AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You and your dad are making me feel like I did.”
We stared at one another for a moment before she finally removed her glasses so that I could see her eyes crystal clear. That same smirk she wore in the office was the same one she was wearing now while we sat across from each other. This time, however, I was no longer intimidated.
“I saw my dad at your apartment last night,” she said. “He said you called him there to check things out because you felt like someone was there. Who would have been there?”
A lump grew in my throat when I thought about the contents of my lockbox. I felt like Casey knew something, or was on her way to figuring it out, but I kept my cool as best as I could.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Could have been anyone. I'm a new girl in a new city. Maybe someone from the building grew fond of me and decided to come snoop around. I don’t know, but I was scared, so I called Logan. He’s the owner of the apartment, could have been someone he sent to do maintenance or something.”
Casey scoffed and took a large bite of her burger. It was apparent she didn’t believe a word that came from my mouth, but she had no proof to believe anything otherwise. We were both smart women and knew how to read a room, so I played along with her game to see who would come out on top.
“I’m not sure what kind of fool you and my father take me for, but I won’t be played for one. Pretty soon the truth will come out and I'm not saying I’ll be the one directly affected, but there’s something you’re not telling anyone. I knew it from the moment I ran into you. There was this strange, awkward, familiar feeling about you. I can’t put my finger on it right now, but I always figure out whatever it is I want to know.”
I gulped. Hard. Luckily, I too had taken a large bite of my salad, so I was able to mask the nervousness that was large in my throat. Casey was smarter than I’d thought she was. And I knew it wouldn’t be any longer than a New York minute before she found out the truth about me. However, I continued to hold on to my lie.
“I’m not sure what it is you think you know, but good luck finding it.” I kept a friendly smile on my face as if I had nothing to hide, but deep down, I was a nervous wreck and feared not only for my job, but also for my safety.
“Uh huh.” She smiled and nodded as she continued on with her lunch. “You keep right on telling yourself that, my dear.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ariane
ItooknoticeofLogan’s attitude toward me after my lunch with Casey. He was very distant and uninterested. I thought she might have told him about our lunch and the things we’d discussed, but he didn’t mention anything. Actually, he didn’t say much of anything. Not even about work. He didn’t ask about my day. He just glided around like he didn’t even know who I was.
“Ariane.” His voice startled me away from my thoughts while I sat at my desk. “I’ll be leaving for a meeting here shortly. Get your things together; I need you there for notes. In case I miss anything.
I felt it was best I try to get on his good side again for the sake of my job and new life. I was concerned, though. Logan wasn’t as readable to me as he’d been in the beginning. I figured he was entirely over my back and forth about him and what we were doing. I also felt like he was on the verge of firing me.
“Okay.” I smiled, hoping he would return the gesture. “I’ll get my things ready and meet you at the elevator.”
“Thanks.”
He left the doorway of my office without a smile. He was dry and very turned off by me. I could tell by the way he’d looked at everything but me when he told me to get my things ready. His tone was very unsatisfied and formal, like I was any regular old assistant that he had no feelings for.
The client we met that day was an older woman. I loved the vision she had for the home she wanted to create, but Logan didn’t seem too interested. He was impatient, and tried to change every detail she had in mind, as if he was angry about the way she wanted her own house. I even tried to give him my input, but although he didn’t shoot me down completely, I could tell he did not want my input.
Logan was very different from Lucas, even when he was angry. While Lucas had treated me like I was worthless whenever I did something he didn’t like, Logan still treated me like I was someone important. Whenever Lucas got mad, I could see he wanted to hurt me, but I never saw that in Logan.
“Are you okay today?” I popped my question after the meeting was over. “That woman seemed offended by you and the way you tried to change all of her ideas. I know we may be on bad footing, but don’t let that affect the way you handle your clients.”
I meant what I said to him. Logan Taylor was a highly demanded man of business. His work was impeccable and appealed to the masses. I didn’t want him ruining his reputation because of us.
“Are you gonna say anything?” I asked.
“What do you want me to say?” he finally answered, sharply. “You play these mind games with me and think I'm just supposed to be some happy camper who’s galloping around without a care in the world?” He scoffed. “I hate to break it to you, but I'm not you. I actually have feelings.”
My neck snapped back in surprise. Logan saying I had no feelings was a complete insult to me. I had feelings. Very deep feelings. But I also had a lot of logic—when it counted—and I knew what we were doing could ruin his entire life. He had no idea, though. Which was my fault.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
The glare that came from him made me feel really low. Small. Like a child who was being scolded by her father. He didn’t say anything degrading or harsh, but I could see that he wanted to. I must have really hurt his feelings by pulling away, but I had no other choice. At least, I felt like I had no other choice. I wanted nothing more than to come clean and tell Logan everything, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was too afraid.
Instead of making things worse, I sat back and kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to upset him, nor did I want to make myself upset. I had to tell myself that I should have never crossed the line with him—knowing that Lucas Taylor and I had been a thing—so this was all my fault.
He dropped me off at the office and barely said anything else before pulling off. I stood at the curb for a moment, watching him speed off into traffic like a madman. I wanted to call him and yell at him to slow down, but I knew he wouldn’t answer. Besides, Casey was just getting in and saw me staring in the direction of her father.
