13
Plenty of things had changed in her life in the past weeks, but the one constant Juliet could count on was her work.
She stepped into the lobby of Larimar Springs Water Corporation. As far as she could tell, everything remained just as when she’d last walked through those double glass doors and to the parking lot—before that tragic Sunday a little over a week ago.
The lobby was brightly lit with overhead lighting competing with sun shining through massive windows lining the face of the building. Juliet’s heels clicked against polished floor tiles as she walked toward the familiar circular reception area, where two large pots with tall kentia palms flanked the corporate logo on the wall behind where the receptionist greeted everyone. LARIMAR SPRINGS—PURE QUALITY, GREAT TASTE.
“Morning, Dr. Ryan. Welcome back.”
“Thank you, Lindsay. It’s good to be back.” Juliet shifted the weight of her attaché to her other hand. “Is Alexa in yet?”
Their receptionist nodded. “She arrived about an hour ago.” She lowered her voice. “She doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
Juliet took pause. “Any particular reason?”
Lindsay shook her head, sending her blonde ponytail swinging. “No idea. But she’s not always a morning person.”
Juliet nodded. “I’ve heard.”
The front doors opened and in walked a group of women from the accounting department, followed by Dale Frissom, vice president of operations.
After accepting their condolences over her mother’s passing, Juliet proceeded to the executive wing, down the wide hallway and past Greer Latham’s door. She was glad it was closed. Especially now.
She’d stood in his bathroom last night with the earrings in her hand, contemplating how she should react. She grabbed the doorknob with every intention of confronting him. In the end, she simply hadn’t been up to another nasty encounter. The screaming match with her father had left her depleted, and she didn’t trust herself. Losing it would serve no good purpose and might place their professional relationship at risk.
Instead, Juliet carefully repositioned the jewelry back in the original spot on the bathroom counter exactly where she’d found it, took a deep breath, and joined Greer in his living room. He was reclining on the sofa, his robe casually open at the chest. He stood. “What took so long in there?” He looked at her and frowned. “Are you all right?”
Juliet imagined his arms around another woman. Suddenly, her mind involuntarily jumped to her father. To that photo.
Her jaw tightened. “Look, I’ve got to go.”
“Now?” Frustration spread across his face. “You’re going to drive home at this hour? Juliet, it’s after midnight.”
Juliet held up her hand. “I know. I—I’m just not good company. Not tonight.”
“But you . . .” Greer let his sentence trail off. No doubt her expression left no question. She wasn’t going to change her mind. Resigned to the fact, he rubbed at his barely shadowed chin. “Uh—do you need me to walk you out?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. I know the way.”
Greer looked relieved.
She didn’t even know when he’d started being with someone else. Neither of them planned on deepening their commitment, but somehow Juliet believed the relationship was monogamous. Given Greer’s history, she might never learn the truth.
Decades back, she’d sat on the floor of her pink bedroom and marched her plastic-legged Barbie doll down a toilet paper aisle toward an imaginary Prince Charming. A silly game played by a little girl who had yet to learn the harsh realities of real life.
Going forward, Juliet promised herself she’d no longer assume any man honorable and good. Not until Prince Charming proved otherwise.
The trick now was to effectively redefine her relationship with Greer and extricate herself from the personal side with the business affiliation left intact.
Every magazine she’d ever picked up while in a medical waiting room warned not to get in this predicament. Blending professional and romantic aspects of a relationship often proved as toxic as mixing chlorine bleach with ammonia.
She neared her office. Why had she foolishly believed herself immune?
“Hey, Dr. Ryan. This is a surprise. I was told you wouldn’t be in this week.”
Juliet looked up. A young woman she didn’t recognize sat at Tavina’s desk.
The woman stood and extended her hand. “I’m Angela Silva. American Staffing sent me over to cover for Tavina. Her little boy wasn’t feeling well this morning.”
Juliet hid her disappointment and shook Angela’s hand. She was counting on Tavina filling her in on everything that had happened while she’d been away.
“I’m sure your assistant would have let you know. But no one expected you to be here this morning.” She gave Juliet a sympathetic smile and sat back down. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Juliet nodded. “Thank you. Uh—my mail?”
“On the corner of your desk.”
Juliet thanked her and retreated to her office, shutting the door behind her.
“Well, you made it.”
