The Red Eye 3 (The Red Eye Erotic Romance Series) (7 page)

Three vodka tonics later and my flight was announced. I was pleasantly buzzed, but instead of the numbing effect vodka usually had on me, once I took my seat on the plane, I found myself overwhelmed by melancholy.

A single tear trickled down my cheek, and it took all my willpower not to burst into floods of tears.

“Are you all right, ma’am?”

I nodded, biting my lip to hold back my sobs, keeping my gaze firmly fixed out of the window.

“Let me know if I can get you anything.”

The stewardess moved on, but I could feel her looking at me in concern.

I was long since past caring what other people thought of me.

There was no one sitting in the seat next to me, which was a blessed relief. I had worried that Matt would be there. The way things had been going recently, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d have had to put up with him attempting to flirt with me all the way to Boston.

I pulled an eye mask over my face and put my seat back to try and get some sleep. Grayson had said that I could have tomorrow off to get myself settled in, but I was due at work after that. I could tell that he thought that he was being terribly generous. After all, I was the harlot who’d cheated on her son. But I wasn’t sure if I would be able to face work at all. Not at Caesar and Krause. Maybe not as a lawyer altogether.

I used to enjoy the intricacies of the law, cutting through to the heart of a case to find the little nugget that would leverage a win for our clients. Somehow, it had lost its allure. As long as I was practicing law, there was always the chance that I’d encounter Devon, and I couldn’t cope with seeing him again.

I’d love him for the rest of my life.

Perhaps it was time for a change of career. I’d always thought that being a shepherd might be fun. Or if not fun, then at least uncomplicated.

I’d made up my mind. Once I touched down, I’d book myself a flight to Europe. Greece would be nice. Then I’d head up the nearest hill and start looking after sheep.

I didn’t care if it was the vodka talking. I’d made a decision and I was going to follow up on it. My mind made up. It was the plan I was sticking with.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to touch down at Logan International Airport, Boston. The weather here is warm but cloudy, with sunnier weather expected later today. I’d like to take this moment to thank you for choosing Myriad Airlines for your flight and wish you a very pleasant stay.”

I groaned and shuffled off the plane with the other passengers, heading toward the airport exit, where a driver was waiting holding a card with my name on it.

I handed him my bags and followed him to where his vehicle was waiting. Slumping into the back seat, I closed my eyes as he pulled out and headed to the hotel I was booked into.

“Good morning, Ms. Bevan. Will you be staying with us for long?” The hotel receptionist was just as perky as the check-in assistant had been. Why was everyone so damn cheerful? Couldn’t they see that my heart had been broken?

“I don’t know. I’ll have to see how things go.”

“Of course.” She smiled and handed me my key card. “You’re in room 505. Take the elevator to the fifth floor and turn right.”

“Thanks.”

A porter picked up my bags for me and led the way to the elevators. “First time in Boston?”

I knew he was just trying to make polite conversation, but I really wasn’t interested in small talk, so I ignored him, hoping he’d take the hint and shut up.

For once, things went my way and the porter didn’t say another word until we reached my room. He put my bags down and stood waiting patiently.

I fished out a fifty from my purse and pressed it into his hand. I’d charge it back to the company later. It might be a petty way of getting back at Grayson, because it was small change to him, but one way or another, I’d make him pay for forcing me to leave Devon.

The porter retreated, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I left my bags where they were and flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

I was in Boston. If Grayson had kept his word, I was now head of a team at the Boston office of Caesar and Krause, with a partnership round the corner.

Of course, that was if Grayson had kept his word. Something told me that I couldn’t trust him. I had no doubt that the moment an opportunity arose, he’d ditch me and probably destroy my reputation—and career—in the process.

I needed a Plan B.

My mind whirled with thoughts of Devon. He was the key to all of this. Grayson would never do anything to me if I was with Devon. He wouldn’t risk hurting his son.

But I’d made a promise to stay away from him. I couldn’t risk Devon finding out the truth about me and Rick. It would kill him.

