The Contract (31 page)

Without her, it was nothing.

Without her, I was nothing.

“Richard? What are you doing here?”

I turned and watched as a familiar scenario played out in front of me. My boss, walking into my office, finding me packing it up. In my hand was a picture taken on my wedding day. I had been holding it, staring at it for God knew how long, thinking and remembering.

Graham stepped in, looking confused. “You’re supposed to be home with Katy. I told you to take all the time you needed.” He spied the small box on my desk. “What’s going on?”

“I need to speak with you.”

“Where’s Katy?”

I met his gaze head on. “I don’t know. She left me.”

He reared back, shock written on his face. Reaching in his pocket, he withdrew his phone.

“Sarah, cancel my appointments and calls for the day. Yes, all of them. Reschedule as best you can. I’ll be out of the office.” He hung up. “I didn’t see your car downstairs.”

I shook my head. “I took a cab.”

“Put the picture back on your desk and come with me. We’re going somewhere private where we can talk.”

“I’m almost done,” I argued. “I didn’t have a lot here.”

“Are you resigning?”

My sigh was laced with pain. “No. Once you hear what I have to say, though, I won’t have a job. It’s easier to do it this way.”

He frowned, and his voice became firm. “Put down the picture, Richard. Once we talk, I’ll decide what happens next.”

I looked down at the picture grasped in my shaky hand.

“Now.”

I did as he asked. He held out my coat, studying my face. “You look terrible.”

I shrugged my coat on and nodded. “I feel it, too.”

“Let’s go.”

We didn’t speak in the car. I stared out the window at the city I loved but would possibly be leaving. Without Katharine or the job I wanted, there would be nothing left for me in Victoria. Once I had settled things with Graham and Katharine, I would move on to Toronto. It was a huge, impersonal city. I could lose myself there.

“Richard.”

I startled, looking at Graham.

“We’re here.”

I had been so deep in thought I hadn’t realized where we were headed. He had brought us to his house. I frowned, looking at him.

“We’ll have complete privacy. Laura is home, but she won’t interfere.”

I swallowed. “She deserves to hear this, too.”

“Maybe in a while. We’ll talk first.”

I pushed open the car door, too weary to argue. “Okay.”

RICHARD

I STARED OUT THE WINDOW
overlooking the vast property. Memories of bringing Katharine here the first day flitted through my head. How nervous and anxious we both had been. How well she played her part. My gaze swept over to the deck. Remembering our wedding dinner, my chest became tight. She had looked so pretty, felt so right in my arms when we danced. The day, which should have been nothing but another piece of my plan, had been a joyful one.

Had I loved her then?

“Richard.”

I turned to face Graham. He held out a steaming cup of coffee. “I thought you could use this.”

I took the mug with a silent nod and turned back to the window. My thoughts were jumbled and confused. I had no idea how to start this conversation, but I knew I had to have it. I needed to wipe the slate clean, then figure out my next move.

Taking in a deep lungful of air, I turned back to Graham. He was leaning on his desk, feet crossed, sipping his coffee. He was his normal, calm self, yet the look on his face was intense.

“I don’t know where to start,” I admitted.

“The beginning is usually the best.”

I wasn’t certain what the beginning was in this instance. The real reason I left Anderson Inc.? The arrangement I made with Katharine? The hundreds of lies and deceptions that followed?

“Why did Katy leave you, Richard?”

I shrugged, feeling helpless. “I don’t know. Maybe because she didn’t know how I really felt about her?”

“Which is how, exactly?”

“I love her.”

“Your wife didn’t know you loved her?”

“No.”

“I think you’ve found your beginning.”

I nodded grimly, knowing he was correct.

“I lied to you.”

“Which part?”

I sat down, putting my coffee mug on the table. If I held it, I would either smash it in between my tightly clenched fists or throw the whole thing, contents and all, at the wall. Neither boded well for a civilized conversation—not that this was going to be.

“All of it. It was all a lie.”

Graham sat across from me, crossing his legs. He ran his fingers down the crease of his trousers, then looked up.

“You lied to me to get the job at The Gavin Group?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me why.”

“I was passed up for partner, and I wanted to piss David off. I wanted out, but I wanted to stay here, in Victoria. I like it here. I heard about the opening at Gavin and I wanted in.”

Aside from the small tilt of his chin, he said nothing.

“I knew you would never hire me. I had heard of the tight-knit way you ran your business. My reputation was less than stellar, on a personal level.” I barked a laugh. “It didn’t matter what I could bring to the table, business-wise, because my lifestyle and personality would stop you from even considering me.”

“That’s true.”

“It occurred to me, if you thought I wasn’t
that
person, maybe I would have a shot.”

“And you came up with this plan.”

“Yes.”

“How did Katy come into this scheme of yours?”

