by Tonya Brooks
He stared at her as if she were nuts. “Who the hell is Mr. Talbert?”
Jolie gave a huff of disgruntlement and said, “My boss at the coffee shop.”
Reece had met the older man a time or two, and she'd been right about the hearing impairment. Talking to him had been like having a shouting match. “I don't know anything about his loan being foreclosed and I damn sure didn't have anything to do with it.”
“Right. Next, you're going to tell me that Paul Jasper didn't have me fired from the temp agency because he was trying to suck up to you,” she said in a tone dripping with scorn.
Hearing her mention that name had him barely hanging onto his temper. “The last time I saw that son of a bitch, he made the mistake of telling me how good you looked bent over his desk wearing nothing but a pair of heels,” Reece growled. “I knocked his ass out right in the middle of a benefit he was hosting.”
Her mouth had dropped open in shock. “I never…”
“I know,” he cut into her vehement protest. “I remember you told me he made your skin crawl when I introduced you to him.”
She nodded mutely and her brow did that adorable crinkle thing. “So… you weren't sabotaging every job I got?” Jolie asked, looking as perplexed as she sounded, and he shook his head. “Then who did?”
“Tell me what they did and maybe we can figure that out,” he suggested.
“I'd get a job and things would be fine for a few weeks and then my boss would get a call from a man who would make up outrageous lies about me,” she explained.
“What kind of lies?” Reece demanded and did not like the sound of this.
“They changed depending on the situation,” she explained as she rose and began to tidy up the kitchen. “When I worked for a veterinarian, the man claimed that I had a history of mental illness and I'd been known to mutilate animals.”
“Are you serious?” He asked in shocked disbelief.
“Oh, it gets worse,” she assured him angrily. “I was a cashier at one of those pizza and party places for kids and the man told them that I was a registered sex offender trolling for children.”
“Jolie, I swear I had nothing to do with any of that,” Reece denied. “It sounds like someone was fixated on you and wanted to see you fail.”
“Which is why I assumed it was you,” she shot back.
Yeah, well, he could see why she had thought that, even if he didn't like it. “Last night was the only time I've ever interfered with your job.”
“When you called the fire department.”
“And when I told George to buy the building and shut the place down,” he reluctantly admitted and the outraged expression returned to her face again.
“Dammit, Reece, how could you?” Jolie demanded furiously.
“I knew you’d be pissed, but the fact that I admitted it ought to prove that I'm trying to be completely honest with you,” he confessed in the hopes of smoothing things over.
“You had no right!”
“I had every right,” he fired right back. “I love you too fucking much to…” She recoiled as if he'd slapped her and Reece realized what he'd said. Well, it was out there now, and he’d damn sure own it because she needed to comprehend just how much she mattered to him. “I do love you, Jolie. I will always love you.”
“You don't manipulate the people you love, Reece,” she said scathingly. “You let them make their own decisions without interference.”
“Are you telling me that you want to be a stripper?” He asked incredulously.
“I'm telling you that it's my decision,” Jolie insisted. “And thanks to those damn phone calls, it’s the only job I can keep.”
Those phone calls were definitely an issue that he needed to deal with. The thought of some bastard deliberately trying to cause her problems sent every protective instinct he had into overdrive. “Can you think of anyone who'd want to hurt you?” Reece asked and before she could say it, added, “Anyone besides me?”
“No. I don't have any enemies,” she denied and wrapped her arms around herself.
“When did it start?”
“Right after I had Bryce.”
So either someone who wanted to hurt her had come into her life around the time she had their child, or they had purposely waited until she had the added expense of a baby to care for. His mind was racing as he sorted through various scenarios. “Did anyone ever offer to help you out financially?”
“Dane.”
He dismissed that idea immediately. His brother was generous to a fault and it would have been surprising if the chivalrous bastard hadn’t tried to help her. “How about offering you a job that seemed too good to be true?”
“Dane.”
Reece held onto his patience and tried again. “Anyone other than my brother who kept sticking their nose in your business?”
“No.”
As much as it galled him to do so, he forced himself to ask, “Pissed off boyfriends, lovers? Anyone with a grudge?”
“No, no, and no,” Jolie denied in exasperation. “The only person who I ever considered capable of such despicable behavior was you.”
Hearing her opinion of him was like a knife in the heart, but Reece sucked it up because what he was about to say wasn't going to make it any better. “I may be able to help you figure this out… but you're not going to like it.”
“Why? What did you do?” She asked suspiciously.
“I hired a private investigator to follow you,” he admitted heavily, and that outraged expression was back as expected. “I wanted to know who your lover was.”
“I never had a lover!” Jolie shouted furiously.
“I know that now,” he assured her and scrubbed both hands down his face. “I should have known it then.”
Jolie
Jolie grabbed their untouched plates off the island and raked the congealed omelets into the trash. She was so mad if she didn't do something physical she was going to punch his lights out. “I cannot believe you hired someone to follow me,” she growled as she began stacking dishes into the dishwasher with more force than was necessary.
