Page 14 of Fairy Tale Lies
Rae pursed her lips. “Uh-oh.”
Greta nodded. “If they’d caught us together, they would have destroyed the moving company Jacob had been working for.”
“Are you exaggerating?”
“I wish.” Greta shoved back from her desk and turned her chair to face Rae. “Last fall, Nigel purchased a bureau for his office. One of the movers nicked a wall carrying it in. The company had the small imperfection fixed, yet my parents had them blacklisted. What do you think they’d do if they found Jacob and me together in bed, instead of him doing the job he was hired to do?”
“Doing you, instead of the job,” Rae chortled before saying dryly, “Your mother and stepfather are petty, huh?”
Greta shrugged. What could she say? There was no defending them. Theywerecallous toward those they believed beneath them.
“Anyway,” she continued with her shameful story. “I panicked. Mother was on her way to the guesthouse. I told Jacob he had to leave.”
Rae made a face. “Did you tell him why?”
“No. We barely had time to exchange numbers before I shoved him out the back door.”
Wincing, Rae made a “go on” circle with her index finger. “And?”
Greta straightened. “And…he never called. End of story.”
“Ah.” Her friend and confidante grinned. “Now you’re having a touch of morning-after shame. Two months later.” Her smile widened.
“Yes. Something like that.” Greta wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth.
They were both consenting adults, and hands down, it was the best sex she’d ever had. Hard to regret.
No, it wasn’t shame. More like embarrassment mixed with fear. The consequences of her reckless actions were going to spill over into her career.
“That’s why you were cold with him today? In the hall?” Rae asked.
Wait. What?
“I wasn’t cold,” Greta scoffed. “I was merely letting him know the past is the past. He’s a client and nothing more.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want one careless afternoon to wreak havoc on my career plans.” Hugging herself, she whispered, “And I don’t want his pity.”
Rae cleared her throat, watching. She was clearly waiting for an explanation.
“I gave him my number. He never called. Obviously, he only wanted one thing. I don’t want him to now pretend differently because of my last name. It would be better for us both to forget that day.”
“Are you certain he only wanted an afternoon delight?”
Greta pursed her lips. “Did you hear the part about him not calling?”
“Have you considered he didn’t call because you literally shoved him out the door right after the deed?”
“No. Yes.” Greta groaned. “I don’t know.”
She dropped her head in her hands. Recalling her mistakes was mortifying. This wasn’t her. She wasn’t the type of woman to have reckless one-night stands. Talking through her fingers, she said, “I was embarrassed for the way I’d thrown myself at him. Also, I feared the backlash for me and for Jacob. I’d reacted without thinking.”
“Okay.” Rae took a deep breath then exhaled. “I get why you got rid of him, but he doesn’t know your reasons. It’s understandable he didn’t call you. Maybe you should tell him.”
“Why?” Where was Rae going with this?
“Are you still interested in him?”
