"Debbi, what on earth are you up to now?" the male voice answered through the line, his tone sharp with calculation. "We need to stick strictly to the original plan we laid out for the acquisitions. The timeline is tight, and I cannot afford any corporate scandals tracking back to my office."
"Oh, we are sticking to the plan," Debbi said, a confident smile spreading across her face. "But imagine executing the entire property buyout with an actual Wayne leading the charge, without him ever realizing he is working with us. From the look of things in the Hearts Hotel foyer today, he might just be searching for a perfect rebound relationship to clear his frustration over the Hearts Hotel ordeal."
"Debbi," the male voice cut in, low and threatening. "Do not let your old teenage crushes end up ruining this entire development for us. We need that hotel parcel to secure the residency requirements and the local footprint before the primary voting begins."
"I won't let anything fail," she promised firmly, her fingers tightening around the plastic casing of her phone. "I am going to ensure our plan works exactly the way it's supposed to."
She disconnected the call without waiting for a reply, lowering the device to her side as she stood on the hot pavement. Her gaze drifted toward the front entrance of the hotel. The speaker on the phone was right about one thing; it was an old crush. When she was just fifteen, her family had shared a summer resort area with the Waynes. It was a few years before Mr and Mrs Wayne were killed in that terrible car accident. She had thought Darius was the most handsome, mesmerizing man she had ever seen in her life. She’d spent weeks trailing after him and her brother like a lost puppy, trying every single trick she knew just to get him to look in her direction. He hadn't noticed a fifteen-year-old teenager back then, but he would certainly notice her now, especially since she could help him get the property he’d been trying to get ever since the death of his parents
She was brought out of her thoughts by a familiar, clear voice that suddenly echoed from the shaded hotel veranda, shattering her memories. Debbi’s heart gave a violent thud against her ribs. Her head turned toward the sound of the voice, her breath catching as she saw Owen standing near the heavy oak entrance doors. He wasn't alone.
"Isabel, wait," Owen was saying, his large hand gently catching the woman's arm to halt her stride on the concrete steps. "I think leave it. Don't interfere. Let him and Linda sort it out on their own."
"Oh, I don't blame my brother," Isabel retorted, her dark eyes flashing with a sharp, protective anger as she looked over toward the parking lot. Her gaze scanned right past Debbi without a hint of recognition, landing squarely on the dark luxury sedan. "Yes, Darius is an idiot for not telling Linda who he was right away. But my cousin..."
Owen’s eyes followed the direction of her look, his gaze locking directly onto Debbi’s face.
Debbi felt her chest tighten, a sudden, old familiar heat pounding through her veins before freezing into pure ice. Owen's eyes were utterly devoid of any normal human warmth. They were filled with nothing but a cold, cutting disgust that seemed to look right through her as if she were a piece of rotten wood. He turned his face away from her after a single fraction of a second, looking back down at Isabel. Even from across the wide asphalt driveway, Debbi could see the incredibletenderness that softened his features the moment he looked at that woman.
An intense, venomous rage ripped through Debbi's chest, turning her knuckles white. Seeing Owen look at the woman with the kind of soft adoration he had never once looked at her with.
"Leave them," Owen murmured, his fingers sliding down to circle the woman's arm reassuringly. "Let things settle, and then if you want me to, we can put our heads together and see if we can do something."
Isabel offered him a soft, brilliant smile that seemed to light up her entire face. "Thank you, Owen."
Owen guided her back through the entrance of the hotel. His palm rested gently against the small of her back as they stepped into the cool air conditioning. The casual, unhurried intimacy of the gesture drove a dagger of pure jealousy straight into Debbi's mind. She spun around on her heel and stormed toward the waiting car, pulling the passenger door open with a violent jerk as her thoughts twisted with venomous intent.
Baxter
Baxter sat quietly in the driver's seat, his hands resting steady against the leather-wrapped steering wheel as he watched Debbi through the side-view mirror. The moment she turned her back to look at the veranda, his clumsy, remorseful expression vanished completely. He slipped his personal phone from hisinner coat pocket, his fingers moving with practiced efficiency as he speed-dialed a highly secure, unlisted number.
The line connected silently on the first ring, a quiet breathing filling the speaker.
"Looks like you were right. The bait has been taken," Baxter said quietly into the receiver, his voice steady, sharp, and completely devoid of his usual bumbling cadence.
“Keep me updated,” the person on the other side said. “And…” a pause. “You did a good job today.”
Baxter swallowed, and the words bloomed through him, making him breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank you,” Baxter took the compliment.
“It looks like I’m the one that needs to thank you, Baxter,” the person admitted. “Seems like I may just be the one who has to apologize when this is all over.”
“No need,” Baxter assured him, although his chest expanded and the heaviness that had hung over him for these past few years seemed to lift. “Thank you for believing me.”
“Looks like I should’ve done so years ago,” the person told him. “As soon as you can, we need to meet in the agreed spot. I have some more information that’s not for over the phone.”
“I will let you know a time,” Baxter assured the person.
“Be careful,” the person stated.
“I’m fine,” Baxter assured him. “Just please ensure…”
“Don’t worry, the asset is safe,” the person assured him.
Baxter disconnected the call the exact second he heard the passenger door handle click. He slid the device back into his pocket as Debbi climbed into the front seat, slamming the heavy door behind her with a force that made the dashboard rattle. Her features were twisted into a dark, furious scowl as she threw her leather bag onto the floorboards.
"Sorry about that," she muttered, staring straight ahead through the front windshield.
