Wild Card by Ashley Munoz

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Why doyou think they wanted us here so early if they’re not even here?” Taylor asked incredulously.

It was early, and my dad and Jackie still hadn’t come out to the veranda to start brunch with us. We usually tried to get together every Sunday, but the previous weekend hadn’t worked for them because they’d taken a quick trip to the Keys. Now it was Friday and we were here at eight in the morning. Both of us had classes later, although I didn’t know if Taylor had been going to hers. Every time I was home, she seemed like she was there too…even when she should have been in a class.

It was odd.

“I don’t know. His event thing is right around the corner…we could have just postponed,” I said, leaning forward to sip my mimosa.

“Exactly!” Taylor jutted her hands out in front of her like I’d just said exactly what was in her head.

“Do you have a date?” It was a topic I’d been trying to avoid since we’d never talked about that photo she had taken with Decker that night, or the fact that I’d made it seem like he was into her then suddenly he wasn’t.

Taylor sipped her drink, cautiously eyeing me over the brim of the flute. “I don’t know…I mean, I was going to ask Decker, but then you seem to be having lots of orgasms with him, so I don’t know.” She shrugged like it was no big deal that she heard me having orgasms through the wall. My face burned at the idea that she had heard me.

I must have stayed quiet for too long, because suddenly her eyes were on me.

“You’re bringing him, right?”

“I was planning to,” I answered sheepishly, like I was ashamed of something. Did she have anyone she could ask? What was I talking about? This was Taylor—of course she had someone she could ask.

Her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to sniff out my lie. “Mal, just promise me you won’t go with Elias Matthews.” Taylor’s lips pursed as she leaned forward. If I wasn’t mistaken, she was looking around to ensure no one overheard us.

I shook my head. “Uh…I didn’t know you knew him.”

“He’s dangerous. The rumors…I mean, I’ve heard rumors about him. I think you should stay away from him.” She softly pleaded with me while holding her fork in a viselike grip.

I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I didn’t get a chance to respond.

“Girls, sorry we’re late.” Jackie rushed out to the patio in a white wrap dress that ended at her knees and left her shoulders bare. Her blonde hair was tucked back in a neat chignon, her flawless face revealing little as she sat and immediately sipped from her glass. I watched to see if my father was on her heels, but the only person to come out after her was their housekeeper and chef, Bev.

“Where’s Dad?” I flashed a quick look from Jackie back to Bev, who was pushing a rolling cart with our food stacked high.

Jackie waved her hand, typing away on her cell. I flicked my gaze over to Taylor and saw she was doing the same thing. I felt empty. I hated when Jackie ignored me. I didn’t know why it burned so much, but I knew if Taylor asked where my dad was, she would immediately answer.

“Jackie. Where’s my father?” I spoke loudly so there would be no issue with her hearing me.

“He’s on a call, Mallory. My goodness, no need to speak so loud.” She folded a napkin into her cleavage and reached for her mimosa glass. The gleaming diamond on her left hand caught the sun, making my eyes burn. I didn’t want to hate her, but I hated how she made me feel…especially when I saw that ring. I missed my mother.

I had told my dad a million times that I didn’t want to come to brunch unless he would be attending every minute of it. I didn’t want to be stuck between Jackie and Taylor, because they always made me feel like an outsider. It wasn’t that Taylor didn’t try to include me in the conversation, because she often did, but Jackie would just twist it so we ended up talking about Taylor.

Heaving a sigh, I stood from the table and decided to wander until my dad came out. I did love their house, and I loved that despite what Jackie wanted, my father kept it tailored to fit him with rich leathers and dark chestnut wood accents. I ran my finger along one of the bookcases near his library, ready to dig for a book, then I heard him talking softly on the phone.

I knew I shouldn’t listen in…but I was curious, and it was just business, so what harm was there?

Pressing closer to the doorway to his office, I tilted my head so I could hear better.

“No…that’s not what we discussed,” my dad barked.

There was a long pause then a shuffle.

“The stockholders don’t have that much sway…no, fuck you, Buckland.”

Buckland was one of the lead men on my father’s board of advisors. I knew that much from overhearing his business talks over the years.

I pressed further into the door, desperate to catch every word. My father had never raised his voice like this, had never sounded so angry before.

“Mallory isn’t up for discussion. She’s the oldest, but she doesn’t want this, so I won’t pressure her. Taylor has been the one…” He trailed off.

