Sinful Reunion (8 page)

After retrieving her purse from her office, Natalie met James at reception and let him usher her to a sleek black Town Car idling at the curb just outside the building entrance. James opened her door and she settled in, placing her bag beside her on the seat to create something of a barrier between them. Once James was buckled in the driver wordlessly departed, merging into the afternoon traffic with ease. James was the first to break the silence.

"You look beautiful today, Natalie."

"Thank you."

He sighed and a long pause followed. Then, "Is it just nerves that have made you so warm and cheerful today or are you genuinely not happy to see me?"

Hot heat coursed through her veins, though not of the particular kind she was used to when she was around him. She took in a deep breath and forced a polite smile to her face. She
was
technically working even though they'd left the office.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Fitzgerald. I'm afraid first day nerves have made me unpleasant company. You wanted to discuss some new ideas?"

"That can wait. What's going on with you, Natalie?"

She couldn't fake a facade for one more second. "Tell me, what do you think my reaction was this morning when I found out you're a client?"

He turned in his seat to face her. "I imagine you were as surprised as I was when I learned you work for the agency that handles our marketing."

"Uh huh, and when was that exactly?"

"What?" He had the decency to look surprised.

"
When
did you find out that I work for Brighton? Your partner said my boss sent my contact info to her this morning. But what I want to know is when
you
found out, James."

A hard line creased between his brows. "What does that matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing really," she said, dripping sarcasm. "I was just curious to know how deep into the ocean of ethical fucked-upedness I find myself in? Am I at the deep end of
I fucked a client
or in the Mariana Trench-sized
I fucked a client who then orchestrated my promotion, and then fucked him again
?"

"Jesus, Natalie..."

"Just answer the question, James!" she yelled, quickly losing her patience. "Is all of this just a very peculiar coincidence or have you been orchestrating everything from the start?"

He looked angry, offended even. "I haven't orchestrated anything," he said firmly. "And I don't appreciate your tone, Natalie."

"Oh I could give two shits about what you appreciate right now, James. Just answer the goddamn question. When did you find out?"

He blew his breath out with harsh force and leaned back into his seat, turning his face away from her and out towards the freeway traffic that surrounded them. "After the Golden Palm."

Incredulous rage filled her instantly. "How the hell did you-"

"It was in your file!" he interrupted her, his voice rising in volume. "We keep files on all Candidates."

"
We?!
"

He shook his head. His lips were pursed tightly together. His brows furrowed so deep they threatened to bury his eyes. "Audra and I. The Golden Palm is hers. Ours technically, but she runs the day-to-day."

Natalie felt sick to her stomach. Suddenly her paranoia didn't seem so unjustified. "You
bought me
at your sister in law's secret society sex club?"

James whipped his head towards her, offense clearly visible on his face. "I did not
buy you
, Natalie."

"Oh, right, you paid me for sex."

"Technically I paid you for your company and a glass of champagne. You came back and slept with me of your own free will," he snapped at her.

"What the hell does it matter what the technicality is?" she yelled, turning in her seat to fully face him. "Jesus! How far back does this go, James? Are you responsible for Quinn suggesting I put myself up for auction in the first place?!"
Oh God, please say no. Please don't let the rabbit hole go that deep!

"No!" He said it through gritted teeth. "Nor am I responsible for your promotion. I knew you worked at Brighton long before you came to Vegas. But I have a business to run, Natalie. I don't just sit at my desk plotting how to steer the course of your life. As far as I know, you stepping foot into Eden was a total coincidence, as was your assignment to my company's account."

Natalie shook her head and turned back towards the window, failing to fight back tears that refused to cooperate with her. Their driver - who undoubtedly had heard their entire exchange, much to Natalie's chagrin - was now navigating them through suburban streets that only got pricier with each new block.

"How can I trust you when I don't know what side of my world is up?"

"Because you've helped me find the up in my world," he said softly after a long moment.

