Saving Us (The Billionaire Brothers of NY Duology #1)

27. Gage

CHAPTER 27

Gage

B eing busy at work was usually my sanctuary. What I looked forward to. And it wasn’t that I didn’t still enjoy work, I did. But there were other things I enjoyed just as much, if not more, these past few weeks. And her name was Harper.

Since returning from Florida, things only seemed to be improving between us.

But work still needed to get done.

“Mr. Parker, the event this Friday is all set. For you both,” Maryellen said. “The dresses are being delivered to Harper’s apartment today for her to try on.”

There was a formal dinner for a major client tomorrow night. It would be the first time I involved Harper in my work world. And I was kind of excited. I wanted to show her off to the entire world. Most of the shareholders from the company would be attending, as well as most of the corporate managers. Which meant Chase, Jared, and their significant others would be at our table, which would help put Harper at ease. Having Delia there would also help her to feel comfortable.

“Thanks, Maryellen, I appreciate you taking care of that for us. She’s nervous enough about tomorrow night. You taking care of the dress is amazing. And the fact that Delia will be there as well, she’s looking forward to some familiar faces.”

“Of course, sir,” she said. “And, to clarify, we still have not heard from Rebecca. I wanted you to be aware.”

I still hadn’t told Harper that Rebecca could be at the event. My thinking was, why worry her if there wasn’t a reason. But I was second-guessing my decision.

“I know.” My frustration showed when it came to my ex-wife, but Maryellen’s feelings about her were equally as negative.

“Does Harper know about her, Gage?” she asked.

“She does.”

Her look of approval was short-lived.

She was tapping away on her tablet, as usual, while at our Thursday meetings. But her demeanor wasn’t typical. She wasn’t normally an emotional person, but she did smile on occasion. This morning, however, the scowl on her face was a bit concerning. And I don’t think it was the mention of Rebecca that had done it.

“Everything okay today?” I asked her.

Suddenly, a mask came over her face, camouflaging the once noticeable emotion. My gaze remained on her as she struggled to maintain a neutral appearance. I may have noticed some wetness forming in her eyes, but I wasn’t completely sure.

“There isn’t much more we need to discuss, Maryellen. If you want to finish this later, we can.”

I thought ending our meeting might give her the out she needed, but she remained sitting in the chair across from me, staring at her tablet, unmoving. Eventually, she looked up and her face had returned to what would be considered her normal composure. She gave me a small smile.

“I’m okay, si—Gage.” Her smile widened at her almost slip. “I appreciate it, though. Just a little something I need to deal with on my own, that’s all.” She resumed looking at her notes. “The only task still worthy of discussing is next week’s meeting with your father. It’s scheduled for Wednesday. Does that still work? I know you have a long weekend planned.”

Looking at my calendar, I realized how quickly it had come up. It was already the end of June, leading into July 4 th weekend, and he’d been gone over six months already. This next meeting would most likely determine if he was leaving permanently. Retiring.

“Yeah, could you confirm with Chase, please?”

“I’ll check with Simon.”

That was a first. She would usually check with Chase directly, not bother going to his assistant. Simon and Maryellen didn’t always see eye to eye. But maybe they were doing better with each other.

“Sounds good, Maryellen. Looks like we’re all set.”

She remained sitting in her seat, looking like she had something else to say. Leaning back against my chair, I waited.

“I’m glad it seems like you and Harper have worked out whatever was going on, Gage.” She seemed hesitant to offer her opinion about my personal life, but I’ve tried to make her comfortable in this area.

“Thank you,” I told her. “And I really am looking forward to showing her off tomorrow. I’m thankful she could get off work.”

Fortunately, Harper was able to get off at the club.

The entire weekend.

Because the next morning she and I were taking off with Jared and Delia upstate to Delia’s family cabin in the Catskills for the holiday.

It was setting up to be a great weekend.

“Oh, the club, that’s right.”

The club.

Did Maryellen know that Harper worked at The Velvet Rope? How would she have known that? So many questions ran through my mind as Maryellen stood from her seat and made for a quick exit from my office.

“We do seem to be good, Gage. I’ll reach out to Simon about the meeting with Chase and your father next week.”

My impromptu visits to Harper at the shop had become somewhat of an inside joke between Fiona and me. She loved when I stopped by to surprise them both. Apparently, it was a reminder of how Jim, her husband, used to be with her in the heyday of their relationship: full of surprises.

“Mr. Parker,” Fiona said as I opened the shop door, the bell announcing my arrival. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Our greeting had now become a hug—I’d definitely won her over. And since Harper and I came out of the Florida thing okay, Fiona felt as though she played a role in helping us stay together.

“I’ll go get her,” Fiona said as she made her way to the back room.

“Thank you.”

Harper walked into the front room, a smile lighting her face.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she hustled into my open arms.

“Maybe I just wanted this hug?”

The feel of her was worth the time away from work these little trips cost me. And it seemed I was making more and more of these trips to see her.

But there was a purpose in today’s visit. And I wasn’t looking forward to bringing it up.

