Something Forbidden (25 page)

“Make note of this, Nadia, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt under dressed in a tuxedo.”

Nadia pretended to scribble something down on her clipboard. “Noted.”

Nadia was draped in a short, silver and black dress with silver heels that wrapped around her ankles and lower calves. With her hair tight and back and fixed in place with a simple headband, the exotic—and obviously foreign—beauty pulled off the modern flapper better than most here.

“Careful where your eyes wander, boss,” Nadia said. The dress hung low enough to make her plump cleavage too tempting to resist looking. “That’s for paying customers, only.”

I laughed. “Get back to work.”

“Yes, sir.”

I greeted. I schmoozed. I smiled at all the right people, wandering from group to group so that no one felt excluded. Yet I couldn’t kick the feeling of being alone.

“Where’s your wife this evening, dear?” The wife of one of the city’s leading philanthropists asked the question but she hadn’t been the first. We’d met a number of times, and the older woman was always kind to me, but I could never remember her name.

“She’s in China, actually, on business. She sends her regrets.”

“That’s too bad. She’s always such a bright spot at these dreadful events.” Then, remembering who I was, waved the insult away like it was nothing. “Not your new bar. It’s delightful. Just...these people.”

We shared a laugh. “Oh, I know just what you mean. I’ll tell Katie you said hi.”

“Do.”

And it was on to the next cluster of people, although the old woman’s words lingered.
Always such a bright spot...
Katie wasn’t just that, but she gave all of this meaning. Talking to these people that I didn’t care about? It felt pointless if I couldn’t share a laugh with her later on about it, and even more pointless when I considered the possibility that I’d
never
share the stories with her again.

Life without Katie was meaningless. I decided then and there that no matter what, I had to get her back.

“Alone at last,” came a familiar voice. I picked up her vanilla perfume a moment before I felt her hands on my shoulders. “You’re a busy man.”

“Chloe!”

“Thanks for the invite. Greg sends his regrets. He’s too busy with his cock in your wife’s beautiful little cunt.” She circled me, staying close.

Chloe did the Prohibition Era thing with sass. She was more reminiscent of classic Hollywood than a flapper. Her blonde hair was crimped, she wore fat pearls around her slender neck, and her dress was short, sequined, and sexy.

“Welcome to The Katherine.”

“Cute name. I wonder what the real Katherine’s doing right now...” Chloe smiled over the lip of her martini.

“I’m sure she’s doing well.”

“I think we both know how well she’s doing. We’ve both seen it before, haven’t we?”

No amount of alcohol could make my head buzz like Chloe’s words were now. “Chloe…”

“There are a lot of things she’s never told you, Max.” Her hand ran across the front of my pants. “Your wife is a slut.”

The word snapped me out of my spell. I stepped back. “Don’t call her that.”

Chloe’s eyebrows went up. “No? But she is, Max. Last time I checked, only sluts sleep around behind their husbands’ backs.”

“That puts you in that category,” I said. The hackles on the back of my neck were up.

“I never claimed I wasn’t. All I’m suggesting is that why hold back anymore, Max? Katie’s so willing to try a little strange when you’re not looking. Why not join her?”

“How do I know you’re not just making it all up?“

Chloe ignored the question, asking one of her own. “Did you know that Hong Kong wasn’t the first time they got together behind your back? They’ve been meeting ever since the art opening. Didn’t you suspect?”

“No—”

“Oh yes. All those lunches you thought she was having with me? Most of the time, they were actually getting together and fooling around. We did have lunch a couple times, though, and she told me she couldn’t get enough of Greg’s cock.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Why didn’t you tell me before?” And why didn’t Katie tell me? Despite myself, my cock was alive, but this time, that sense of betrayal was stronger. If she’d just been truthful with me, this situation could have been so fucking hot. All of it. If Katie had just let me in, then it would have been perfect. Why wouldn’t she?

“Because you need to hear the truth. Because I’m getting tired of waiting for you to see it yourself. You’ve blinded yourself for too long, Max. You know that guy John? Her coworker? She’s been sleeping with him, too. She told me that they’ve been lovers since last year. You never suspected?”

My voice steadied. “No.”

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but—”

“No, Chloe. It’s over. Please, just stop.”

Misinterpreting what I was saying, she stepped close, shifting from dealing pain to doling out sympathy in frightening succession. “I’m sorry, Max, but it’ll be okay. Let me take care of you.”

I pushed her back. “I said no, Chloe. Just stop, before I make a scene.”

The blonde blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Let me rephrase.” My breath trembled with anger. “I want you to turn around, walk out that door, and never come back into my life. Again.”

“I know you’re upset at Katie, but don’t take it out on me—”

“Chloe, I’ll ask you one more time. If you don’t leave now, I’m going to have security escort you out.”

A few people had stopped, taking notice of us. The scene had started, and as bad as this would be for PR, I wasn’t going to stop it if that’s what it required. Chloe saw the eyes on her, too, then saw the tenacity in my own.

“Fine, but this conversation isn’t over.” She tucked her clutch purse under her arm and sauntered out, the crowd parting around her like she was radioactive.

Oh, but it is,
I said to myself.

“You okay, Max?” Nadia was there at my side, a hand on my shoulder to calm me.

“Yeah.” But I wasn’t. I felt light-headed, like I was about to faint.

“Sit down. Here, on the stool. Right here. And breathe.”

The world closed up around me, a tiny pinprick of light. I felt padding beneath me. A stool. And water against my lips.

“Drink. Drink. And breathe.”

When I opened my eyes (when had I even shut them?), a crowd had gathered, faces filled with curiosity and concern.