She turned to look at him again, tears flushing the corners of her eyes. "What?"

Before he could answer the Town Car pulled up into a driveway and parked. The driver never said a word.

"Come on," James said, gesturing his head to the door as he exited. Natalie begrudgingly followed, grabbing for her purse as she stepped out of the car and onto the paved driveway of a very contemporary, very luxurious house.

"What is this?" she asked.

James came to stand at her side and looked up at the building constructed from stone, wood and metal. "It's Monday. You told me to buy a house."

"I..." Natalie closed her eyes and shook her head. "Honestly I have no words right now. My brain has officially taken the rest of the day off out of protest."

"I did a lot of thinking after you left yesterday and decided you were right. I've spent too much time playing Monopoly. I believe that was your particularly brilliant way of phrasing it." He nudged her shoulder with his own, a sign that his mood had lifted considerably just since stepping outside. "So I made a call to a friend. That friend had a listing he thought would be perfect for me. The price is good. I can easily work from LA full time and still travel when I need to. Hell, I may even get a dog. Want a tour?"

Natalie was agog. "You're actually buying a house because I said you should?"

"Seemed like good advice. And you were so passionate about it," he teased her. She finally looked at him, noting that he seemed rather serene, confident even, with his decision. "I know what it's like to have your world upended, to not know which way is safe to breathe. This feels like the safe way."

She turned to face him and he followed suit, looking down at her with bright blue-green eyes.

"You should buy me a Bugatti Veyron."

"What color do you want it in?" he answered without missing a beat. Finally a smile broke through her foul temper, the effect immediately relaxing her. "There you are," he teased. "I think I prefer Rude Natalie to Angry Natalie."

"Hey, you get whichever Natalie is available at the moment. No guarantees to preference."

"I'm glad you said that, because I'd like to see much more of her. Of you."

"James," she started.

"I'd especially like to see Naked Natalie more often," he whispered, taking her hands in his.

"We've basically known each other less than three days."

He shrugged. "We'll get to know each other."

"You're married."

"
Divorcing
," he reminded, emphasizing the word.

She locked eyes with him and said with equal emphasis, "You told me a man like you would ruin a girl like me."

"I likely will. Though I'm beginning to think it is you who has ruined me, Natalie."

"I have not!" she protested. "You live in a completely different world than I do, James. You said so yourself."

"And that world would be infinitely improved if you were a part of it," he countered. "Any other excuses you want to throw at me, Miss Harlow?"

"You're a
client
," she said firmly. "It's unethical for me to even be holding your hands right now."

James dropped her hands and took a step back, scrutinizing her. "That can be fixed. Apart from the ridiculous excuses you've already mentioned, can you think of one single, legitimate reason why we can't share something other than a couple one-night stands?"

"Yes!" The answer came out too quickly and seemed to take him by surprise. "You're the kind of man who bids on strangers for sex. Hell you own the damn auction house! So far all we know about each other is sex and that's not a foundation to build anything on."

"And you came to my auction house to be bid on for sex," he fought back. "Don't try to quantify your motives as being less morally questionable than mine. You sold sex for money. I bought sex with money."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't want you to break my heart!" she yelled, the words having finally come to the surface from a space deep within her chest. When she opened her eyes again he was the one who looked agog. Now everything was out in the open. There was nothing left to hide.

"Natalie, I-" He stopped short at the sound of his cell phone ringing and plucked it from his jacket pocket. "Sorry, it's..." He looked at the screen and momentarily froze. "It's my lawyer. Excuse me." He picked up the call and took several steps away from her until she could just barely make out his side of the conversation.

Natalie regarded the house again, noting that its position on the hill meant it likely extended down another two or three floors, making the front look deceptively small. Curious, she took out her phone and tapped in the house address, hoping to find a hit for the real estate listing. She found one and selected it, watching as a picture of the front of the house loaded.
How very meta
, she thought to herself.

