All In:Playing the Fool(8)

     



 

Yep, it's me I wanted to say. The girl who fucked your lying sack of  shit friend before getting dismissed by him. I'm sure that's what he was  thinking about. I'd gone home with Will, and he probably wondered what  happened between the two of us. Hell, Will may have already told him  every dirty detail of how many times he'd gotten off before he kicked my  ass to the curb. My face flushed in embarrassment, worried about just  how much Joe knew.

This morning I'd pulled my long honey blonde hair back in a professional  bun to go with my white business skirt suit, wearing a black lace  camisole underneath and matching black heels. I'm sure I looked a little  different than the girl in the short dress and hair down at the club.

I stuck my hand out to shake, since Joe was still trying to overcome his surprise. "Nice to meet you, Joe."

"Ah, you too. Was it Lacy?" he asked with a smirk as he stood up and shook my hand.

"Yep, Lacy."

"Alright, well, have fun sweetie. Our IT guy will be here soon to get  the computer in your office up and going on the network. Let me know if  you need anything."

"Thanks, Dad," I said as he left the office.

"Holy shit, it's you!" Captain Obvious exclaimed with a smile, coming  around his desk towards me. "Did you and Will have … fun the other night?"

"That is none of your business," I said, not wanting to admit to the one-night stand, or that I'd fallen for Will's lie.

"Ohh-kay. So I take it that it didn't end well?" Joe asked. It honestly  sounded like Will hadn't told him anything about what we'd done. That  was a relief.

"No, it didn't," I told him on an exhale.

"Well, that's too bad. I'm here for you, you know, if you need a  shoulder to cry on or a lap to sit on. Shit, sorry. That was highly  inappropriate. Please don't report me to Human Resources or to your  father," he said quickly, running a hand through his black shaggy hair.

I smiled, not the least bit offended by his flirty comment. Joe was a  very fine looking man, but unfortunately he was Will's friend. Even if  he wasn't, there was also the other huge deal breaker. He was an  attorney. I'd sworn off all of them since I knew every single one would  be just like my father - unfaithful assholes too busy with their  careers. Although, that didn't mean we couldn't flirt.

"Don't worry, I can handle you just fine on my own. I did remember to  put on my big girl panties this morning," I replied. Joe's cerulean blue  eyes darkened a shade.

"If you happen to … forget to wear them one day, please be sure to let me  know. Just to ensure that I'll be more careful with my comments, of  course."

"So that it's not an issue, maybe we should start each workday with a  status conference on the state of my panties … or lack thereof."

"Oh, I can already tell that the two of us are going to get along just  fine," he laughed. "But seriously, thanks for agreeing to give me a hand  for a few weeks. Jess has twins and her sitter just up and quit out of  the blue, so she can only work part-time until she finds a replacement.  Ah, and here she is," he said when a small, beautiful, dark haired woman  walked through the office door.

"Jess, this is Mr. Pierce's daughter, Lacy. Lacy, meet my assistant, Jess."

The woman held out her dainty hand and smiled as she shook mine. "It's  nice to meet you, Lacy. And thank you so much for helping out."

Joe went over and closed his office door. Turning to Jess he acted like a  gossipy teenager. "Guess who Lacy went home with Friday night."

Jess looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Joe. "I give up. Who?"

"Will."

"Ha! Our Will? No way? That's great! He is such a sweet guy, and I bet you two are so cute together!"

I shook my head and covered my face, cursing fate, that son of a bitch,  for making it impossible to forget about the asshole I met at Sin.

"Ah, settle down, Jess. Apparently it didn't go well. So we're not going to discuss him any more with Lacy."

"But he's-" she started, and Joe interrupted her.

"He's forgotten," he said, opening the door wide and shooing us out.  "Now, take Lacy and show her our case management system on your computer  until our IT guy can set hers up."

