Systematic Seduction (11 page)

“I
don’t want you to leave,” he said.

“I
won’t.”

“Can
we just stay here?” His voice was far away, and she wondered what would happen
if they both fell asleep like this.

“Yes.
Let’s stay here all day.”

His
phone rang, but he ignored it. Blair closed her eyes, so sleepy now.

Her
head jerked up when the door handle jiggled. How much time had passed between
the phone ringing and someone trying to get inside his office? Had she fallen
asleep? She was completely disoriented and had no idea how long ago they’d
eaten lunch.

He
moved her gently off him and told her to stay on the sofa. Blair curled up in a
ball as she watched him adjust his pants and shirt. He’d never even removed his
shoes, but she was stark naked.

Oliver
opened the door a crack. “What is it?”

“I’m
sorry to disturb you.” The voice belonged to one of his administrative
assistants, whose name escaped her at the moment. “There’s a man here to see
Blair, and someone on her team said she was in your office.”

Blair
sat up, fear coursing through her like hot pokers. Her clothes were across the
room. If she tried to get to them, whoever was out there would see her.

“Who
is it?” asked Oliver, his voice dripping with annoyance.

“He
said his name is Donny Gallagher, and he used to be married to her.”

Chapter
Sixteen

Oliver
felt like Kiera had punched him in the gut. He struggled to maintain a neutral
expression because she looked at him with trepidation. He’d never locked his
door before. “Where is he?”

Kiera
leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Right around the corner in the reception
area.”

“Tell
him we’ll be there in ten minutes.” Oliver didn’t want Blair’s ex-husband in
his office.

“Thank
you.” Kiera sounded relieved.

Oliver
closed the door. He’d never done anything like this, and wouldn’t expect any of
his administrative assistants to keep it quiet. But right now wasn’t the time
to think about the gossip this would generate.

He
turned to face Blair. She was already off the sofa and pulling on her clothes.
He pointed toward the door to his private bathroom. “You can use it first if
you want.”

She
nodded once, sprinted into the room, and slammed the door behind her. He stood
against the wall and tried to think. Why the
fuck
would her ex show up here, of all places? Then he remembered she’d
divorced him two years ago, so of course he’d know where she worked. Blair
hadn’t been in her apartment more than a few minutes at a time for over a
month. It was possible he’d tried to track her down there first.

But
what the hell did he want? Should he let them talk alone? What did Blair want
to do?

She
emerged, all put back together with her hair in place, but her eyes were
haunted and full of pain. Oliver crossed the room and hugged her tightly. He
had almost told her he loved her about a dozen times while paddling her and
fucking her, and now he wished like hell he had.

“It’s
going to be okay.”

She
pulled away and looked at him like he’d just told her the hacking was a joke
and they could all go home now. “How? How the fuck will this be okay?”

“Want
me to come with you to talk to him?” It wasn’t necessary to address her
question. He didn’t think it would be all right anymore than she did.

“No.
Yes. Shit. I don’t know.”

He
placed a hand on each shoulder. “Sit down and drink some water. I’ll go into
the bathroom, and then we can make a plan. Okay?”

“Okay.
Yes. That’s good. All right.”

He
watched her carefully for a few seconds, certain the signs of a panic attack
would surface any second, but they did not. Once he took care of his own needs,
he sat beside her on the sofa where only moments ago, he’d held her in his
arms, enjoying the afterglow of the most fucking fantastic play and sex he’d
ever had.

“What
does he want?”

Her
voice was small, like a child’s.

“Let’s
go find out together.”

She
gazed at him with skepticism in her eyes. “Are you sure you want to hear this,
whatever it is?”

Tell her now!

“Blair,
what happens to you happens to me. We’ll face down anyone and anything from
your past together. Got it?”

She
looked at him like he’d hung the moon. The
real
moon. “Got it. Thank you.”

They
locked gazes again, but Oliver knew this wasn’t the right time to talk about
love and happily-ever-after. He took her hand and they left his office
together, still holding hands when he walked around the corner to the reception
area. Her palm grew damp as Oliver checked out the man who had been able to
convince this extraordinary woman to say “I do”. He was nothing, which didn’t
surprise him from her description.