“Not willingly. With the rules at Anderson, I knew she was the most obvious choice. Aside from the fact she was different from any other woman I had dated, that she was my assistant was the perfect set up.” I shrugged my shoulders in resignation. “I didn’t even like her. She wasn’t crazy about me, either.”

“You both played it well.”

“We had to. It was important to both of us.” I leaned forward, earnest. “She did this for one reason, and one reason alone, Graham.”

“Penny.”

“Yes. I paid her to pretend to be my fiancée. I practically coerced her into marrying me to continue the charade. She hated the lying and the deception.” I rubbed the back of my neck, my fingers digging into my skin hard. “She was,
is
, so fond of all of you that it became too much for her, I think. She couldn’t do it anymore.”

“How much of this deception was Brian Maxwell privy to?”

I had already decided not to let anyone else suffer because of me. I refused to jeopardize either Brian or Amy. “None. I told him the same story I told you. If he suspected anything, he kept it to himself. I think he truly thought I had changed, or he wouldn’t have been part of this. Amy,” I added, “knew nothing. Nothing.”

He regarded me for a moment, tapping his chin. “I’m not sure he was as innocent as you say. However, I’m going to let it pass. Amy is a trusted employee, so I do believe she knew nothing.”

“She didn’t.”

“So you came on board. What was your plan?”

Putting my head down, I clasped my hands behind my head, pulling my neck. I felt tight and anxious, as if I would jump out of my skin any second.

“Richard, you need to calm down. Try to relax.”

With a huge exhale, I released my neck and looked up at him. “I don’t know where my wife is, Graham. I can’t relax. My life is in turmoil, and the one person who can make it better is out there somewhere”—I waved my hand toward the window—“thinking I don’t care.”

“When did you fall in love with her?”

“I have no idea. It was supposed to be an act. I needed her to make me more likable. I thought if I could get my foot in the door, prove my worth to you and your company, show you what I could offer to your campaigns, maybe my personal life wouldn’t matter as much. Eventually, I would divorce her, and we’d go our separate ways. I’d keep working; she’d be in a far better place financially than she had been. No one would be any the wiser.”

“But?” His question hung in the air, simple and heavy.

“Things changed.
I changed
. What was supposed to be an act became real. We became friends. Allies. Then we became more. I never saw it, though. I never saw how important she was becoming to me. I never thought I was capable of having feelings like that for anyone.”

“Where does Penny fit into this situation? I think she was a huge part of it all.”

“Katharine never wanted me to meet her or have anything to do with her life. She didn’t want to confuse Penny’s already muddled mind. The night you had the get-together when I joined the firm, and I had too much to drink—we argued. Or rather, I was an ass and I pushed her. She told me about her parents’ accident and how Penny came into her life. She informed me, in no uncertain terms, exactly what she thought of me.” Even with my worry and the seriousness of the conversation, my lips curled into a smile. “I saw a side of Katharine that night I never imagined she possessed. She wasn’t an insignificant weakling as I’d originally thought. She was,
is
, fierce and strong. Loyal.” My smile fell. “And she opened my eyes to what a bastard I truly was—to her, to everyone around me. The next day, I went and met Penny.”

“I assumed she impressed you?”

“She reminded me of someone from my past. One of the few good people I had in my younger life.” I tugged at my cowlick and stopped talking, knowing I had to regroup my thoughts. I didn’t want to dig that far into my past with Graham. “Despite everything, Katharine married me that day because we had a deal and she kept her word.”

“And you fell in love with your wife.”

“Yes, I did. But it was too late.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She left me. She left everything I gave her behind. Her phone, the money, even the car. I have no idea how to find her or where she might have gone.”

“What about Penny’s things? Did she take them?”

“No, those are at the condo, along with a few of her personal things. I assume she’ll contact me as to where to send them.”

“You don’t want to wait until then.”

I stood up, going back to the window. “I don’t think there is anything to wait for, but no, I need to find her.”

“Are you willing to fight to change that—do you want to fight, Richard?”

I spun around. “Yes. I want to fight for all of it. Her. My job. Everything.”

He stood up, crossing his arms. “I suspected you were lying the first time I met you.”

I gaped at him. “What?”

“I was fairly certain. I found your thought process intriguing, though.
You
intrigued me. Talking to you, I had a sense there was more to you than you allowed people to see. There was a spark, for lack of a better word, I could see. For the first time ever, I wanted to hire someone I wasn’t entirely sure about. Laura felt the same way about you—even stronger, to be honest. She felt you needed to be given a chance.”

“You said as much one other time.”

He nodded. “Katy—she was the deciding factor. She was open and real. Whether you realized it or not, you
were
different with her.” He smiled. “It was actually enjoyable watching you fall in love, Richard. We could both see it. We saw the changes in you.” He studied me, his head cocked to the side. “At the office, you were a wonder to behold. The way your mind works, spinning ideas, concepts. Your enthusiasm even got me going again. It was quite the spectacle to witness.”