Page 12 of Recovering Ivy

6

Ivy

“What?”

Zane set a photo on the table and slid it across the smooth surface. It stopped in front of me and when I looked down, I knew I was screwed. Someone had taken a picture of Forester meeting with a hooker in the lobby of the Bistro Inn, a small boutique hotel that featured fine dining, a bar, and thirty guest rooms. Sure as hell, there I was off to the side, caught spying, taking my own pictures.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I tried to explain.

“No? That’s not you watching Forester with a call girl?” Declan asked.

“It is. But I didn’t order her. I have nothing to do with his activities.”

“Then why were you there?” Declan continued his questioning. “And here. And here.” He pushed more pictures in front of me.

“Why does it matter to you? What I do with my time is none of your business. Why are you following Forester?”

Was this what big investors did? Did they follow upper management before they invested their money to make sure the investment was solid?

“Because he’s being investigated for corporate fraud,” Zane told me.

“What?” I sounded like a broken record, but I wasn’t understanding what was going on. “I thought you were investing in Techwatch?”

“And I thought your name was Ivy,” Zane sneered. I no longer liked hearing my name come from his mouth. Last night it was smooth and sexy, and now it sounded like a curse.

“My name is Ivy.” Shit, they knew my employment records were fake. “Why did you pretend not to know me at the bar?”

“Which time? When I took you home? Or tonight when I didn’t blow your cover? Would you have preferred I had thanked you for the fuck in front of your boss?”

“You’re an ass.”

“You played me,” he shot back.

Played him? Was he out of his mind?

“How did I play you? You picked me up. We had a good time. I left. I thought you’d be happy I was gone by the time you woke up. No awkward, get out of my house speech.”

“Get out of my house speech?” The man was infuriating.

“You want to do this now? In front of him.” I nodded in Declan’s direction.

“I’ll give you the room,” Declan said.

“I want privacy,” Zane told him. “Tell Garrett to cut the feed.” Were we being recorded? Great. Declan left and Zane turned to me. “Explain.”

“Explain what? I don’t understand why I’m here.”

“The get out of my house part,” he clarified.

“Nothing to explain. I don’t know why you seem so pissed. I left and saved you the trouble of asking me to leave. That’s it.”

“The men you’ve had in the past tell you to get out in the morning?”

“No. That’s never happened before. I’ve never had a… one-night stand before. Believe it or not, I don’t make a habit out of going home with strangers.” Why was that so embarrassing to admit?

“So you assumed I’m such an asshole I would’ve told you to get out?”

Why was he making this so difficult? He’d started last night by telling me it normally didn’t matter to him if he knew the woman’s name he was taking home. That was indication enough he was well versed in one-night stands.