Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3)(8)

My mouth dropped. “Why would you . . . even if I did do that, which I’m pretty sure I didn’t . . . why would you save them?”

“You’re my boss’s daughter. God forbid you decided on one of your rampages that you were going to bury me and say that, I don’t know, I raped you or some crazy shit. I needed to have proof I was the one being pursued.”

“You pursued me too in the past. Or do you think looking at me like you wanted to eat me for dinner didn’t count?”

“Unless it’s in print, it doesn’t count.”

I glared at him. “You are such a dick.”

“I just want to be clear that nothing can happen here, so don’t make those ‘Victor, please f*ck me’ eyes at me anymore when we’re talking about your divorce.”

“I didn’t do that, but okay. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have someone in the lobby that I may actually be interested in.”

He opened the door for me and followed me down the hall. I didn’t bother looking for my father. I just wanted to get out of there. I knew I’d see him for dinner the following night anyway, so I kept walking until I reached the lobby where Marcus was waiting for me with his phone in hand. He put it away as soon as he saw me.

“Let’s go, Marcus, I have a lot of pent-up tension I need to get rid of,” I said. I looked over my shoulder to where Victor was standing. He looked at me, looked at Marcus, back at me, and if I didn’t know him at all I wouldn’t have noticed the way his eyes narrowed, or the way his jaw tightened. But I did know him.

“We’ll be in touch. There are other things I’ll need to ask you. I’ll let you know when this is filed,” he said, extending his hand for me to shake. I took it. “I look forward to working with you.”

His grip tightened a little when he said that, making my heart gallop. I had instant flashbacks: arguing over insignificant topics, me walking around his desk and pushing his legs apart so I could stand between them, his fingers tantalizingly slow as they inched up my skirt, his hand gripping my ass as he thrust inside me, his mouth on my throat telling me to shut the f*ck up so we wouldn’t get caught.

God.

I’d be lying if I said there hadn’t been times after I starting going out with Gabe that I didn’t think about those moments, wondered who Victor was doing that to. I sighed as I walked out of the building and back into the commotion of the paparazzi. I knew Victor’s warning was real. Five years ago, he’d been very clear. I need to focus on my career. Obviously, he’d done that. And done it well. Was I wrong to wonder if he would be tempted to dance along the line of attraction again? He’d turned me away then. He’d probably do the same now. Sadly, my body wasn’t getting the memo. I couldn’t help but wonder how far he would go without breaking the rules.





ONE OF THE perks of having the beach in your backyard was being able to wake up, roll out of bed and catch waves. Unfortunately, today was not that day. I missed my alarm clock and showed up to breakfast at my parents’ an hour late.

“You look like shit,” my best friend, Oliver, said from across the table. I flashed him my middle finger. I didn’t have enough energy to comment.

“What did you do last night?” my sister, Estelle, asked as she served herself orange juice for the third time.

“Nothing,” I mumbled.

I’d stayed up until five “researching” Nicole and Gabriel. My associates often asked me if my extensive research was necessary and my answer was always a solid yes. Normally, I had my assistant Corinne do my research, but this thing with Nicole . . . it felt personal. I told myself it was because I’d seen how badly some of my high-profile clients treated their spouses in a divorce, and if what I’d heard about Gabriel had any truth to it, I was sure she wasn’t doing well personally, but it was more. There was a sadness in her eyes and stance in those photos.

I hadn’t seen Nicole since before she married, hadn’t thought about her much after I found out she had, but seeing her again . . . it did something to me. I wasn’t going to lie to myself about that. I just knew I had to keep it business. All business. The problem was that while my office was normally a second home to me, now it reminded me of her. I wasn’t sure why after so many years it was happening, but it was. And after reading the abundance of damning gossip in the tabloids, about his affairs and his partying ways, I couldn’t understand why she had married that guy. She said he’d changed. I had to take her word for it. Maybe she’d changed too. Maybe she wasn’t the funny Nicole I used to know. The girl with the wicked smile and enough bite to make me want to settle down . . . just not enough to actually do it. Not then, anyway. Not now, either, for that matter. While all of my friends had married I’d stayed focused on my career. Truth of the matter was, I hadn’t found a girl that sparked my interest enough to want to settle down.

“Let me get you more pancakes,” my mom said, snapping me out of my thoughts as she reached for my plate. I stopped her before she could take it.

“Thanks, Ma. I can get it, though.”

I needed a break from Oliver and my sister’s questioning gazes. Ever since they’d married, they’d started acting like I was a little lost boy when they were around me for too long. I guess at one point they must have gotten sick of learning a new woman’s name every time I brought somebody around, so they made it their mission to try and set me up with somebody they felt would gain my attention. That basically meant they were trying to set me up with every breathing female they came in close quarters with, which was what my mother had been trying to do since I graduated from law school, and having three f*cking matchmakers breathing down my neck was something I could only handle in small doses. I was in the kitchen, smearing my pancakes with butter when Oliver walked in with his plate.