Friendship on Fire (21 page)

THEY CHOSE A quiet bar that was off the beaten path. Mia and Simone sat on one side of a booth in the back corner. Riley sat across from them nervously chewing the inside of her cheek.
What was I thinking?

“Wanna talk about it?” Mia asked.

No. I want to hide under a rock
. She let out a sigh. “Not really,” she admitted.

“Did you do it?” Simone asked.

“Simone!” Mia punched her arm.

“No, I didn’t do it,” Riley spat. She tried to hold back the rush of tears that welled in her eyes.

“I know you didn’t,” Mia said.

“That’s not what you said earlier,” Simone said.

“Why are you such a bull today?” Mia said to Simone. “I said that I didn’t know what to believe, and I don’t, but I’m more inclined to believe Riley than Claudia.”

“Aren’t we all,” Simone agreed. “Riley, you must have proof. Original sketches? Something to just knock the air out of this.”

Riley had been so consumed with the accusation that she hadn’t even planned out a way to prove that she was the original designer.

“I have them. They’re in my desk drawer. And I’ve faxed a few to a friend,” Riley said, thinking of Jade.

“See.” Mia nudged Simone. “So tomorrow, get the drawings and call Josh. He’s not leaving for the holiday until late Sunday. I’m sure he’ll meet you in the morning; then you can put an end to this before it goes any further.”

Christmas. Damn it.
She had forgotten all about Christmas. She’d been so excited about spending the holidays together, and now—
oh God
—she had no idea what
now
would hold. “I will. Hopefully that will put an end to it, but I’m so embarrassed. I almost quit this morning.”

“Did Josh call you?” Mia asked.

She blinked away the memory of finding him asleep on the couch, so peaceful and handsome. That was before…before she knew what lay within his heart and he broke hers.

“Yeah,” she lied.

“Did you tell him it wasn’t true?” Simone asked.

“Yeah, but…”

“But he’d already spoken to everyone and knew that no one had seen you doing any designing,” Mia said.

“Yup,” Riley said, relieved when the waitress brought their drinks. She took a gulp of her drink and closed her eyes as it burned her throat on the way down. “I still can’t believe this is all happening. I don’t blame you guys for not believing me. You hardly know me. I promise you, though, I didn’t steal anyone’s design. That wedding dress was my original idea.”

“When did you draw the dress, Riley?” Mia asked. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but rather curious.

Riley shrugged. “I don’t know. Whenever I could find a few spare minutes. It’s not like I kept track. I wish I had started drawing it back home, but I was really just thinking about ideas until I got here. I never thought I’d be in a position of defending myself.”

Mia and Simone exchanged another look.

“In this business, covering your ass is one thing you should never forget to do,” Simone said.  “Have you told your boyfriend yet? This town has eyes and ears everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if Claudia has already shouted it from the rooftops. Can’t you just hear her?” She flung her head back dramatically and put the back of her hand over her forehead. “The wolves have stolen my work. Woe is me. Come to my rescue.”

Mia slapped her arm. “Cut it out.”

“You don’t think she’d really tell anyone outside of JBD, do you?” It was bad enough being humiliated in her coworkers’ eyes, but having something like this go public would be too much for her to take. She guzzled her drink in one gulp. “I’ve gotta go. You guys are freaking me out.” She grabbed her purse just as her cell phone vibrated.

“Listen, we’re on your side, even without the evidence,” Mia said with a friendly smile.

“That’s how much we despise Cruella,” Simone added.

Mia rolled her eyes.

“What? We do despise her,” Simone said.

“Yes, but that’s not why we support Riley. We support her because we believe her,” Mia explained.

“Of course. Jeez. I thought she knew that already,” Simone said.

Riley wasn’t listening to them bicker. She threw money on the table and read the text message from Josh.

Can we talk?

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN Josh and Riley was far larger than the two feet that separated them on his living room couch. Riley fidgeted with the edge of the throw that was draped over the back of the couch. She had hardly looked at Josh since she’d arrived, and it was killing him.

“I went into the office today to see what I could find on my own,” he said.

