Page 61 of Married to Lies

Bryce glared at him while Cruz gave him an incredulous look and Aaric raked his fingers through long blond hair.

Ignoring Jude completely, I said, “A courier should be delivering your invitations tomorrow.”

I took another drink and the liquid spilled past my lips, cold and bitter before it warmed my stomach. Almost as much as Rei’s kiss had earlier. Jude was right; we’d only spent time together a handful of times, but her lips on my cheek had been my undoing.

A solemn nod went through the group. We weren’t just co-founders anymore—we had been through things in the last few months we’d never expected and were still unsure how all this would end. At least for now, Simon was still alive, and my wedding meant we were one step closer to making sure the company stayed in our hands.

“Have they finished the security sweep?” I asked Jude. It wasn’t just about keeping me safe anymore—Rei was stepping into this with me as well.

Jude lowered his voice even though no one was near enough to hear and said, “Early results indicate that the only surveillance device was in your office.”

“Only me?” My mind went back to moments I’d rather forget, and I struggled to shake the memories and focus on Jude’s answer.

He nodded, taking another drink. At this rate, I’d need to walk him to his car so he wouldn’t fall over on the way there. “We all know you’ve made some enemies,” he said. “Security wants you to write them out for them to look into.”

A humorless laugh passed through my lips. “We hardly have the time for me to list them all. Fall layoffs from the sales team. Cutting the affiliates’ rates in the summer. The assistant controller I had to fire last spring. How about every budget proposal I’ve had to turn down from any number of departments in the last year alone?”

“We understand,” Aaric said, sparing me from naming yet more people I’d had to disappoint. He patted my shoulder.

Cruz looked to me over his drink as he said, “Don’t feel bad. It’s part of the job, and it’s hardly personal. If you didn’t do it, someone else would. Your work keeps the company from bankruptcy, and then even more people would be out of a job.”

Logically, I knew he was right. And yet, “That doesn’t keep people from blaming me.”

Bryce gave me a sympathetic look, but Jude waved his hand dismissively.

Jude said, “Since we don’t film inside our offices, and you hold so many meetings, it would be too hard to tell who placed it. Moving forward, security is going to add a daily sweep of our offices and vehicles for unauthorized surveillance devices.”

With the person who attacked Simon still free and clear and now this, it seemed like all the bad guys were getting away with their crimes. “Should we start surveilling our offices?” I didn’t like the idea of being surveilled by my own company, but I wanted to catch them in the act.

We all stayed quiet for a moment.

“Video only?” Aaric suggested.

Cruz smirked. “Security will have a fun time watching my footage.”

Bryce let out a choked laugh and then began coughing on his drink, which only made Cruz grin wider.

Jude downed the rest of his drink. “If you’re all done fucking around...”

Bryce coughed quietly, glaring at Jude again, while Cruz gave a sheepish smile.

Jude plowed ahead, saying, “Let’s see if security turns up anything else and table the decision until then.”

Aaric nodded, making his blond hair sway. “That seems fair.”

At that, Jude stood from the table, wobbling slightly. “I’m going home.” He walked away, and we all watched him until he was out the door.

My nerves were drawn taut from everything we had going on, and the tension between Jude and Bryce was just making things worse. “Bryce, I’ve known you a long time, and you’ve always been straight with me,” I said to him.

Bryce nodded, watching me with guarded blue eyes.

“What the fuck is going on with you and Jude? We have enough to worry about without you two being at each other’s throats.”

A pained look lanced across his face. “I want to say, I do, but I can’t.”

My eyebrows tugged together, making a similar confused expression to that on Cruz and Aaric’s faces. “Why not?” I asked.

“It’s not my story to tell.” Which made things snap into clarity for me.