Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

After she had walked out of the conference room with Simon she’d gotten a text message from Gary, announcing that he was waiting for her downstairs in the lobby. Out of curiosity, she had relented and given permission for him to come upstairs, but she was already regretting it.

A smug smile played on his lips and that irritated her.

“Why on earth would I want to go anywhere with you?” she demanded, barely able to contain her disdain.

“We haven’t gotten the chance to catch up in a long time,” he said. “Besides, can’t I have lunch with my ex-wife? I thought we were trying to be friends.”

“You can’t keep showing up unannounced like this,” she hissed. “Security could have you removed after the stunts you’ve pulled.”

Some of her coworkers was milling around, staring in her direction, their withering gazes making her realize she was on the verge of making a scene. Which was probably why Gary had insisted on coming upstairs. He was trying to push her buttons and make her look as bad as possible.

“Fine, I’ll go to lunch with you, but you have to promise to leave quietly,” she said in a low voice.

“You got it.”

It took every ounce of remaining strength not to roll her eyes.

When the doors of the elevator slid open minutes later, she stepped out into the lobby with Gary close behind her. She followed him to his car and he drove out onto the street.

Her ex-husband grinned. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She crossed her arms. “What do you want? Why the hell did you come barging into my office like that?”

“We need to clear the air, Heather,” he said. “I know we’ve been communicating through our lawyers, but that just didn’t seem right, you know?”

“Talking through our lawyers was your idea,” she snapped. “Don’t try to act like you got forced into this or something.”

“You’re pissed about this situation with Finn,” he said. “I get that.”

“Is that why you lied about me to the press?” she asked shrilly, fast losing control of her temper. “Is that why you told the entire world I was still seeing Simon?”

“Are you seriously telling me that you’re not seeing him?” Gary scoffed. “I saw the way that guy looked at you. There’s no way he let you go that easily.”

She laced her fingers together, trying to keep her hands still. Trying not to give anything away. When Gary had originally told those reporters that she was still sleeping with Simon, that had been a lie. But after she had spent the night at Simon’s apartment, she didn’t know where things stood with them. Their argument in the art gallery hadn’t made things any clearer.

Worse, they hadn’t told the board about spending the night together. Everett knew about the photograph, but she doubted he knew more than that. A kiss could be explained away but staying at Simon’s place wasn’t something that they could easily gloss over.

“None of this is actually your business,” she said.

“Maybe not, but I’m sure my lawyer and the judge have the right to know if you’re the kind of mother who sleeps with her boss,” Gary said.

She bit back a retort and stared out the window. Right now, she had gone the extra mile by agreeing to have lunch with her ex. She refused to let him get under her skin and push her into a heated argument.

After minutes of strained silence, they pulled up to a deli and walked inside. She grabbed a seat in the corner while Gary went up to order some drinks and sandwiches.

He soon appeared with their lunch.

She took a bite out of her roast beef sandwich, mulling over what to say to him to avoid an argument. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Us.” He bit into his club sandwich and smacked his lips in satisfaction.

That annoyed her so much she reached for her glass of fruit juice and took a huge sip. How had she spent so many years married to him, when just about everything he did annoyed the hell out of her?

“What about us?” she muttered.

“Us. Our family. I haven’t seen Finn in a long time,” he said.

“And whose fault is that?” she snapped. “Every time it’s your turn to step up and spend time with him, you bail. But you have the nerve to take me to court on top of all that?”