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The second the words came out of his mouth Bryce regretted them. Three faces all turned to him, and judgment sat on every one of them. Great. There went his morning.
Grace crossed her arms and leaned farther back in her chair. “After lying about your identity in California, and then dragging her name through the mud on that dating app, I would say you were most definitely the villain of the piece. You hurt Vivian. And you made her cry. But like all good stories there is usually a moment where the asshole gets a chance to redeem himself. This is yours.”
His gaze went to Sheila, catching the moment when she whispered to Mia. “What dating app?” Mia shook her head.
Shit. Now they will want to know about the dating app. Or does Mia already know?
Bryce held his breath. He could just imagine what would happen if his dirty little secret got out. He knew Mia well enough that she might even try to hold it over his head, to use it as a form of leverage.
Grace examined her immaculate finger nails. “The details of Bryce’s crimes will remain, for the time being a private matter between Vivian and Bryce. And of course me. And my boyfriend.”
Anyone else?
Whoever Grace Collins was, she was damn good. He would hate to come up against her in any form of contractual negotiations. She would be extracting concessions out of him by the handful.
I wonder if I should offer her a job. She looks the sort to have majored in something I could use around here. Then again, she probably owns half of the city.
“The private incident was a moment of misjudgment on my part, and I did apologize to Vivian,” he offered.
Grace raised one of her dark eyebrows. “I would suggest it was more like a brain fart. Call it what you like, a duck is still a duck.”
Sheila lowered her head and covered her face with her right hand. At least someone was finding this situation amusing. He wasn’t.
Bryce held up his hand. “Ms. Collins, you know I went to Galveston to make amends. Vivian and I had a lovely evening. We went out to dinner, ate, and talked. Not long after you and I spoke on the phone, Vivian and I parted for the night. We were on good terms and planned to catch up for breakfast. Did she tell you that?”
“No. When I last spoke to her, she was doing her utmost to forget you ever existed. I have left her a few text messages, but from what I gather she is still licking her wounds. I’ve been trying to give her some breathing space, and not calling, but that doesn’t mean I am letting this matter go. What sort of man kisses a girl while threatening to sue her employer?”
Bryce ignored the barb about the lawsuit. He was more interested in the fact that Grace was sending Vivian’s texts. That didn’t make sense. “I thought you were her housemate. Didn’t Vivian come home last night?”
Grace shook her head. “No. She’s at a resort in Florida.”
Vivian hadn’t said anything about going to Florida.
“So, you’re telling me that Vivian is still on assignment, that she wasn’t coming back to New York yesterday?” He speared his fingers through his hair. All that running after her at the airport and then flying all over the eastern states had been in vain. He’d been chasing after someone who was headed in a completely different direction.
“Yes, she isn’t due back until the weekend. Which is why I am here,” replied Grace.
To slay the dragon before she returns.
Sheila rose from her chair. “Alright girls, while I enjoy torturing a Royal male just as much as the next woman, I think it’s time we put poor Bryce out of his misery.”
A slow, wicked smile crept over her face. “I spoke to Jordan late last night. Then your father called Mia and me in for an early morning meeting at six o’clock. Apparently, Edward was on the phone to the in house legal team at some unholy hour, after which they drafted a statement. It’s going to be issued later today.” She pointed in the direction of Bryce’s desk. He turned and spotted a piece of paper with Royal Resorts letter head on the top. Leaning over he picked it up.
Royal Resorts CEO denies any pending legal action against Luxury Hotels and Resorts Worldwide magazine.
Bryce skimmed the rest of the words which refuted any and all claims of litigation. At the bottom it mentioned something about who to contact for further information. The usual legalese etc. “Thank god,” he muttered, then set the paper down. Now Vivian would know the truth. He hadn’t gone to Texas just to be an asshole. She might even decide to accept his apology for a second time.
The letter at least explained the presence of the two Royal Resort employees in his office, but not Vivian’s friend. “I’m sorry Ms. Collins. I still don’t understand why you are here.”
Grace pushed back her chair and rose. She sauntered her way over to Bryce and handed him a piece of paper. “This is the address of the resort, the White Foam Breakers, where Vivian is staying in Palm Beach. I did break my self-imposed rule of silence, and actually tried to talk to her just before you arrived, but she wasn’t answering. She planned to do a day trip, whilst she was there, so she might well have gone on that this morning and be out of cell range.”
Hope flared in Bryce’s heart. These women weren’t here to denounce him, they were here to help. Granted Grace didn’t exactly appear to like him; he couldn’t blame her for that, he’d done a dirty rotten thing with the dating app. And if as he suspected, Vivian had shared her pain over his villainy, then Grace was well within her rights to think poorly of him.
But she was here, and Grace had just handed him the golden ticket to finding Vivian. Relief flooded through his now warm veins.
“Is there any chance you could give me Vivian’s cell number? I would really like to talk to her or at the worst send a text, so she knows what’s going on.”
If he was going to undertake yet another long plane flight, he would much rather it was with the knowledge that Vivian was prepared to speak to him.
