“Did you not want to know my side of things?” I asked him.
“I know how you are, Alexis. You’re one of the moodiest girls I know.”
His words felt like a slap in the face. He had never spoken to me like this before. I stood up. “That’s it. I’m leaving,” I said with an attitude. He never moved or wavered. Instead, he took another sip of his coffee and kept his focus straight ahead on the garden. Shaking my head, I gracefully left the building and returned home to my small, cozy apartment.
His behavior changes were beyond bizarre. As I shared them with Jessica, she reminded me of her opinion.
“He has something else to hide. If you sense something is weird with Charlotte, then it likely is. Look at the man’s record. I say search for another secret that he may be hiding. That’s what it will seemingly take for you to figure all of this out and hopefully walk away from this toxic relationship. Save yourself, Alexis!” Jessica set the laptop in front of me and walked out of the room. I wondered on where I could start. Did I know Charlotte’s last name? Yes, I did. Well, the last name that she had provided for me. Regardless, I typed it into the Internet search engine. Her name popped up on a few of the White Pages databases but nothing matched. I browsed through as many social media websites that I could think of. The girl wasn’t anywhere. Doubt really started to influence my thoughts again. Ashton’s behavior earlier was extremely out of character for him. What if he was hiding something else? I closed the laptop. Either the girl was lying about her name or she didn’t want any trace of her existence. After all, there were some people that I knew who refused to have social media accounts to preserve their privacy.
“Did you come up with anything?” Jessica asked as she walked back through. She grabbed an empty glass from the kitchen and poured a glass of sweet tea.
“Not a thing,” I answered.
“Interesting,” she muttered. Her slow movement back into the living room marked her suspicions with Ashton and Charlotte. “Do you think that Charlotte is her real name?” she continued.
“I don’t know. I was wondering about that. She was undiscoverable on the White Pages and didn’t have a single social media account.”
Jessica sat down on the recliner. “That’s strange, Alexis. Well, the paparazzi are known for discovering the answers to things like this. Just keep an eye on the tabloids and you may have your answer. Newsflash: Ashton’s daughter lied about her name.”
“Oh my word, I don’t even want to think about it,” I exhaled, trying to tamp down my stress. “He had such an attitude with me earlier. He’s never acted like that toward me before.”
“Had you confronted him with anything to cause that?”
I answered, “Yes, I told him about the tension between Charlotte and I. You know me, it’s important to me that I make peace in every troubled relationship.”
“Ah ha! The man is up to something else. I know you’re tired of hearing me bash him, but it’s true!” she exclaimed. Yes, I was tired of hearing her accusations, but she had a reason to feel that way. I looked at my phone and frowned. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
I whimpered. “It’s the first time that he hasn’t texted me and asked if I made it home okay.” Reality was setting in.
Jessica’s face grew red with anger. “Ohhh, I would love to slap that man!” She clinched her fists and stormed out of the room.
Chapter 7
I had showered and changed into fresh clothes. It was wonderful to wash off the stress of the day. Jessica had cooled her jets and was playing a video game in the living room. Harmony had returned to the apartment once again. I joined her on the couch while brushing through my long, wet hair.
“You just love this game,” I remarked, laughing.
“Make fun of me all that you want, but I don’t really care,” she chuckled. She vigorously pressed the buttons on her controller, biting her lips and getting into the game. The carefree, stress-free feeling in the room was nice. We sat, laughed and enjoyed the game until someone started to frantically knock on the front door.
“Alexis! Jessica! It’s Seth! Please, open the door!” Jessica and I looked at each other with alarmed faces.
“It’s Seth!” I exclaimed in a shocked whisper.
“Well, don’t just stare at me, go answer it!” Jessica’s expression was almost indecipherable. We both jumped up and ran to the door. His hand was still held up to the door, preparing for another knock when we opened the door.
“Thank goodness that you answered!” he paused, breathing heavily.
“You could’ve always called,” I reminded him. “What’s wrong?”
He took a hard swallow and tried to catch his breath. “After seeing me the other day, I wasn’t sure that you would answer my phone call. Anyway, I’ve got news on Ashton.” He slapped some papers into my hand. “Forgive me for doing research, but I’m a geek and it’s what I do. This email from Ashton to this other person makes it appear that he’s only been using you for marketing purposes.” With the tip of his finger, he pushed the center of his glasses back up his nose. I was stunned.
“I don’t know what to say or where to begin,” I stuttered.
Jessica huffed. “I’m not surprised.”
“Let me sit down and read through this,” I said as I made my way to the table. Seth and Jessica followed me. The email read:
Hey Babe,
Don’t worry. I think that Alexis is the perfect candidate for expanding our brand. She’s bright, beautiful and ambitious. Her talents are immeasurable as well as her naivety. Through her, I think that I can take the brand to a whole new level. She has a likable personality that the public would want more of. Besides, everyone loves a good little love story. Tie that into business and you have the perfect marketing storm.
“Where did you find this?” I asked Seth sharply. I wasn’t angry at him for prying. If anything, it showed me that he did still have feelings for me and hadn’t completely moved on. He was still looking out for me.
