"Sure. See ya' sis," I told Jules, then let myself out.
After living Dylan's filthy rich life for more than a week, walking into my normal size, sparsely furnished, lonely apartment, and climbing into bed alone made me feel even shittier.
…
Lacy
I stepped out of the elevator and almost talked myself out of this again. No, damn it! I've come this far, remembering the code Will entered Friday night to get up to his penthouse. This was for the other half of my favorite earrings, a birthday present from my grandma, which also just happened to be a good excuse to see him again. But what if he doesn't want to see you? The bitch in my head asked. Well, then, I'll get my earring and be on my way.
Taking a deep breath I finally stepped forward, knocked on the door and waited.
I sure as hell wasn't expecting a pretty brunette to open the door ... in pajamas. She looked just as surprised to see me on the other side.
"Hi, um, can I help you?" she asked with a frown.
I froze. I hadn't prepared for this scenario. "No, that's okay. I can see Will's busy," I replied, as I took a step backwards toward the elevator.
"Will?" the young woman asked with a furrowed brow. "He's not here. Did you want to leave a message for him, or do you want me to tell him you stopped by?" She didn't sound jealous, so maybe she wasn't a woman he was seeing. Upon closer inspection, she actually looked like Will. Same mocha colored hair and lime green eyes.
"Are you his sister?"
She smiled. "Yeah, that obvious, huh?"
"Yeah. Um, I was just wondering if he maybe found my other diamond earring. I think I lost it here Friday night."
"Oh. Well, he didn't say anything about it, but come on in and we'll look for it."
I heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that she was so nice and willing to help me find it. "Thanks."
"Chance it's in the living room?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"No, we were only in the, ah, hot tub and bed," I admitted, as my face and hers both turned red.
"Right," she said, and started toward the bedroom. "Dylan? Are you dressed?" she called out.
"Yeah, but I can remedy that in like, five seconds flat, if you're ready to go again," a man's deep voice responded.
"No! Keep your damn clothes on." She shook her head as we walked into the huge bedroom with the enormous bed. A nice looking, and really big, blonde man sat propped up against the headboard, holding a laptop. His eyes widened a second before his jaw dropped.
"Holy shit! You're the best wife ever! I didn't even know you wanted a threesome, but I'm all in, baby," he exclaimed, pulling his shirt over his head. I looked away after I got an eyeful of his broad and very nice chest and abs.
"Oh my God!" the woman exclaimed, covering her even redder face. "I'm so sorry," she turned and said to me. "My husband can be a real jackass."
"Aww," the man made a noise of disappointment and flopped heavily back against the headboard, making it rattle. "You mean she's not a surprise threesome?" he asked. When I glanced back over, a huge canvas photo above his head caught my eye. I didn't remember seeing it there Friday night. It was of Will's sister. In naughty lingerie? Huh.
"No, and now you won't be having any twosomes either."
"What am I supposed to think when you bring a random woman into our bedroom?" he asked.
"This is … I'm sorry, what was your name?" she asked me.
"Lacy."
"This is Lacy. Will's … date from the other night. Have you seen a diamond earring?"
"Wow, he was right. How the fuck did Will manage to snag you?" the man asked as he climbed out of bed and opened a dresser drawer. "You were shit-faced drunk, right?"
"Dylan! My brother is a sweet, handsome guy."
"Hold on," I said as all the pieces started to fall into place. "Do you guys live here?" I asked even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.
"Ah, yeah," the woman replied, sounding confused. "Why?" she asked then gasped. "Did that bastard pretend like this was his place?"
"Yep. He sure did," I responded, pissed that he'd not only used me, but had also lied to me, apparently about everything except his name.
The man laughed while the woman looked appalled. "Dylan was right. You are too good for my brother. That lying sack of shit. I can't believe he did that."
"Here you go," the man said when he came over and dropped the diamond stud into my palm.
"Thank you," I sighed in relief.
"You found it and didn't tell me?" the woman snapped at the man, Dylan I believe she'd called him, with her hands on her hips. "What if it was mine?"
"I knew it wasn't yours, and I didn't want you accusing me of cheating on you if you found it. So I put it away until I could give it to Will."
Smart man.
"Oh. Well, that was probably a good idea," she conceded.
"I know, I have my moments," he responded. "So, ladies, threesome. What's it going to take to make that happen? Lots of alcohol for deniability?" he asked with a smile. His wife shook her head before leaving the room, and of course I followed.
"I apologize on his behalf. We've only been married a week and I'm already having second thoughts."
"Hey, I heard that! You know you love me!" he yelled from the bedroom.
"Congratulations," I told her. "He seems ... like a handful."
"He is, but he's worth it," she laughed, obviously head over heels in love despite her teasing. "I'm Julie by the way. Julie Reavis," she said with a smile, offering her hand which I shook. "No wait, I'm Julie Daughtry now!"
"It was nice meeting you. Sorry for barging in on you and your new husband, and thanks for helping me find the earring," I said, holding it up as I went toward the door.
"Did you want to see him again?" she asked. "Will?"
I nodded. "Yeah, but that was before I found out he lied to me."
"I can totally understand that, but my brother really is a nice guy. He told us you were too good for him, so maybe that's why he lied."
"What?" I asked.
"He said you could have any man you wanted, so why would you want him."
I thought he was different...but it turned out I was wrong," I said as I left the apartment, almost as disappointed as the last time, if that was possible.
...
Wednesday was my first day of work, helping out in my dad's office. He was the senior partner at the biggest law firm downtown. Since one of his attorney's legal assistant had unexpected child care problems, they needed help for a few weeks. I was going to give them a hand, albeit without actually getting paid, while I looked for a job with a television station. I was also thankful for the distraction. I still couldn't stop thinking of my one night with Will. His quick dismissal and lies stung like a son of a bitch.
I went straight to my dad's side of the building when I got off the elevator, waved to his assistant, then looked around his office while he finished his telephone call. I was used to waiting on my father. "Hold on, I have to take this call," had been a more common saying than "I love you" in our house.
A few pictures of me when I was little sat in frames around the office. There were none of him and my mother, but what man would have pictures of his ex-wife in his office? I hated the flicker of hope that I'd held onto ever since I was ten and found out they were splitting up. I'd never let go of the notion that one day they'd get back together and we'd be a family again. It'd be even tougher now that my dad was on his third wife. My mom had sworn off men entirely, preferring the comfort of pills and alcohol instead.
"Hey princess, you ready to go to work?" my dad asked when he hung up the phone.
"Dad, I'm twenty-two and I'm going to be working in your office. Maybe you shouldn't call me princess anymore."
"Oh, you'll always be my princess, no matter how old you are. Now, come on and I'll introduce you to Joe and Jess. I think you'll all get along great. Joe is a real laid back guy, just a few years out of law school, and everyone loves Jess," he said, guiding me down the hallway of the busy office.
Uh-oh. I had a bad feeling about this young attorney named Joe. There had to be more than one lawyer named Joe in a city as big as Greensboro, right? Fate couldn't actually be that cruel, could it?
My dad knocked on an office door, and then walked in with me right on his heels. I was anxious to see if my instinct was right. Fuck. There might be more than one Attorney Joe in the city, but this one was in fact Will's friend from the club.
"Joe, meet my daughter, Lacy. Lacy this is Joe Montgomery, our firm's criminal defense attorney."
The familiar handsome man with black hair and blue eyes looked over at me and smiled politely before his gaze went back to my dad. After only a moment, his eyes came right back to mine, and he studied me closer. The second look he gave me was more appraising and somewhat heated before he smiled a knowing smile.