“Do you have a minute?” I asked her.

She heard the catch in my voice, and it showed as she pulled away, hands wringing together. Her nerves were on high alert.

“Sure,” she said. “Fiona, I’m taking five.” She walked toward the door and motioned for me to follow.

Privacy.

On a crowded New York street.

But I got it, it was better if strangers heard us rather than Fiona.

“Babe, relax,” I said as I grabbed her hand, spinning her toward me.

“Hard to do with the way you asked to talk,” she said.

Shit. This was already starting off bad.

“Harper, do you really think I’m here to talk about us? Like ending?” Her eyes went wide at my words, so I figured that was exactly what she thought. “Baby, that’s not it at all.”

I took her in my arms and leaned us against the building. “Listen, I do have something to tell you, and I’m not happy about it, but it has no bearing on us at all. We promised to talk, right? Talk, not run.”

Looking her square in the eye, I waited until I knew she understood me. A few blinks later, her small nod was my green light. But she still looked nervous.

Or maybe it was me that was nervous.

“So, tomorrow night, at the event, there’s a slight chance that Rebecca might be there,” I said. “She’s been a pain in the ass and hasn’t responded so we have no way of knowing, and I thought about not even telling you. Because why even concern you about something that may not happen. But I didn’t want you blindsided by it, or her, if she decides to show her face. Which she shouldn’t do, because no one…”

She put her fingers against my lips.

Stopping my rambling.

Her smile made me calm down. Didn’t realize how nervous I really was.

“Gage,” she said. “Now it’s your turn to relax. You have nothing to worry about. Thank you for telling me, but she works for your company. I’d expect you’d have to see her from time to time.”

The steadiness of her words was a welcome surprise. And the breath I was holding came out as a loud sigh.

“Thank you,” I said to her as I leaned my head against the window of the shop.

“What for?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Being so mature about this, I guess. Not making a big deal, not being jealous.”

She grabbed my face with both hands, pulling me in for a kiss.

“Let’s not make problems where there aren’t any, Gage,” she said when her lips pulled back from mine. She went in for one more small peck. “I’m sure we’ll have our share of issues to deal with. And we talk, not run, right?”

Hopefully, Rebecca wasn’t going to be one of those problems.

Chase and Jared met me for lunch. I think they knew my nerves were shot about Rebecca and Harper possibly meeting at the event the next night. Harper amazed me with how well she handled hearing the news, but I was still nervous. So, when they both called in the morning suggesting we head to the bar for a beer and a burger during the Yankee game, I took them up on it.

Chase - Meet us at O’Hara’s at 1:30

Walking into the bar, I found them in a booth toward the back. Three burger platters and a pitcher of beer were already on the table.

“Hey, guys,” I said.

Their mumbled hellos came through mouths full of food or beer as their eyes barely left the screen above our table. The game was in the second inning by the time I was able to make it out of the office. And the Yanks were already down by two.

“Looks like they’re still missing Cole being on the IL,” I said as I grabbed my seat.

My food was still warm, so they’d waited a bit to get the food. Jared poured me a beer, and our hungry silence resumed as we took monster bites of their famous burgers.

“Good choice for lunch, Chase,” I told him. “We don’t come here enough and it’s so close to the office.”

He nodded. “I agree, I think we should do this weekly.”

“Well, maybe not weekly,” I told him. “But we should do it more often.”

“To getting out together more!” Chase hollered. And our three pint glasses clinked over the center of the table.

“To getting together more,” Jared and I said in unison.

We settled into watching the game while finishing the fries on the table. The pitcher was long finished, and the game was already in the fourth inning before our waitress returned.

“Anything else, guys?” she asked.

We all looked around, unsure if we could spare more time together. By the looks on their faces, they were in no rush to get back to the office, and I didn’t want to be the one to ruin our time together. My afternoon was free of meetings, just some paperwork on the books.

“Can we get another pitcher, please?” I asked her.

I caught the subtle smile on both their faces as I turned my attention back to the game.

“So, Amanda, huh?” I questioned Chase.

Jared perked up at my question as well. We both wanted to know more about what was going on with the two of them; it wasn’t like Chase to see a girl on repeat.

“Don’t read too much into it. I needed a date for this thing tomorrow and, well, she’s the only one available.”

That was total bullshit. Chase had his pick of girls at any given time. There was more to that story, but he clearly wasn’t giving it to us. Our pitcher arrived and Chase filled our glasses.

“Well, I thought I’d let you know that I told both Maryellen and Simon today that they should come tomorrow night. I think it’s about time we start including them in these events. They’re just as important to our team as the investors, maybe more.” Jared nodded in agreement with my news as I took a gulp of my beer. However, looking at Chase, I almost spit the contents out of my mouth.

He was as white as a ghost.

“Why would you do that?” he asked. It wasn’t anger in his voice. He seemed more stunned at the news.

“ Why ?” I asked right back at him. “Are you going to tell me that Simon doesn’t do more for you than anyone else in that entire building? I couldn’t survive without Maryellen. If you don’t feel the same about him, maybe it’s time to start looking for a new assistant.”

