offices from the lobby. A tall twenty-something blonde hottie smiles back at me.

"Hi, I'm Jeremy Benton. Uh, James . . . I mean Mr. Benton's nephew," he says nervously. They mentioned he would be coming on as a junior associate, but I wasn't expecting him until next week.

"Hi, I'm Ari. I'm Mr. Benton and Mr. Warner's assistant. They haven't made it back to the office yet. Do you want to take a look around? We're just unpacking."

"Thank you. It's nice to finally meet you, Ari. I've heard a lot about you from my uncle." I scrunch my face up in horror, and he laughs.

"All good things, I promise," he says, chuckling. His laid-back demeanor, deep tan, and the tattoo peeking out from under his rolled-up button-down shirt make me think he spends a lot more time on the beach surfing than in a stuffy office.

He also seems to be fighting back the urge to add the word bro to the end of each sentence. He's the polar opposite of his straight-laced uncle, and the thought makes me want to laugh. This should be interesting.

He follows me back, and this time I do laugh. His reaction to the view is the same one I had just a few hours ago. Natalie turns the corner coming to a halt.

"Natalie, this is Jeremy Benton. Jeremy, this is Natalie, Mr. Dietrich and Mr. Bell's assistant." I see Natalie's eyebrow quirk up with a hint of a smile. Oh, she's good. Jeremy's eyes pull from the window, and his appreciative gaze focuses on a completely different view.

I'm in the bedroom with my suitcases lying half full across the bed when I hear the front door open.

"Babe?" I call out into the hall.

"Yeah, where you at?"

"Back here." I'm putting a stack of undershirts into my bag when she enters the room.

"Hey," she calls from the doorway. She looks at the open suitcases with a frown then back at me.

"So this is happening already? Are you that desperate to get out of here?" she asks with a pout. I scoop her into my arms and bury my face into her neck. The faint smell of her shampoo and vanilla still linger on her skin. "Hmm . . . I've missed you," I murmur.

"Doesn't look like it. Looks like you're trying to make a clean getaway," she says squirming out of my hold.

"Larry let me off early and gave me the next couple of days off. I don't want to waste any of our time together doing this," I say pointing at the suitcases. "I was hoping to be done before you got home, but there's just too much shit to remember," I say, pulling her back into my arms.

"Good answer," she mumbles, kissing my neck. "I missed you too, by the way."

"Oh yeah, how was the new office? Nice?" I ask giving her a quick kiss. Her eyes get a little dreamy.

"I can't wait for you to see it. The view is amazing. You can see all the way to the ocean. The whole office is made of glass—walls, doors, everything. Nothing obstructs that view," she says happily.

"So no privacy?" I ask pulling her in tighter. Having her pressed against that conference room door was hot as fuck and the image instantly makes me hard.

"Sorry, the glass smokes up for privacy, but you can still see the outline of people’s bodies, so whatever office fantasy you have playing in your head right now is not going to happen." She walks toward the closet and begins to undress.

"Vonne called me on my way home. What's the plan for tomorrow?" She's pulling her top over her head, and suddenly, all thought has left the building.

"Uh . . . um . . . what?"

"What time do we have to be there tomorrow?" she asks with a laugh.

"We have to be there by six. Are you going to be able to swing that?" Eli's graduation is tomorrow, and she normally gets home way past six. The traffic from Pasadena to Orange County will be ridiculous if we don't leave early enough.

"Most of the boxes got unpacked today. I asked Mr. Warner if I could leave a few hours early tomorrow, and he said it wouldn't be a problem. They're still busy with the Jalen Jeffrey case."

I roll my eyes at the mention of that douche's name. Young, rich rockstar gets DUI.
Typical.
These idiots think they're above the law until someone gets hurt. He's lucky that the girl he was with only suffered a concussion. They ran into a parked car head-on, and from what I've read, his blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit. He can rot in jail for all I care; he just better keep his eyes and hands off my girl.

"Has he been back to the office?" Her lips quirk into a smile.

"Calm down, killer. We've been between offices. They've been meeting with him at his hotel. I haven't seen him since that first meeting." She told me all about her first meeting, and I wish I could say that the excitement in her voice didn't make me jealous.

"Good. Hopefully, they'll ship his ass back to London soon." She pulls on a pair of boxer shorts and meets me in the center of the room.