But her proof…

I shook off the idea. Somehow she found out about Hudson’s name for me. That had to be it. There was no way he’d called her that too. And, yes, he was dominating in bed, but anyone who knew him would assume that.

The only reason it continued to nag at me was that I still hadn’t heard Hudson’s confession. Was this what he meant to tell me all along? That he’d been with Celia? That he’d slept with her while with me?

I didn’t think so. I didn’t want to think so. It was too easy, too predictable. Hudson was never predictable.

Except if that wasn’t it…

The alternate possibility that had started to form in my mind was worse than what Celia had suggested. Much worse. Like, it would shatter my world to discover it were true. I couldn’t entertain the idea long enough to work through it, even to try and discount it.

So I didn’t think about it at all. Buried it until I had to deal with it. If I had to deal with it.

Meanwhile, I needed someone to give me some advice. Besides Brian, who would know how police handled battery charges? I considered David and Liesl. Mira and Jack were even possibilities. Finally, I settled on someone who I was sure would be able to handle the situation the best.

Jordan answered on the first ring.

“Hey, I know your shift doesn’t start for a bit, but I’m sort of in a situation and I need your help.”

“I can be at the penthouse in twenty-five.”

He was already about to hang up when I stopped him. “Actually, I’m not there. I’m just walking off the subway at Grand Central Station.”

There was only a minor pause before he asked, “Reynold’s not with you?”

“No.” I should have been more regretful, but I wasn’t. “I’ll explain when I see you. Can you come meet me?”

“Yep. In fact, if you’re at Grand Central, I can be there in ten.”

We agreed on a place to meet. Then I hung up and waited for him to show.

True to his word, Jordan was indeed only ten minutes away. He must live nearby. Funny how little I knew about the man.

We found an empty bench and talked without leaving the station. I caught him up quickly, leaving nothing out. Well, very little out. I didn’t mention what it was exactly Celia had said to cause my fist to fly.

Jordan seemed neither surprised nor judgmental of my story. “Have you called Hudson?”

“I tried. I got voicemail.” I’d tried again while waiting for Jordan with the same result.

“That’s fine. It’s really not urgent. Here’s what’s probably going to happen: Celia will likely have gone to the ER. Because of who she is and the pull she has, I’d assume she’d get the police to take her complaint there. With a simple one-swing hit, the cops will often forget the whole thing. They won’t because she’s a Werner.”

“Could I be arrested?” It was the question most pressing on my mind.

He shook his head. “They’ll track you down and give you a court date. No warrants, no arrests. There will be plenty of time for Mr. Pierce to get the whole thing dropped—which he will. You know that, right?”

“I do.” I wrung my hands in my lap. “At least, I think I do. I also feel shitty about being a burden.”

Jordan laughed—I’d never heard him outright laugh. He was nearly as serious and on-task as Hudson. “That man could never think of you as a burden, Laynie. He turned mountains over to get your last charge completely expunged. And the deal he’s working on now has been much more problematic than it will be for him to get rid of any charge from Celia.”

I’d known Hudson had buried my restraining order violation, but Jordan’s last words were news to me. “What does the deal he’s working on now have to do with me?”

He studied me carefully. “I’m sorry, Laynie. That’s going to have to come from him. My point is that you’re not his burden. You’re his reason.”

I savored Jordan’s words. I needed them right then. Especially with Hudson out of reach, I needed the reminder that he was still there for me. “Thank you, Jordan. I appreciate that more than you can understand. Do you know when he’ll be back?”

Jordan’s mouth tightened, and I knew he was being careful how much he said. “Depends on how his meetings go today.”

Why did it feel like everyone knew some big secret about this business deal that I didn’t? Hudson, Norma, even Jordan. From what I’d gathered, it wasn’t anything bad. Then why was I not allowed to know?

Hudson had promised me I could find out anything I wanted to know when we talked. This was definitely going on the list. I’d rather hear things from him than my bodyguard anyway, so I didn’t press.

I checked the clock on my phone. There was only a little over an hour before David’s shindig. Maybe I should just head there. Unless that was going to be a problem. “The club is closed on Sundays, but we’re having a party for my coworker who’s going away. Do you think the police will show up there? I don’t want to ruin anything.”

“Nah. They’ll either show up at the penthouse or wait until normal business hours to find you at work. You’ll be fine.”

“I know I have to face them eventually, but I’d rather not today.” Shit, I was such a coward.

If Jordan agreed with my assessment of myself, he didn’t indicate as such. “Let’s do this: we can take the train back uptown. I’ll leave you at The Sky Launch—I don’t expect Ms. Werner to show up and bother you tonight.”

“No. Not likely.” Though, I wouldn’t mind seeing how much damage I’d actually incurred. Just thinking about it brought a smile to my face.

“The car is parked at the penthouse. I’ll go and get it and come back to the club. Then we can leave whenever you want.” Jordan casually watched the subway passengers as they walked past us. Or it appeared casual. The more I learned about him, the more I realized nothing he did was casual.

And he was always thinking. “I bet that the police will stop by tomorrow morning, Laynie. If you prefer to stay away from them until Mr. Pierce gets back, I could take you to the loft tonight after the party instead.”

“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll consider it.” Except I hoped that when I finally reached Hudson, he’d take care of things for me so I wouldn’t have to hide out anywhere.

But even if Hudson could get rid of a battery charge, he couldn’t protect us from her forever. He hadn’t been able to stop her stalking. Surely now she’d up her game. I thought of Jack’s advice from our lunch—the only way to get rid of her was to let her think she’d won. Punching her in the face definitely wasn’t letting her win. By striking against her, had I made the worst move possible? More than ever I feared that Celia Werner would be a permanent fixture in my future. Could Hudson and I survive that?

The problem with holing up at The Sky Launch was that I wasn’t in the mood to be there. Fortunately, I didn’t have to do anything for the party except open the doors for the caterers. Hudson had arranged the whole thing, including an open bar. It was beyond generous on his part—probably his way of apologizing for the circumstances in which David was leaving.

Everyone on staff had been allowed a plus one. With David’s friends and the few regulars that had been invited, the total guest list numbered around a hundred. It was a true party. The whole thing might have been fun if my plus one was there. But he wasn’t. And by ten, I still hadn’t heard from him.

“Put the fucking phone down and boogie with me,” Liesl urged. I’d filled her in on the day’s events when she arrived. Her feeling was that if I was going to face policemen tomorrow, I should party harder tonight.

She and I were definitely different people.

“Laynie, I love you and I’m here for you if you truly need me. But you seem to have moping down on your own so I’m going to leave you to it and go have a good time.” She tugged at a strand of my hair. “Forgive me?”