He's here. He is actually here!
James looked at her, fury evident not just his eyes but in his very countenance. He was dressed in his usual uniform of a tailored suit - this one a deep shade of navy - but the longer she took at his state of appearance the more she realized the ordinarily beautiful suit was mussed with wrinkles, and his tie sat half undone and askew at his neck as though he'd rung it out more than once. He looked like he hadn't shaved in days.
"Go pack your things, Natalie. I'm taking you home." It wasn't a question or a request, nor was there any, '
Hello, nice to see you, I traveled here all the way from Las Vegas because of reasons'
. It was a straight demand, and one that immediately unsettled her. She'd never seen him so forceful.
"James, what are you-"
"
Now
, Natalie!" he enforced so loudly it made her muscles stiffen.
She straightened her back and planted her feet into the very ground where she stood.
"No!" It was a forceful declaration, and only seemed to further aggravate the man.
Natalie watched from her peripheral vision as Joe looked between her and James, the pieces seemingly coming together right before his very eyes. She couldn't worry about that... yet.
"I'm not going to argue with you, Natalie, and this isn't up for discussion. You are leaving with me tonight."
"Why?" she asked incredulously, feeling the last remnants of her patience flee her mind, her words. "Please don't tell me that you drove here from Las Vegas because of a misunderstanding or petty jealousy!"
"
Jealousy?
" It was he who was incredulous now, the word spoken like it was something repugnant. He took a large step forward and she resisted the urge to step backwards to maintain the distance between them. She wasn't scared of him, but neither did she know what he was thinking, what he was capable of in that moment. "Do you think I would rent a car and drive more than two hundred miles across state lines and the Mohave Desert because of mere
jealousy
?!"
"I don't know!"
"That's right, Natalie. You
don't
know. You have no idea who this man is!" He pointed his finger forcefully at Joe, who seemed to only be mildly offended.
"Actually I know a lot more than you're probably giving me credit for," she argued, fueled by anger and irritation. "I know he dated Celine before you did and that she left him for you. So what? That was practically a lifetime ago and you were barely more than teenagers!"
James turned to Joe, his face riddled with disgust. "What, you couldn't find it in your heart to tell her the rest, Joe?" he practically spit.
"The rest of what?" Natalie asked.
"Clearly I had no idea you two were-" Joe gesticulated awkwardly with his hands while he searched for the right word- "
together
."
"
You're goddamn right we're together!
" James bellowed.
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Clearly there was something more between the two men than Joe had led her to believe.
"Are you sleeping with her?"
"
What?!
" Natalie screeched, not entirely believing James could display such utter disregard and trust for her. "Are you kidding me? Of course I'm not sleeping with him!"
"
Ahem
."
Shit
. Before she even turned her head Natalie knew their abandoned party guests were standing mere feet away watching the dramatic display the three of them were putting on. Ivy's eyes were dancing with mirth, while Harry Brucker was trying to hide his awkward, embarrassed smile. Embarrassment not for himself, but for her. Natalie cast a rueful smile in their direction, buying herself a moment to think of something to say.
"I have some matters to take care of at the resort before I return to Vegas tomorrow," Harry spoke first, breaking the awkward silence that threatened to stretch on and on. He offered Joe a brief but professional smile as he reached out to shake his hand, and barely cast a look in Natalie's direction. "Thank you for the
entertaining
evening," he said. Then he glanced in James' direction and nodded. "James."
"Harry," James acknowledged.
As soon as he was gone Ivy's face relaxed into what Natalie could only describe as smug arrogance.
This will not end well
, she thought to herself.
"Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events," Ivy mused, mostly to herself. Her eyes shifted between Natalie and James, her smug smile permeating her otherwise pretty face. "So many questions answered in one fell swoop."
"You'd be wise to remember, Miss Whitcomb," James began, eyeing her shrewdly, "that you're an employee standing in the home of a client whose account pays your salary. I trust you'll keep that in mind when deciding how discreet and professional you wish to act in regards to this matter."
His thinly veiled threat might have burned her on any other occasion, but in that moment it barely sizzled. Ivy pursed her lips together as though to indicate the matter would never pass through them again, but Natalie knew better. Ivy was now in possession of the knowledge that Natalie and James were romantically involved, and there was no doubt in her mind Ivy would use the information against her. A storm of anger laced with - to Natalie's astonishment -
relief
, coursed through her heart and mind. There would be no going back now.
"If you'll excuse me I think I'll return to the resort and get some work done before the drive home tomorrow." Ivy's eyes were positively sparkling with good humor, and when she turned to leave there was a distinct pep in her step. She might as well have announced outright she was already speed dialing Graham Martin to deliver the shocking news.
Natalie felt awash with defeat, and angry, so
very
angry. As soon as Ivy was gone Natalie turned to the two men, both of whom wore looks that seemed to fully illustrate the gravity of the situation, and felt nothing but restrained disgust.
"That was quite a show we just put on for our
brand new client
. A client, by the way, whose contract has yet to be signed," she spoke. "And now Ivy thinks I'm fucking the both of you."
James shook his head. "She won't say anything. I'll make sure of it."
Natalie gave him a pointed look. "Can you please not be so naive? If that girl caught me taking so much as a Post It note from the office she'd report it to Graham Martin as grand theft." She headed for a nearby chair and plopped herself down. "Now, one of you better tell me what the fuck is going on!"
There was barely a moment of silence before Joe finally spoke up. "No, I'm not sleeping with her," he said, answering the question James had posed to him before their guests took front row seats to their pitiful show. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "I ran into her at dinner the other night and it was the first I'd seen of her in months. I assumed you two had worked things out given that she's pregnant. I had no idea you were otherwise involved," he finished, gesturing in Natalie's general direction.