 “All of my original drawings are in my desk. I know she’s accusing me of stealing Max’s dress, but it’s with the other ideas that I’ve thought of over the last few weeks. And I forgot to tell you that I had faxed the design of Max’s dress and another dress I was thinking of making to Jade a while back,” Riley said.

“I went through your desk. There were no drawings.”

Her hands froze. He watched her finally lift her disbelieving gaze to meet his.

“No drawings? That’s impossible. I kept them all in the bottom right drawer. They were there a few days ago.”

He covered her hand with his. “Maybe Claudia took them.”

“She had to. Josh, this is awful. How am I going to defend myself if I don’t have my drawings?” She stood and paced.

“What about the drawings I saw at your apartment the night we had dinner with Peter?” Josh asked.

“I drew those the weekend I got to New York, before I even started working there, and they had nothing to do with Max’s dress.”

“Is there anything else you can think of that would prove that you drew Max’s dress? I wish you would have shown me the drawings when you first began sketching them. Why didn’t anyone else see you doing it?” The accusatory tone of his words surprised him, and he quickly added, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean that the way it sounded.”

Riley stared at him, her lips a tight line, her deadpan stare unmoved by his apology.

“Riley, these are serious accusations. I’ve gone through it all hundreds of times over the last twenty-four hours. Hell, I was ready to fire her this morning at the office.”

“She was there?” Riley asked.

“When I arrived, she was drawing.”

“Of course she was,” Riley said with a shake of her head. “She’s one step ahead of me, Josh. How can I ever prove myself if she’s stolen my drawings? I can’t believe it’s come to this. I have to prove my innocence? This would never happen in Weston.”

He held her stare, wishing he could tell her she didn’t have to prove a damned thing, but he knew that wasn’t true. This was a serious issue, and it had to come to some kind of closure.

“You’re right, Riley. This would never happen in Weston. But we’re in New York. It’s where you wanted to be, and with your skills, it’s where you
should
be. I’ll bring you both into my office and we’ll hash this out,” he said.

“Hash this out? What does that even mean?” She flopped back onto the couch, shaking her head.

He sat beside her again and lifted her chin. “Babe, this whole thing sucks, but we can’t let it ruin us.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. He wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.

“How can this not ruin us? How can it not ruin me? Everyone thinks I’m a thief. We can never go public with our relationship now—that would only make things worse, and if we wait, then people will think badly of you for being with me. She’s single-handedly ruined my life,” Riley said. Before he could answer, she added, “And you hurt me. You don’t trust me, Josh.” Tears sprang from her eyes. “How can I be with you, knowing you don’t trust me?”

“Riley, baby, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I made a mistake, a huge mistake, but my mistake wasn’t not trusting you.” Josh loved Riley. He trusted her, and he believed with his whole heart that she was telling the truth, but that didn’t stop a little nag in the back of his mind from reminding him to be careful.
Your reputation is on the line
. He hated the sickening feel that the nag brought with it, and he did everything within his mental capabilities to squelch that little voice, but the voice would not be silenced. He pushed forth, ignoring that awful voice that conflicted with his heart, and as he tried to convince Riley, he had to wonder if he was also trying to convince himself.

 “You have to believe me on this, Riley. My mistake was not coming to you before bringing the staff into it. I was trying to clear your name. I realized my mistake after calling them, but by then it was too late.” Words weren’t enough to express the sorrow that felt like needles beneath his skin. He reached for her hand and she turned away. “Please don’t tell me that in an effort to clear your name I’ve lost you forever.”

Shit. What could he do but tell her the truth? He felt her slipping away, and he couldn’t stand it. “Riley, please. I reacted. I jumped in thinking I was protecting you. I fucked up. Please forgive me, Riley.”

She turned and faced him, tears streaming down her cheeks. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her until all the hurt fell away, but he didn’t dare move.

“I swear, Riley, I’ll never hurt you again. Not ever. Please, Riley.” He’d beg all night if that’s what it took. “I fucked up, and I regret it more than you could ever imagine.”

“It’d be easy for you to walk away. Everyone would forget what happened, and your life could go back to normal. You’d be free of this mess,” Riley said.

“Easy? You think it would be
easy
for me to walk away from you? To be free from this mess would mean losing you, and that would be the hardest thing I could ever do. I’d rather lose everything to be with you than go on without you.”
Jesus, I really would.

