Page 82 of Without Regret

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Trevor

I needed some time to cool off. To say I was in shock was a gross understatement. But then the pieces seemed to fall into place. Tom was married. Emma had been with him years ago, not knowing that. Then she had gotten her revenge via the tattoo of ‘unfaithful.’ Now she hated him. He did his best to get under her skin at any opportunity and had tried to sabotage my relationship with her. When he couldn’t manage that, he’d resorted to dirty tactics. But the thing I couldn’t figure out for the life of me was why she hadn’t told me.

I sat at a restaurant bar a few miles from the office, already two shots in. Yes, it was only a little after nine in the morning, but today called for some serious day drinking.

Emma had texted me with I’m sorry. I hadn’t responded. I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when my emotions were running high, and I was way too angry. It would be best to calm down first.

My phone pinged again, and this time it was Simon.

“Can you meet me back at the office?”

“At the bar two shots in. Probably not a good idea we discuss things right now.”

I wasn’t ready to see Emma yet. And I certainly didn’t want to see Tom.

Simon’s response pinged back immediately. “Which one? I’ll come to you.”

I typed out the name and ordered a whiskey, deciding that sipping would probably be better than shots. It would numb the feeling of betrayal and hopefully dull my anger about her keeping this from me.

That’s what had me the most pissed off. I might not like the idea of Tom having touched her, but she’d been nineteen years old. Was I supposed to be upset about her past? Nope. But I sure as hell could be angry she hadn’t confided in me. I’d been caught off guard with that smug bastard telling me instead of her.

I didn’t trust myself to speak with her yet. Needed to figure out what to do. Not only was there an issue now with this job, but for all I knew I could also be facing assault charges if Tom chose to press them. Yet I’d have done it all again. Punch his smug face for trying to blackmail her with the threat of my career. The very thought made me clench my fists.

In fifteen minutes, Simon took the stool beside me. He shed his suit jacket and folded it, setting it neatly on the stool to the left.

“What’s your poison?”

“Whiskey right now. Patron to start.”

Smiling, he glanced over to get the bartender’s attention. “Two shots of Patron. Whiskey neat as a chaser, please.”

Didn’t see that coming. Simon didn’t seem like the kind of man to throw back his liquor in the morning. He quickly did the two shots, sucking on a lime at the end and settling in with his whiskey before speaking.

“You talk with Emma?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I will, but I need to cool down first. Did you know about them?”

He expelled a breath. “Not a clue. I knew there was someone who’d broken her trust and put her off suits when she’d first moved to New York. But I didn’t ever put it together that it was Tom. This morning, I came into the office early in case he continued to give her a hard time about the two of you. I was shocked when he started talking blackmail. I hadn’t suspected their history until he revealed it today.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t tell everyone.”

“Evidently, Emma’s threat of telling his wife if he breathed a word motivated him to keep his mouth shut until now. But now that he’s divorcing, that threat holds no weight.”

“I won’t work with him ever again. The man has no moral code, no integrity—and to threaten to blackmail a woman to sleep with him? I can’t.”

“Good. I won’t work with him, either. By the way, Emma resigned.”

I turned sharply towards Simon. “You asked her to?”

He appeared mildly offended. “Of course not. She emailed it before she snuck out while I was dealing with Tom. You should know he won’t be pressing charges for the well-earned punch.”

I was more concerned about Emma quitting her job. What a cluster. “What makes you say he won’t?”

“Let’s just say I have my own leverage against Tom, something I was saving for a rainy day.”

“You didn’t have to use it for me.”

---