He
swore she was shaking as Oliver extended his free hand. “Oliver Fairchild.”

Dark,
narrow eyes regarded him with open scorn. His gaze cut to their linked hands,
and then a stupid smirk spread over his chiseled face. “Oh, okay. I see.” He
finally shook Oliver’s hand. “Donny Gallagher. I assume she’s told you about
me?”

His
tone was challenging, hopeful that Blair had said nothing to him at all about
her short-lived marriage.

Oliver
forced his voice to stay neutral and soft. “Sure, if you count her telling me
you and your friends tried to gang-rape her while you were drunk. What can I do
for you today?”

Some
of the fight left his expression, and his gaze cut to Blair’s face. “I’m here
to talk to
Blair
.”

“Well
then, let’s have a seat.”

“No,
I don’t think you heard me. I’m here to talk to my
wife
.”

Oliver
bit the inside of his cheek to suppress a smile. “She’s your
ex
-wife, and you’re not saying anything
to her without me present.”

He
sneered at Blair. “Does he own you?”

“What
the hell do you want, Donny? Why are you here?”

Oliver
wanted to kiss her. Hard. Not a trace of fear or uncertainty had tinged her
voice. She might as well be addressing a stranger who’d harassed her on the
street. She stood straight, her gaze level and steady. Only someone holding her
hand as he still did would know how much she was fighting panic inside.

“I’m
not telling you with an audience.”

“Then
I guess you wasted your time coming here.”

She’d
actually begun to walk away when his next comment stopped her.

“I
tried your apartment, but your neighbors said you’re spending your nights
somewhere else.”

She
turned and gave him a look that would melt the polar ice caps. “And?” Her gaze
cut to his left hand, which was bare. “What happened? The barfly leave you for
greener pastures, so you thought you’d see if I was free?”

Oliver
could barely contain his laughter. Judging by the look on Donny’s face, Blair
had nailed it.

Donny
ran a hand through greasy hair. “Look, let’s go somewhere and talk, okay? Just
to catch up.”

Blair
let go of Oliver’s hand and stepped forward. Oliver watched in fascination as
confusion crossed Donny’s face. She likely had never raised her voice to him,
or challenged him in any way, and the man clearly had no clue how to handle
this confident version of Blair.

“Catch
up with what? We have nothing to say to each other.”

He
narrowed his eyes slightly. “Oh, I have plenty to say.”

“Go
on. We’re listening.”

Oliver
glanced at a watch that wasn’t there. “Make it quick. I have a meeting in ten
minutes.”

“Oh,
you’re so cocky, aren’t you? I came here with a purpose that concerns you,
too.”

There’s a surprise
. Oliver couldn’t hold back the
chuckle this time. He glanced from Donny to Blair, who looked thoroughly
confused. Then he walked toward the intercom.

“Hang
on a second,” she said. “I want to hear this.”

Oliver
did, too, but he wasn’t as patient as she was. “All right.” He nodded toward Donny.
“You have the floor.”

“I
want alimony.”

This
time, she laughed. “
Alimony
? Donny,
we have a divorce decree that’s over two years old. It’s a done deal.”

“Yeah,
but now that you’re dating mister big shot here, I want a piece of the pie.”

Oliver
rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Not gonna happen, dude.” He pushed the button. “Kiera,
have security come and escort Mr. Gallagher off the property, please.”

Donny
looked agitated now, and Blair stepped back. Oliver took her hand and guided
her closer to him. He could already hear footsteps in the hall. Donny had about
five seconds to make his case.

“I
didn’t get shit in that divorce, Blair.”

“We
didn’t have shit. You kept your crappy apartment. What more did you want?”

“You
still have a job that pays well.”

“Not
my problem you could never keep one.”

“Yes,
it is.”

“Really?
Want to explain why?”

Two
burly men in dark shirts and Dockers strolled into the room like they had all
the time in the world. One of them cocked a brow, and Oliver held up a finger.
“We’ll give him one more chance.”

