by Jenna Brandt
Pushing her shoulders back and flipping her brown hair over her shoulder, Megan pulled out several hundred dollar bills from her Hermès Birkin bag, and slipped the money onto the table. “Lunch is on me, girls. I’ll see you both at the gala at the end of the week.”
As she exited the posh restaurant in downtown Dallas, several of the local paparazzi started snapping photos.
“Miss Williams, what are your plans for the summer? Are you vacationing in the Caribbean like last year?” one of them asked as he pushed towards her.
After the accident, Megan learned it was better to ignore the paparazzi rather than engage with them. In the days before, she enjoyed their constant attention, but when they turned on her and painted her as a villain, clamming up was her best option. She’d gotten used to the habit and figured there was no point in changing it now.
“I noticed your Birkin bag? Back to your old spending habits?” a second reporter inquired, snapping a photo of her holding it.
She wanted to defend herself and explain it was a gift from her mother for her birthday last month, but she chose to remain quiet, instead. Responding would only encourage them to ask more questions.
Luckily, she noticed her family’s custom Town Car waiting by the curb. She rushed towards it just as the driver jumped out and came around to open the door for her. She climbed inside and took a spot next to her father.
“Were they bothering you again?” he asked with concern.
“Oh, you know, they’re just waiting for me to mess up again. It’s what they live for.”
“You’re not giving them anything to print, are you?”
She shook her head. “Of course not; I know better.”
“Good, we have enough problems without you creating more.”
She ignored the barb, deciding to focus on the agenda for the day. “Where are we going, Dad? You said this was about business. Considering both of our flagship businesses were burned down recently, it doesn’t seem like there is much to do until we get the go-ahead to rebuild.”
“That isn’t going to happen until we get this blasted investigation finished, which is why we are headed over to the spa right now,” her father said as he ran his fingers through his graying dark hair.
“How can we help with that?” Megan asked in confusion. “We don’t know anything about arson investigations.”
“Tracey, you cleared my calendar for the rest of the day, didn’t you?” the billionaire asked in more of a statement than questioning tone.
Megan’s father’s latest assistant, one in the long line of revolving replacements, nodded her head up and down vigorously. To her merit, she’d lasted longer than the rest—a full year to be exact. “Yes, Mr. Williams, and as you requested, I brought my tablet along so I can take notes of everything occurring during the investigation.”
“Good, if they can’t manage to refrain from botching the job this time, I might have to call in more favors. I want all the information procured to date if that happens.”
“Do you think this is a good idea, Dad? If we disturb anything, we could compromise the progress.”
Her father snorted as he shook his head. “What progress? They haven’t even managed to determine what caused the fire, other than it wasn’t an accident. You would think for all the money I donate to the city, the fire department would be able to hire better investigators.”
“Dad, they’re doing the best they can. You have to give them a little grace. Whoever is behind this, knows what they were doing. They didn’t leave any evidence.”
“Not that we can see, but I did some research and found out that there are specialized dogs that can detect accelerants used to start fires.”
“If they had one of those dogs at the Dallas fire department, wouldn’t they have used them already?” Megan asked with confusion.
“Again, they apparently don’t know how to spend my money efficiently. I’m going to have to talk to Fire Chief Walsh about that down the road. For now, I told Richard that he needed to get one of the dogs from Disaster City over to our properties and figure out what’s going on.”
“Disaster City?” she repeated back with a perplexed frown. “What an odd name for a place! What is it?”
“It’s an elite training academy for search and rescue K9 handlers just outside the city, about a half hour away,” Tracey said with a pleased smile. “I found them when I was doing research for Mr. Williams. They happen to have the best arson investigator in the country on staff there.”
“I pulled some strings to have him assigned to work our case,” her father added with pride.
Megan leaned back in the leather seat, nodding her head in approval. “It sounds like if anyone can figure out what’s going on, it’s this guy. That doesn’t explain why we’re headed to the day spa, though.”
“Because Richard just texted me and told me that the DCSR investigator arrived at the fire department headquarters this morning. He’s headed over to the spa right now. I want to be there so we can see this guy in action to find out for ourselves if the strings I pulled were worth it.”
Ah, that explained it. Her father liked to be in control, and since the fires, he hadn’t been. This was his way of gaining the upper hand again.
“Why did I need to come along?”
“You told me you wanted to take a more active role in running the family businesses. Dealing with problems is a huge part of the job, so I figured there’s no time like the present for you to start learning that lesson.”
