The Merger (22 page)

Steven stood up and adjusted his jacket when Tiffany took in a long look of him. “Sorry, Julie. Didn’t know you had company.”

“No trouble,” he answered for her and shot out his hand toward her. “Steven McDaniels. I’m Julie’s husband.”

“Ex,” she quickly spewed back.

She saw the surprise move over Tiffany’s face. She noted some anger too.

Chuck flashed her a look and she knew there would need to be a discussion on it. Obviously he knew something was going on with Spencer.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Tiffany said through gritted teeth, but Julie wasn’t sure Steven noticed. “Julie,” she shifted her glance to her. “I’ll come back in a bit. Just some things to talk about.”

Julie wondered if the pleading stare she was giving her wasn’t working. His charms certainly couldn’t be winning could they?

“I’ll let her get back to work,” Steven said. “I just wanted to drop by. Say hi. And,” now he turned fully toward Julie, “to let you know that I’ll pick you up here at five-thirty for dinner.”

She opened her mouth to
speak,
but nothing came out before he gave Tiffany a nod and walked out the door Julie’s hands shook as she sat back in her chair, deflated.

Tiffany watched from the window and Julie could hear his tires on the gravel as he drove away.

“What in the hell was he doing here?” Tiffany spun back to her.

“I don’t know. I don’t know.” Her voice shook as much as her hands.

“Did you tell him where you were?”

Julie lifted her head to look at her. “No. I didn’t.” That made her stomach tense even tighter. “I didn’t tell him anything.”

Tiffany sat down in
the chair
in front of Julie’s desk. “You don’t think Spencer…”

“Why would he?”

Tiffany shrugged. “He wouldn’t.” She moved in over the desk. “Is he dangerous? I mean are you scared? You can stay with me. We can put you up at Spencer’s too.” Tiffany nodded at her own comment. “We should do that. There’s security there.”

“He’s not dangerous. He’s just stupid.”

“He’s a lawyer.”

“A stupid one.”

“But I’ll bet he’s convincing.”

Julie dropped her shoulders and let out a sigh. “He is.”

Tiffany stood. “You’re not meeting him. Not alone anyway.”

Tiffany sat back down and Chuck finally walked out of the trailer.

“You’re a lawyer. Can’t you file for something to make him stay away?”

“He’s never harmed me. There’s no reason. Someone’s ego isn’t something that needs protection.”

“Do you suppose he knows what’s going on at PLL?”

“Maybe,” she said as she thought about it. “Why else would he come this far to talk to me?”

Tiffany sat back in the chair. “I don’t like you going alone.”

“I’ll be okay. I’ll call him and tell him I’ll meet him. I won’t go with him in his car. Is that better?”

“Where are you going to meet him?”

“I don’t know.”

“When you call him you set
the place.
Make it very public. And you call me so I know where you are at all times.”

Julie smiled. “When I first saw you I despised you.”

Tiffany acted shocked. “Me? Why?”

“You’re pretty. You’re sexy. And you were pawing all over Spencer.”

“You ruined my sure thing that night,” Tiffany pointed out.

“Sorry,” she said on a laugh. “When I saw you here and he was going to make me work with you I was sure he was torturing me back for those five long months.”

“Maybe he was,” Tiffany said as her mouth curled into a smile.

“Maybe. But I never thought we’d be lunching-shoe buying-friends.”

“I have your back.”

“I know you do.”

“Spencer does too. His whole family will.”

Julie knew that. She’d only met a few members of his family and she knew nothing was going to happen to her. Steven didn’t know just how un-alone Julie really was.

The fog was thick and
rain slicked
the runway. Spencer sat in the terminal of
the small
airport and glared out the window. There was no going back to Tennessee tonight and he needed to get back.

His heart was racing and it drummed in his ears as he grew angrier. The day certainly hadn’t turned out the way he’d anticipated.

Finding Libby perched on his desk had sickened him. Walking into the legal department only to find Steven McDaniels had been asked to leave the company by the
Graysons
—that didn’t make sense either. Where was he? It was that question that had Spencer waiting out
a storm
to get back to Nashville. What if McDaniels had gone after Julie. What if he hurt her?

The thought only made him angrier.

He had called her four times already, but she hadn’t answered.
Finally,
he’d called Tiffany, who had answered, but her voice was muffled and he couldn’t hear her. Hell, he’d even called Pete and asked him to stop by the house, but all he could do was leave a message. What was the use of having technology if you couldn’t get anyone on it?

He plopped down into
a seat
and let his head
fall back
. If this wasn’t bad enough, he thought about the report that had been dropped on his desk before he left. Accounting seemed to have found a monetary leak that had been going on for nearly six months. Thousands in revenue
was
missing. It was no wonder things weren’t getting paid. Funds seemed to be funneling out through transportation, most recently. Interestingly enough none of this showed when they’d prospected the company.

Spencer pressed his fingers to his eyes. To hell with the company. There were lots of lumber companies they could use or buy. If it all fell
apart,
that was monetary. The feelings he had for Julie—those were real.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down to see a text from Pete.

I’M WITH HER. ALL OK

That was supposed to be soothing? After Pete had asked to take Julie out, Spencer didn’t like the thought of them together either.

