The Perfect Deception Read online

  Jessica wandered from the bedroom to the kitchen, thinking back to how she’d been treated yesterday, and how to fix it. She remembered Sherri’s uppity judgmental attitude and Nathan’s complicity. They were partying on an island while her sister’s heels cooled in prison. Some of her anger returned.

  “Exactly what part did he play in your being there?” A sigh blew through the phone. “Listen, for what you’ve asked me to do, I deserve to know everything.”

  “You’re right.” A pause, and then, “He encouraged his sister against me, okay? Trust me, I’d rather end her breathing. But like I said, it would be too risky. Getting her darling brother is the next best thing. They’re very close.”

  “Like I wish we could have been.”

  “No more than I do. When I saw that our jerk of a dad was getting ready to do the same thing to you that he’d done to me for two years, I couldn’t take it. You were the best thing that had happened to me in that hellhole. I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

  “So you—”

  “—made sure he couldn’t hurt you. I did what needed to be done. Now I’m asking you to do the same.”

  “We’ll see what happens when he returns,” she finally offered. “If we get back together, I’ll make sure things get handled.”

  “Not if you get back together,” her sister softly chided, “But when.”

  Jessica had taken off until the fifth but didn’t want to sit around the house. Too much time to think. The law firm had brought on a temporary receptionist, but thankfully her boss had texted his okay for her to return early from vacation and catch up on administrative tasks. After chatting briefly with the temp, she grabbed a large stack of papers, folders, and tags, and headed to the smaller conference room to sort and file.

  Perfect, she thought as she stepped inside and closed the door. Work to keep me busy and a door for privacy!

  Or not.

  Ten minutes into sorting papers to be filed, the door opened. “So I heard correctly. You’re back.”

  She looked up to see the only person in the law firm, perhaps the world, who today would not get on her nerves, so she swallowed the curt greeting on the tip of her tongue and offered a brief smile instead. “Hey, Vincent.”

  His brow immediately creased in concern as he closed the door and approached the table. “Wow, that’s not the mood I expected of someone just back from paradise.”

  “We don’t always get what we expect.”

  “Are we talking about me or you?”

  Jessica gave him a look, then went back to sorting.

  “Whatever he didn’t do, I can do it, and whatever he did, I can take the pain away. KnowhatI’msayin’?”

  His expression was such a perfect mixture of jive and sincerity that Jessica had to laugh. “You are so silly. How you got through law school is beyond me.”

  “Hard work and a smile, baby girl.” He sat at the table and lowered his voice. “I thought you were away until the fifth?”

  “Plans changed.”

  “Folks don’t usually return early from vacation, especially when they’re going to the Caribbean.”

  Jessica frowned. “I don’t want to talk about my vacation. How were your holidays?”

  Vincent shrugged. “They were all right. Went back to Michigan, saw the fam.”

  “And . . . ?”

  “That’s it.” Vincent sexily swiped his tongue across his cupid-shaped lips and looked down to hide the twinkle in his eye.

  “You’re so full of it!” They both laughed. “Don’t tell me you partied with your baby’s mama.”

  “I shouldn’t have.”

  “And y’all had sex again.”

  “I shouldn’t have done that, either.”

  Jessica shook her head as she placed stacked groups of files into folders. “Your daughter is what? Nine years old? Keep on playing with fire and end up with a newborn.”

  “It wasn’t that deep, just a little get-together for old time’s sake. It’s all your fault, anyway.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Because you’re who I wanted to be with. She was just there.”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “What?”

  “Feed me bullshit like I’m stupid, the way my ex used to do. You need to stop messing with that girl’s feelings.”

  Vincent stood, eyed Jessica through his curly lashes. “Will you let me mess with you?”

  She looked up to find Vincent watching her intently. She felt the electricity between them and not for the first time thought that if there was any part of her heart that didn’t belong to Nathan, she’d give it to him. “Don’t you have work to do? A case to win, a client to call . . . something?”

  Vincent looked at his watch. “Actually, yes, in about five minutes.” He walked to the door. “What’s up for lunch?”

  “You’re taking me to Georgia’s. I want gumbo.”

  “If I give you what you want, will you give me what—”

  “Bye, Vincent.”

  Vincent smiled and opened the door. “Meet you downstairs at one.”

  She met him downstairs for lunch and the next night at the sports bar for dinner. Her guard slipped under two glasses of wine. His tongue slipped into her mouth in the parking lot. The kiss was volcanic. It felt good. He felt good. The only reason that they didn’t slide back to either his house or her house and slide into bed was because as angry as she still was with Nathan . . . sliding with him felt better.

  CHAPTER 15

  One rarely feels worse after returning from paradise than before they left. Nathan did. During the nonstop flight from Nassau he replayed the week’s events in his mind, from the time he arrived with Jessica until he boarded the return flight alone. Meeting Dev had been the lone bright spot following Jessica’s departure and saved him from ringing in the New Year pissed off and alone. Still, in 20/20 hindsight, he felt bad about how he’d handled the incident between Jessica and his sister. Had he done things differently, the situation may have been defused and she may not have left. But he didn’t and she did. As he left the airport parking lot and merged onto the highway, he realized that to regret something that couldn’t be changed wasn’t productive. No, what will be productive is fixing the mess I now find myself in. He tapped his steering wheel and called Jessica.

