He pushed the down arrow at the elevator. “I think I can handle one girl.”
“She’s not like Mark. She’s not used to hurting people. If we’re careful, we can get her on our side without any lies or taking advantage of her.”
“I know what I’m doing.” He didn’t even look at her as he stepped into the elevator.
She followed him in. “At least hear me out.”
Simon took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he was about to say. “Even if you have a point, I know my way will work. It’s too important that I nail DuFord, and I can’t risk it by taking advice from a party planner.”
Grace took a step back as though he’d slapped her. God help him, he felt like he had. In so few words, discounting all her opinions and ideas. The whole thing made him feel like shit.
The elevator doors opened and he burst out of the small space, hoping Grace would stand there in the same stunned silence and allow him to slip away without needing to hurt her anymore.
But she was a fighter. Of course she wouldn’t just sit back and watch him go. He heard her footsteps pound behind him as he saw the two men at the front of the building. His muscles stiffened as Jones and Munoz’s gazes locked on him.
“Grace.” He stopped in his tracks, turning to face her. “I think you need to go.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She poked him in the chest with her finger. “You’re up to something. I want to know what.”
“Grace—”
“Mr. West. We’re going to need you to come with us,” said Jones from behind him.
“We’re talking!” bit out Grace, not bothering to hide her irritation.
Simon sighed and turned to the detectives. “Can you give me a minute?”
Munoz handed him a piece of paper, but Simon didn’t need to unfold it to know what was written. “You need to come with us now.”
Grace snatched the paper out of Munoz’s hands. “What is going on, Simon?” But he knew the moment she realized what she was reading. “A warrant? This has to be some kind of mistake.” Jones approached, handcuffs in hand, and Grace’s face paled.
“It is a mistake. I’m going to sort it out, okay,” he said.
As the cold cuffs were put on tight enough to bite into his wrist, Grace watched silently. As a crowd of people entered the lobby, Grace moved to hide his bound hands from view. “Can we please move this along,” she said under her breath.
Simon stared at Grace, who managed to be so calm under pressure. Constantly thinking on her feet and considering his image. She remained quiet on the short walk to the unmarked car the detectives led him to.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked as he was pushed into the back seat.
He clenched his jaw and focused on the front of the car, not looking anywhere in her direction. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Let me help you! We’re partners,” she bit out as one of the detectives started to close the door.
“No. We’re not,” he said as the door slammed shut.
Grace stood dumbfounded as the detectives drove away. She needed to figure out where they were taking him. She needed to get back upstairs to make sure the evening was going smoothly. Except Andre could handle the end of the evening, and Simon told her to stay away.
It wasn’t as though she had the slightest idea of how to get him out of this mess. The police could be questioning him and planning on letting him go in an hour or two.
She shook her head at the thought. Simon didn’t look like someone planning to run back to her arms as soon as he was released. He seemed like the kind of man who didn’t plan to see her for a long, long time.
This was Simon West. The man with the plan. He could do anything he set his mind to. Why would he sit back and allow himself to be taken?
“I can get him free, you know,” said the familiar voice from behind her.
Grace whipped around to face Mark. She swallowed her hint of fear as she stared him down. “What did you do?”
A smug grin covered his face. “Did you like seeing your boyfriend in cuffs?”
Grace hardened her expression, not letting her simmering anger show. “I don’t remember putting you on the guest list.”
“Something you and West haven’t seemed to learn yet.” He stepped closer. “I get what I want.”
Grace took a deep breath. Her hands shook with the urge to punch that stupid smile right off his face. But all that would do is land her in jail right with Simon. “What did you tell the police? I know he didn’t do anything illegal.”
Mark rolled his eyes. “You have so much faith in him,” he muttered. “It wasn’t too hard to convince anyone of anything when you have friends the places I do. All I did was give West a gift into a questionable account.”
“You’re framing him for your crimes,” she breathed.
Mark practically beamed at mention of his plan. “I’d like to see how he thinks he can get out of this one.”
Grace crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I have friends in high places, you know.”
He scoffed. “Please. I just had Simon West arrested. Which one of your party planning friends can possibly help you?” Before she could tell him exactly where he could shove it, Mark took a step forward. “Tell you what. In honor of our relationship, I’m going to let you off with a warning. But know this. If I find you sniffing around my business again, you’re fair game. Understand?”
“Perfectly,” she bit out. “Now back off.” She moved past, purposefully slamming her shoulder into his. The farther she got from him, the faster her breaths came. She didn’t allow herself to stop until she was past the lobby and safely in the elevator. It was only when she turned to press the button to take her to the ballroom that she confirmed Mark wasn’t following her. As soon as the elevator doors closed, she allowed herself to fall against the wall, finally letting her rage wash over her.
Mark was right. She didn’t have friends in high enough places to get Simon out of this jam. But she did have enemies, and she wasn’t afraid to use them.
“Ms. Bell. I was surprised you’d let yourself be seen with me again,” said Robert Bar as Grace slid into the seat across from him.
She raised a brow from behind her sunglasses. “Believe me. I don’t want anyone to ever see me with you again.” Which was why she was in an unflattering pair of jeans and NYU sweatshirt. “But I figured it was past time since we had a talk.”
Robert sat back as he eyed her. “What exactly did you want to talk about? Your boyfriend made it pretty clear to the press that we had nothing to do with each other. Are you here to punish me?”
Grace looked around the restaurant to make sure no one looked in their direction. Deciding where to have this little meeting had been the biggest hurdle. She’d known all the work Simon had done for her might be for nothing if anyone with a camera saw them together, but it was a calculated risk.
She’d decided on an upscale bar in Manhattan. It was busy enough that they wouldn’t draw too much attention, but not so in demand that they’d run into anyone too important.