I sighed as I was forced to face the inescapable reality that the mess my life was in was entirely my own fault. Much as I’d like to blame Grayson for my problems, if I hadn’t slept with Rick, I’d still be in New York planning my wedding.

That didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to just accept Grayson punishing me without a fight. I didn’t care that he was one of the most powerful lawyers in the world. He wasn’t going to walk all over me.

I wondered whether I could find some dirt on Grayson. Maybe he’d done something just as bad as my sleeping with Rick. If I could find his dark and dirty little secrets, I could blackmail him into letting me get back with Devon. Someone in his position was bound to have done a few things over the years he wouldn’t want to become public knowledge.

“Face it, Rebecca. You haven’t got a chance.” My voice sounded strange to my ears.

I was exhausted, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I pulled myself up and headed to the bathroom for a shower.

As the water cascaded over my body, my tears flowed freely. I hated the thought that I was washing away the last traces of Devon and our love. I knew that I was supposed to spend today starting to look for somewhere to live, but I still hadn’t made up my mind whether I was going to stay in Boston. Okay, being a shepherd was a ridiculous notion, but the idea of getting away from a big corporate firm wasn’t so dumb. With my reputation and success rate, maybe I should set up a business for myself. A small office somewhere in a quiet town might be just the change I needed. I had some savings, and I was pretty confident that I could get a loan for the balance required to set up my own business.

I made up my mind to start researching the possibilities. Perhaps someone out there was looking to retire and I could take over their business.

Having something to focus on that wasn’t Devon was a blessed relief. This wouldn’t be the first time I’d lost myself in work to get over a man, but Rick hadn’t been worth my tears.

Devon was worth ten of him. More. I was never going to get over him.

If I set up my own business, it would mean long hours and little time off for a personal life. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it became.

“And this is your office right here. I must admit that we were all very excited when Grayson told us that you would be joining us. I’m sure you’ll be a major asset to our team.”

Angela Taylor, the lawyer showing me around my new workplace, was saying all the right words, but her tone told a different story. “I’ve arranged a meeting for this afternoon with your new department. I figured that you’d want to introduce yourself, say a few words about your plans going forward, that sort of thing.”

“Great. Thanks.” I had no idea what I was going to say to my staff. Heading up a team in Boston hadn’t even been on my agenda a couple of days ago.

“This is Jennie, your secretary.” Angela introduced me to the woman sitting behind the desk outside my office door. “If you need anything, I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to help.”

“Of course.” Jennie smiled as we shook hands.

“Well, if you don’t have any more questions, I’ll get back to work. I’ll see you at the meeting later.”

Angela turned and stalked out, her brusque manner leaving Jennie and I staring at each other.

“Let me guess. Angela thought she was a shoo-in for my job?”

Jennie nodded. “We all thought she was. She just won the Charles vs. Riddick Corp case, and under normal circumstances, that would have sealed the deal.”

“Ah yes.” I knew all about the case. You couldn’t miss it. It had been front-page news in all the industry papers, a complex patent case that could have seen Riddick Corp, our clients, pay out millions in damages. Nobody knew which way the decision was going to go up until the very last minute, but journalists had all reported on Angela’s brilliance in arguing her case and producing evidence in support of Riddick Corp’s right to claim the patent. “No wonder she’s pissed at me.”

“I’d watch your back if I were you.” Jennie looked at me, then blushed as she remembered whom she was talking to. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, no. It’s fine.” I wasn’t in any mood to work, and an impulsive thought took over me. “Why don’t you route all my calls through reception and come into my office? You can get me up to speed with all the office gossip, help me find my feet here. I bet nothing goes on in this place without you knowing about it.”

Jennie grinned. “You know, I really wasn’t looking forward to having Angela as my boss. Something tells me you’ll be a lot more fun.”

I smiled back as Jennie put in a quick call to reception to tell them we were in a meeting, and then followed me through to my new office.

