The Player (35 page)

Garrett had never been so nervous in his life. He knew Neil wouldn’t let Blair go without a fight, and Blair had gone to meet him without knowing everything. How stupid could he be? Now Neil could spin an elaborate web of lies, especially since Garrett had fed her that vague line about Neil’s secret. But Garrett just hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell her something that would hurt her . . . even though he wasn’t the perpetrator.

What bothered him even more was that Neil hadn’t returned his text. He’d been purposely vague in an attempt to pique his interest. Maybe Garrett had underestimated Neil’s intentions. But Blair was breaking up with Neil, which made it a moot point. So why didn’t that reassure him?

He’d turned on the TV to try and take his mind off his nerves, but he couldn’t quell his anxiety. Something told him that things were about to go very, very bad.

Dammit.

He walked over to the window and looked down at the street, eager for a glimpse of her.

She had only been gone for twenty minutes when a knock sounded at the door. He wondered why she was knocking if she had the room key. But she didn’t have a purse, so there was the possibility that things had gotten tense and she’d left it at the coffee shop.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Layla, the woman he’d found in Neil’s office.

“Garrett?” she asked, looking nervous.

“Uh . . . yeah . . .” He blinked.

“Can I come in?”

He blocked the entrance, still in shock. “What are you doing here? How’d you know how to find me?”

“Neil got your message.”

“So why are you here instead of Neil?”

“Can I come in?” Tears filled her eyes. “Please.”

He swung the door open, and she walked past him into the room, looking around and taking in the sight of the mussed bed.

Garrett stood at the still-open door. He didn’t feel comfortable with her in the room, and he definitely didn’t trust her or her motives. “Did Neil send you?”

“No.”

Why was she here? When he thought about it, Layla most likely had the same goal Garrett had—prevent the wedding. He still didn’t understand why it wasn’t Neil at his door instead of his girlfriend.

“Can you shut the door?”

He heaved out a breath and looked into the hall. “I think I’ll leave it open. Why don’t you just get to the point?”

She sat down on the bed and grasped her shaking hands.

“Look, if you’re upset about Neil marrying Blair, you don’t have to worry. She’s breaking up with him as we speak.”

She shook her head, a tear sliding down her cheek. “There’s something you have to know.”

“What?” She didn’t respond, and he wondered why she was there. The only reason he could come up with was that she wanted Neil to ditch Blair so she could have him. “Neil’s free now. Or he will be in a few minutes. You can run off and be together.”

“There’s more to it. Please. I think you’re the only one who can help me.” Tears streaked down her face. Garrett’s room was at the end of the hall, giving them a complete view all the way to the end. A door opened several rooms down, and a couple emerged into the hall. They looked down at the woman crying on his bed and gave him a dirty look.

With a groan, he shut the door. “Okay, you’re here. I’m listening. What do I need to know?”

“Neil’s not who you think he is.”

He released an annoyed grunt. “I’ve known the man for nearly thirty years, and I’m not a fan, so I’m not sure there’s anything you can tell me that will surprise me right now.”

She stood and moved toward him. “You seem like a nice man.”

“Layla, spit it out already. What do you want?”

She stopped in front of him. “I’ve met Blair before, you know.”

The very thought made him livid. “You mean at the hospital?”

“No. Before that. When she and Neil first started dating.”

His fists clenched. “Were you and Neil already having sex then?”

She looked up at him, defiance in her eyes. “It’s not like that. It’s not that crass.”

“Then what’s it like? Because he was going to marry her and have sex with you. Sounds pretty crass to me.”

“No. He only realized he loved me after he proposed to her.” She shrugged. “But he has to marry her so we can be together. She’s got a huge trust fund. After they’re married for a year, he can divorce her and get half her money.”

“Is that what he told you? You really bought that bullshit?” He shook his head in disgust. Could she really be that gullible? But then again, maybe that was part of her appeal. Neil had said he couldn’t stay with one woman long. So his choices made sense. Marry the respectable woman. Sleep with the not-so-bright ones, feed them a few lines to string them along, and then find a replacement mistress once the relationship had run its course. “There is no trust fund. Blair’s father left her and her mother penniless. He’s lying to you.”

Layla’s eyes widened, and fresh tears filled her eyes. “No. He wouldn’t do that.”

“He’s a doctor, Layla. Why would he need her money to be with you? Why not ditch her and marry you?”

“Why do you even like her?” Layla asked. “She’s such a cold bitch.”

He took a step back, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. “I think you should go.”

“Why would Neil want to be with someone like that unless he wanted her money?”

“Layla, I can’t help you. You need to talk to Neil about this.”

“Do you know how they met?”

Why wasn’t she leaving? He’d given her the information she wanted, so why hadn’t she just left? But then again, she hadn’t actually told him what she wanted. “What does it matter? Layla, what do you want?”

“A guy from Blair’s office set them up. He told Neil that she was a hotshot lawyer on the rise with a multi-million-dollar trust fund. The rest is history.” She reached for the bottom of her shirt and tugged it over her head, revealing a purple bra.

“What the hell are you
doing?
”

She tossed her shirt onto the floor and moved toward him, unfastening her pants. “You think Neil’s stupid, but he’s actually very, very smart.”

He backed up toward the door. “I need you to leave.”

“Neil is much more calculating than most people give him credit for.” Her pants dropped to the floor next, and she backed him into the door, pressing her nearly naked body against him. All he felt was disgust and revulsion.

He moved away from her, heading into the middle of the room. “You need to go.
Now.
”

“Not yet.” She moved toward him. “I know you don’t believe it, but I know the trust fund exists. I love him, and we’ll be together soon enough. It’s just not time yet.”