Her email had instructed the senator to meet her in the darkest and most secluded table possible. She’d half expected him to refuse her, making her have to sneak into his office without being seen by anyone from the paper.
“So cut to the chase. Why are we talking?”
She took a calming breath. “We’re here because I know your secret.”
Robert didn’t even bat an eyelash. “Secret? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His denial didn’t surprise her. Hell, denial was what politicians did best. “You went on a media tour to say you were having an affair with me. You wouldn’t do that unless you were hiding something much worse,” she pointed out.
“Ms. Bell. I can see how you’d think that, but I doubt you can prove anything.” He calmly took a sip of his water as he stared her down.
She met his stare with a steady gaze. “Pregnant women can be very unpredictable. Especially a young woman. Are you really so sure that she’d keep your secret?”
Robert went stock still and she knew she had him. “You don’t have anything,” he said confidently, even as he fidgeted with the napkin in front of him.
She sighed in relief. After hours and hours of going through the possible scenarios, she’d settled on the most likely option. The only reason a senator with a sterling reputation would tell the world that he was having an affair with Grace was if his actual transgression was much worse.
But there were plenty of things a senator would consider worse than having an affair with her. But if there was one thing Grace knew, it was people. She’d gone online and looked up every video and campaign footage she could find. After studying hours and hours of footage, she’d finally seen it. The wink.
It was his tell. Every time a cute high schooler came up to him or asked a question, he’d give that little wink. So fast, it was easy to miss.
No. The man had a serious fetish for young women. Chances were his wife suspected him of something, so he’d pinned it on the perfectly age-appropriate Grace. The pregnancy was also a guess, but it was likely he’d only be truly afraid if there was undeniable proof of what he’d done.
But he was right about one thing. “At the moment I don’t have proof,” she agreed. “But I have connections all over the city. And you know better than me how clever reporters can be. All I have to do is find a few crumbs and send them in the right direction.”
He took a deep gulp of water. “If all you have is empty threats, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Simon was arrested yesterday. Unfortunately, he upset a rather unpleasant man who is setting him up. I want him out of jail today.”
Robert rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s Saturday. I can’t do anything today. And dropping charges is hard. It’s not a simple phone call. There’s a chain of command that controls these things. Even if I know one or two guys on the force, I can’t get something like that wiped clean.”
Grace leaned forward. “You’d better think of something,
Senator
. If Simon goes to prison for something he didn’t do, you’re going to be number one on my shit list.”
Robert held out a hand. “Hold on there. I never said there was nothing I can do. If he was arrested Friday, he’s probably going in front of a judge on Monday. The charges will be read to him and bail will be set. I’ll do my best to make sure the bail is low, okay?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Your best?”
“There’s a ninety percent chance I can help. But this is shady and I can’t guarantee a thing.”
Grace sat back and studied the senator. Simon was still Simon. If she could get him out, it was very likely that he could get the charges dropped. “If you set a low bail, I’ll leave you alone from now on,” she agreed. “But all bets are off if you pull me back into your scandals again.”
Robert’s eyes fell to the table. “I didn’t do it for me,” he said softly.
“Excuse me?”
“She doesn’t deserve that kind of scrutiny. I’m taking care of her. She and the baby will never want for anything.”
Grace rolled her eyes and pushed away from the table. “It’s illegal for a reason, Senator. Now help out Simon and keep it in your pants from now on.” She pulled a card from her purse and set it in front of him. “If anything goes wrong, I expect you to call me. Besides that, I hope to never see you again.”
He took the card; she turned away and fished out her phone to look for any sign of Simon trying to contact her.
Nothing.
The moment Simon emerged from the booking area, Grace ran into his arms. He huffed at the impact of her slamming into him, but nonetheless wrapped his arms around her. For a moment, he stood still and appreciated the feel of her in his arms.
“You idiot!” she breathed as she pulled away. “I told you he’d be pissed.”
“He miscalculated.” Simon tucked his suit jacket from Friday night underneath his arm.
“How’s that?” Grace followed him as he made his way out of the station and onto the sunny sidewalk.
“Now I’m pissed.”
Grace pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m so happy your motivation is renewed, but that doesn’t help us. You have a court date! Doesn’t that worry you?”
“No,” he said. “DuFord has friends in high places. That’s how he got the charges to be pressed so fast. They can’t really have enough evidence against me to expect to win a court case.”
“You sound pretty confident for a man who just got out of jail.”
He shrugged. “It was three days. It takes more than that to scare me.” He’d had more time than normal to think over the weekend. It wasn’t his normal crowd, but he was in the minimum security section of the jail, so it hadn’t been all that intimidating. He was still a big guy and commanded a bit of respect.
She raised a brow. “I shudder to think what would be enough to shake the mighty Simon West.”
He smiled over at her. “I’m looking right at one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen.” She scoffed and his smile widened. She did scare the hell out of him, but in a good way. But thinking about the DuFord and Grace situation had taken up most of his thoughts. How protective she’d been of him as he’d been pushed into the police car. How pissed he was at DuFord for putting any of them at risk.
“How did you know when I was getting out?” He leaned against the rail. He could hail a cab, but he was too excited to be outside and breathing in the fresh air.
“Robert Bar told me when your court appearance was scheduled for. I’ve been here for three hours.”
He frowned. “When the hell did you talk to Robert Bar?”
She sighed and crossed her arms. “A lot’s happened while you were in there, you know. Mark came up to me after you were arrested.”
Simon straightened, fists clenched. “What did he say to you? Are you okay?”
She raised a brow. “I’m fine. But he’s got it out for you. For us, I suppose. He was just gloating over his victory. But enough about him winning. Let’s talk about the plan.”
“The plan?”
She grinned up at him. “Please. You’ve been locked away for the entire weekend. I know you thought of something.”