Friction(76)

“I didn’t realize you…”

As my voice trails off, she releases her throaty laugh and casually lifts a shoulder. “Bailon gives me a lot of personal leave, which is why I’ve worked here for the last few years.” She drums her ruby-painted nails on her desk, sucking in her bottom lip. “You didn’t make an appointment. He usually likes everything to be on his schedule.”

“I wasn’t sure he’d want to see me,” I admit, casting a quick glance toward the narrow hall that no doubt leads to B’s office.

“I’ll make sure he does. Just have a seat and give me a few.”

The redhead disappears down the hall, and I hear her knocking on one of the doors a moment before she starts to talk in a hushed voice. My stomach churns violently, so I wrap my arms around myself as Jamie makes small talk. She’s halfway through telling me about her twin sister’s new boyfriend—who has a toddler, which scares Bella more than the second coming of the Black Plague—when Sonora returns.

“He said come on back, Lucy.” As I walk past her desk, she stops me, laying one elegant hand on my wrist. “I hope you work things out with Jace. Everyone screws up. Especially me.”

With every move I make in the direction of B’s office, my heart feels like it’s closer to giving out. I know that if I knock, like I always do, the fear will overwhelm me. So, I step inside of the large office, nervously smoothing my fingers over my burgundy skirt. “Mr. Bailon?” I say as clearly as my voice will allow.

He glances up from the paperwork on his desk. Immediately, his gaze glides past me, to Jamie. His dark eyes gleam, but he quickly narrows them to cast a withering stare at me. “Ms. Williams, please sit down.” As I sit on the edge of my chair, he parts his lips, preparing to speak, but then I start to talk.

And I don’t stop.

I know I sound like an idiot as I tell him everything, starting at the beginning with my departure from Java-Org to the morning Jace fired me, but I don’t care. As soon as I’m done, I lean back and take a deep breath. “I’m so sorry that I did something so stupid, but please don’t take it out on Jace and the company. Please don’t sue.”

He covers his mouth with his hand, tapping his index finger to his cheek. “I have no plans to sue him.”

A jolt rushes through me. “What?”

“I don’t plan to sue him. You should be worried about Victoria—it’s her tits you took a picture of. She could press charges against you.”

“Is she?” I breathe, and B rolls his brown eyes up to the ceiling.

“She’s furious—I’m not going to say she isn’t—but she’s also a fan of looking at herself. I think you’re safe, Miss Williams. The future of your career—not so much.” God, I hate being reminded of that. Hate that I’m right back where I started. “Now, is there anything else I can help you with today or—”

“Then what are you going to do to Jace?”

His dark gaze narrows and he glares at me for several uncomfortable seconds before he steeples his fingers on his desk. “Just because I don’t plan to sue him doesn’t mean I can’t affect his business. It’s never a good thing, Miss Williams, when trust is betrayed in our type arrangements.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong. It was me. I’m so sorry, it was—”

“I asked her to send the picture,” Jamie speaks up. For the first time since we sat down, B focuses his attention on her. She formally introduces herself, then continues, “I wanted to know what happens at your parties, so I begged her to send it to me. She thought she was sending it privately and, you’ve heard what she told you happened after that. She made a mistake, but her ex-husband is an asshole.”

“If you wanted to know what happens at my parties, you could have attended yourself.”

Though she maintains her tight smile, I can tell his words have affected her from where I’m sitting. Her hands tremble in her lap, so she folds them together, linking her fingers. “I wasn’t invited, Mr. Bailon. I’m not sure it would be my scene, though.”

“Mírate,” he says. “Estás asustada de que te pueda gustar.”

If he thinks that replying to her answer in Spanish will throw her off—make her curious as to what he’s really saying to her—he’s sadly mistaken. Jamie squares her shoulders and meets his gaze without faltering. “Para nada.” When his mouth twitches in surprise, she gives him a cool smile. “Lourdes, my neighbor growing up, was from Puerto Rico. I learned a thing or two.”

“I can see that.” He stares at her for a few seconds longer, the heat from his gaze so potent I’m forced to look away. At last, he clears his throat and murmurs my name. I lift my chin to find his gaze on me. “I’ll think on what you told me about Exley.”

“Please do. I’d appreciate it because his business means so much to him.” And years from now, I don’t want him to look back and think that overachieving Lucy Williams had ruined him because she couldn’t follow the rules.

“I’ve got a client coming in ten minutes, and I have work to do.” He hands both Jamie and I a copy of his card then nods dismissively toward the exit. “You can see yourself out.”

I thank him several more times as we prepare to leave, but as we reach the door to his office, something he says stops Jamie in her tracks.