Sleeping With My Boss: A Standalone Novel (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (A Dirty Office Romance) (118 page)

“Wow, I wonder where she’s getting her
information.” I opened the front door and picked up my own paper. I recognized
Rose’s byline on the front page, and as Adam talked, I skimmed through the
article. I was surprised to find that some of the information in the article
mirrored things that had been in personal documents Miles had allowed me to
view.

“Adam,” I said, thoughtfully, “do you
think maybe David has been in touch with Rose and perhaps that is where she is
getting some of her inside information?”

“I thought of that, too. Whoever she is
getting her info from is definitely skewed towards Brigham being guilty of more
than just wealth and power.”

We mused over that for a bit, and then
before I finally told Adam that I had to hang up and finish getting ready for
work, I told him about Jack being in town and planning to have dinner with him
on Friday night.

“Hmmm, an old friend, huh?” Adam said, I
think he was trying to sound like he was joking but he also sounded a little
worried. He confirmed that as he said, “No old feelings there, I hope?”

“He’s just an old and dear friend,” I told
him. “It’s nice to catch up with someone from back home for a change.”

Adam didn’t say anything else about it.
Instead, he changed the subject back to his hearing on Monday and how he
couldn’t wait to finally be rid of Marjorie. We hung up on that note, with Adam
promising to check in on me later at the office.

When I got to the office several hours
later, it was unnaturally quiet. I ran into Carla in the hallway headed to our
office.

“Why is it so eerily quiet around here
today?” I asked.

“Well, Mr. Hanson and Mac are closed in the
conference room in a meeting with Mr. Brigham and his associates. Nico and Kyla
are in court this morning, I think, and I am not sure what’s going on with the
rest of the staff. Maybe they’re all taking time off for the holidays,” she
said.

“Hmm, maybe,” I said, thoughtfully as I
took the message slips Carla handed me. I stepped into my own private office
and began going through them. They were mostly all simple matters that I could
handle quickly this afternoon. There was one, however, that intrigued me at
once. It was from a Rose Dugan at the
Post
,
and it had a number. The message urged me to call ASAP. I was curious enough
that I did just that. The number I called was a cell phone, and it was answered
at once by a girl that didn’t sound old enough to be a journalist at all. I was
tempted to ask her if her mommy was home.

“Ms. Dugan?” I asked instead.

“Yes, this is her.”

“This is Alicia Winston; I’m returning a
call from you.”

“Ms. Winston, yes, I am so glad you
called. I was interested in finding out if perhaps you and I could meet
sometime to talk about a serial piece I am doing on one of your client’s for
the
Post
?”

“Well, Ms. Dugan, you do know that a
lawyer who is in the process of representing a client is bound by
confidentiality? I’m sure there wouldn’t be much information I could give you.”

“I am aware of that, Ms. Winston;
actually, I was hoping to give you a little inside information.”

I was really intrigued. I agreed to meet
with Rose over lunch at a coffee shop nearby the office. I couldn’t imagine
what type of “inside information” she could possibly have, but I was interested
enough to go and find out.

I spent the rest of the morning returning
phone calls and completing paperwork I had gotten behind on the past few days.
I was about to wrap it up and leave for my meeting with Rose when Adam walked
in. He came around behind my desk, and taking me by the hands he lifted me to
my feet and planted a kiss on my lips.

“I missed you,” he said.

I smiled and kissed him back. “I missed
you, too.”

“Have lunch with me?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” I told him. I was
genuinely sorry. “I have a meeting. I was just leaving before you came in.”

“Well, I guess as your boss I can’t
complain about you working through lunch.” Then taking me into his arms, he
said, “As your boyfriend, however, I am very disappointed.”

I
smiled again and said, “Me, too, love. Maybe we can have dinner?”

Adam’s mood seemed to change slightly.
“Maybe, I’ll try to finish things up here in time.” I wasn’t sure what the mood
shift was about, but feeling a little guilty myself for not admitting that my
meeting was with Rose Dugan, I let it go.

********

I found Rose waiting for me outside of the
coffee shop when I arrived. She looked almost as young in person as she had
sounded on the phone. She wore very little make-up, and her dishwater blonde
hair was swept back in a hasty bun. She wore Converse tennis shoes and a pair
of jeans that were bleached and frayed in places and the overall effect was a
high school girl.

“Ms. Winston?”

“Yes, hello,” I said as I approached the
girl. I put out my hand and received a hasty shake in return.

“Let’s go inside,” Rose said.

After we took a seat and ordered our
coffees, I said, “I must say, I am curious to know what information you might
have with regards to one of my clients.”

“Well, first of all let’s cut to the
chase, Ms. Winston,” Rose told me. “We both know the client that me and all of
New York are most interested in right now is the wealthy and powerful Mr. Miles
Brigham IV.”

I had of course known who the client was
that interested Rose, but I was determined to let her do all of the talking
during this particular meeting. I only nodded slightly, and she went on. “I’m
sure you’ve read my piece on him by now?” I again nodded. “I am in touch with a
source who knows quite a bit about your client and his family. This source of
mine is helping me build my piece, but is also concerned about you being drawn
into the mess known as the Brigham family.”

I couldn’t help myself; I had to ask, “Why
would this ‘source’ of yours have any concerns about me?”

“Let’s just say they do. and leave it at
that,” Rose said. “This person has some pretty convincing evidence that Mr.
Brigham and his devil’s brood are guilty of many things other than arrogance
and vulgar wealth. They asked me to tell you that you would possibly be placing
yourself in danger by agreeing to represent them.”