“A friend of mine is a hacker and he happened across this email that was set up on a popular server. If I had to guess, Ashton sent this on a public computer that had little to no security features whatsoever,” he carefully explained.
“So, I see,” I said, deep in thought. “Well, this is definitely something that I wasn’t expecting. I can look at this and assume it’s something shady going on or perhaps this was his dream for me in furthering my career.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Alexis!” Jessica raised her voice. “Please don’t make another excuse for him!”
I could feel my stress level rising again. “Jessica, you need to cool down. I’m not making any excuses. I’m trying to figure all of this shit out. Thank you, Seth. This has come out of left field but gets me closer to figuring things out.”
Seth looked concerned. “Just be careful, Alexis. I know that you are the type of person that has to find peace with things. Just don’t let this man completely screw you over. Jessica doesn’t mean any harm. She’s only worried for her friend, as am I.” His eyes carried a lot of emotion. I grasped his hand and held it tightly.
“I know,” I whispered. The emotion started to swell as a lump in my throat. “But you’re right, I have to have answers before I’m free from this. I know it doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense to me. I have an idea of what that feels like. Just know that I’m looking out for you. I believe that you will figure it all out very soon. However, I reserve the right to take action the minute I learn that you’re in danger. If that becomes an obvious factor, everyone is going to pull you out of that ordeal. Understood?” He lifted his eyebrows.
“Understood,” I confirmed. Jessica stepped back in attempt to get control of her emotions. Seth reached over and gave me a long hug. I was so thankful for his tender care. He remained so patient and steadfast. I knew deep down that we had something special. It was something that no billionaire could buy.
The Billionaire’s Releas
e Book 10
Bella Rayne
Chapter 1
My ankle nearly twisted as I stepped off of the elevator. My new three-inch stiletto heels weren’t the easiest shoes to confidently walk in. At least for me. I had woken up that morning in complete disbelief about Seth’s recovery. It couldn’t be true. No matter how stormy Ashton’s relationship with me was, we had passion. I knew it. I felt it. I lived it.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Ashton greeted me with a charming smile. He stood by the other ladies with his standard cup of coffee. His khaki dress pants were neatly pressed and his plaid, collared shirt was tucked in. My attraction to him almost made the email disappear from my mind. Just as I was contemplating with giving him a “friendlier” greeting in his office (Nothing sexual, mind you. I had already learned that lesson!), his daughter walked around the corner.
“Good morning, Alexis! My dad said that you would walk through door right about now. He knows you pretty well,” she forced a cheesy grin. I knew instantly that her kindness was fake. I tried to not let it bother me since we had already discussed the awkwardness of things. It was what it was. However, to say that I wasn’t suspicious about her behavior would be a lie.
“Good morning, Charlotte,” I forced myself to be kind. I hated that I couldn't give Ashton a greeting kiss in his office because his daughter was all over him. I carefully observed as she moseyed her way to his side. She didn’t seem shy or coy at all. Then I remembered that she would be working with us daily. I dreaded it.
Ashton cleared his throat. “Alexis, I decided to give you a break today and let Charlotte work with me. Since she will inherit this enterprise someday, I would like for her to learn it inside and out.” He gently placed his arm around her waist and looked lovingly into her eyes. To be honest, the affection disturbed me. Since they had been complete strangers only a few days before, they certainly had become close very quickly. I tried to convince myself that I was overthinking and overanalyzing.
“Well, I will miss my sidekick today!” I cheesed back.
Charlotte cracked an uneasy grin. “I look forward to it,” she proudly.
“So does this mean that you’ll be moving to the Hillsboro area?” I asked without filtering my thoughts. It was something I should’ve kept for private conversation, but my curiosity got the best of me. Everyone became instantly silent. Everyone’s eyes nervously moved to Charlotte. I knew that had to be unsettling to her, but then again, I almost didn’t care. She had been nothing but snobby to me.
She awkwardly opened her mouth, unable to utter a word and looked to Ashton for help in answering the question. Why would she need Ashton’s help? I smelled a rat.
“It’s something that we’re discussing,” Ashton answered for her. “As of right now, she has decided to remain here. As for permanent move, she hasn’t fully decided. I think, secretly, she is hoping to convince her mother to move closer.” He spoke gently and looked deeply into Charlotte’s eyes again. What father and daughter duo exchanged intimate looks like that? Why was I so creeped out by it?
“That’s wonderful,” Janet said, taking the pressure off of me. “Well, shall we get to work? It’s just past 8.”
“Yes, let’s get to our desks and get busy,” I responded with fake enthusiasm. I wanted nothing more than to escape that awkward group meeting. I walked over to my desk and turned on the radio to a low volume. It always helped me to concentrate on tedious work when some form of music was playing in the background. (Well, any music except the boring elevator music.) It was important that I acted normal. If Charlotte or Ashton noticed that I was becoming increasingly nosier, I might blow my cover.
