Page 11 of Lace (Just This Once 4)

He glances at me. “Does it matter?”

It shouldn’t, but it does. Jack would have told me if he had a connection this close to Trey Hale. He knew I was on the hunt for an autographed jersey for months.

The only other people who know that a one-night stand left my place with the jersey are the women who work at the lingerie boutique and the half dozen customers who were there the morning I stormed in with those panties in my hand demanding answers.

“It matters,” I answer succinctly.

“I gave her my word that I wouldn’t bring her name into this.” He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “She’s close to Trey, so I don’t want to rock the boat. He puts family first. He’ll have my head if he knows I broke my promise to her.”

Her.

“They’re family?” I push for more.

He nods. “That’s all you’re getting out of me.”

It’s not enough, but I sense that his loyalty to Trey will outweigh the two tickets to a performance of the symphony I was about to tempt him with. I’ll still have the tickets sent over to him with a note thanking him for what he’s doing for Alvin.

“Fair enough.” I pocket my phone.

I’ll have to figure out the identity of the mystery woman on my own.

Chapter 6

Olivia

I take a tentative sip. A smile of satisfaction blooms on my lips. “You’re right, Steph. This smoothie is amazing.”

“I know. That’s mango pineapple. Mine is strawberry banana.” She places her cup on the corner of my desk. “I thought my roommate was crazy when she told me that she quit her nine-to-five to start selling smoothies from a food cart in Washington Square Park. I’m beginning to think she’s a genius.”

“I’m not one for throwing caution to the wind, but I think she made the right choice.” I eye the logo on the side of the plastic cup. “You’re not here to tell me that you’re jumping ship so you can sell smoothies too, are you?”

Her mouth twists into a wry grin. “If that was the case, would you give me a raise to keep me?”

I would. Since Steph took over as the manager of Liore’s flagship store, employee turnover is down and sales are up. We need her and a raise in pay was already in her near future. I was going to break the good news to her a few weeks from now during her yearly employee evaluation.

“You’re due for a five percent raise next month, but I’m willing to increase that to seven percent if you sign a new two-year contract with us today.”

“Are you serious?” She inches forward on the white leather chair that’s in front of my desk. “Really?”

; “Tell me you’ll stay, Steph.”

“I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere,” she says hurriedly. “I’ll sign the contract today.”

I drop my gaze before I lock eyes with her. “You didn’t come here to quit, did you?”

She breathes a sigh. “I didn’t. I hope that doesn’t change your offer. I’m committed one hundred percent to Liore. I love my job.”

“It doesn’t change a thing. The raise is yours.” I take another sip of the smoothie. “Did you stop by just to share the smoothie?”

“No.” She tucks a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Something happened at the boutique this morning. I thought you should know about it. I wanted to tell you in person.”

Eighteen months ago, when I first took on this position, I would have felt a jolt of panic at those words, but a lot has changed since then. I’ve learned that every problem has a solution. “What happened, Steph?”

“Alexander Donato happened.” She rolls her blue eyes. “He showed up again demanding more information.”

“What information?” I ask as I feel a tense knot forming deep in my stomach.