BRIBE ME

11. PROBLEM CHILD

Laura loved solving equations. She loved slicing and dicing every component and formula before arriving at the perfect answer.

Yet, when the ultimate answer to her Charlie problem fell into her lap this morning – what could kill her feelings for him faster than his freaking fiancée? – she was far from happy.

She was raging mad – because the thing about equations?

It only counted if you solved them yourself.

"Celene is executive director at Langford Medical," said Henry. "You would know them as the leading pharma company on the east coast."

Laura nodded, flashing the slender lady a quick smile before dousing her discomfort with tea.

"Robert Langford, dear old friend of mine, wants to take our partnership to the next level. He thinks very well of Charles." Henry's eyes ran over his son, before pulling to Celene. "And the Langfords were positively thrilled to learn that he has returned."

His words spilled praise, but his voice was flat, unable – or unwilling – to shed its gravity.

Charlie extracted a hand from his pocket and drummed his fingers against the back of the teak chair. "Celene and I started talking when I came back last year."

Celene chimed in, her voice dancing airily with a soft, easy accent. "It was great timing, too. Spectre's new e-commerce platform complements our expansion across the east, and Charlie's excellent at what he does. We're really glad to have him back."

Studying Laura, Celene's face softened into a warm smile, as though to assuage a problem child.

Laura's eyes darted between the couple. Well, that settles it then. They would fly off for their conjugal union, probably nesting somewhere nice and fancy on the east coast. The handsome CEO of Spectre Corp and the beautiful director of Langford Medical, tangled in the sheets of matrimony.

So why was Laura standing here?

As if he'd heard her question, Henry spoke. "Laura, do run Celene through your PillBox plans. Now, the information I'm about to share must stay in this room – Spectre will sign a merger with Langford Medical to expand in the east. I am positive that Celene will take our companies in a brilliant new direction. Please, see to it that she is updated on your affairs."

Her heart lost in the abyss, Laura dumbly nodded. Her mind kicked into autopilot.

"If there's nothing further, sir, I'd like to get back to work."

"Of course. Thank you, Laura."

She nodded again stiffly and strode out the door, her eyes trained forward, refusing another glimpse at the future that was never hers.

♥

Ten million dollars from BeeBuy was nothing. Then again, everything was nothing to Laura now.

Her fingers flew over her keyboard, churning out numbers and figures at lightning speed, eager to dive into any distraction she could find. She liked numbers. They never lied. Never misrepresented themselves.

They never gave her empty promises.

She was supposed to have another week for this roadmap, but now she had to get as much of it done as possible, so she could present it to Celene.

And then, what? Would that Aphrodite-esque heiress take over her project? Pull her clients over to Langford? Trap Laura in her meagre role of business development manager?

All she had were equations with no answers, and the uncertainty choked her mind.

Geri must have sensed something awry, because she'd left a plate of almond cookies on Laura's desk, coupled with a sachet of strawberry tea leaves.

Her friend was right. The thick smoke of earl grey now suffocated her.

Gnawing bitterly on a biscuit, Laura grabbed her mug, picked up the teabag and strode into the pantry. She popped the kettle on and watched it seethe on her behalf.

"Well, I'd say that went rather smoothly."

She clenched her jaw, refusing to turn. "Are you going to say that every time you follow me here?"

"Whatever it takes to get your attention." Charlie shut the door, enveloping them in the quiet room.

The water simmered. Laura drew in a weakly calming breath. "I don't know why you're so starved for it."

"Don't make me state the obvious, Laura."

The kettle screamed, and Laura erupted. "Well, that's not exactly your strongest suit, is it? Why were you flirting with me when you're engaged? Did you even mean it when you said you'd look out for me? Because from what I'm seeing, my interests haven't exactly been on your mind!"

He curled his fingers in his hair, messing up the waxed strands. "It's not that simple, but believe me, we're doing everything we can –"

"What do you mean, 'we'? You and Celene? Spare me the pity, Spectre. I don't need a treasure map to know what's waiting for me at the end of the rainbow."

She dumped the boiling liquid into her mug and drowned the teabag. The leaves bled an angry red that swirled and stained the water.

"Laura, just give me a chance to explain. It's all I ask in return for the TWG." His eyes drifted down to her hands, where the sweet scent of strawberries wafted from her cup. "... Which you're not drinking."

His lighthearted quip was salt in the gash that had torn through her life. She scoffed, disbelief escaping in a sharp breath.

"You can take it back." She shoved past him, her voice dripping with disdain. "Earl grey makes me sick."

♥

The springs sank beneath the weight of her entire day as Laura slumped into bed.

So, she got what she desperately wished for. Her evenings were finally relinquished from Charlie's relentless teasing. She had all the time in the night now to do what her body had been begging for.

The extinguished light on the ceiling stared back at her in the dark, as if to taunt her. She reached her hand into her silk shorts and nudged herself, unsure if she even wanted to be aroused.

Dry as a dishcloth in the drawer. She sighed and retracted her fingers. Even if she could do something about it, the thought of his fiancée in the picture would have clammed her right up.

Her body twisted in the sheets with frustration, before hearing the faint buzz of her phone. She reached forward in the dark and brought the screen to her face.

New message
Unknown number

Her thumb unlocked the phone with a click and opened the text.

Unknown
Hello, Laura. I hear you've hit a tough spot at Spectre. Strange what their definition of loyalty is, huh?

She furrowed her brows and her fingers flew against the screen.

Me
Who are you? How did you get this number?

Unknown
Just a concerned friend with your interests in mind. In fact, I can make you a better offer.

Me
Candy from a stranger? How enticing.

Unknown
You don't trust me. I get that. Let's meet. We're having a party tomorrow. Masque, 11pm. Tell registration you're with Jack.

Me
Mind adding a last name there? I'm a little OCD with my contacts.

No reply.

Laura set her phone back on the nightstand and sprawled out onto her back, recalling wistfully to the innocent time she thought studying business instead of liberal arts would keep her safe and sound.

Sadly, it looked like drama was hell-bent on hunting her down.

♥