My heart raced as I listened. What the hell was he talking about? Taylor had talked to him about taking over or what? What were they discussing?

“No. She’ll marry someone her own age. I already have someone lined up…yes, he’s already approached me. We’re working a deal.”

Oh my god.What the hell was he talking about?

“You know they won’t ever go for that. No, I told you…I’ve already spoken with the boy. He’s in the city as we speak, meeting with Hamlin. If all they need is for her to be married, fine, she’ll fucking be married by the end of the month, with a public wedding by the end of the year.”

Feeling my face heat and my heart hammering away in my chest, I rushed down the hall. I bypassed the patio doors, running straight for the foyer and out through the front doors. My chest heaved as I processed his words. I knew my dad was into about a million things that were over my head, but what I had just heard…

There was no way.

He wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t. Memories of my father from when I was a little girl came rushing back. Moments in the garage, playing games on the crawler, sliding back and forth along the floor while he worked. Hours on the soft chair he brought out there for me so I could nap. He was such a hard worker, in absolutely every area of his life. He was tender and sweet, and there was no way he’d do something this despicable.

Did Taylor know? My thoughts rushed as I considered how involved she’d become in his affairs lately, asking questions, attending meetings. Decker had known she was taking a position in New York. Did that mean he knew? Was it even the same thing? The end of the month…it was the middle of March, but…before graduation? And who was this guy?

I swung open my car door, nearly laughing at the stark difference of the opulence around the garage and my beater of a vehicle. It was laughable to have me camouflaged in this world, like a checker piece on the chess board, sandwiched between the king and queen. Completely and entirely laughable.

My hands shook as I started the engine and reversed out of the driveway. Maybe I was worried my stepsister would make a horrible decision that could change her life forever, but my entire body shook as I drove the thirty minutes downtown. I parked in a nearby parking garage and walked the rest of the way, relishing the breeze and mixture of sunshine.

My mind kept wrestling with the words I’d heard my father use. She’ll marry someone her own age. I already have someone lined up…he’s already approached me. We’re working a deal.

What did that mean? Who was he talking about? There was no way it could be…

No.

I tried to prevent my mind from going there, but it wandered just the same. He was with me now, and he’d given up his revenge…but did he know about this? Was there some connection to Elias in this? He wouldn’t keep this from me though…there was no way.

My reflection bowed and bobbed as I walked past the shining glass windows of giant skyscrapers. I had walked this specific route so many times I didn’t even have to look up to see which building was which or where I was. I just wanted to run my fingers along each of the words that were supposed to paint my future, where I would find a home, a new purpose in life.

I was nearly there when I heard my name being called. It took me a second to register, but once I stopped and looked behind me, I saw him: dark hair slicked to the side with hair product, a gunmetal grey suit perfectly tailored for his body, a crisp white shirt beneath, and a silver tie. He even wore shining black dress shoes. My mouth dropped at the sheer ridiculousness of how good he looked.

“Wow…you look…” I stalled, still taking in every detail of how Decker’s clean-shaven face was slightly turning red, his mossy eyes hard set under his dark brows. “Fancy meeting or something?” I tried to ask, but my voice came out raspy.

He smirked, stepping closer. “Or something.”

The memory of when I had said that to him in the parking lot came back, making me smile up at him. He took advantage of me lifting my face by pressing his lips to mine. I melted into him, releasing the fears and assumptions I’d been spinning out from. Then a wisp of awareness zipped through me like a live wire upon remembering my dad’s words.

He’s in the city as we speak, meeting with Hamlin.

I shoved the thought down, even with the obvious clues staring me in the face. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a meeting with investors. My eyes drifted to the ground, as if I could see each of my hopes drift there. It couldn’t be him. He wouldn’t do this to me, to us. His eyes seemed to weigh a ton as they bounced along my frame, up my hair and down my figure.

“What are you doing here?” His voice seemed as thick as my heart currently felt. Heavy and thick, rusting over. Dying.

I ducked my head, tucking hair behind my ear. The place behind me suddenly felt like it was a life-sized journal, flung open for Decker to read all the pages. It was sacred to me, a most precious spot, and now he was here staring at it with that look like he’d fix whatever was wrong.

“This”—I gestured behind me to the building jutting into the sky—“is the internship I’m hoping to land with my story.” I moved toward the wall where the nameplate sat, the words Kline Global imprinted in brass lettering.