“He’s fine. Just had a little too much to drink,” Nadia said to the crowd. “See, even the owner isn’t immune to the effects of absinthe. Drink responsibly, all.”

I hadn’t been drinking absinthe, but as Nadia’s words worked their way through the crowd and the story traveled, I hoped that the bartenders had boned up on their absinthe drinks. She’d probably just sold out half our supply right there.

“That fucking bitch,” was the first words I spoke when the crowd had dispersed and I was alone with Nadia.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I caught the last things she said. None of it’s true, you know. The stuff with John and Katie? Couldn’t have happened. He would have told me.”

“Can you trust him?”

Nadia shot me a sardonic smile, as if to say,
Are you fucking kidding me?
“Yeah, I can trust him. That’s our understanding. That’s the only way it works with us. If we can’t trust each other, how the hell can we love each other?”

I thought about Greg’s opinion on this. How he got off on not knowing what his wife was up to. How that had slowly become the norm in my head. I started to realize how tightly wrapped in Chloe’s web I was. Something about that made me laugh.

“What?” Nadia asked, more nervous at my mirth than anything else.

“She warned me. Chloe, I mean. One of the first things she ever said to me was
you can’t trust me.
She also said something to the effect of,
I always get what I want.
”

“She wanted you.” Nadia shared my laughter. “Like you needed anything else to go to your head.”

“Hey, now. I’m not that bad.”

Nadia’s laughter petered out, but she continued to smile. “No, you’re not. Unfortunately for me and Chloe.”

“Now who’s filling up my head?”

“I’m sorry. Force of habit.” We looked out over the bar. The crowd had thinned, but the vibe was good. This place was going to make it. The Katherine was going to make it. Now, I just hoped Katie and I would, too.

“Hey, Max, there’s one other thing. I wasn’t going to mention it tonight, but in light of what just happened...”

I didn’t think I could take any more revelations, but with a line like that, I couldn’t let it go. “Go on.”

“It’s not bad, actually. Well, not in the end. I did some looking into it—actually, I mentioned all this to John, and he did some digging—”

“You told John about Katie and I?”

Nadia looked chagrined for possibly the first time since I’d known her. “Sorry? But this story has a good ending?”

“Every other woman I’ve come into contact with lately has betrayed me. I guess it’s your turn.”

Nadia rolled her eyes. “How dramatic, Max. And Katie hasn’t betrayed you. Just shut up and listen and we’ll get to that. So John did some digging and found out that a Mr. Gregory Reynolds invested a lot of money into their accounting firm right after the federal audit. He may have single-handedly been part of what helped it succeed, when everyone thought it was done.”

My mind jumped ahead, quickly connected the dots. “The Hong Kong trip—”

“Wasn’t a coincidence that it came right after your night out with them.”

“Son of a bitch.” Katie was vulnerable. We hadn’t talked about what had happened. She was ripe for the seduction. “I’m going to kill him.”

“I think that after Katie’s done with him, you won’t have to. John passed that on as soon as he found out—sometime last week?”

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Probably because she didn’t want you trying to go out and kill him.” Nadia patted my knee. “Anyway, that was like the last piece of the puzzle she needed. Did she tell you about the money laundering?”

“Yeah.”

“She has most of the evidence she needs to damn him, but she’s going for the smoking gun.”

“A confession,” I said. Suddenly, I thought of her dress and the way Greg had his arm around her. How far would she go to get that confession? “This fucking sucks, you know?”

“What does?” Nadia asked.

“Being stuck here. I feel powerless.”

“Trust her, Max. She’s got your interests at heart.” Nadia rose. “Oh, and I wouldn’t trust a single thing that blonde slut says.”

“She said they’ve been fucking for months. At the very least, he’s been at her side for weeks.”

“Doesn’t mean anything,” Nadia insisted.

“She had a picture,” I said.

“Did it show sex? Did it show anything actually bad?”

“His arm was around her?” Nadia stared at me flatly and I conceded. “You’re right, we were set up.”

“But your wife was too clever for them, it seems,” Nadia said. It was weird hearing her speak about Katie with admiration. “For a guy as business savvy as Greg, he misplayed this one completely.”

“Yeah.” I stood, and it felt like a rebirth. Everywhere around me, people were having a good time. They were pouring over the complex drink menus. They were tucked in private alcoves feeling a touch clandestine. They were experiencing something forbidden, while playing within the rules.

“Thank you, Nadia.” I caught her off-guard with my bear hug. Despite our ongoing flirtation, we didn’t physically touch very much. “Thank you for everything.”

“I’m just the messenger.” She laughed. “But I’m happy to take all the credit.”

Chapter
12

In the early hours of Saturday morning, when everyone had cleaned up and closed down the bar and I was alone, just me and The Katherine, I got the most unexpected of calls. I almost didn’t answer, I was so stunned. But then, how could I not?

“Hello, Greg.”

“It’s over.”

“What’s over?” My chest tightened before I could process his words. I skipped understanding, jumping right to that bestial thing that strained to get free. “Stay away from my wife.”

“I will, Max. I promise. I’m calling to tell you that I’m sorry. For everything. Not that it matters anymore, but it was never my plan. To seduce you and Katie. That was Chloe the whole time.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t matter.” If he’d been standing in front of me, he’d have a broken jaw right now. I could practically feel my knuckles crunching against that All-American face.

“We never slept together out here. She wanted me to tell you that.”

“I know.” And then I realized that I’d known all along.

“I’m sorry, Max. I really am. I never meant for it to come to this.”