She nearly startled out of her skin. She whipped around. “What?”
Greer rose from the sofa against the wall. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
Juliet scowled, her heart pounding. Tavina would never let anyone in her office unattended. And she’d certainly announce if there was someone waiting.
As if reading her mind, Greer assured her the blame did not belong to the temp covering for Tavina. “I saw you pull into the parking lot and asked her not to say anything. I wanted to surprise you.” He pulled at his perfectly starched cuffs, then moved across the room and placed a kiss on her cheek.
Juliet turned, but too late. Before she could stop him, his mouth shifted to hers and he pressed himself against her. She could taste the mint gum she knew he always chewed after his morning stop at Starbucks. “Glad you’re back,” he whispered. Boldly, his forefinger traced her jawline. “It was lonely here last week.”
Repulsed, she pulled back. The backs of her legs knocked against the coffee table strewn with food safety magazines. “Greer, what’s gotten into you? Not here,” she snipped.
Suddenly, there was a quick knock and the door opened. Greer pulled back, but too late. Angela stood in the open doorway. Her eyes widened. Clearly, the temp had assessed the situation. “Uh—sorry for interrupting, but Alexa Carmichael is heading this direction.”
Juliet threw the girl a scalding look. “Next time, please buzz me.”
Greer brushed his sleeves. “Alexa moved the Monday morning meetings up an hour. She sent an email.”
Juliet scrambled to her desk, looking for her meeting file. “And I’m learning of this just now? I didn’t get any email.”
Greer waited until Angela shut the door. “You left in such a hurry last night, I hardly had time to mention it.”
Juliet’s phone speaker buzzed. “Dr. Ryan, Alexa Carmichael is here to see you.”
She glared at Greer. “Tell her to come on in.”
The door opened and Alexa entered, dressed in an off-white pantsuit with gold jacket buttons and teal shorty boots. A patterned scarf in the same shade of teal was tied at her neck. “Welcome back, Juliet. I hope you got the flowers the company sent.”
Juliet pulled her meeting file against her chest. “Yes, I did. Thank you so much.”
“You certainly didn’t have to rush back,” Alexa assured her. “But now that you’re here, we have a lot to talk about. Wasn’t sure if you had a chance to learn of the meeting, so I thought I’d drop by to make sure you joined in.” She turned to Greer. “I arrived this morning to a message from Cyril. He’s on board with the extra capital we’ll need to service Water Circus’s California and Florida operations.” She fingered her scarf. “But he believes the distribution costs are sorely miscalculated. We’ll want to talk strategy. In the meantime, I’ve got the appropriate individuals reworking those estimates.” She frowned and checked her Rolex. “Why don’t you both follow me on down to the boardroom?”
Alexa turned and headed for the door. Greer glanced back at Juliet. He ventured a quick wink before following.
Juliet grabbed the projection spreadsheets off her mail pile, slipped them inside the file, and hurried out the door as well. She passed Angela on her way, careful to avert eye contact, not wanting to expose herself to any judgment.
She could stomp Greer for his indiscretion.
Juliet had been back at work less than an hour, and already a mental checklist of to-do items was forming. First, she needed to contact Tavina, see when she planned to return. Her trusted assistant would be back at her desk soon, Juliet hoped.
Second, and more important, she needed to cut things off with Greer. In particular before he pulled that kind of stunt again.
“Dr. Ryan?”
Juliet turned. “Yes?”
The temp pointed. “Your skirt. It’s, uh—your skirt’s twisted.”
Juliet glanced down. The side hem was nearly in dead center front. She let out an angry huff, wedged her file under her arm, and readjusted her skirt so the seams were lined up properly.
She drew a deep breath. “Thanks,” she told the watching woman reluctantly. In a miscalculated afterthought, she added, “And that in there . . . That wasn’t what it looked like. With Greer, I mean.”
The temp folded her arms on the desk and slowly nodded, looking eerily similar to a female version of Jiminy Cricket. Or maybe Juliet suddenly felt like Pinocchio.
“No problem,” Angela murmured. She directed her attention to the computer monitor, but not before Juliet caught a slight grin forming.
Juliet cringed. Had Alexa also noticed the skirt?
She gathered what was left of her professional dignity and hurried down the hall toward the boardroom. She needed to take Greer to dinner. Make a clean break and end this thing.
The sooner the better.