Tempted By Scandal. Karen Booth
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to see her gloating, but she looked worried. Good. Let her suffer at least a few repercussions. With nothing left to say, he stalked out into the hall.
He headed for the bar just beyond the lobby. It had a large balcony overlooking the falls. He looked forward to a shot of autumn air to clear his head, but every step away from his altercation with Teresa left him feeling more foolish, and that in turn only made him more angry. He knew he shouldn’t let his emotions get to him, but the matter of Teresa was a complicated one.
The night Liam had first met Teresa, he couldn’t have been any more entranced and enchanted. His father had asked him to dinner at the house, the Christopher family estate on the west side of Mercer Island. His father hadn’t made note of the occasion, only saying that he had a promising student in the class he was teaching at the University of Washington, his alma mater. Liam hadn’t wanted to attend the dinner. He was twenty-five by then, fully independent and making a name for himself within the family company. Plus, he knew exactly what was going to happen at dinner that night. His father would start to drink too much and would begin regaling their esteemed guest with tales of business conquests and billions made. Liam and his mother, Catherine, would exchange pained smiles and endure it. Liam didn’t begrudge his father his success. He only disliked his obsession with it. Nothing was ever enough.
Much to Liam’s surprise, that night’s dinner guest was a breath of fresh air. Yes, his father was being a bit of a boastful blowhard during the meal. But Teresa St. Claire was as charming and beautiful a woman as Liam had ever seen. She was smart as a whip, with a wit that made him laugh more than once. She had a broad range of interests, was keenly focused on business and was nothing but eager to take on the world. No wonder his father was so enamored of her. Liam was as well. In fact, he’d never encountered a woman quite like her—an unparalleled beauty, sexy and enticing, but wholly enthralled with the business world. By the time dessert was served, Liam was convinced that meeting Teresa was fate. She was his perfect woman. At the end of the night, he walked her out to her car and made his move.
“It was so nice to meet you,” she’d said, offering her hand.
Liam could hardly think straight when her skin touched his—there was an unmistakable zap of electricity between them. He’d gazed down into her deep blue eyes, made even more complex and intriguing in the soft evening light. “I really enjoyed meeting you. I’d love to see you again. Would you like to have dinner next week? Just the two of us? There’s an amazing new seafood place downtown. The St. James?”
Surprise crossed Teresa’s face. “Oh. Wow. That does sound nice.” She’d looked away, untucking her hair from behind her ear, almost as if she was trying to hide from him. “But my life is crazy right now. I’m working two jobs and going to school. I’m surprised I even had time to come tonight.” Her eyes fell on the house and her expression changed to one of longing. Liam had never regarded his childhood home with the awe and wonder she did in that moment. In many ways, the house had seemed like a prison when he was growing up. But Teresa saw it differently. He could see it on her face—she aspired to a life like the one his family had. She thought it was perfect. If only she knew the truth. “Your father has been so generous with his time and advice. I’m so thankful for his help.” She turned back to him. “And I’m so glad we had a chance to meet. Perhaps we can get a drink sometime. When my life has calmed down a bit.”
Liam hadn’t needed more explanation than that. He’d been turned down very few times, but he knew the brush-off when he heard it. “Of course. I understand.” Liam had his own craziness, working for the Christopher Corporation and trying to carve out a place for himself while living in the shadow of his dad. It would have been nice to have had a distraction as beautiful as Teresa St. Claire. Maybe even a relationship. There was a huge part of Liam that longed for a connection with a woman, in the same way Teresa seemed to long for a big, fancy house. Apparently she was not his dream woman. “Have a good night.”
During the weeks that followed, Teresa regularly disproved her assertion that her life was too crazy for something as trivial as a dinner out. His mother had reported Teresa’s regular visits to the house. She and his father were often shuttered away in his home study, and his mother, who was deeply suspicious of most people, would spend endless amounts of time speculating about what they were doing. “It’s been hours, Liam. What could possibly be so important?”
If only his mother had known what torture it was for him to hear these things. He wanted Teresa, badly, and she only had time for the one man who’d never had time for him—his father. “Mom, I don’t know. I’m sure it has something to do with the class she’s taking.”
“I think there’s something else going on. I think he’s having an affair with her.”
That leap had made Liam sick to his stomach. His father had many personal shortcomings, but to Liam’s knowledge, he’d never cheated on his mother. She’d clearly never suspected it. If she had, Liam would have heard about it. His mother told him everything. “I’m sure that’s not what’s going on. I’m sure it’s all perfectly innocent.” Only Liam wasn’t so sure anymore, either. This all seemed so peculiar.
Then one night, his mother had called, frantic. “She’s here again. I can’t take it, darling. I just can’t do it. Your father is throwing this affair in my face.”
“Mom, he’s not having an affair.” Liam had said it with zero conviction.
“Please come to the house. I want you to see them together. I need to know that you really believe that. If you tell me there’s nothing going on, I’ll believe you. You’re so good at reading people. Much better than me.”
The idea of seeing Teresa again brought up a complicated mix of emotions. Liam was still hurt by her declining his dinner invitation. His ego wouldn’t have been so bruised if she wasn’t spending a great deal of time with his dad. “It’s late and I have a big day tomorrow.”
“Exactly, Liam. It’s late. Why would she still be here? Please come over and tell me I’m not crazy. I can hear music and laughing.”
Liam’s heart was filled with dread, but he couldn’t say no to his mother. Her paranoid tendencies were purely a product of his father’s detachment. “Okay. I can be there in thirty minutes.” He’d hopped in the car and raced over, hoping to hell Teresa would just be gone by the time he arrived. Unfortunately, he was not so lucky.
“They’re still in the study,” his mother muttered when Liam reached the door. Her breath smelled of vodka. “The door is open a tiny bit. Will you look and see what they’re doing?”
Liam had no patience for this cloak-and-dagger routine. If the door was cracked, nothing was going on. His dad might be foolish, but he wasn’t stupid. “I’m putting an end to this right now.” Liam marched down the hall and raised his hand to knock on the door frame. But then he caught a glimpse of Teresa through the narrow sliver of open door. She was sitting on the edge of his father’s desk, her legs crossed, a tight black skirt riding up to nearly midthigh. His father brought her a drink. Teresa toasted his father, saying she was so glad she’d found him. They smiled at each other with such adoration that Liam felt sick. They clinked their glasses and each took a sip, then Teresa hopped off the desk, gripped Linus’s shoulders and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.
Liam couldn’t watch anymore. He slunk away without saying a thing.
“Well?” his mother asked, waiting in the foyer.
“It’s nothing.” Liam hated to lie to his mother, but he needed time to think. He knew how she would react if he confirmed her suspicions. There would be chaos. And Liam couldn’t afford that with his dad at that time. He was about to propose the company undertake a risky project that would eventually become the Sasha technology. He needed his dad on his side. “They’re talking about stuff for his class. She must need some extra help.”
“You’re sure?”
Liam nodded, telling himself that he would find a way to confront his dad about Teresa. As soon as the Sasha project was approved. “I’m sure.” He’d leaned down and kissed his mom