“You aren’t interviewing, right? You said they only take one person.” He moved his focus to where I gestured then it bounced back to me. The fact that he remembered what I had told him felt like a tiny furnace burning in my heart.

“No.” I let out a heavy sigh, giving the nameplate a longing look. I just wanted to run my fingers over the letters like the weirdo that I was. I couldn’t do that with him here, though. “I just like seeing it…you know, getting perspective. I come here when I need to clear my head.”

Understanding lit up his eyes. Before I could say anything else, his hand grabbed mine and we were heading inside the building.

“No, no, no.” I struggled in his hold.

“What’s it going to hurt to go in and take a look around?” His smile was mischievous and daring. Devilish.

“Well, it could mess with my chances of being accepted,” I blurted in a harsh whisper. The gleaming white marble under our feet was too glorious to imagine. The building was bright and welcoming, and fifty feet from us was a desk no one was managing. My eyebrows furrowed in concern. Where was the security guard? Anyone could just walk in…and…

“Hurry, come on—we can sneak upstairs.” Decker pulled my hand toward his chest and started heading up.

“Decker, no!” I whisper-yelled at him while he tugged me along.

Inside I was coming apart, a cassette tape being unwound, all my hopes and dreams being tugged on and teased. I had never gone inside the building. I’d always just stood outside like a weirdo, running my finger along the letters. The stairs extended up, giving us a view of the lobby below, the desk still unmanned. The first-floor door was wide open, and on the glass doors was something etched in white font that I couldn’t understand. Off to the side was a small alcove where gleaming bronze elevator doors waited.

“Come on.” Decker pulled me toward the alcove while hugging me to his firm side. I loved the warmth he gave off, and his smell. God, he smelled good.

“Seriously, Decker, this is a bad idea,” I muttered as he pressed the up button. Oh my god, what would I do if I saw someone with a Kline Global security badge?

“They don’t even know who we are—it’s not a big deal.”

I swiftly followed in after him at the ding of the elevator. “It won’t matter. They’re still going to escort us out once they realize we aren’t authorized to be here.”

“You worry too much, babe. It’ll be fine.” He laughed, and seeing him smile while in that suit made my stomach flip. I wanted to take him out of those clothes, kiss his mouth, and force him to tell me his secrets.

I looked up, trying not to bring attention to the fact that I loved that he was here with me. I focused on his granite jaw and the fact that a lazy smile tugged his lips to the side. It was devastating.

A moment later, the elevator stopped and opened on the fifth floor. Thin, grey carpet silenced our steps as we crept around the corner, and huge potted plants with massive green leaves sat close to the floor-to-ceiling windows. I walked forward, stopping at the glass doors that were currently shut but hid none of the magic happening behind them.

Bustling reporters walking back and forth from copiers to whiteboards. Swivel chairs, bulletin boards, people on cell phones, desk phones ringing off the hook. It was madness and heaven, and I nearly plastered my face to the glass just to get a better view.

“So, this is what you want?” Decker whispered at my side.

I withheld the urge to trace the massive K and G that dominated the doors in sleek lettering. Instead I swallowed a lump in my throat as a man in a white collared shirt walked by with a stack of papers in his hand, not paying any attention to us.

“Yes.” I sighed, staring at the cubicles inside.

The chaos. At least twelve flat screens hung on the east wall, all playing different news clips, and on the opposite wall were several clocks, each displaying a different time zone. This, seeing inside this space, was so much better than only having a view of the outside. This was a gift, one I’d desperately needed to keep me grounded.

“And the story will get you here?” Decker asked, turning with me.

I blinked and hoped I wasn’t jinxing myself by talking about this in front of Kline Global. “I hope so. My editor hates me, and the last story I wrote, he pulled. If my article and name don’t appear, Kline Global won’t see them. I need something that will stand out, get people talking.”

Decker followed me back to the elevators. “I hope you get it, babe. You deserve it.” He squeezed my fingers in his hand, and because I wanted to stick my head in the sand and ignore everything between us, I squeezed his hand back and let him kiss me again.

“So, what are you doing in the city?” I finally braved asking.

“Just sightseein’.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are not.”

“I could be.” He dipped his head until his lips were at my ear, then he tugged the lobe between his teeth.

A rush of heat hit me right between the legs.

“Eat with me,” he murmured into the space near my ear.

We exited the building, and as soon as we did, Decker popped on a pair of sunglasses. My heart wasn’t ready to see him in a suit paired with Ray-Bans.