I arched an eyebrow. Who did this little
sprite think she was telling me who I should and should not “represent?”
Surely, she didn’t think I would be so simple minded as to dump my client on
her say so alone. She must be up to something else, but I couldn’t figure out
just what yet. When I sat quiet long enough to make Rose uncomfortable, she
said,

“Miles Brigham IV had everything to do
with his third wife’s murder and everything to do with the murder of Vick
Landon, as well. I intend to prove it, and my source was kind enough to ask me
to warn you before I brought the Brigham empire crumbling down. You can do what
you wish with the information.”

With that, the arrogant young girl stood
and put her bag on her shoulder. I looked up at her and said, “So that’s it,
you brought me here to warn me that I may or may not be in danger and that you
have some anonymous source who has some investment in my personal safety. You
will not, however, tell me whom that source may be or what this so called
evidence is that we have against my client. I think you have wasted my time,
Ms. Dugan. I charge hundreds an hour for my time, I don’t have any to spare for
playing games.”

Rose smiled. The smile made her look like
a kid who knew something that her mother didn’t. “I warned you like I was
asked, and here’s one more warning, Ms. Winston. You may be charging Mr.
Brigham hundreds of dollars an hour for your services, but be careful. He plays
with people’s lives just for fun.”

And with that, she walked out the door,
leaving me to wonder what the hell that had even been about.

CHAPTER
THREE

ADAM

I had another excruciatingly busy day and
to make it even worse, I wasn’t going to have time to meet Alicia for dinner. I
grabbed a rose off of my assistant’s desk and knocked on Alicia’s door around
five.

“Come in!”

I pushed open the door and found her still
at work behind her desk. She looked up at me and smiled. God, she’s gorgeous
even with her hair falling out of the loose bun she had it tangled in and most
of her make-up rubbed off from her hours of pouring over paperwork. I held out
the rose to her and said, “I’m afraid I can’t make dinner tonight, baby. But
can I have a rain check?”

She took the rose and smiled, “I suppose.
It’s kind of been an exhausting day, anyways. I think a bubble bath and a cup
of tea is just what the doctor ordered.” I waited for her to pack up her things
and put the files on her desk in Carla’s basket so that she could take them
back to records in the morning. Then, I walked her out to the parking garage.

It seemed like she was debating whether to
tell me something important, but she stayed silent. I thought about asking her
about it, but had so many things on my mind and a team still inside waiting for
me, so I selfishly decided to wait and maybe she’d tell me at another time when
I was not so overwhelmed.

When we reached her car, she pressed the
unlock button on the fob in her hand and then I took her into my arms and gave
her a long, deep kiss. When we came up for air, I held her back so I could look
at her pretty, flushed face. It suddenly morphed into a look of disgust when
she spotted something over my shoulder. I turned and saw Marjorie. I felt like
losing my lunch. She had that permanent nasty smirk on her face.

 
“What the hell? Marjorie, what are you doing
here?”

“I was meeting my lawyer for dinner, and I
just thought I’d come by and let you know. I didn’t want you coming home to eat
with me like you did last night and finding that I wasn’t home.”

The bitch was trying to cause trouble as
usual. I turned back toward Alicia quickly. “She’s lying. I did not have dinner
with her last night. I was here, working.”

Marjorie feigned a serious look and said,
“Oh dear, was I not supposed to say anything in front of the little woman?”

I spun around on her and before she had
time to back up, I was in her face. “Shut the hell up, Marjorie! Shut your
nasty, lying mouth! I wish you were dead, you know that? If I thought you were
worth it, I would kill you myself.”

Marjorie didn’t even flinch. She wasn’t
afraid of me because although I talked a good game, we both knew I’d never
follow through with the violence she made swell in my veins. She laughed
instead and said, “Such passion. Love and hate are such closely related
emotions, aren’t they? Do you remember what amazing sex we used to have after a
roaring fight?”

Every muscle in my body tightened and for
a fraction of a second, I thought I just might be able to do it. Maybe I could
kill the bitch. I felt Alicia’s hand on my arm and heard her say,

“She’s not worth it, Adam.”

Marjorie still didn’t seem to realize
she’d just almost pushed me too far. She smiled at both of us before turning
and heading for the garage elevator. Just before the doors slid closed, she
blew me a kiss. It turned my stomach and I felt Alicia’s hand tense against my
arm. “I didn’t have dinner with her.”

Alicia put her hand up on my face and
said, “I know.” I pressed my face into her palm and then slid it over to my
lips and kissed it. “Enjoy your bath and quiet time.”

“I will. You don’t stay too late. You can
come and sleep at my place tonight. You need to get some rest.”

I nodded. I probably wouldn’t just because
I hated the idea of letting Marjorie have my place to herself. She made my
blood boil. I kissed Alicia’s cheek and she slid into the car.

As I closed her door I heard myself say,
“I really do wish she was dead.” I don’t think I meant to say that out loud. I
know Alicia despises her, but me talking about her being dead couldn’t be
sitting well with her. At this point I was too exhausted and too fed up to care
what anyone thought. I was sick to death of my life being ruled by an evil,
ungrateful bitch and I’d do just about anything at this point to just make her
go away.

********

I stayed at the office until after ten. I
was so tired by the time I got into my car that I was glad I wasn’t driving. I
actually saw spots in front of my eyes. I said a little prayer that Marjorie
would be out when I got home, but it went unanswered, as usual. I walked into
the penthouse to find her on the couch in her lounging outfit, painting her
toenails and drinking a glass of wine. She had a fire roaring in the fireplace
and the surround sound playing smooth jazz. She makes me sick. I tossed my keys
on the table in the foyer and turned toward my bedroom.

“You don’t want to have a glass of wine
with me? You look like you could use a little unwinding.”

I looked at her with fire in my eyes and
said, “I won’t be unwound until you are out of my life once and for all.”