Stunned by his own admission, he couldn’t move. He and Riley stared at each other, each wrapped in a cloak of pain. He wasn’t letting go. Rage brewed within Josh’s gut—an unfamiliar, heated, uncontrollable anger. He fisted his hands. There was no way he was going to let Claudia take away what they had together, and there was no way he’d let her ruin the career that Riley deserved.
Claudia
. He clenched his jaw against the thought of her. His pulse raced, and Josh looked away from Riley, trying to calm the mounting, menacing hatred. He’d never felt out of control of his own temper, and he didn’t understand what was happening. But he was sure of one thing. There had to be a way to prove Claudia was lying.

His cell phone rang.

“Go ahead. You can get it,” Riley said.

“It’s okay. I can get it later.”

It rang again.

“I’m fine. Please,” she said.

He reluctantly got up and picked up his phone from the mantel.
Mia
.

“Yeah?”

“Just got a call from my contact at Page Six asking for a statement,” Mia said.

“What the hell? A statement?” Josh shot a look at Riley, hoping it wasn’t about the designs.

“Claudia must have leaked the issue. They’re doing a story on it,” Mia answered.

“Shit. Goddamn it.”

“What?” Riley flew to her feet.

He took her hand and held on tight.
I won’t let go. Ever
. “Do you know what it’s going to say?” he asked Mia. His pulse raced. This was the worst thing that could happen. He had no proof to stand behind Riley.

“No. Just that they’re doing the story,” Mia said.

“Here’s my statement. You got a pen?” Josh fumed. He pulled Riley against him and hoped he was doing the right thing. “We believe the allegations made by Claudia Raven are completely unfounded. An internal investigation is underway.”

He hung up the phone without waiting for Mia to respond and wrapped his arms around Riley.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“All hell’s broken loose.”

THE FIRST CALL Josh made was to Claudia, placing her on administrative leave while he had the matter investigated. She was livid, but he didn’t care. The second call he made was to Kelly Treejen, his public relations manager, the third was to his attorney, advising him to hire a private investigator to find out the truth.  After the calls, he went into the master bedroom, where Riley was sleeping, and lay beside her. After Mia called, they’d talked for an hour and he’d finally gotten through to her. He didn’t know what he’d have done if she didn’t take him back; the thought of losing her was too dark to ponder. She stirred beside him, and he wrapped his arm around her.

“You okay?” he asked.

She rolled over and faced him. God, she was beautiful, even with the world crashing down around her, the essence of her positivity remained. He brushed her hair from her eyes and kissed her.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Riley’s body went rigid within his arms. “Don’t worry. It’s not anything horrible.”

She sat up and crossed her arms. “Okay.”

“I put Claudia on administrative leave.” He searched her eyes, but knew she had no clue what he was about to say. “And I have to put you on administrative leave, too, just until this thing is dealt with.” He expected her to get angry, just as Claudia had. Instead, she nodded.

“Okay, I understand.”

“You do?”

“Of course. If you didn’t take equal measures then it would look like something was up between us,” she said.

“That’s the other thing. Riley, I have to hire a private investigator. If you have no way to prove that was your original design, then someone else has to find a way.”

She furrowed her brow. “What can they possibly do to prove they were mine?”

“Maybe nothing, but we have to try; otherwise this nightmare will go on forever.” He drew in a breath and blew it out slowly. “That means we’re going to be exposed. You and me.”

“But that’ll make things worse,” she urged.

“Maybe, but if we’re going to clear you, we have to be transparent about everything. Including us.” As much as it worried Josh to reveal their relationship alongside being sucked into Claudia’s craziness, he was also relieved. In his heart, he knew Riley didn’t steal those ideas, and he was tired of pretending that his love for her didn’t exist. 

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“Page Six is doing some kind of article on the accusations. Who knows what it will say, but you heard my response. It’s Christmas week, so, hopefully, this will blow over and come to a resolution before the New Year. I want you to go back home so you’re not caught in the crossfire.”

“Aren’t you coming?” She moved closer to him. “I don’t want you to deal with this on your own. Isn’t it better if you leave town, too?”