  Voice mail. Not a good sign. Still, he waited for the beep. “Jessica, it’s me, Nate. I just got back and am on my way home from the airport.Was hoping you’d pick up and were home so that I could stop by. I don’t like how things went down on the island, and want to make it up to you. Call me as soon as you get a chance.”

  Three days later, and Jessica still hadn’t got that chance. He’d called a couple more times, had even thought about calling her job. But he knew she’d taken off until today, which is why earlier he’d driven by her condo. When he didn’t see her car in its slot, he’d kept it moving. Obviously her anger hadn’t worn off. Deducing she needed more time away from him to get over what happened, he tapped the wheel and engaged his phone.

  “Broderick!”

  “Mr. Caribbean is back?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Happy New Year, man.”

  “Same to you.” On a whim, Nathan made a turn and headed toward Buckhead. “How’d the year end, Broderick? We do okay?”

  “Thanks to you, we did better than that. Our profits were the highest they’ve been in five years. Employees are happy. Clients are satisfied. I couldn’t be more pleased. In fact, I want to talk with you about something.”

  “Shoot.”

  “No, it can wait until Monday. I’d rather discuss this face-to-face.”

  “In that case, do you have plans tonight? I’m headed to the sports bar.”

  “As a matter of fact, no. The wife’s sister is in town. They’re going to a play. What time are you planning to be there?”

  “I’m headed there now.”

  “Perfect. I’ll see you soon.”

  Jessica listened to Nathan’s m
essage for a third time before deleting it. Seeing that he’d called a few more times without leaving messages, she knew he must be wondering why his calls weren’t returned and probably assumed she was still upset. She wished the reason was something so normal, instead of the truth. How did one talk to a man one planned to murder?

  The message indicator pinged. She picked up her phone to see a text from Vincent.

  Can’t wait to see you. Picking you up at seven still good?

  She replied that it was fine and then walked to the closet to find something to wear. She knew it was risky to flame the fires of this friendship, but being in his carefree company allowed her mind to focus on something other than Sissy’s impossible request. When her sister had proposed meeting Nathan to help with something she’d explain later, Jessica had immediately agreed, no questions asked. Coming from the one who’d saved her life, almost no favor would have been refused. Then she’d gotten to know him, and developed feelings. And now the help her sister needed had been explained. The whole situation was one, big, impossible mess. Her mind was too muddled to think about fashion. So after laying out a pair of brown leather pants and a multi-colored turtle neck, she jumped in the shower. Almost an hour later, she and Vincent walked up to the entrance of the sports bar, and stepped inside.

  At first, he thought he was mistaken.The bar was packed and he’d only glimpsed a side view from across the room. But now that they were seated, her face was clearly visible. The woman who hadn’t returned his calls was here.At their favorite hangout. With another man.

  Broderick followed his colleague’s line of sight. “Whoa. That’s awkward.”

  “Oh, you see that, too?”

  “It’s not my business but . . . something happen on your vacation?”

  “We had a disagreement. I was giving her space to cool down. Might have given her too much.”

  “Look, man, if you want to handle that . . .”

  Nathan gave Broderick his full attention. “No, I’m good. I’d much rather get back to what we were discussing. AVP position, huh?”

  “Yes. Cecil’s attention has been torn ever since his father fell ill. He’d have retired a year ago if not for the fact he thought the business would suffer. But with you on board and business booming, he’s ready to step down. If you want it, the position is yours.”

  “I really appreciate this, Broderick. Didn’t see it coming, but this type of validation is right on time.”

  “You’ve earned it.” He lifted his beer mug. Nathan followed suit. “To greater success.”

  “Indeed.”

  The men clinked glassed. As Nathan drained his glass, his eyes met Jessica’s, which were on him intently. He gave a look with this message: “What?” She averted her eyes. The man she was with looked at him, and then wrapped his arms around Jessica and whispered something in her ear.

  Nathan’s jaw clenched, and he gripped the now empty beer mug.

  Broderick saw it. “Do we need to leave?”

  “No, I’m cool. If that’s who she wants to be with, that’s where she should be.”

  “But ya’ll seemed happy at the Christmas party. What happened?”

  “Like I said, just a little misunderstanding. We can’t always predict life, you know?”

  “Don’t I know it. This weekend, my daughter hit me with some news that rocked me on my haunches.”

  “She pregnant?”

  “No, that would have sent me to my grave!” Nathan chuckled. “No, she joined the Peace Corps.”

  “That is news. She’s never hinted at something like this before?”

  “Never, and even more than that, she leaves for Ecuador in six weeks.”

  “Wow.”

  They continued talking. Anyone looking on would have pegged Nathan as being totally engaged in his conversation with Broderick. But he knew the minute, the second, when Jessica and her date got up from the table and left the building.

