Page 39 of The Billionaire's Betrayal
Chapter Twelve
“He called again. Not answering?” Jackie asked.
Alexa drank a generous amount of black coffee, hoping the adrenaline would help her reply to the text messages Brooks had been leaving on her cell phone. After dinner the previous night, she’d insisted on going to her place alone without a goodnight kiss or anything that would hint they were on good terms.
What did he expect after his what-have-you-planned-for-the-future chat? Did he want her to admit she probably wouldn’t marry or have kids? That she was a wild cat that’d been outside for too long to become a meek indoor pet?
“He kept asking about plans for the future. Made me feel uncomfortable.” Made me feel defeated, she added to herself.
Jackie chuckled. “Are you serious? He’s talking about plans for the future, and you’re mad about that? Most of my friends have the exact opposite problem.”
Alexa rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t mean plans with me. He asked me a general question.” She’d almost shared with him her plan to move to Europe and do some volunteer work. Her stomach hurt like she’d sausaged herself into a Spanx two sizes too small. Why does his opinion matter? She’d noticed the discomfort in his face when that old client had approached her at the restaurant. Would his resentment increase or disappear with time, if they embarked on a committed relationship?
“Most guys run away from that kind of chat, so if he brought it up, he wanted to hear your thoughts.”
Alexa stared at the remaining black contents in her mug. “He talked about finding the right person, but I’m the least right person for him. So why would anyone think he was talking about me?” What if he was the kind of man who enjoyed giving women false hopes?
“Is that why you’re not answering his calls? Because you have a bruised ego?”
“No I don’t.” She made a face. “Just because I don’t want to hear about how he’ll make some girl happy one day doesn’t mean my ego is bruised. Please.”
Jackie crossed her legs, shifting in the seat like she’d discovered some well-kept secret. “I rest my case. You’ve got it bad for him, girl.”
I hate it when she’s right. “Jackie, stay out of this. I preferred when you were skeptical about him.” At least then, the questions revolved around less personal subjects.
Jackie flashed her an affectionate look. “I want you to be happy.”
Alexa rubbed her neck, touching her pulse beating madly. “I’m doing fine.”
“Okay. Well, I have work to do, and if he keeps calling—”
“I’ll handle him.”
Jackie excused herself, and only when she was out of sight did Alexa fish her cell phone from her pocket and click to call Brooks back. What if she had been a bit brash avoiding him all morning? She tapped her fingers on the desk, annoyed he didn’t answer by the third ring.
“Alexa.” He picked up the phone when she was about to hang up.
Sizzles of awareness flowed from her scalp all the way down her toes. Her nipples hardened from hearing his voice, and she clutched the phone so hard, she accidentally pressed a random number. “Hi.” She cleared her throat, wishing she had rehearsed for this call like some dim-witted teenager. “I know you’ve called, I’ve been busy. What’s happening?”
“Liam called and gave me the names of three employees with prior criminal records. One of them is just a DWI, but two of them are battery-related charges. One domestic violence, and the other guy did time for dealing drugs.”
She shuffled in her seat, uneasy. “Wow.” She made a mental note to do an additional vetting of the people who’d work for her, even if outsourced, in the future. No one with prior battery charges should be part of security at a virgin auction. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t have enough to go to the police yet. I’ll have to keep my eye on these two guys, go talk to them, and look in their eyes.”
Bile rose up her throat. The idea of Brooks, as large and imposing as he was, talking to men who could have something to do with a possible murder twisted her insides. “That’s dangerous stuff.”
“I need to know what happened.”
“All right. What if those two possible guys don’t give you the answers you want to hear or lead you to the truth?”
He sighed into the phone. “It’s back to the drawing board, and exploring the other employees working that night.”
She bit her lower lip. If someone who had worked for her had anything to do with the death of his sister, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. “When you go question them…I want to go, too.”
“No.”
“Listen, they worked for me and the woman you’re looking for disappeared from my building. I need to be a part of this,” she said, in a voice that left no room for arguing.
