Luscious - Lexi Blake Page 0,65
I can never get the sex smell out of Ian’s office. Sean thinks it’s funny to play on Ian’s desk when Ian’s out of town. I’ve told Charlotte I’ll give her the keys to the castle, but the twins don’t like to sleep much so she hasn’t had a chance for revenge yet.”
Grace gestured to one of the two seats in front of the desk, but Ally stayed on her feet. “I’m sorry about using the office. We really did clean it and well, it certainly won’t ever happen again.”
“It won’t with that attitude.” Grace frowned. “Please have a seat, Allyson. Or do you prefer Sarah? I was sorry to hear about your mother and your brother. This must be a very difficult time for you.”
She thought she’d gotten over the shock of having people know her secret. “Macon told you everything.”
“No, Macon didn’t say a word. He walked out without speaking to anyone. I’ve known that your name was Sarah Allyson Jones of Ashwick, Georgia, since Ian did a background check on you a few weeks into your employment. We made the connection between you and Macon a long time ago.”
Now she took the seat, her knees too weak to stand. “Why didn’t you tell him?”
Grace considered her for a moment. “I argued that we should. Sean and Ian wanted to watch you. They wanted to see what you would do. That’s why they didn’t tell Adam. He would have blown your cover. He did, in the end, of course. Sean thought that if we’d told Macon in the beginning, he simply would have left. It’s not hard to figure out that man was hiding some kind of secret. I thought you were investigating him.”
“I was,” she admitted.
“You did a horrible job, hon.” Grace pointed to the bookshelf. It was filled with cookbooks. “There’s a nice security camera hidden up there. Don’t worry, it’s only turned on after hours. It’s aimed at the safe where he keeps the cash. It was definitely turned off this afternoon. Sean did have it on one night a few months back. He wanted to know why you were really here.”
She searched her memory. “I don’t remember anything that would have been interesting on camera.”
“That’s my point. Sean’s trap didn’t work on you,” Grace explained. “It was turned on a night when Sean asked you to stay late. He then took a very long phone call out in the alley. He left his door wide open and the personal files of every employee were sitting right on his desk. He had to ask you to grab him a notepad off his desk to get you to go inside.”
Now she remembered. “He said he was arguing with a vendor. He was outside for a long time. I saw the files.”
“And you looked down at them and pulled Macon’s file. And then you replaced it and walked away without ever glancing inside. Why?”
“Because it didn’t matter by then. I knew what I needed to know about him. I knew he was a good man.” Those damn tears were back and she wondered how long it would be before she stopped crying over him. “I came here because I wanted to ask him about my brother’s death, but then I got to know him and I couldn’t.”
Grace stood up and moved around the desk, sitting in the chair beside her. “Why didn’t you tell him?”
“I was scared. I didn’t want to lose him.” But she had and she already felt the loss like a hole had opened in her lungs and she couldn’t breathe anymore.
“You had to know someone would find out.”
“Why? There weren’t any legal ties to my mom or brother. Why couldn’t I call myself Ally and start over?” It had been a good plan that had gone so very wrong.
“How many times have you started over?”
She shrugged. “A couple.”
“I think you’ve made a habit out of running away,” Grace said softly. “But sometimes you have to stand your ground to start over. Sometimes running away isn’t the answer. Do you love him?”
Ally nodded, unable to speak.
“Then leaving is the worst thing you can do.”
“It’s my fault.”
A look of determination set in Grace’s hazel eyes. “Then be woman enough to stand up and admit it. Take responsibility and then atone. You don’t have to leave, but you need to figure something out. You need to decide if you’re good for him. You can’t be good for him if you’re hundreds of miles away. I’ve seen