He set his phone in the seat next to him and raked his fingers through his hair to calm himself—not that it ever worked. Pete was the least of his worries. What he needed to worry about was getting home to Julie. He had some very strong feelings for
the woman.
Damn, he never thought he’d think that, but he did and they weren’t new.

For the past five months he’d convinced himself he didn’t like the woman, but he’d only been fooling his heart into not caring. When you disliked
someone,
you didn’t know how they took their coffee or how they wore their hair with each outfit. When someone disgusted you, you didn’t know how their eyes shimmered when they were in conversation and how they darkened when they were proving a point. You certainly didn’t let them kiss you, as Julie had, and then pull her into you so you could taste her.

Spencer let out a breath. He thought of the look on her face in that elevator. The pain that resonated
through
her. No one ever deserved to be treated like her husband treated her. If a man married a
woman,
he should be true to her
and vice
versa. Marriage wasn’t just a word. It was a promise.

His thoughts shifted from Julie to his mother and Darcy. In his
chest,
there was a
heaviness
. What had his mother really endured when she’d run from that man that tried to kill her? Had she been as broken as Julie was when she’d come to his office? More so, he thought. To him it was unimaginable—to his father it was probably something he suppressed.

Why did men play with women like that? Why did they marry one and sleep with others?

What he had with Tiffany might not be true love in the sense of marriage, but they knew going in what they were doing. And never—ever—would either of them make a play for the other when they were involved.

He knew now his days with Tiffany were over.

And the more he thought about Steven McDaniels and what he’d done to Julie the more he wanted to help her get that new start she’d been looking for. If she didn’t love him, that was okay. If her place
wasn’t
in Nashville with him, he’d deal with that. What he couldn’t deal with was a man pledging to one woman and making his rounds with others.

Spencer’s fists balled on his hair and his teeth ground together as he thought of it.

“Sir, we’re able to take off now,” the stewardess for the short, private flight had come near him.

He did all he could to breathe in and out to appear calm.

“Thank you.”

He’d be there as soon as he could. All he wanted to do was wrap Julie in his arms.

Spencer stood from his seat and carried his bag toward the
jetway
. Only a few more hours, he told himself as he walked toward the plane. A few more hours and he’d be with her. He’d decided he had a lot to tell her.

~*~

One phone call and Julie had convinced Steven to meet her at
a Village
Inn not far from the site.

One frantic hour later Tiffany had settled down and informed her that she’d be in a booth not far from her. If that ex-husband of hers
tried
anything Tiffany would stab him with the stiletto she was going to wear.

Though they’d laughed about it, Julie was sure Tiffany would do just that.

Her nerves were a little more rattled when Pete showed up in her office and said he’d be there too. Really, did no one trust her?

She’d been calling Spencer for nearly an hour, but his phone went right to voice mail. He’d have to hear about her estranged husband’s visit when she talked to him again.

Now she sat and waited in a corner booth at Village Inn hoping that the man she’d once married would be decent.

Julie knew the moment he’d strolled in. The waitress had looked toward someone walking their way and a very satisfied smile formed on her lips.

“Hey, doll,” his voice pierced through the sounds of the restaurant.

Julie was surprised when she looked up he was actually speaking to her and not
the waitress.

He ordered a cup of coffee and sat down across from her.

“Why are you here? How did you find me?” She dove right into the conversation.

His expression changed and now he looked scared. No matter what he’d done to her, she didn’t like to see him look like that.

“Libby told me where you were.”

“Libby? I didn’t tell anyone.”

He nodded as if he’d known that. “She says you’re sleeping with Spencer Benson.” His voice matched his expression.

She shook her head. In all
honesty,
she could answer him. “I’m not.”

He nodded again. “I was sure you weren’t. I figured you were just trying to get your job back.”

“I don’t want it back. I can’t go back there. I can’t work with you. I…”

“I was let go.”

The muscles in her body stiffened. “Spencer fired you?”

He shook his head. “The Grayson family asked me to leave.”

“Steven…”

He held up his hand. “I screwed up. I lost you. I lost my job.” He ran his hand over his chin, which was unshaven and that was uncharacteristic of him. “How involved are you in BBH?” He lifted his eyes to her.

“I work for them.”

He nodded. “I know that. Why?”

Julie clasped her hands in her lap and pushed back her shoulders. “I needed a job. I needed a new start. I took a chance.”

“Lots of places to go. Lots of other companies to work for that hadn’t bought out
a company
you negotiated the deal on.”

“Sure. So.”

“So what do you gain?”

Her fingers tightened around each other. “Gain? Some
self
worth. Something for myself. Something…”

“How much did you steal from PLL before you left?”

She felt the air rush from her lungs as he asked it. It felt as though a hand had jabbed into her chest and squeezed at her heart. Every muscle ached and when she did breathe it came as a gasp of air. “What did you say?”

“I know what you did. Is that what you’re doing here too?”

Julie placed her hands atop the table to keep them still. “Are you accusing me of embezzling?”

“They’ll find out. Whatever you have going on with Spencer Benson is going to crash down around you.”

He scooted out of his side of the booth.

Julie moved from the booth and stood. “Steven, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never…”

“There’s a trail, Julie. And it leads to you.” He took an envelope out of his back pocket and placed it on the table. “Here, this is yours. I can’t be part of anything you’re part of.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Goodbye.”