Chapter 19: Chapter 18

LILLIAN

Lillian knew she should have kept her mouth shut. She should have hidden her frustration. She was aware that he would pester her if he sensed something was wrong.

She knew this jerk cared about her; his actions had proven that much. So, how could she explain that his rare act of kindness was being used against her?

She should have dealt with it alone. She was capable of that. She should have invited him over for dinner without hinting at the incident.

He had prodded her, and instead of deflecting with some nonsense, she had stayed silent. He wasn’t a fool. He understood her silences; they were rare.

She freed herself from his hold and continued serving the food. He remained quiet for a while, setting the table as she had instructed him when he entered her apartment.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll ask Tamara,” he threatened, setting down his fork.

She had hoped he would let it go, but he didn’t. Again, this was her fault, but she just couldn’t unwind.

“Stay out of it,” she warned him.

“I want to know what she said to upset you, Lillian. You’re not the type to get upset easily.”

“I’ll get over it. I’m already feeling better,” she lied.

He raised an eyebrow at her, and she wanted to tell him to go to hell for knowing her so well already.

“Lillian, spill it. What did she say about me?”

He was relentless. He wouldn’t let it go, and since she was a terrible actress, she might as well tell him. It was better he heard it from her than confront Tamara and cause more trouble.

“It’s not what she said about you,” she sighed in defeat. “It’s where she said it and how she said it.”

“I’m listening.”

“She berated me in front of clients, during a meeting, saying that just because I slept with my previous boss to secure my position for five years doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do my job right.”

“What?” he exclaimed in anger.

“You heard me,” she retorted.

He closed his eyes, his nostrils flared, and she began to worry that he would do something impulsive that would only make things worse for her.

“I was upset because she lied out of spite to make me look promiscuous,” she told him. “I’ll handle her my own way. I don’t want you to intervene and confront her.”

He looked at her seriously. “I won’t,” he promised. “Right now, I have no desire to see her again. You were right. She crossed a line.”

She sighed in relief. No, she wasn’t disappointed that he wouldn’t play the knight in shining armor for her. She didn’t want to be the type of girl who needed saving.

Sure, she was taken aback by this offense, but she would find a better way to retaliate than telling the woman to fire her if she could. Not tonight and not tomorrow. She would let a few days pass—and then she would strike.

She didn’t know what her move would be yet, but it would be a good one—one that would shut that bitch up for good.

***

For the next three days, she let Tamara Coleman strut around like a peacock. Lillian even pretended to be subdued after the spectacle her current boss had put on the other day.

For the first time since she had worked for Coleman, she had been compliant and did what she was told without talking back. She even toned down her goth makeup.

She was biding her time until she found the perfect way to hurt her—and she did. But someone beat her to it.

“Miss Astaire,” Tamara called angrily from the intercom. “In my office. Now.”

She wasn’t surprised by the tone; it was the woman’s usual. So, she smirked and prepared to deliver her blow. She entered the office solemnly.

“Is there something I can do for you, Miss Coleman?” she asked meekly.

She could swear she heard her mutter “Go to hell” under her breath, but she pretended not to notice. Tamara didn’t respond to her, however. She picked up the phone instead.

“She’s here, sir,” she gritted out.

Tamara was instructed to put the call on speaker, which she did with a glare in Lillian’s direction. Lillian returned the look with one of feigned indifference.

“You’re on speakerphone, sir,” Tamara announced.

The voice on the other end was one Lillian didn’t recognize immediately, but it had to be Asher Ryder. He was the only man who could command Tamara like that. Yet, Tamara seemed hesitant to follow his orders.

“Miss Coleman.” Asher’s voice held a warning.

“I’ve asked you here, Miss Astaire, to apologize for my inappropriate comment about your morals during our last meeting. It was uncalled for, and I’m sorry if I offended you.”

His apology was so insincere it was almost comical, but Lillian didn’t laugh. She couldn’t help but think she’d never want to be in Tamara’s shoes. Her second thought was how much she wished she could have recorded this moment.

“I accept your apology,” she replied politely.

“Good,” Asher responded. “I hope I won’t have to intervene again. Is that understood, Miss Coleman?”

“Yes, sir. Perfectly.”

“Good day, ladies.”

And with that, the call ended.

“Long overdue, don’t you think?” Lillian asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“This is the second time you’ve caused me problems,” Tamara snapped.

“I think you’re responsible for your own problems. How did he find out?” Lillian had her suspicions, but she wanted to hear what Asher had told Tamara. If Noah was involved, he would have been smart enough not to implicate Lillian.

“One of the clients at the meeting called him and told him about the incident,” Tamara gritted out. “I thought you ratted me out like last time.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Lillian replied with a sweet smile. “I had no reason to.”

“Because I was telling the truth.”

“No, you weren’t. You were just being the spiteful bitch you always are.”

“Watch your language with me.”

“You didn’t watch yours,” Lillian retorted. “That’s why you just had to apologize to me. Like I said, you weren’t right. Noah didn’t make the deal for me because we were sleeping together.”

“Yeah, right,” Tamara scoffed.

“We weren’t sleeping together while I worked for him because, like you, he thought I looked like a freak. But we did spend most of my vacation doing it on every available surface.”

“What?” Tamara’s face paled.

Lillian had achieved the reaction she wanted. Now it was time for the final blow.

“You heard me. Two weeks we were together. Did he ever give you that much of his time?”

