She packed the brochures and correlated the orders while Mia and Simone prepared the clothes for shipment back to the office.
The last thing Riley wanted was to go home to Treat’s empty apartment. She didn’t want to be alone. She wanted to be in Josh’s arms, listening to him telling her it had all been a mistake, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She looked at Mia and Simone, hoping she could catch a break, at least with them. They hadn’t said a word about Claudia’s accusations, and she didn’t like it hanging between them like the white elephant in the room. She steeled herself for rejection.
“Hey, do ya’ll want to have a drink tonight?” Riley cringed at her hometown drawl.
Mia and Simone exchanged a glance, sending a clear, painful reminder of the accusations that hung over her head like a dark cloud.
“I’ve got a date,” Simone said and turned away.
Mia grabbed Simone’s arm and cast a harsh look in her direction.
Simone made a tsk sound, rolling her eyes. “Fine,” she huffed.
“Sure,” Mia said.
A new worry entered Riley’s mind. What if they believed that she really had stolen Claudia’s work, and they’d agreed to go for drinks just to give her a hard time about it? It was one thing to dislike a coworker, but calling her a thief took it to a whole new level.
“You don’t have to,” she said, feeling like she’d jumped into a night out with Mia and Simone too quickly. Maybe what she really needed was to go home and talk to Josh.
“Yes, we do,” Mia said.
Chapter Thirty-One
THEY CHOSE A quiet bar that was off the beaten path. Mia and Simone sat on one side of a booth in the back corner. Riley sat across from them nervously chewing the inside of her cheek. What was I thinking?
“Wanna talk about it?” Mia asked.
No. I want to hide under a rock. She let out a sigh. “Not really,” she admitted.
“Did you do it?” Simone asked.
“Simone!” Mia punched her arm.
“No, I didn’t do it,” Riley spat. She tried to hold back the rush of tears that welled in her eyes.
“I know you didn’t,” Mia said.
“That’s not what you said earlier,” Simone said.
“Why are you such a bull today?” Mia said to Simone. “I said that I didn’t know what to believe, and I don’t, but I’m more inclined to believe Riley than Claudia.”
“Aren’t we all,” Simone agreed. “Riley, you must have proof. Original sketches? Something to just knock the air out of this.”
Riley had been so consumed with the accusation that she hadn’t even planned out a way to prove that she was the original designer.
“I have them. They’re in my desk drawer. And I’ve faxed a few to a friend,” Riley said, thinking of Jade.
“See.” Mia nudged Simone. “So tomorrow, get the drawings and call Josh. He’s not leaving for the holiday until late Sunday. I’m sure he’ll meet you in the morning; then you can put an end to this before it goes any further.”
Christmas. Damn it. She had forgotten all about Christmas. She’d been so excited about spending the holidays together, and now—oh God—she had no idea what now would hold. “I will. Hopefully that will put an end to it, but I’m so embarrassed. I almost quit this morning.”
“Did Josh call you?” Mia asked.
She blinked away the memory of finding him asleep on the couch, so peaceful and handsome. That was before…before she knew what lay within his heart and he broke hers.
“Yeah,” she lied.
“Did you tell him it wasn’t true?” Simone asked.
“Yeah, but…”
“But he’d already spoken to everyone and knew that no one had seen you doing any designing,” Mia said.
“Yup,” Riley said, relieved when the waitress brought their drinks. She took a gulp of her drink and closed her eyes as it burned her throat on the way down. “I still can’t believe this is all happening. I don’t blame you guys for not believing me. You hardly know me. I promise you, though, I didn’t steal anyone’s design. That wedding dress was my original idea.”
“When did you draw the dress, Riley?” Mia asked. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but rather curious.
Riley shrugged. “I don’t know. Whenever I could find a few spare minutes. It’s not like I kept track. I wish I had started drawing it back home, but I was really just thinking about ideas until I got here. I never thought I’d be in a position of defending myself.”
Mia and Simone exchanged another look.