“Did you enjoy hearing how miserable I was, Reece? Did it make you happy to know how much I was suffering? How hard I had to struggle just to survive?” She snarled and slammed the door shut so hard it bounced back open. She shut it again and whirled on him to demand, “Did you even care when I almost died?”
Reece paled to ash as his mouth dropped open in shock. “You almost died?” He rasped and dammed if she didn't believe he hadn't known.
Narrowing her eyes, she said in a voice dripping with scorn, “If you didn't know about that, maybe you should ask your spy for a refund.”
“Dammit, Jolie, what happened?” He demanded and looked genuinely shaken.
“The convenience store I was working in was robbed,” she told him bluntly. “The guy was out of his mind on drugs and when he put a gun in my face, I thought he was going to kill me. I went into premature labor and almost bled to death before an ambulance arrived. It's a miracle that Bryce survived.”
Reece was actually shaking and his color looked more gray than white as he rounded the island and pulled her into a fierce embrace. “My God,” he breathed harshly and there was so much anguish in his eyes that Jolie knew it was real. “I could have lost you.”
“You lost me a long time ago, Reece,” she said evenly and slipped out of his arms with considerable effort. It felt too good and stirred up way too many feelings she'd rather forget. “Now you need to let me go for good.”
Reece
Everything within him rebelled at the thought of letting her go. Hell, letting her out of his arms was difficult enough. Reece knew that he would if that was what she wanted. He didn't have a choice in the matter thanks to that damn vow to Dane. But there was no way in hell he was giving up yet.
“The last time I let you go it destroyed both of us,” he confessed raggedly. “Please don't ask me to make that mistake again. I don't think I'd survive
it.”
The look she gave him was quelling. “You actually expect me to believe that after all the hell you've put me through?”
“I don't know what you've been through, Jolie. I don't know anything about how you've lived the last four years,” he denied and leaned heavily against the island.
The look she gave him was derisive. “Like I said, refund.”
Reece knew she wasn't going to believe anything he said without proof, so he decided to give it to her. “Come with me,” he requested and led her to his home office. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the contact list until he came across the name he was looking for. He tapped the number, turned on the speaker, and laid his phone down on the desk.
When the private investigator answered, he identified himself and asked, “Do you remember why I hired you four years ago?”
“I do.”
“What was the directive that I gave you?”
“To discover the name of your wife's lover,” the disembodied voice said and Jolie gave Reece a withering look. “Like I told ya then, Mr. Lassiter, there wasn't another man.”
“No, there wasn't,” Reece agreed and wished like hell he'd believed it then. “Did you ever tell me anything about my wife? Where she was living or working? Any details about her life?”
“No, sir. You refused to even let me mention her name,” Stan Bartles denied firmly. “Although I did include all of that information in the weekly reports I sent you.”
The triumphant light in Jolie's eyes assured him that she believed the worst about him, as usual. Reece thanked the man and ended the call. Without a word, he opened a door in the credenza behind the desk and removed a small cardboard box filled with manila envelopes. He placed the box on the desk and said, “These are the reports.”
She flipped through the contents, a frown marring her brow as she looked up at him in confusion. “You never opened them.”
“Jolie, I couldn't bear to hear your name mentioned,” Reece admitted. “Reading these would have killed me.”
“Then why did you hire the investigator?” She asked in confusion.
“So I could destroy the man who had taken you away from me,” he admitted and the ruthless intent shone in his eyes. “And I would have destroyed him, Sunshine. If there had been another man I would have ripped him apart with my bare hands.”
Her breathing hitched, and she was staring up at him wide-eyed, shocked at the glimpse of his feral side that he'd never let her see until the night he'd been too far gone to reign it in. “Why?”
Reece placed his hands on her shoulders and slid them slowly, sensually down her arms until he held her hands in his. “Because without you, I am nothing,” he confessed and wanted her to see the stark truth of that in his eyes, hear it in his voice.
“I exist, but I'm not alive. I function, but there is no purpose. I'm a shell; empty, lifeless, without substance,” he elaborated and dropped down to his knees before her. “Without you, there is no joy, no peace for my miserable, wretched soul. I'm hollow inside without your love, Jolie. A bleak, fathomless void of darkness that stretches to infinity.”
Jolie
Holy Mother of God! Reece Lassiter was on his knees pouring out his heart to her. Jolie felt as if she had slipped into the twilight zone. How many times had she dreamed of this happening? How many times had she fantasized about it just so she could crush him and watch him writhe in an agony of his own making?
She had not expected the tears that sprang to her eyes or the longing that filled her heart. She'd never imagined that she could feel anything except loathing for this man again. She'd been wrong. Yes, he'd treated her abominably, and yes, she hated him for what he had done. But now she realized that through it all, she'd never stopped loving him.
That was why he still had the power to destroy her.
“I can't trust you, Reece,” she admitted sadly. Despite his claim that he wasn’t the one who had been sabotaging everything she did, he was still the ruthless bastard who had thrown her out of their home without an explanation and turned his back on her and their child. “I don't think I ever will.”