“No. I have to be here to manage things. I’ll come home for Christmas, but I want you to leave tomorrow morning. You don’t need to see this craziness spread out before you. I’ll take care of it, and then I’ll join you.”
At least I hope to
.  Josh recognized that he was putting himself in a vulnerable position. Without proof that Riley didn’t steal the design, he might not be able to clear her name, and then not only would JBD be seen as the scandalous design studio, but he’d be seen as the designer who was duped.

One look into Riley’s eyes told him that none of that mattered. He had faith that she was telling the truth, and his only regret was not standing behind her that first night. He should have climbed right into bed with her and told her what was going on—and believed every word she said afterward. He knew the message silence and hesitation sent, and he regretted having done both.

He climbed from the bed and stripped off his clothes, needing to feel Riley’s body against him before she left. He climbed beneath the covers, helped her out of her T-shirt and panties, and pulled her close. Her chest against his, her heart beating in perfect rhythm to his. God, she felt good.

She looked up at him, and he lowered his mouth to hers, taking her in a deep, passionate kiss, wanting to kiss the hurt right out of her heart. Needing to heal the pain that slayed them both. His hands rushed with need over her breasts, and his mouth followed, fondling and sucking her nipples until she made sexy little noises in her throat. She grabbed at his hips, settling him over her. He slid inside her, and with one desperate thrust after another, he reclaimed their love, groaning aloud, then burying his mouth against her neck, tasting the salt of her sweat as her hips moved to meet his efforts. He had to taste her, had to kiss her more, deeper, longer. She returned his eagerness, fueling his passion even more. He took her face between his large hands and whispered, “I love you, Riley. God, I love you.”

He withdrew from between her legs, wanting to postpone the end of their lovemaking, and he slid down her body, tasting every blessed inch of her beautiful, full curves. He licked circles around her nipples, holding her arms flat against the mattress.

“I can’t take it.” She squirmed beneath him.

He released her nipple from his mouth and sucked on her lower lip, then licked the fullness of it.

“Yes, you can,” he said. “If I have to go even one day without you, I want to leave you thinking about me.”  He licked the underside of her arm, the curve where it met her torso, then followed the slope of her body to her waist. With a hand on either hip, he lifted her center to his mouth and licked her lightly, then pinned her hips to the mattress, negating her efforts to arch into him.

“Josh,” she said in a breathy voice.

He continued licking, teasing her until she grabbed his hair in her fists, her thighs straining against him. He released one side of her hip, slipping his fingers inside her and drawing his tongue along her sweet wetness, feeling the tension mounting within her.

“Please,” she begged. “Please make love to me.”

“I will, baby. Don’t worry.” Her body shook and shuttered within his grasp, and he felt the effects of the terrible accusations slip away as her hips bucked against his hand. He fondled her again as she came down from her peak. He wasn’t done. He wanted her sated, full. He lowered his mouth to her again, licking the now overly sensitive folds of skin.

She inhaled tiny breaths, making high-pitched gasping moans with each inhalation, spurring him on.

“I can’t—” she said.

“You can, baby. Do it for me,” he urged. Then he found just the right spot with his finger and worked it until she called out. Just as her hips pitched forward again, he plunged every inch of his hard flesh into her.

“Oh God,” she cried.

“That’s it, baby,” he said. He put one hand on her chest, feeling her racing heart beneath his palm. “Come for me, baby,” he said. “For us.”

She grabbed his arms, her hands slipping and sliding from their hard-earned sweat. She grabbed his ass, sending a shock of heat through him as he slowed his pace.

“Faster. Please,” she urged.

He moved slowly, drawing almost all the way out, and when her body began to draw him in, he helped her effort, sliding up and burying himself inside of her until he could no longer take the teasing.

Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted.

“Open your eyes, Riley. Look at me,” he said. “I love you.”

She did, and he moved faster, deeper. Her eyes fluttered closed just before his own slammed shut. He gritted his teeth, groaning through their joint release. He continued to move inside her beyond their orgasms, causing her sexy little gasps of breath to continue. Her body gave into one final shake and shiver of release before they both collapsed against the mattress, reaching for each other’s hands.