He heard voices outside the door, and he froze in place as panic washed over him.

Layla put her arms around his neck and smiled. “Trust me. You’ll thank me for this later. She’s a bitch.” And then she kissed him, locking her fingers around his neck.

Garrett was trying to pry her off him when the door flung open. Garrett’s heart ripped open when he heard Blair’s gasp.

Layla leaned back and turned toward the door. “Garrett, why are those people in your room?”

Blair’s mouth dropped open, and she stumbled backward.

Garrett tore free of the clinging witch and shoved her aside. “Blair!”

She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “You lying son of a bitch.”

“I didn’t do this, Blair. I swear. This is Neil’s doing.”

She shook her head again and flung her hand toward Layla, who stood in the middle of the room, wearing nothing but her bra and panties. “How can this be
Neil
’s doing? This looks like it’s all
you,
Garrett.”

He pointed at Neil, barely keeping his anger in check. “He sent her here! He’ll do anything to keep you.” He turned to Neil’s mistress, his eyes narrowing. “And as Layla just pointed out, he’s much more calculating than any of us had realized.”

“
Layla?
”

Oh. God. Somehow he had just made it worse. What had Neil told her?

Blair put her hands on her hips and turned her murderous gaze on Neil’s girlfriend. “You want him? You can
have
him.” She took a step closer. “But right now, you better get the hell out of my sight, or I might not be responsible for what I do.”

Layla’s eyes widened, then she scooped up her clothes off the floor and hurried out the door. She cast a worried glance to Neil on the way out. He gave her a slight nod before she ran down the hall.

But Blair missed their silent interaction because she’d turned her attention back to Garrett. “And you . . . you worthless, disgusting excuse for a man.”

“Blair,” he pleaded. “Please listen to me.”

Blair rushed toward him and shoved his chest. “There’s not one damn thing I want to hear from you. I’ve heard enough to last a lifetime.”

The pain in her eyes seized his heart, squeezing tight. How was he going to fix this? “It’s not how it looks.”

Contempt washed over her face. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve heard those exact same words from the couples filing into my office? Do you think I’m an idiot?” She released a harsh laugh. “Oh, wait. I think this proves you do. Screw stupid Blair—then laugh about it with your cheap girlfriend.”

She was killing him. “
Blair.
”

Neil put an arm around her shoulders, but she shoved it off. Garrett expected him to flinch from the rejection—instead, he grinned. “Blair, don’t listen to him. He screwed you last night, and he didn’t even wait for the hotel staff to change the sheets before he invited his girlfriend back over. I warned you that his room had a revolving door.”

Blair shook her head in disgust.

Garrett took a step toward her. “He’s doing this to get back at me, Blair. Layla’s
Neil
’
s
girlfriend. Not mine.”

She put her hands on her hips. “And she just
happened
to be half-naked in your room?”

“It’s not how it looks. I love you, Blair. You have to believe me. Nothing has changed that.”

She glared at him, her face wrinkling in disgust. “You’re right, Garrett. Nothing
has
changed. You’re still the lying, cheating bastard I thought you were five years ago. You’re not man enough to be in a relationship. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to fall for your bullshit.
Again.
”

Neil put his hand on her arm. “Blair, let’s go. You need to rest before the wedding.”

She turned her gaze on him, venom in her eyes. “You think we’re still getting
married?
”

Neil rolled his eyes. “Of course we’re still getting married. Everything was fine until he showed up. Now that his true colors have shown through, there’s no reason we wouldn’t proceed with the wedding. Just like we planned.”

Blair looked at Garrett, and he watched as the anger on her face faded, replaced with dismay.

“I don’t know that woman, Blair. Neil sent her here to break us up.” Garrett’s voice cracked. “You have to believe me.”

“I don’t
have
to do shit.” She spun around and stomped down the hall. “I don’t ever want to see your sorry face again. Go to fucking hell!”

“Blair!” he shouted, trying to run after her.

Neil blocked his path and gave him a stone-cold smile. “I told you not to screw with me, Garrett. I warned you that I
always
win.”

Horror washed through him. “Oh, my God. You would hurt her like that to get back at me?”

Hate filled Neil’s eyes. “I put it together after we started dating. It wasn’t too hard. She went to the same law school you did, at the same time. She was dumped by a guy who slept his way through the school. So did you. It was a nice bonus, knowing I was seeing your old girlfriend. But then Nana insisted you come to the wedding, so I put an insurance policy in place to encourage her to keep our engagement. Just in case.”

Oh, God.
“Your friend is the junior partner who told her about the potential partnership or firing. He made it all up.” He felt like he was going to throw up. “What the fuck, Neil?”

“Knowing how much she holds a grudge, I figured she’d castrate you on sight. But I had to make sure you wouldn’t screw this up for me, so I convinced Ben to tell Blair the story about the partnership. She holds her job sacred, so I knew that even if she were still attracted to you, she’d never act on it. She’d offer up her firstborn child to stay at her firm. I never thought she’d consider dumping her job for
you
.”

“Why are you trying to keep her so badly? Is this really all about you and me?”

“God, you really are a narcissist. Stealing something you want is a bonus. The thing I don’t understand is why
you
want her. She’s perfect for me. We’ll live our mostly separate lives, but we’ll both have the professional spouses we need. Do you know how hard it’s been to find someone as detached as her? I’m not about to let that go.”

Garret shook his head, speechless. Then he remembered his original plan. “I’ll give you Nana’s farm if you don’t marry her.”