Page 17 of Wicked Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #2)

Nicole

O ne month later…

“Have you heard anything from Grace?” my mother asked as we stared at the stack of boxes lined up along the wall in the living room.

I shook my head. “No, I called and texted her multiple times with no response. She doesn’t want to talk to me. It’s over.”

“I promised myself I’m not going to try to run your life anymore,” Mom said. “But I would be remiss if I didn’t suggest that you try to see her.”

“I can take a hint. I need to move on.”

“Well you’re moving on in a big way, aren’t you sweetheart?”

After a long conversation with my parents I’d totally upended my life.

First, I quit my job at the family company, although I was retaining my seat on the board of directors.

Then I filed papers to open my own architecture business and purchased a small four floor building on the near north side.

I was turning the existing retail space on the main floor into my architecture firm headquarters, and I was moving into the large apartment that took up the entire fourth floor.

The second and third floor each had two apartments per floor, all currently rented, which would give me additional rental income while I waited for my business to pick up.

Not that I needed the money. I’d saved a lot over the years, and my grandparents had left me a sizable trust fund that I’d never even touched.

It was amazing how quickly everything had come together after I made my mind up. My business was ready to go, and I was moving into my new place today. Now I just needed to sell my townhouse next door to my parents and my transition would be complete.

I had to admit that my parents had taken the changes all in stride. I think I was struggling more with the transition than they were. Then again, I was also nursing a broken heart.

I understood that I’d hurt Grace when she came over to my house that day and I’d denied that we were dating, but any hopes that I had about us talking it through were shot when she ignored all my efforts to contact her.

At first I was depressed, then I got angry.

I thought I’d meant something to her, yet she couldn’t even talk to me when we had an issue?

I didn’t deserve to be shut out like that.

I was done with Grace. It hurt like hell, but I wasn’t going to grovel.

As it turned out, I didn’t need to. It was only my first week of business when my assistant Maria popped her head in the door. Much to my father’s annoyance, I’d taken her with me when I left the family company.

“Hey Nicole, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Send them in please.”

I looked up, expecting a new architecture client, but instead Theo came into the room. The man looked like he’d come directly from a GQ photo shoot, dressed in black pin-stiped pants, shiny black shoes, a pristine white shirt, and suspenders. His bald head gleamed in the overhead lights.

“Theo.”

He walked right over behind my desk and pulled me into a tight hug. He smelled incredible. Stepping back, Theo looked me up and down, his shrewd eyes missing nothing.

“Oh no, this is even worse than I thought.”

“Nicole?” I could tell by my assistant’s tentative voice that she wasn’t sure whether to get us drinks or call the cops.

“It’s fine Maria, Theo is a… we worked on that Grant Park College project together. He’s with AGM.”

“Ah, yeah.” Maria nodded. “In that case, do you mind if I leave for the day? Brad has soccer practice, and I promised to try to catch some of it.”

“No, go right ahead. I’ll see you Monday.”

“What are you doing here, Theo?” I asked as the tall man folded his lanky frame into one of the guest chairs in front of my desk.

“I heard a rumor that you’d gone solo, and I wanted to come see for myself.”

I couldn’t help the stab of disappointment that Grace hadn’t sent him.

“Would you like a drink?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nah. I wanted to talk to you about a job, then I need to meet my handsome husband for dinner.”

“A job?” I asked.

He tilted his head. “I heard that you were looking for clients. Did I hear wrong?”

I’d sent out emails to my entire contact list earlier this week letting them know I was moving into solo architecture work, but I’d very purposely left off everyone at AGM. I couldn’t say why.

“No, you didn’t hear wrong. I’m just surprised that you heard already. News travels fast in this city.”

“Yeah, my introductory email must be lost,” he said sardonically. “But fortunately someone forwarded me a copy.”

I felt heat rise up my cheeks, and I covered it by grabbing my notebook and pen.

“What are you looking for?”

“Someone to get my friend Grace out of her funk.”

I dropped my pen. “I appreciate whatever you’re trying to do Theo, but Grace has been clear that she doesn’t want to talk to me. Whatever we had is over now.”

“Do you know what Grace’s biggest fear is?” he asked.

I frowned, confused at the question. “No.”

“Letting someone down. She’ll work her ass off to keep from disappointing someone. I don’t know where all that comes from – that’s for her therapist to figure out – but that girl’s hurting. She’s not been the same since y’all broke up. She misses you.”

“I know I made a mistake, but she blew me off Theo,” I said hotly. “I tried to contact her to make things right – repeatedly – and she ignored me. So maybe if she misses me she should be here instead of sending you.”

Theo smirked. “She’d castrate me if she knew I was here. She’s a hot mess though. Sure she’s working. But she’s not eating well. Not sleeping. Not exercising. What happened with your mother felt like a rejection, and she doesn’t do well with rejection.”

“Then maybe she should have returned one of my messages trying to apologize,” I snapped. “Now do you have an actual job for me, or are you just here to matchmake?”

Theo studied me for a long moment before sighing deeply. “Maeve and her new apprentice Ashley are working on a new project. They need an architect. Are you interested in submitting?”

“It’s only Maeve?” I asked. “Grace isn’t assigned to the project?”

“No,” he said impatiently. “Shall I send you the specs?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

One week later I stood in front of AGM Tower, psyching myself up to go in for my meeting with Maeve and her team.

They’d responded positively to my written proposal and now they’d asked me to come in to discuss my plans before they made a final decision.

It was a common practice in architecture, but I was still feeling weird about it, especially given how fast everything was moving.

Or maybe it was because now that Grace was working full-time at AGM it was more likely that I’d run into her if they hired me.

With a sigh, I told myself to put on my big girl panties and go inside. Partnering with AGM on a project would be great for my new business.

The receptionist led me to a conference room at the end of a long hallway. Maeve, Theo, and Ashley were inside at the table. I greeted them, then went right into my pitch.

“This looks great Nicole,” Maeve said enthusiastically. “Exactly what we’re looking for. Ashley, can you go grab a sample contract for Nicole to take with her?”

“Sure.”

After a few minutes Maeve looked at her phone. “Looks like Ashley needs help. She hasn’t been working here that long. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

She got up and left the room, leaving me and Theo alone.

“Thanks for reaching out,” I said politely. “I appreciate the opportunity.”

Suddenly Theo’s phone vibrated on the table. He looked down, then pushed back his chair.

“I swear those two are useless. Grown ass women and they can’t find a simple file between them.”

“You know, it’s okay to email me the sample contract,” I suggested.

“I’ll just be a minute. I know right where it is. You wait here.”

He hurried out of the room, leaving me alone. I was checking email on my phone when the door suddenly burst open.

“Theo, what…”

Grace’s words broke off as someone, presumably Theo, gave her a shove into the room and slammed the door behind her. She stumbled, then froze when she saw me. Our eyes met across the room as we heard a clicking noise.

“I’ll be back in thirty minutes,” Theo called through the door. “You girls need to work your shit out by the time I get back.”

Grace grabbed the handle, jiggling it before looking back at me.

“That asshole locked us in. I can’t believe this.”