Natalie's entire demeanor shifted when she realized the woman in question wasn't
her
, but Celine. "Why would you be sleeping with...-" The answer came to her before she could even finish the question. Something in her mind clicked, clearing away the cloudy confusion. She was flooded with realization, as though she just dove headfirst into it.
She looked at Joe, seeing him with suddenly fresh eyes. "
You're
the man Celine had the affair with?"
There wasn't so much as the slightest trace of emotion on Joe's face, just plain acceptance. "I am."
The realizations kept on coming. "Which means you're Frankie's biological father?"
Joe took a deep breath and shifted his eyes to the ground, guilt finally settling into the lines of his face. "I am."
She could see the similarities now. They shared the same deep brown eyes and physical demeanor, Frankie's intellectual composure a duplicate of Joe's, even in child form. All of a sudden Natalie understood the depth of James' anger upon finding out that it was Joe Gallo with whom she had traveled to Arrowhead with.
She turned to James next. "Did you think I was also having an affair with him?" she asked, not sure whether the question sounded as accusatory out loud as it had in her mind.
"I don't trust him," James stated simply, unequivocally.
"You don't need or have to trust him. But you do need to trust me, which you clearly don't."
"Natalie-"
"No, no. Admit it. You don't trust me. That's why you rented a car and drove more than two hundred miles across the state line in the Mohave Desert," she said, borrowing his words verbatim. "Because in your mind if I'm in a house alone with Joe Gallo I must be fucking him!"
James visibly flinched at her assessment. "The man had an affair with my wife. Can you blame me for being overly-cautious?"
"No, your wife had an affair with him. That fault is on
her
, not
him
, otherwise I'm just as culpable for sleeping with
you
. God!" She dug her palms into her temples and tried not to think about the headache that was starting to crack her brain. There was simply too much to process and both men were looking at her expectantly. She couldn't handle it.
"I need to be alone," she mumbled as she brushed her fingers through her hair. Without another moment of hesitation or so much as a look at either James or Joe, Natalie turned and swiftly made her way back to her borrowed master suite. The further she got away from them the more quiet space her mind had to try to prioritize everything. She swung the door closed behind her without a second thought and went immediately to the balcony overlooking the lake. The night air felt cool against her heated head and skin. She took a mental assessment of her situation.
Ivy knows about James and me.
Come Monday I'm probably fired.
Celine is pregnant, likely with James' kid.
They're not any closer to divorce now than they were six months ago.
Joe Gallo is Frankie's father.
James doesn't trust me.
I've already fallen in love with him.
And those were just the most recent, though the prospect of being fired seemed to make James' eventual ultimatum - choosing her work or choosing him - rather a moot point.
Natalie took in a deep breath of cool mountain air and let it escape out slowly between her parted lips, relief washing away the anxiety in slow doses. She tried to recall what it felt like to be the version of herself that existed before she was ever Candidate Four and he Gentleman Twelve. Could one night really have changed her life so drastically?
The sound of a door creaking and wooden floor beams settling beneath an adult's feet caught her attention, but she didn't move to acknowledge the man she knew had just entered her room. The ambient temperature at her back warmed significantly at his presence, but he made no other attempt to touch her.
"You may think my actions are born from jealousy, and maybe they are," he began, his melodic voice carrying past her ears and dispersing into the darkening night around them. "But you should also consider that I'm merely trying to protect what's mine."
"Did you really just insinuate that I am your
property
?" she asked, the irritation returning like a fire rekindled.
The gall
!
"Insomuch that I gave you something that once belonged to me,
yes
," he replied without missing a beat.
"Well if you gave it to me then it's no longer yours," she replied, feeling temperamental at the very notion.
"I can still be hurt if you or someone else breaks it."
His heart
. What else given to her could be broken if not his heart? Perhaps his trust, though he seemed to be lacking somewhat in that area. She let her eyes wander over the lake, taking in the sight of moonlight as it grazed across the glass-smooth surface. Yesterday she'd conquered her fear by going into the lake and forgetting about the unseen depths that plunged beneath her feet. Now she was merely an observer from a distance, pondering at the unknown future that stretched out before her.
"If you know me enough to give me something that belongs to you, James, then you should already know I would never do anything that might bring it harm."
"I do know," he sighed, and she thought she heard something resembling regret in the sound. His chest went flush against her back and she gasped when his hand went gently to her neck, fingers splaying out across the delicate expanse of her throat to guide her head backwards until it rested on his shoulder. His other hand steadied her hip and held her against him, his own hips pressed into her backside. He inhaled deeply against her flesh before kissing it tenderly, slowly. She tried to keep her head in the moment and not indulge in the sensation of his touch.
"It's not fair for you to project your issues with Celine onto me." She was trying, and failing, to keep her voice steady, but his sensual assault was too distracting. "And you can't just seduce your way out of a problem."
Before she could protest another word James bent and in one swift motion picked her up, cradling her in his embrace. Her arms went instinctively around his neck for support while her mind tried to catch up with what he was doing. He was quite strong and muscular for such an otherwise lean man, and despite her slight discomfort with her own less-than-lean body she could feel that his grip would not buckle.
"What are you doing?" she asked as he carried her back into the room.
"Taking you to bed."
"James, you can't just-"
She landed with a soft thud onto the pillowy-soft bed and was immediately overwhelmed with the expanse of his heavy body across hers. He was everywhere; his mouth at her neck, hands groping at her legs and hips, pushing the fabric of her dress up to expose her skin. He kissed up her neck and settled at her ear, the hot touch of his tongue pulling at her very center and sending pulsating ribbons of electricity out of her limbs past her fingertips and toes.