“Got it, Dad,” she said, wishing that she didn’t hear the undertone of disappointment in his voice. She knew her father always hoped for a male heir, but when her mother couldn’t have any more children, Megan was all he had. She tried her best to live up to his expectations, but being a business mogul didn’t come easy to her. She was more of a people person than a numbers gal.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the swanky day spa and salon that Megan had insisted her father buy three years ago. She had promised that she would help run it, but back then, her idea of running a business was to show up occasionally to boss the staff around. She didn’t have any idea what it really took and didn’t have any desire to learn. All of that changed after the accident. She realized she hadn’t been doing anything productive with her life. Her family had a lot of influence through their business holdings and money, but she hadn’t cared about using it for good until Heidi’s death changed her. She realized now the least she could do was learn how to manage all of it and use that influence to help others. It was why she had decided to add several pro-body programs and treatments to the spas offerings, rather than just seducing guests with fancy procedures that simply hid or erased perceived flaws. She wanted to help women celebrate what made them unique. It was probably why Crystal’s comment about the fat-freezing treatments bothered her so much. Megan had worked hard to change the focus of the day spa and salon, and she didn’t like how the other woman trivialized it.
“Wait for us here, Sydney,” her father said to the driver as he climbed out of the vehicle, letting the other man close the door behind the group. As they moved towards the front of the building, her father commanded, “You’re here to learn, which means you’re better off remaining quiet. You learn more by listening than speaking.”
Megan was glad she’d gotten used to her father’s rough ways over the past couple of years working for him, otherwise the way he just spoke to her would have infuriated her. At a minimum, it was embarrassing to have him do it in front of Tracey, but it was better to keep that fact to herself, or he’d come down even harder on her. “Yes, Dad, I understand.”
They entered what remained of the front lobby, which was now mostly charred embers and chunks of melted debris. Megan hadn’t been there since the fire; it broke her heart to see it in ruins like this.
There were two men standing in the center of the room talking to one another. The first man she recognized as the Dallas fire department arson investigator, as he had been to the
house to question everyone. The other man, she assumed was the DCSR arson investigator, had his back towards her. She could tell that under his dark blue uniform, he had a lean, muscular frame. It was obvious that he worked out regularly and kept his body in peak physical condition. He had a full head of dark hair that was cut short, but she couldn’t tell anything else about him from the back. Sitting next to him on a leash was a Dalmatian that was contently chewing on a blue rubber ball.
“Good, you’re both here,” her father’s booming voice announced their presence to the other two men.
Both stopped talking and turned around to face them. A look of shock was on both of their faces, but for very different reasons. The Dallas investigator was surprised to see them there at all, since he didn’t know they were coming, but the instant the DCSR investigator’s eyes locked with hers, she knew he recognized her, too. He was the mystery man from her dating app.
A little over two years ago, they had matched and started talking to each other online. They’d spent hours discussing their interests, as well as their likes and dislikes, so much so that the relationship had progressed to the point where they had exchanged phone numbers. They had been texting and talking on the phone all hours of the day, building what she thought was a real connection. She knew he was a firefighter, but he’d never gone into the details about his job. She’d remained quiet about her own lack of career, using the excuse that she was still finding herself after finishing college. She’d never told him about her family, worried he would judge her or use her for her money. They had plans to meet for an official first date, but before it could happen, Christian had cut off communication. It had really hurt when he’d ghosted her, and she realized now, it had been the catalyst that spurred her into jumping into her doomed relationship with Chad Mortonson.
As Megan quietly stared at the man who had secretly broken her heart, she realized she’d never gotten over what he did to her. She had no idea how she was going to handle him working on her family’s arson case without letting his presence get to her.
2
What were the odds that the pretty chestnut haired woman from the dating app he used two years ago would show up at this very moment? When he stopped talking to her, he never thought he’d see her again, but here she was standing in front of him. She was even more attractive in person than he ever imagined she could be. From her heart-shaped face and perfect full lips, to her sparkling blue eyes, she was a knock-out. He pushed the troubling thoughts away, trying to remind himself to focus on the job he was there to do. Besides, she wasn’t the woman he first got to know. The real Megan Williams was a spoiled, entitled snob.
“Why are you here, Mr. Williams?” the Dallas arson investigator asked in a perturbed tone. His narrowed glare emphasized his annoyance with the billionaire’s arrival with an entourage. “I thought I made it clear last time, you can’t be in this building until the investigation is complete.”
“This is my property, so when I hear that there finally might be some progress being made with the arson investigation, I make it a point to come see for myself.”
“This is an active crime scene,” Christian explained further. “We can’t have you traipsing through the crime scene and disturbing any potential evidence.”
“I’m not an imbecile. I know how to behave myself,” Mr. Williams stated indignantly.
“What about the two of them?” Christian asked, glancing at Megan’s attire. He noted her expensive dress and high heels, completely impractical to be worn at an active arson site, not to mention the other woman. She was wearing a suit with a short skirt and pumps, and stood just behind the billionaire and his daughter.