My eyes barely crept over my cubicle wall. I pretended to be typing something on the computer. Charlotte smiled in an almost flirtatious manner as she walked into Ashton’s office. Perhaps that was normal for their specific situation, but it still didn’t sit well with me. I watched cautiously as Ashton shut the door behind him. The charming grin on his face stuck with me. What was going on here? It was becoming more awkward by the minute. We no longer shut the door when I was in there nor did he shut the door when any of the other ladies were in there. Ever since Janet walked in on us and caught us red-handed, he consciously kept the door open in order to regain some of his dignity. Maybe because she was his biological daughter, he felt that it was safe to shut the door. However, it raised red flags to me. I didn’t know what secret Ashton was hiding at this point, but I knew him well enough that there was something amiss. Jessica was likely right again. He had something else to hide.
Chapter 2
Alexis was becoming more suspicious of my actions. Her naivety was lessening by the day. Perhaps I had given her one too many opportunities to become more streetwise. I didn’t know. However, the long, measured looks, the raised eyebrow and pointed questions were enough for me to realize that she was suspecting something was going on. I had to do something to further assure her that I had dealt with all of my troubles and that things were just fine. I had to regain her trust somehow.
I stepped out of the office for a cup of afternoon coffee and saw Alexis working gracefully at her desk. I admired her beauty as her hair flowed effortlessly down her back. She gave off a very calming aura, even when she was angry or disappointed, a quality I couldn’t really explain. She was incredibly intelligent in so many areas of her life but sadly adrift in others. This often contributed to her naivety.
She looked up and our eyes met. Oh, those big eyes drew me to her every time. She was truly irresistible. I smiled and approached her desk.
“Hey,” I greeted her kindly.
“What’s up?” she replied sweetly without moving from her chair. She always tried to hide her paranoia and concerns. Precious thing. To me, she seemed as tender as small kitten. However, she would show her claws when something struck her as unfair.
I leaned against the side of her cubicle wall. “How would you like to have a romantic dinner with me tonight? You’ve had a lot of stress on you lately. It would do you some good.”
She turned around in her swivel chair and faced me. “Only me?”
“Pardon?” I didn’t quite understand the point in which she was trying to make. The one thing that annoyed me about Alexis was that she was always trying to teach people lessons. Perhaps it had something to do with her young age and thinking that she already knew it all.
“It would only do me some good?” she repeated archly.
I consciously had to remind myself to not roll my eyes. It would give away the fact that my charm wasn’t effortless. “Well, of course it would do me some good! What are you talking about? Why would you even think that? You know that I savor every single moment with you.” I hoped that my words were enough to satisfy her.
“Uh huh,” she uttered beneath her breath. She turned back to the paperwork on her desk and picked up her pen.
“You don’t believe me,” I replied. The anger was rising deep inside of me, but I tried to remain patient.
“Correct,” she said coldly.
“It’s Charlotte, isn’t it?” It was the tame way to handle my frustration.
“I’m not sure. You tell me,” she answered, keeping her back to me.
I shook my head in frustration. “If you want to have dinner with me, let me know. I would love to treat you. Otherwise, I will keep my distance until you figure some things out. Quite frankly, I’m confused.” I turned to walk away but paused. “Oh, by the way, remember that I bought you that pen. It cost me $80.00.” She paused in whatever she was writing as I walked away.
I returned to my office and basked in the silence. Charlotte had left for the day, and thankfully, Janet wasn’t in my hair. She had a tendency to annoy me with her rigidity. Sometimes, just the way she would pronounce, “Mr. Jackson,” made me cringe. It had something to do with her tone combined with the rigid mannerisms that got underneath my skin.
I checked my email. It didn’t surprise me in the least to see an unread email from Alexis. It was a mo
re personal one rather than the obvious business emails. She wrote me and said plainly that she would join me for dinner. I leaned back in my leather chair and clapped my hands together in a loud, single action. “Yes!” I exclaimed in a vibrant whispers to myself.
I wrote her back and asked if she would like to walk to the romantic cafe after work. We had many good memories there. She agreed, and I watched the clock tick all the way to four o’clock.
“I’m leaving,” Alexis peeked her head into my office doorway at one minute after four o’clock.
“Oh, so that’s my cue, eh?” I flirted with her. To my dismay, she still wasn’t in a flirty mood. I realized that it was going to take a lot more work to get her back in a good place with me. How could I juggle both her and Charlotte? How could I convince her to accept Charlotte? Charlotte told me that she had laid things out between them in hopes that it would fix the awkwardness, but it did no such thing. Was I missing something?
“I’ll be waiting by the elevator,” she spoke coldly. I quickly grabbed my briefcase and sent Charlotte a text message. I wanted her to know what I was doing.
“Wait for me!” I hollered to Alexis while running through the office like a high school kid. Sure, I did it for attention. I wanted the ladies to fully believe that I was still completely head over heels for this girl. After all, she had just boosted my sales and visibility. With our faces being plastered all over the magazines and television, fame had done a lot for everyone involved. In fact, I wondered if the paparazzi would find us at the cafe. My plan was for them to capture us kissing even if it was just a peck on the cheek or hand. I knew that image would sell for thousands of dollars.
The ladies in the office stared as I rushed past them. They weren’t used to seeing me act like a teenager, so I know it was entertaining for them. If anything, it led them to believe that I really had a special bond with Alexis. I only wondered what impression Alexis had given them.
Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Page 151