Lillian didn’t wait for a response. She left Tamara’s office with a triumphant smile.

***

That night, Lillian decided to visit Noah at his hotel.

She had told him not to pick her up again to avoid Tamara seeing them. But after what she’d told Tamara, that precaution seemed pointless. Still, Noah had followed her instructions and stayed away.

So, she went to him. It was the first time since he’d returned, and she didn’t understand why he hadn’t rented a house. He had the money, and the hotel was more expensive.

He’d arrived in late September, and it was already mid-October. Lillian wasn’t exactly pondering over these thoughts as she stepped into the hotel. She just needed to share her triumph with someone who would understand.

Her family was clueless about her professional life; if they were aware, they’d urge her to abandon everything and come back home to safety and love. She wouldn’t do that, so it was best they remained oblivious. Noah, on the other hand, was directly involved in all this.

After she dialed his number, the receptionist directed her toward the elevator that would lead her to his room.

She had never been to this place before. Until he shared the hotel’s address, she hadn’t even realized it existed. Sure, it wasn’t a luxurious five-star hotel like the ones he was accustomed to, but it was well maintained and appeared clean.

Noah had mentioned that they served breakfast, but he wasn’t a fan of their food and preferred a nearby bakery that at least offered fresh croissants.

She had never planned to drag herself here after work, especially not tonight. Mostly because she was usually too exhausted to be anywhere but her apartment, but this fine, rainless evening, she felt surprisingly energetic.

“You’re the reason,” she accused him the moment he opened the door to let her in.

“Nice to see you too,” he retorted with a smirk. “What am I being blamed for this time?”

“You’re the reason Asher reprimanded Tamara,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take credit for that,” he replied, stepping aside to let her in.

She scoffed at his denial, tossing her bag onto the nearest armchair before heading straight for his bed. She flopped down and fixed him with a hard stare. She didn’t have time to take in the room now. That could wait.

“I’m telling the truth,” he insisted, moving her bag from the armchair to a hanger. He then claimed the seat for himself.

“Once I informed Asher about her latest antics, he was livid. He even considered firing her. If he had a replacement ready, he would have. But the public apology, with the speakerphone on for him to hear—that was my idea.”

“I knew it. I told you not to interfere.”

“You asked me not to confront her, and I respected your wish. You asked me to stay away from your workplace for a while, and I complied. But I couldn’t let this slide, and Asher felt the same. My brother would have made her apologize anyway; I just suggested a way for him to do it.”

“I told you I could handle it myself.”

“It’s not just about whether you can handle yourself, Lillian. What Tamara did reflects on the company too. Clients and partners shouldn’t see such behavior.”

“You’re not the CEO anymore. You remember that, right?”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the company or you.”

She thought she must have misheard him, and he seemed to read the disbelief on her face.

“I said it, so don’t give me that look. It’s not a love confession, for Christ’s sake. You should know that by now.”

“I didn’t expect you to admit it out loud,” she said, frowning.

“I’ve confessed to worse things in my life than caring about someone. I’ve admitted to being a jerk for most of my life, and I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I’ve been spiteful, vindictive, sarcastic, and borderline rude. But as far as I recall, I’ve never insulted an employee in front of clients. I’ve fired a few after meetings, but I never gave clients a reason to think of me as a jerk.”

“My appearance wasn’t right for the company either. And it’s not because Tamara thinks so.”

“I’m aware of that, and that’s why I was hesitant to hire you initially. Many clients commented on your appearance while I was there.”

“I’m sure they did,” she scoffed. “Pretentious bastards. They still give me side glances.”

“Did I ever tell you what I said to them?”

“No, but I can guess it was something like ‘at least you can all be sure that I’m not sleeping with this one.’”

“Exactly.” He smirked before his expression turned serious again. “And when they persisted, I told them that as long as you took excellent notes and didn’t mess up my schedule, I didn’t give a damn about your looks.”

She hadn’t anticipated those words from him. She wasn’t naive enough to believe he was genuinely looking out for her. He was just trying to silence the critics. But it was a nice gesture nonetheless.

“I let her in on our secret,” she confessed, her voice wavering with uncertainty.

“What secret?” he questioned, a hint of confusion in his voice.

“Our summer fling,” she clarified.

His face registered surprise for a moment. Then he erupted into laughter. His laughter was so infectious, it was hard not to join in.

“Stop laughing,” she said, a smile playing on her lips. “She was convinced you kept me around because we were sleeping together, even after your brother made her apologize.”

“So, you were getting back at her?” he asked.

“Absolutely, and I loved every second of it. I wouldn’t have spilled the beans if she hadn’t been so nasty to me, but the cat’s out of the bag now,” she admitted.

“If she’s smart, she won’t confront me about it,” he declared, still chuckling.

“I think she might.” She shrugged. “You should have seen her face when I asked if you’d given her as much of your time as you’d given me.”

“I didn’t.” He was quick to respond. “I was out of there by sunrise the last time.”

“I wouldn’t care if you had,” she reassured him. “It’s none of my business. I just wanted to get under her skin.”

“So, you’re not jealous?” he asked.

“Not at all. Would you be jealous if I were with someone else?” she countered.

His expression shifted, and she felt a pang of worry when he didn’t respond immediately.

“No,” he finally answered. “But tonight, you’re with me. And by ‘with me,’ I mean we’re going to make love.”