“In this business, covering your ass is one thing you should never forget to do,” Simone said. “Have you told your boyfriend yet? This town has eyes and ears everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if Claudia has already shouted it from the rooftops. Can’t you just hear her?” She flung her head back dramatically and put the back of her hand over her forehead. “The wolves have stolen my work. Woe is me. Come to my rescue.”
Mia slapped her arm. “Cut it out.”
“You don’t think she’d really tell anyone outside of JBD, do you?” It was bad enough being humiliated in her coworkers’ eyes, but having something like this go public would be too much for her to take. She guzzled her drink in one gulp. “I’ve gotta go. You guys are freaking me out.” She grabbed her purse just as her cell phone vibrated.
“Listen, we’re on your side, even without the evidence,” Mia said with a friendly smile.
“That’s how much we despise Cruella,” Simone added.
Mia rolled her eyes.
“What? We do despise her,” Simone said.
“Yes, but that’s not why we support Riley. We support her because we believe her,” Mia explained.
“Of course. Jeez. I thought she knew that already,” Simone said.
Riley wasn’t listening to them bicker. She threw money on the table and read the text message from Josh.
Can we talk?
Chapter Thirty-Two
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN Josh and Riley was far larger than the two feet that separated them on his living room couch. Riley fidgeted with the edge of the throw that was draped over the back of the couch. She had hardly looked at Josh since she’d arrived, and it was killing him.
“I went into the office today to see what I could find on my own,” he said.
“All of my original drawings are in my desk. I know she’s accusing me of stealing Max’s dress, but it’s with the other ideas that I’ve thought of over the last few weeks. And I forgot to tell you that I had faxed the design of Max’s dress and another dress I was thinking of making to Jade a while back,” Riley said.
“I went through your desk. There were no drawings.”
Her hands froze. He watched her finally lift her disbelieving gaze to meet his.
“No drawings? That’s impossible. I kept them all in the bottom right drawer. They were there a few days ago.”
He covered her hand with his. “Maybe Claudia took them.”
“She had to. Josh, this is awful. How am I going to defend myself if I don’t have my drawings?” She stood and paced.
“What about the drawings I saw at your apartment the night we had dinner with Peter?” Josh asked.
“I drew those the weekend I got to New York, before I even started working there, and they had nothing to do with Max’s dress.”
“Is there anything else you can think of that would prove that you drew Max’s dress? I wish you would have shown me the drawings when you first began sketching them. Why didn’t anyone else see you doing it?” The accusatory tone of his words surprised him, and he quickly added, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean that the way it sounded.”
Riley stared at him, her lips a tight line, her deadpan stare unmoved by his apology.
“Riley, these are serious accusations. I’ve gone through it all hundreds of times over the last twenty-four hours. Hell, I was ready to fire her this morning at the office.”
“She was there?” Riley asked.
“When I arrived, she was drawing.”
“Of course she was,” Riley said with a shake of her head. “She’s one step ahead of me, Josh. How can I ever prove myself if she’s stolen my drawings? I can’t believe it’s come to this. I have to prove my innocence? This would never happen in Weston.”
He held her stare, wishing he could tell her she didn’t have to prove a damned thing, but he knew that wasn’t true. This was a serious issue, and it had to come to some kind of closure.
“You’re right, Riley. This would never happen in Weston. But we’re in New York. It’s where you wanted to be, and with your skills, it’s where you should be. I’ll bring you both into my office and we’ll hash this out,” he said.
“Hash this out? What does that even mean?” She flopped back onto the couch, shaking her head.
He sat beside her again and lifted her chin. “Babe, this whole thing sucks, but we can’t let it ruin us.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. He wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
“How can this not ruin us? How can it not ruin me? Everyone thinks I’m a thief. We can never go public with our relationship now—that would only make things worse, and if we wait, then people will think badly of you for being with me. She’s single-handedly ruined my life,” Riley said. Before he could answer, she added, “And you hurt me. You don’t trust me, Josh.” Tears sprang from her eyes. “How can I be with you, knowing you don’t trust me?”