  He knew, because a part of his heart went with her.

  CHAPTER 16

  If you’ve moved on, don’t bother responding to this text. If not, we need to talk. Today.

  Jessica eyed Nathan’s message with mixed emotions. She’d missed him terribly, had even tried to tell herself that she preferred Vincent’s company. Her coworker wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, some woman would be lucky to have him. At the end of the day, Vincent had nothing to do with her not wanting to return Nathan’s call. When she did, a plan with dire consequences would be put in motion. Loyalty to her sister or to the man she loved? During the days without him, she’d admitted this truth. She loved Nathan Carver. How could she take his life?

  Because he and his sister had effectively taken Sissy’s life, that’s how.

  Her sister had saved her. A debt was owed. By repaying it, she hoped to have the type of bond with her sibling that she’d seen between Nathan and Sherri. The bond you’re going to destroy. Yes, but she couldn’t think about that now.

  Do you want to come over?

  Six words, short yet pivotal; the answer to this question would change many lives. With a sigh and almost a prayer that he wouldn’t respond . . . she pressed Send.

  He responded. Immediately.

  I’m on my way.

  Her heart dropped. It was only a little after noon, but Jessica went to her fridge, found a half bottle of Moscato, poured it into a drinking glass, and downed it like water. For her, one thing was sure: Committing murder would not come naturally.

  When the doorbell rang less than ten minutes later, she jumped. For a split second she thought about not answering it, about letting Nathan think she’d stepped out unexpectedly, or changed her mind. The invisible hand of her sister pushed her toward the door. It was too late to turn back now.

  “Hey.” Her greeting was rushed and way too breathy. But it was the best she could do.

  Nathan eyed her curiously, and was slow to respond. “Hello.”

  “You got here quickly.”

  “I live two blocks away. Are you all right?”

  “Sure.” She ran a nervous hand through her hair. “Come on in.”

  An awkward silence filled the space where a hug would usually happen.

  “Can I get you something to drink?”

  Nathan nodded toward the kitchen. “Is that what you’re drinking?”

  Damn! She’d meant to throw the empty wine bottle away. “No, that’s from last night,” she lied.

  “With you and what’s-his-name?”

  Jessica sighed. “Let’s sit down.”

  They did, with more space between them than since they began dating.

  “First question,” Nathan began. “Is he why you haven’t returned my calls?”

  “I didn’t call you because . . .”

  “Because you’re still mad about what happened.” She nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. “Are you sleeping with him?”

  “No.”

  “He looked pretty comfortable with you.”

  “Vincent is comfortable with everybody. I’ve known him for a while. We work together, remember?”

  “Right, the attorney who helped with your passport.” She nodded. “Look, Jessica. I’m sorry for how I handled things on the island. I talked with my sister and let her know she dealt with you wrongly as well. She should have quietly pulled you to the side, explained the situation, and asked you to change. Demanding you obey her as if you were a child was wrong.”

  “You demanded, too.”

  “And I was wrong as well.”

  “I probably could have given more thought to my choice of swimsuits. My sole thought was on looking good for you and pleasing you.”

  “Believe me, I was pleased.”

  Pregnant pauses had rarely existed in their conversation. It was almost as if two strangers were trying to get to know one another.

  I never knew my house could be so quiet. When she was home alone, either the television, stereo, or iPod usually kept her company.

  Nathan shifted to look at her more fully. �
�So where do we go from here?”

  By staying with me, you’ll go to the morgue. “Where do you want us to go?”

  “Back to where we were before the vacation—being together, enjoying each other.”

  But I’m planning something you will not enjoy. “I’d . . . like that, too.”

  “Why’d you hesitate?”

  Because getting back with me is a death sentence. “Because what happened at your sister’s house really hurt me. How can we have a future when your family hates me?” Like my sister hates your family!

  “That’s not true, baby. My sister stopped short of apologizing, but she did admit that she’d come on rather strong. Mom likes you, and was disappointed you’d gone home early.”

  “She said that?” Nathan nodded. “I like Miss Elaine. She’s the type of mother I always wanted but never had.”

  “Stick with me and you might get what you desire . . . and more.”

  Sadly . . . you won’t. “I don’t know, Nathan. I’ve missed you and want us to get back together. But it’s scary to put your heart out there and not know if the person holding it will crush it or caress it. Maybe we should spend some time apart and make sure that we’re what each other wants.”

  “Are you sure you’re not sleeping with Vincent?”

  Jessica’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you haven’t slept with someone? Usually when someone keeps accusing you of something, they’re the guilty one.”

  “I told you why I asked; he was all over you and you weren’t pulling away. Had you already ended us in your mind?”

  “Vincent makes me laugh, something that hadn’t happened since I got off the plane. We are friends. He asked me out. I said yes. All I did was go out and try and have a good time.” She crossed her arms, anger growing at the continued insinuations. “Besides, until you put a ring on it, you have no ownership of what’s sitting over here.”