Gazing around the room, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Although it didn’t have the views that our head office boasted, the windows overlooked the river, an improvement on my old office. The room was larger than I’d had before as well, the desk giving me plenty of space to stretch out my legs.

“I put some coffee things in here for you,” Jennie said. “I figured you’d need it. If you let me know how you like your coffee, I can make sure you have it waiting every morning just the way you want it.”

Her sweet gesture was lost on me as I moved slowly forward to examine the large bouquet sitting in front of my chair. I picked up the note that came with it.

Come back home x

“Is everything all right?”

I waved off Jennie’s concern as I crossed over to look at the window, keeping my back to her so that she wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes. News of the separation was still a secret until Grayson deemed it appropriate to issue another press release. I didn’t see how he thought he was going to keep our breakup out of the media for long, though. It wouldn’t take much for people to put two and two together, what with me in Boston and Devon back in New York.

“I must admit, I was surprised when I heard that you were moving down here.” Jennie chose her words carefully, clearly wanting to be careful that she didn’t overstep her bounds as my secretary. “I didn’t think that Boston was exactly the kind of place Devon would want to relocate to.”

I sighed and turned round to look her in the eye.

“Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course. It comes with the job description.”

“All right. Sit down.”

Jennie took a seat opposite me then picked up the coffee jug to pour us both out a drink. I added a generous dose of cream and a couple of sugars, not how I normally had my coffee, but I felt the need for an extra boost today.

“This stays strictly between the two of us, okay?”

“Of course.” Jennie nodded, her expression grave.

I took a deep breath. “Devon and I have split up.”

“I thought it might be something like that. But it’s just temporary, right?”

I shook my head. “It’s complicated, but I can’t see any way in which Devon and I are going to get back together again. As far as the public are concerned, I’ve come down here to get our Boston office into shape, but it isn’t a permanent split. The press are being told that we’re deciding where we want to settle after we get married. But the truth is that Grayson has decided that it would be in everyone’s best interest if Devon and I went our separate ways.”

“Grayson?” Jennie looked horrified. “I know that he can be controlling, but I didn’t think he’d interfere in Devon’s life to that extent. Why didn’t he do something before you announced the engagement? I’m surprised that Grayson would have let things go so far. I mean, it was him who arranged the press conference, wasn’t it?”

A bitter smile twisted my lips. “Yes, it was. But things change. I guess Grayson decided that I wasn’t daughter-in-law material after all. I mean, I don’t exactly come from the same social circles, and there are things in my past—” I cut myself off before I could say too much. Jennie might seem lovely, but I’d only just met her and I didn’t really know if I could trust her. “Anyway, I was sent down here to make sure there was no chance of Devon and I getting back together.”

“And what does Devon think about that?”

I shrugged. “I don’t think it matters what Devon thinks. Grayson’s the boss, after all.”

“You know, Devon doesn’t strike me as the type to just do what his father tells him. Are you really so sure he’s going to let you go so easily?” She glanced pointedly at the flowers sitting on my desk.

“Maybe not, but I made an agreement with Grayson and I’m going to stick to it. If I don’t get anything else right, I can at least know that I’ve done the right thing this time.”

“We all make mistakes, Rebecca. I can’t believe that you’ve done anything so terrible that it deserved exile.”

“Well, I appreciate your faith in me, Jennie, but let’s just say that there’s a reason I didn’t fight Grayson on this one.”

I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t.

“You know what? You need cheering up. What do you say to you and me on the town tonight? I’ll show you all the best bars, and we can have a really good gossip about what goes on in this place without worrying about being interrupted.”

I had been planning on going back to my hotel room and feeling sorry for myself, but I had to admit that Jennie’s idea was tempting. “All right.” I nodded slowly. “I could do with a friend. I don’t know anyone in this town. You’re on.”

I looked round the room at the faces staring back at me. Some were hostile, some were bored, and none of them looked pleased that I was standing in front of them.