Simon had been in the company longer than Maryellen. I knew for a fact that he was the only reason Chase was able to maintain a professional appearance these past months. It was a false threat to get rid of him, one I would never allow to happen.

“He’s fine,” Chase said.

Something was definitely off with Chase.

“Well, Delia’s looking forward to seeing Harper and Amanda, so I’m glad they’ll both be there. We might get a chance to hang a bit with the guys tomorrow,” Jared said.

Chase took advantage of the moment and went to the bathroom. I wasn’t going to make anything of it. I wouldn’t want him to do it to me.

“Yeah, I’m glad they’ll have each other, too,” I said to Jared. More glad than he would know, especially if my ex was making an appearance.

Pulling up to her apartment the next day in the limo, I texted Harper that we’d arrived. I’d decided that we would go alone. I wanted time with her before arriving, without the guys and their girlfriends. These functions typically required me to socialize with the shareholders to maintain a professional relationship with people I only saw a handful of times a year, so I could easily be busy most of the night.

Leaning against the railing, I waited for her and relished the warm June air. Being in the office all day, I hadn’t realized how gorgeous the day was. Even my lunch was at my desk during a Zoom call overseas with London.

The inside door opened, and I caught a glimpse of her as she entered the foyer.

She chose the pink dress, her favorite color.

And just like I imagined it would, it looked amazing with her tan skin and accentuated her ass.

I knew before she even turned around that it dipped down low in the back. So low that I feared the top of her ass might peek out.

With how much skin these dresses showed, I was not entirely sure how girls wore undergarments.

“Hey, you,” she said as she walked out onto the steps.

I held out the bunch of pink peonies I had been holding behind my back.

“For you, beautiful.” I had them wrapped in a pink satin ribbon. Well, Fiona did it for me. It was helpful having her on speed dial for moments like this. Leaning down, I kissed her on her cheek. “Even though you work with them every day, you still deserve to be given flowers.” She smelled better than the flowers.

She took them in her hands, her nose going straight to the blooms. Her eyes closed as she smelled them, then looked up at me through her long lashes.

“Thank you.” She looked back at her door. “Should I run them upstairs?”

“No, I have a vase in the car for them. C’mon, let’s get going. There’s bound to be traffic.”

As my hand went behind her to guide her to the stairs, it was just as I’d expected.

Completely bare back.

And sexy as hell.

Maryellen did an excellent job with the choices she’d provided. When she showed me the pictures of the dresses she had sent over, this was by far my favorite.

Thankfully, the crack of Harper’s ass was not sticking out of the dress. But it was close. Her skin was glowing. And it took everything in me to not kiss every inch of her back as she descended the stairs ahead of me.

“Hi, Tommy!” she said cheerily as we got to the car.

“Ms. Wilson,” he responded with a smile and a nod.

“Here, Gage, can you take the flowers and my bag, please?”

Harper lifted the bottom of her floor-length gown into her hands to get into the back of the car.

And holy fuck.

If that wasn’t the hottest thing I’d seen…since the last time I saw her naked.

As she bent over, her ass was outlined so perfectly by the silky material. And as she lifted the dress in her arm, it showed off smooth legs that led to a pair of sky-high silvery heels, heels she hated wearing but did for me tonight.

Climbing in after her, we settled into the seat and Tommy closed the door. Leaning close to her ear, I whispered, “Are you wearing any underwear, Harper?”

Her scandalous smile gave me my answer.

“None of the dresses you had sent over lent themselves to underwear, Gage. I thought that was by design.”

Looking at the front of her dress, the material draping low between her breasts, her cleavage on full display, I understood what she meant.

And then I knew I was going to have a hard dick all night.

My finger gravitated to the spot where her breasts were touching, pushed together in some magical way. As I skimmed the top of her breasts, I watched bumps appear on her skin. Her thighs clenched as my finger skipped over the material to her nipple that was hardening at my touch.

She was such a fucking turn-on.

Leaning low, I whispered, “How am I supposed to make it all night not touching you with you looking like this? Tell me that, Harper.”

As my fingers pinched her nipple, a moan escaped her pink lips.

“Gage,” she moaned.

But I had to stop. If I didn’t, she would not look this beautiful by the time we reached the venue. Pulling my hands from her, I literally put them under my legs to keep myself from touching her.

“I don’t want to ruin your perfect makeup and hair,” I told her with a sly smile.

She leaned into me, fixing my bowtie, and placed a chaste kiss on my mouth.

“You look pretty good yourself, Mr. Parker.”

Wiping her lipstick from my mouth, she sat back in her seat, grabbed my hand, and looked out the window. As she watched the scenery going by, I was content to stare at her profile. At peace with the fact that we were in a place, finally, that made us both happy.

I only hoped that there wasn’t going to be a meeting between my past life and my current one. Although Harper assured me she would be fine if it happened, she didn’t need to be subjected to Rebecca.

But I guess we would deal with it if we had to.

And maybe Rebecca would be an adult about us seeing each other.

She was the adulterer.

The unfaithful one.