Page 66 of Reason to Believe (White Lace 2)

“I’m not afraid of people finding out what you do for a living, I’m terrified of people finding out what I used to do. There’s a big difference.”

“Grace!”

The familiar voice made me smile. I turned to Bob, who already looked like he had ten drinks under his belt.

“Bob, oh…” He enveloped me in a huge hug that made me giggle. When he stepped away, I said, “Congratulations on your retirement.”

“So you’re the lucky one.” Ben held out his hand with a sincere smile. “How does it feel to be done with the rat race?”

“It’s feels wonderful, young man. Absolutely wonderful. I’ve worked at this company for twenty years. I was the third person Colette’s mother hired when she expanded out of her basement. And I’ve loved my job every day.”

I believed that. Bob had been one of the only current executives that seemed to be happy that Colette had taken over. He was laid back, open to new opportunities, and I knew he would be sorely missed. I was going to miss him simply because he could have been my guinea pig. The one I used to get buy-in from the rest of the staff.

“Although if I had known that this beauty was going to start working for Elle, I might have postponed my retirement a few months.”

I felt the blush creep up my cheeks. Bob wasn’t creepy. Not one bit. He was flirty and fun, and I knew he wasn’t trying to get in my pants. Which made me li

ke him even more.

He chattered on about his plans for retirement—the trips he’d take with his wife, and arranging his youngest daughter’s wedding—then he sauntered away to mingle with the rest of his guests.

“I’m just going to run to the bathroom.” Ben leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “Be right back.”

I nodded and smiled at him. He hesitated for a moment, just looking at me, before he finally walked away. I loved how he looked at me. I loved the way he made me feel as if he never wanted to leave me. Even just to visit the bathroom.

“I was hoping you’d show up tonight, Jade.”

My entire body tensed at the sound of Scott’s voice behind me, terror rose up and gripped my throat.

I didn’t know what this guy was capable of. Not only ratting me out to his sister, but the way he was looking at me—uneasiness crept its way into my stomach. He looked at me like he had a right to. Like I was ripe for picking, despite my opinion on the matter.

“My name is Grace. You can’t be so dumb as to not have proper courtesy to use my real name.”

I pushed past him, moving away from the party and the other guests, to the back of the restaurant, hiding in a server alcove. But he followed me.

“So you’re not Jade? Not a prostitute?”

“No.” The word came out a little too loud for my liking. I lowered my voice, and continued. “I work for your sister. I’m here to do a job. It doesn’t matter what I’ve done in the past.”

“I beg to differ.” He reached out, brushing a hank of my hair behind my ear. I wanted to puke when his finger touched me. I wanted no part of this, but I couldn’t let him see how uncomfortable I was. I needed to control the situation. Let him think he had the upper hand, when in fact I was the one in control.

“What do you want?”

He leaned closer, the smell of his cologne flooded my nostrils. I pressed my fingernails into my palm, hoping the pain would keep the tremble away, hiding my fear.

“I want you. You’re going to fuck me. For free. Whenever I want.”

I stepped back. “I can’t do that.” I refused to do that.

“You will if you want to keep your job.”

I tried to push past him, but his sweaty hand clasped around my elbow. With a move you would only ever see in a movie, I twisted around, pushing with all my strength until he hit the wall; condiment bottles rattled on the shelf beside him. It only made him laugh.

“You like playing games.”

His words smacked me like a gust of wind. Was it true? Did I play games? It had been my job, but that had been Jade. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was Jade. Maybe she was all I could ever be, because I’d ruined any chance I’d had at being a normal woman.

“You’re right.” I looked up, directly into the eyes of the one man I wished would fall off the face of the earth. “I like playing games.”

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