Donny
looked a lot less sure of himself than when he and Blair had first entered this
room. He glanced from Oliver to Blair.

“I’m
waiting,” she said. “Tell me why it was my problem you couldn’t hold down a
job.”

Oliver
had the urge to ask Kiera for popcorn. He loved seeing Blair like this. Had he
helped her reach this state of a strong, take-no-shit-from-assholes woman? God,
he hoped so.

“You
didn’t encourage me.”

“I
was too busy working, Donny. Working and paying the bills, and trying to figure
out why I had married you.”

Donny
glanced toward the security guards, who watched him with bored expressions.

“Well
… that doesn’t matter. I want some of the money now.” He reached into his pants
pocket, causing both guards to advance toward him, but all he pulled out was a
crumpled piece of paper. “I have it all worked out. A year dating you, then
three months of marriage, and what I think my time is worth.”

Donny
thrust the paper toward Blair, but one of the guards took it, then passed it to
Oliver. Donny opened his mouth to say something, but Oliver glared at him until
he finally closed it.

Oliver
had heard enough. “You have one last chance to tell me why I shouldn’t kick
your ass out of my building.”

“Oh.
Throw me off the property. How CEO of you. You’ve come up in the world, Blair.”

“Yes,
I have. Thanks to Oliver.”

Her
quiet voice, so filled with love, made Oliver’s heart soar. Donny gave her a
look that was nothing short of pure disgust. “Oh, fuck you. I’ll see you
and
your boyfriend in court.”

Oliver
nodded toward the men, who each took one of Donny’s arms and led him from the
room. Oliver gathered Blair close. She was stiff as a board, and he knew she
was about to cry.

“What
the hell is he talking about? How the fuck can he sue me for alimony?”

“He
can sue for anything he wants, but I wouldn’t give it one more second of
worry.” He kissed her hair. “Nothing will come of it.”

“I
want him gone. I want him in another city. All these months I haven’t heard
from him.” She pulled out of his arms and paced the room. “Why now? Why did he
do this?”

“Because
we’re online, love. I mean our pictures are. Together.”

She
pulled out of his embrace and looked at him like she wanted to bolt. This was
exactly what she had not wanted, but it was part of his life. It was part of
the life of any woman who dated him. She knew that, but Oliver also understood
she didn’t like it.

“Yeah.”
She looked and sounded defeated. “I guess I didn’t think about that.”

“I’m
sorry. He can’t actually hurt us. Surely you know that.”

She’d
never be able to do this. Live a life with him under constant watch like this.
The Donny Gallaghers of the world were out there, and she was an easy target
for men like that. He was an easy target for them, too, but for different
reasons. He wasn’t worried about that aspect of it. He’d weathered far worse
than a crazy ex-husband who thought he could extort money.

Blair
crossed her arms and stared at her shoes. “I don’t know what to say right now.”

That
tone in her voice scared the shit out of him. She sounded like she’d already
lost the fight. He reached for her again, but she took a step back and put up
her hands. Oliver was certain the pain tearing through him would never stop.

“No.
I need to think. I need to be alone.”

He
swallowed hard. “Okay. Go back to the apartment. Don’t worry about finishing
the work day. We’ll have dinner later and talk about it.”

As
he watched the emotions cross her face, Oliver knew she wasn’t going back to
his apartment tonight. He could barely breathe. The words were right there, but
if he said them now, it would sound like he was playing on her emotions. It
wouldn’t sound real.

“Just
tell me you’re okay,” he said. “Tell me no panic attacks are on the way.”

She
shook her head. “They’re gone, Oliver. Completely gone. You did that for me.”

“Then
let me help you past this, too.” He sounded desperate, but he didn’t care. If
he lost her, he’d die.

“I
can’t right now. I’ll see you later.”

He
watched her walk away, then stood in the doorway and watched her get on the
elevator. She never even glanced at him again. Oliver stood there a long time,
trying to hang onto the rest of his sanity.

What
the hell was he going to do? He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t. She was
everything he’d ever wanted, and he’d be damned if he’d allow some piece of
lowlife shit to drive her away.