“Trust can be earned,” he insisted and squeezed her hands encouragingly. “I swear I'll prove that you can trust me, Jolie. Just tell me what you want and I'll do anything you ask. Anything.”
“Relinquish your parental rights as Bryce's father,” she said firmly and pulled her hands free from his gentle hold. If her suspicions were true, he’d never agree to it, but dammit, she had to at least try. “I want a legal document stating that I have sole custody.”
Reece nodded his consent, his mouth set in a grim line. “I'll have George draw up an agreement giving you full custody and anything else you want. Something ironclad that guarantees all the security you need,” he offered as he stood.
Relief flooded through her until she was weak with it. “I didn't think you'd do it,” she admitted and could barely believe that he had agreed. Because Reece had the power to take Bryce away from her if he wanted to, and she knew there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop it from happening.
“I said anything,” he pointed out. “I was prepared to back it up no matter what you asked for.”
“Then stop trying to manipulate me,” she said firmly and folded her arms over her chest. “That includes where I choose to work.”
Without a word, Reece picked up his phone to make a call. “George, draw up an agreement giving Jolie full custody of our son and cancel the purchase of the building.” He listened for a moment and said, “Then sign it over to whoever runs the club. Yes, just give them the damn thing and have done with it.”
“He'd already bought it,” she deduced. George had always been exceptional at his job, which was why he was still with Reece. Her ex had little tolerance for people who didn't jump to do his bidding. Jolie had been the exception to that rule. He'd had infinite patience with her. Especially in bed.
He shrugged as if it were no big deal that he'd just given away a building that he'd probably paid more for than it was worth. “Earning your trust is worth any price I have to pay,” Reece assured her. He lifted a hand to gently caress her cheek and said, “I won't let you down this time, Jolie. One day you will love me again.”
Thank God he didn't know that she'd never stopped. More than anything, Jolie wanted to lay her head on his shoulder and let Reece wrap her in a cocoon of love as she had done so many times in the past. But she no longer had that luxury and the intimacy of the moment was too much for her shattered heart to bear.
“Trust can't be bought,” she pointed out since he had a habit of throwing money at problems to make them go away and stepped away from the tenderness of his touch.
“No. It can't,” he agreed in a somber tone, and she now knew that he had trust issues of his own thanks to mommy dearest.
“Neither can love,” she reminded him and there was no way in hell that she’d open herself up to that kind of pain again. Once had been hard enough to survive, thank you very much.
“I've got more money than I'll ever spend, but it can't buy the things that really matter; love, happiness, trust,” Reece assured her. “But it can provide creature comforts. Will you let me provide for you and Bryce, Jolie? Give you a safe place to live and enough money to keep the wolf from the door until you find a job you want?”
Her heart began to hammer in her chest. Reece was offering her everything she needed to set things right and give Bryce the kind of life that he deserved. She might not trust him, but she'd be a fool to turn him down. “I think that would be acceptable,” Jolie agreed and tried not to let her elation show.
“Good. I had George open a checking account for you yesterday,” he admitted. “It's in your name and I can't touch it, so you don't have to worry about money or finding another job.”
There he went, trying to manipulate her again. Placing her hands on her hips, she gave him the evil eye and said, “Reece,” in a warning tone.
“That was before you told me
to stop being manipulative,” he reminded her and held both hands up in surrender. “Besides, it was Dane's idea so blame him. I thought a million would get you started, but we can add as much as you want.”
Jolie's heart stopped and then started up again double-time. “Dammit, Reece, you can't just give me a million dollars!”
“Hell, Sunshine, a decent divorce attorney would have cleaned me out,” he pointed out with the charming smile that used to make her weak in the knees. Okay, it still did, damn him. “A million was the least I could do.”
Her mind was simply reeling with the knowledge that she was a freaking millionaire. Talk about rags to riches! Holy hell. A million dollars would solve all of her problems and give her and Bryce a chance at a fresh start. “We'll discuss your outrageous spending habits another time,” she assured him when her stomach growled. “Right now I'm starving.”
“Should I order something?” Reece asked warily.
“You'd better. There's nothing left in the kitchen to cook,” Jolie said dryly.
CHAPTER SIX
Reece
Since it was noon, Reece ordered Chinese which they ate on the rooftop patio and shared bites from each other's containers like they used to do. The scene was reminiscent of happier times, and he would do anything, give anything, to return to the way they had been. But at the moment the thing he wanted most was to meet his son.
After they finished eating, he asked, “Is Bryce with a sitter?”
He noticed Jolie stiffen next to him. “Don’t pretend you don’t know, Reece,” she accused.
“Know what?” He queried in confusion.
“Your showing up now is just too much of a coincidence for it not to be related,” she denied and stood up to begin gathering the remains of their meal.
He noticed her hands were trembling so Reece asked bluntly, “Jolie, where the hell is Bryce?”
“You really don’t know, do you?” She asked in surprise before the boxes fell from her hands, and she sank back down in the chair heavily. A sob of pure anguish burst from her chest and the look she gave him was tormented. “They took him away from me,” Jolie whispered brokenly.