City to ocean views. Open floor plan with high ceilings. Three bedroom suites. Four and a half bathrooms. A screening room. Gym. A smart house system that let you control the ambient temperature of the half bath while simultaneously viewing surveillance of the exterior perimeter. Affordable luxury for just under six million dollars.

Just as she started wondering what the landscaping around the other side of the house looked like James reappeared at her side, his phone nowhere in sight.

"Does this place have a backyard? Because if you're going to get a dog..."

James put a hand at her neck, another at her back and kissed her. It was tender at first, but the moment she kissed him back his passion changed. She parted her lips and welcomed the deepened kiss, tasting him again as she had so many times before. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close to her. In a single kiss he convinced her to forget the ethics of the matter and to just partake, to enjoy him and the tremendous rush of exhilaration he gave her. To hell with what was right.

He parted from her lips but leaned his forehead against hers. "If all I can offer you is the assurance that I would never willingly or purposely break your heart, would that be enough for you to venture into the possibility that we could be more than just an occasional one-night stand? Regardless of whatever professional or personal roadblocks come up along the way?"

Natalie shook her head. "That's not an assurance you can give me, James." She took a deep breath. "But the fact that you're offering it anyway makes me want to find out if it's possible."

James exhaled, relief relaxing his face. "Good. Because my lawyer just informed me that Celine is refusing to sign the divorce papers."

"What? Why?"

"Because she's intent on keeping my world upside down. And honestly, Natalie, I think you're the one person in it who can remind me every day which way is up."

"As much as I wholeheartedly appreciate that sentiment, it doesn't explain-"

"She knows about you. About us."

Oh
. "What does that mean, really?"

He shrugged. "Welcome to my world, Natalie.”

* * * * *

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A thundering grey cloud clapped so loudly it nearly drowned out what sounded like urgent knocking at the front door. Natalie looked up from her open suitcase and listened, unsure if she had heard the knock at all. She dropped a folded bathing suit from her hands and walked with quiet footsteps to the front door. With two hands on either side of the peephole she leaned forward and closed one eye, but startled when the heavy knock pounded again from the other side. With held breath she looked through the small hole and exhaled at the sight of drenched honey-colored hair.

"Natalie open the door."

She hadn't expected him to show up so soon, but neither was she surprised. It was foolish to think he wouldn't follow her. The rain had started pouring the moment she left the driveway and continued all the way down the mountain and west back into her own city. The downpour and subsequently slick freeway lanes meant the trip - ordinarily two hours in decent conditions - took just over three. She listened to the sound of cascading sheets of water and let her mind empty of everything. It was still dark then, and now the sky was alight with a grey mid-morning. How long had he waited to leave after realizing she'd gone?

"Natalie!" he called through the door again. "I'm not leaving. I need to-"

She opened the door before he could finish the sentence. He was wearing the suit that had appeared rumpled the previous evening but was now pasted to his skin, drenched uncomfortably to his muscled body. His jawline was fuzzy with three-day growth that only made him even more maddeningly handsome, if such a possibility existed.

"I don't need an explanation, James."

"Bullshit." Rainwater spit from his mouth as he cursed the expletive. "Why did you run away from me in the middle of the night?"

Natalie's hand gripped the doorknob even tighter. "I didn't run. I left." She knew it wasn't the whole truth. But she didn't have the energy to hash it out with him now. "Please go. I have a lot to think about and I'm probably going to be fired tomorrow so I'd like to get some rest before the big event." She got the door halfway shut before his foot planted across the threshold and stopped her from shutting him out.

" Natalie. I lo-"

"James!" she shouted, effectively interrupting him. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, and then took a hard look at him. She'd never seen him so disheveled, so emotionally open and vulnerable. She couldn't speak rationally to the man, not when so many revelations had effectively changed the entire dynamic of their relationship, which had already been on uncertain ground. There were only two directions they could go from here, and Natalie felt like she was trapped. What was she supposed to say to this man who had shared her deepest intimacies?

"I can't. Please just leave."