Jess smiled then nodded before leaving his office, waiting for me to  follow along. She pulled a chair up beside the rolling one at her desk,  and after we'd both settled in, she started on me.

"So you and Will? How'd you meet? What happened?" she asked.

I sighed and looked around her office for a distraction. Based on the  photos around her desk, she apparently had two little girls and was  married to a seriously hot male model. Oh, but wait, there was also a  certain bespectacled brown haired, adorably dimpled man in some  pictures. At their wedding. I recognized the woman and man from Will's  pretend apartment in some pictures too.         

     



 

"You're good friends with Will?" I asked, nodding toward the picture.

"Yeah, I've known him for almost two years. He and my husband Tyler have  been friends since they were really young. Tyler, Caleb, Will and Dylan  all grew up together in the same neighborhood," she said, pointing out  the men in the group photo. "I owe Will, since he's actually the one  that told me Joe needed an assisted a while back."

"Has he always been such a lying sack of shit?" I asked. She gasped and clasped a hand over her open mouth.

"What? Will? God no. He's the most honest, trustworthy guy I know, and that even includes my sexy ass husband."

"Uh-huh. So, I must have imagined him lying about owning a Porsche and living in his friend and sister's apartment."

"That bastard," she muttered.

"Yeah … and look, I don't care that he doesn't own all that, it just  pissed me off that he lied. Oh, and he made it very clear the next  morning that we were nothing but a one-night stand."

"Why would he do that? You're beautiful and seem so nice. He's been  trying to find a woman like you for years. Maybe you misunderstood."

"His response when I flat out asked him was, 'Well, what else would it be?'"

She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe he was such a jerk. That's not like him at all."

"Yeah, that's what his sister said too, but maybe you two don't know him as well as you think."

"You talked to Jules?"

"Uh-huh. I went back to what I thought was his apartment to look for an earring I'd lost, and that's when I realized his lie."

"Wow. I guess it's possible I am wrong about him. I'm sorry, I won't mention him again."

"Okay … thanks," I said, straightening my suit jacket, and sighing in relief that we didn't have to discuss the man anymore.

For the next two hours Jess showed me how to access client files, add  things to Joe's calendar, enter in his billable time, and all sorts of  other things. She finally left me in my new office to wait for IT to set  up my profile. I was playing solitaire when I heard the knock on my  open door.

"Come in," I said, spinning in my rolling chair toward the door. I almost fell right out of my seat onto the floor.

"You! What the hell are you doing here?" I exclaimed.

"Lacy?" Will asked, looking equally surprised to see me. "You work here? I thought you had a journalism degree."

"Wait, you're the IT guy? Why didn't they warn me?" I asked, getting to  my feet. "No," I said, shaking my head and pointing to the door. "You  get the hell out! I'll do the damn setup myself."

A wounded expression passed over his face before he quickly hid it. "Lacy, I'm sorry about the other morning ..."

"I don't want to hear any more of your lies," I cut him off. "Did your sister tell you I stopped by your apartment?"

That time guilt swept across his face before it turned bright red. "You, ah, met my sister?"

"Yeah, when I went back to look for my earring. Why did you lie?" I asked, before Jess suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"Sorry, I'm just going to close the door to give you some privacy, and  so no one else has to hear your argument. Will," she said, turning to  the man with disappointment clear on her face. "Tyler, Caleb and Dylan  should all kick your ass for what you did." Then she shut the door in  his face.

I didn't like the idea of being with him in such close quarters, and now  with privacy. Yep, my panties were already getting wet just seeing him  again and thinking about his magical, lying tongue.

Will rested his back against the closed door, his shoulders slumped and  head hung. With the cute glasses, wearing an untucked sky blue polo  shirt and khakis, he almost looked boyishly innocent. Almost.

"So, why'd you lie?" I asked again.

"I may have been  …  less than one hundred percent honest with you, but at least I didn't use you," he said with a clenched jaw.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, crossing my arms defensively over my chest. "All you did was use me."