I wanted to push aside my fears and go eat with him before we went to the party, but I had to know why he was here. His need for revenge and weird attachment to Taylor in the beginning of all this was too coincidental.

“Decker…I overheard my father talking today, and I am honestly freaking out a little bit.” I closed my eyes, focused on my breathing, and tried to take comfort in the way his hand held on to mine.

“What happened?”

I looked up to find his eyes searching mine. “It sounded like Taylor was being set up…in an arranged marriage or something.”

I was expecting surprise to blanket his features, a raise of the eyebrow, a grimace, a tic in his jaw…but there was nothing. No surprise whatsoever.

My voice cracked. “Is it you?”

“Me?” He reared back, stepping away from me.

“I just need to know,” I begged. Internally I begged him for something else entirely. Tell me it’s not true. Don’t tell me anything at all. Don’t ruin this.

He scoffed, rubbing his chin. The sun caught his hair, and I wanted to tangle my fingers there, bring his face back, and kiss him.

“How could you think that?”

I stammered, trying to control my heart rate. “He said he’d made a deal and that person was in the city meeting with his investors. You look so nice, and in the beginning with your revenge plan…I just…I knew it wasn’t true, but I had to…”

“I knew about it.” He cut me off, his eyes soft and weary.

“What?”

“I knew…it’s…” He trailed off, tugging us to the side of the street.

Meanwhile my heart hammered away in my chest, reminding me how fragile it was and how stupid I’d been to hand it over to someone who had such a rough grip.

“My Uncle Scotty…he deals in information. After what happened with Elias, my uncle kept tabs on him. He found out about this deal he’d made with your father…I don’t know all the details, but the start of it was that he would invite Taylor to the games, make it official in a way that made sure everyone knew they were dating. I knew there was a key element to making sure a ton of people knew they were together.”

I watched him speak, but I felt like my body was disconnected from my head, the two whirling and fighting over what to do with this information.

“I decided to intervene and ruin the start of his arrangement. I figured if I could cast doubt that they were together with enough people, or better yet have sex with Taylor right when he walked in…it would be an efficient form of revenge.”

I took in how his face seemed to pale as he finished. Did he notice how much distance I’d subconsciously put between us? I was so angry, so insanely hurt. I just…

“What did Elias do to you?” I crossed my arms over my chest. I needed to know, just to put it behind me.

He hesitated. “I know you’re mad, but there’s something I need to tell you about the article, about Elias…”

“Just tell me what he did to you.”

Decker dipped his head. “He’s just dangerous.”

My heart cracked, battering my lungs, daring them to gather air. Tears clogged my eyes, because he still wasn’t going to tell me…even in the midst of everything. What was he hiding?

“So, you knew my sister was essentially entering into an arranged marriage with someone ‘dangerous’ and you didn’t tell me?” I whispered as wisps of my hair were blown into my face by a rogue wind that cut through the street.

His eyes searched mine, begging me to understand.

“It was something I didn’t know all the details about. I didn’t feel right saying something about your dad, or even Taylor…it was complicated.”

“But you could have explained the revenge aspect…you could have included me.” My voice rose as anger spiked through me. “That’s my stepsister—how could you think I wouldn’t want to know something like that?”

“You were so willing to take her spot in that room, to have someone who wanted her touch you…what was I supposed to think?” he snapped, darting a hand at his chest.

My mouth opened but nothing came out. Hurt slammed into me, along with a healthy dose of self-loathing. He was right, not for the reasons he thought…but I was willing to do what I had to in order to get information on the card game.

“I need some space, I think.” I wet my lips, trying to gather the energy to walk to my car. I spun around and headed toward the parking garage. I needed to get home and talk to Taylor.

“Mallory, wait.” Decker stormed after me.

“No. I understand…I just—I need some time to…” What was I even saying? Time to…what? Come to terms with the fact that my boyfriend knew my stepsister had signed up for an arranged marriage but assumed I was so self-involved I wouldn’t care?

“Mallory, just wait. Just…fuck, just talk to me for a second.” He ran in front of me, moving backward while I plowed my way down the sidewalk.

“Decker, give me some space.” I stopped, nailing him with a look that I hoped confirmed I wasn’t fucking around. I needed to be away from him right then.

He waited, staring at me with an intensity that made me want to crumble into a thousand pieces. Finally, he raised his hands and stepped aside, letting me pass by. I didn’t look back as I walked away from him, and I didn’t search for him as I pulled away from the city and headed back home.