Page 46 of A Private Affair
“No. I would never do anything to hurt you or your company. But I think I know how it might have happened.”
“I don’t want to do this, Chaz. I never wanted to do this. We were supposed to have an affair. Twenty-four hours and it was supposed to be over. If we’d just stuck to that none of this would have happened.”
“None of this would have happened if someone hadn’t copied your design and called it King’s. Nothing you or I did led to this.”
His tone was serious and his voice still rubbed her in that same sensual way. Riley hated that but couldn’t change what was. Instead she turned away from him. She walked back to her desk because that was where she felt safest. At her desk everything was about work, about this company and their reputation. Standing too close to Chaz when he was saying those words... It was just too much.
“I’m not going to keep saying I didn’t do this because I’d like to believe that you trust me enough to know better. Or that you have a modicum of respect for me after all we’ve shared.”
She stopped on the other side of her desk but did not sit.
“You want to talk about respect, Chaz? Just how much respect do you think I’ll get in this company now? My father thinks I’m too dense to know when a man I’m sleeping with steals from me. My brothers have already planned to hover over me for all the days of my life. And now, even my assistant is going to be giving me the side-eye because I agreed to talk to you.” Her headache was pounding with full force now and Riley wanted desperately to go home, close her blinds and just sit in the dark for a while. There she only had to listen to her own voice telling her how foolish she’d been.
“So you really think I’d do that to you.” It wasn’t a question, just a somber statement.
Riley massaged her temples. “No,” she said on a weary sigh. “I don’t. And that makes this even more confusing.”
“It doesn’t have to be, Riley. We both know what we’ve shared and I have an idea of what’s really going on with those pictures. So just let me figure it out and you continue to work on your show.”
He’d come closer so that he stood right beside her now, but he didn’t touch her. He wouldn’t, not until she acted as if she were receptive to his touch. She wasn’t. Not right now.
“I don’t need you to figure anything out for me, Chaz. I knew this was a mistake from the start. I lost my focus and I—”
He moved so that they were now face-to-face instead of side by side. “Look me in the eye and tell me that you regret every moment we’ve spent together. Tell me that you weren’t thinking about us having a future together just yesterday. Tell me, Riley.”
She looked him in the eye—those warm brown eyes that always stared back at her with such caring and understanding. The words were in her mind but she couldn’t say them. She couldn’t bring herself to lie.
“I do not regret anything that we’ve done. We’re adults and we decided to sleep together. I’m fine with that and I hope you are, too. But that’s done now, Chaz. The affair is over and we can both get back to our respective lives.”
He didn’t look as if she’d slapped him this time, but he did stare at her in disbelief. She hoped he wouldn’t continue to press this issue. She’d told him that she believed him—what else did he want? It didn’t matter because Riley had nothing else to give.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “We can get back to our respective lives.”
“Great.” That was a relief. She rubbed her hands down her skirt and moved to sit in her chair. “Good luck with your show this weekend and with the app. I really do wish you much success.”
His lips were drawn in a tight line as he continued to stare at her. “Same to you, Riley. I wish you the best of whatever you’re courageous enough to reach for.”
He didn’t wait for her response but left her office, closing the door quietly behind him.
Riley sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. If she kept them closed she wouldn’t think about what she’d just done or how all those dreams she’d had this weekend had walked out the door. She wouldn’t think about the man who’d just told her he was in love with her, or the fact that she was certain she’d fallen in love with him, too.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
TOBIASSLAMMEDTHEphone down so hard it skipped over the base and he had to fiddle with the receiver to finally get it down correctly. When that was done, he slammed his palms on his desk and cursed fluently.
Chaz had walked into his uncle’s office five minutes ago, catching the tail end of a one-sided conversation, but he could guess what it was about.
“That was the detective. We’re pressing charges against Lenzo for stealing our product, which was the dress he made, and Ron’s pressing charges against the receptionist at RGF who gave Lenzo the original design used for the dress. They’ll both be charged with theft. From what the detective told me, she didn’t waste any time confessing. Seems Lenzo was dating her specifically to get information. I could wring that idiot’s neck right now!”
Chaz rubbed a finger over his chin. Once he’d recalled Lenzo’s hostility on Friday and then again on Monday when Tobias fired him, Chaz figured the guy would have had to make only one phone call to get that story on the front page on Tuesday morning. When Chaz had left Riley’s office on Tuesday, he’d gone straight to the police to share his suspicions and they’d immediately followed up.
“Exactly. But the pictures... Lenzo said he bought those from the reporter who was fired after Ron’s tirade last week over an article the guy wrote.”
The article about Walt’s fiancée. Chaz cursed just like his uncle had.
“Can’t trust anybody these days.” Tobias sat back in his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Well, we’ve got a big night tonight so we have to put this behind us.”
“Got it.” Chaz agreed that tonight was a big night. As far as putting all this behind them, that was easier said than done.
