I love you.
Izzy xx
After gathering my trench coat from the coatroom, I call Roger and request for him to bring Isaac’s town car around the front.
“Yes, Ms. Brahn.”
In under a minute, Isaac’s town car pulls into the front stairs of his private residence. I lift the collar of my jacket before dashing to the car, trying to avoid the sprinkling of rain that started falling early this morning.
When I climb into the backseat, Roger greets me in his familiar flat tone. “Ms. Brahn.”
I feel ridiculous sitting in the back, but Roger is a stickler for protocol. “Good afternoon, Roger. Can you please take me to 134 Chelsea Road?”
He curtly nods before beginning our journey. Roger would easily be in his sixties. His hair is silver with a scattering of black strands, and a thick silver mustache covers his top lip. From what I’ve heard, he’s worked for Isaac since Isaac started his empire. Although he lacks personality, he has above par security skills, often quoting that he doesn’t interact while on the job as it distracts him from performing his duties to the best of his ability. I can’t really fault him for that, especially when his sole client is Isaac.
Since Roger isn’t the talkative type, I keep my gaze on the scenery outside. Ravenshoe has so much of Isaac embedded in it. It’s a strong community that’s growing into a thriving city. With its growth overseen by Isaac, new housing and business developments are constantly under construction. It’s large in size but not overly huge like big, overdeveloped cities.
Silly butterflies in my stomach take off in flight when Roger pulls in front of the office building I used to work at. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”
When I place my hand on Roger’s shoulder, his dark eyes peer at me in the rearview mirror. “Yes, Ms. Brahn.”
While gliding out of my seat, I exhale a shaky breath. I swear I wasn’t this nervous the first day of my placement. A grin curls my lips from the hum of activity projecting from the small space when I stroll into the bustling office. Alex’s team is small, but it’s always been a hive of activity. There was never a dull moment—well, except when I was scanning my uncle’s records into the FBI database with an outdated copy machine. That was as boring and tedious as it comes.
After hanging my wet trench coat on the coatrack near the glass door, I make a beeline to my old desk. An uprising of emotions hits me hard in the chest when I discover it remains untouched. It still has the scrunched-up business card Isaac left for me at Harlow’s bakery in the top drawer and a packet of Tic-Tac’s sitting next to the keyboard.
Snubbing the tears pricking my eyes, my gaze strays to Alex’s glass office. My breath snags in my throat when I catch his infuriating glare. His backside is propped on the edge of his desk, and his arms are crossed in front of his broad chest. I warily smile. He doesn’t smile back.
I snatch Isaac’s business card out of the drawer, shove it into my pocket, then hesitantly pace toward Alex’s office. When I enter, he gestures for me to close the door. Nerves quiver in my stomach when the glass turns frosted. He only ever does that when I’m in trouble.
After releasing a handful of the butterflies in my stomach with a big exhale, I pivot around to face him. His eyes roam over my face before gliding down my body. I unclench my fists when his gaze stops at my balled hands.
While removing the sweat from my slicked palms onto my jeans, I take a seat in the chair across from him. Once I’m seated, he pushes off the desk and moves to sit in his chair in silence. My heart crazily palpitates when his stern blue eyes lock on mine. He waits for me to commence our conversation. It’s an extremely long ten seconds.
“I'm here to advise of my resignation—”
“Shut up, Isabelle.” My eyes bulge, shell-shocked at his bluntness. “For once, shut up and listen.”
His anger quells my shakes by replacing it with unbridled fury, but before I can announce that, he continues, “Your resignation from my department has been declined. You signed a contract, and you'll fulfill your obligation as stated in that contract.”
I attempt to refute his statement, but my words entomb in my throat from the furious glare he directs at me. He’s burning up everything because he just noticed the diamond on my ring finger. I thought he was angry before, but it has nothing on his fury now.
“You'll remain on unpaid leave until you've had time toproperlyevaluate the situation. Once you have all thefactsand the chance to accurately formulate a decision on your position without Isaac influencing you, I'll consider accepting your resignation.”
I cover my engagement ring with my right hand, protecting it from his bitter words. “Isaac isn’t influencing my decisions. I made my own informed choice, and since I’veagreedto become his wife, I can’t ethically work for the department investigating him. It would be highly immoral for me to do.”
“If you're worried about being immoral, then I highly recommend you remove the blinders you’re wearing and take a step back. You're letting your feelings for Isaac blind your judgment. Lust and love are two very different things—”
“Like you’d know the difference.”
His top lip twitches, advising that he heard my brash statement. “I'm not the enemy, Isabelle.” He crosses his arms in front of his chest, then sinks low in his chair. “The man you're sleeping with is.”
“You don’t know him, so your opinion doesn’t count.”
“And you don’t know him either.”
“I know him.”I know him better than anyone.
“Prove it,” Alex taunts, his tone condescending.