He wasn’t surprised, though. From what he had learned about the real Megan Williams, he had determined he didn’t like her attitude. Her self-centeredness was so rampant, she’d gotten her friend killed by her irresponsibility. Through the local newspapers and social media, he’d determined that the woman everyone was talking about didn’t line up with the one she pretended to be with him online and on the phone. He suspected the down-to-earth, witty woman he had fallen for was a façade, probably created to lure him in so she could poke fun at him with her friends behind his back. When the reports about her involvement with her friend’s death surfaced, it spurred him to end their communication. He didn’t have time for a woman like that back then, let alone now. I don’t need a trust fund baby taking up anymore of my time, Christian reminded himself, hoping he could convince himself to ignore the effect her presence had on him.
“My daughter knows how to handle herself, too, and my assistant is trained to stay out of the way,” the older man replied with irritation. “But we’re not here to talk about us; I want to know what’s going on with my property. Have you gotten anywhere with your investigation?”
“We just got here, Mr. Williams. Investigator Perez and his K9 partner haven’t had a chance to inspect the area for evidence yet,” Investigator Gillian explained in an exasperated tone. “If you let us get back to our job, we can call you once we’re finished.”
“Thank you for the offer, but we’ll remain here while you conduct the search,” Mr. Williams stated dismissively.
“Are you sure? Considering the condition of the building due to the fire, it isn’t safe, especially in the clothes the women are wearing,” Christian pointed out.
“Don’t worry about them. My assistant needs to be here to take notes, and my daughter needs to be here so she sees what I put up with on a regular basis. She talked me into buying this place, after all. Since it was the first time she showed even an inkling of interest in the family holdings, I decided to indulge her. I suspect she cared more about what it could do for her hair and skin than she actually cared about how it effected the family profits, but at least it was a step in the right direction.”
Christian wasn’t surprised to hear this about Megan. It confirmed that he had made the right decision by cutting things off with her. What did surprise him was that she didn’t speak up to defend herself. Instead, she stood there and took the criticism without a word. The only sign that her father’s words had affected her was a flush that crept across her cheeks and her averted eyes.
“That might have been true in the beginning, Mr. Williams, but your daughter has really turned the place around in the past year. The introduction of the new treatments and procedures have not only put this place on the map as the latest in pro-body procedures, but it’s doubled the profits.”
Everyone turned to look at the woman standing behind the billionaire, who had all but been ignored by everyone since the group entered the room. The men looked shocked, while Megan gave the other woman a grateful look.
“Didn’t you say you have work to do?” Mr. Williams inquired in an attempt to redirect the conversation.
“Yes, we do,” Gillian said, turning towards Christian to finish up their conversation. “Where do you want to start?”
“Well, I read through the case file and saw that there were no known accelerants used at the property. I’d like to take Cinder through and determine if there was anything that was overlooked.”
“You mean, overlooked by me,” Gillian said defensively. “I’ll have you know, I ran the samples through the database, and there isn’t a single accelerant that wasn’t accounted for.”
“Then how do you know it was arson? Couldn’t it have been from faulty wiring, or an accident by an employee that left a candle burning?” Christian probed.
“That’s not possible,” Megan said, stepping forward and speaking for the first time since entering the building. “The investigator checked all of that, and I even interviewed the workers, myself, a second time. It wasn’t an accident.”
“Just the same, after I’m done here, I’d like to personally talk with all of the employees and customers that were here the day of the fire, just to make sure nothing was overlooked,” Christian insisted. “You’d be surprised how many customers and workers are afraid to confess to accidentally causing
a fire for fear of getting into trouble.”
“We would never press charges,” Megan said, aghast, her ivy-colored eyes rounding with shock. “We value our guests, and our workers highly.”
“Either way, I need to interview them,” Christian persisted.
Mr. Williams raised his hand, silencing his daughter from voicing a rebuttal. “Fine, I’ll set up the interviews with the employees for tomorrow and get you the list of our guests so you can arrange the meetings with them.”
“Good; in the meantime, Cinder and I are going to take a look around.” Christian bent down and removed the ball from his K9 partner’s mouth, then gave her the signal to search the area for accelerants.
She made quick work of the lobby, zigging and zagging through the area with her nose to the ground. She stopped a couple of times to peruse an area but moved on through the building. Towards the back, her tail started to wag frantically, and she barked to let Christian know she’d found something. As he approached, he noticed that she was pawing the ground in a way that made it clear there was residue of a known accelerant in the area.
“Good job, Girl,” Christian said, handing her the chew toy before bending down to inspect the burned rubble with his gloved hand. Cinder did her job; there was definitely the scent of charred chemical in the air. “What used to be here?”
Gillian opened his file and glanced at a set of plans. “That used to be the supply closet. I already ruled that out as being the accelerant. This closet just housed standard chemicals they use at the spa and salon. Plus, this isn’t even the origin point for the fire. It’s two rooms over.”
“Standard chemicals for the industry, but that doesn’t mean that one of them wasn’t the accelerant used to start the fire. From the way Cinder is behaving, I think it might be acetone. I’m going to have her keep searching to see if there’s other trace amounts anywhere else in the building.”