Page 54 of Come A Little Closer

“Mr. Morrison? This is David Harper calling you from the Brookside Collections Agency. I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time.”

I frowned deeply. “The Brookside Collections Agency? I’m afraid you must’ve made some kind of mistake. To my knowledge, I haven’t skipped any payments due to anyone.”

“No, sir,” the guy said quickly. “This isn’t about you. It’s in connection with one of your employees, a Ms. Talullah Pruette?”

My stomach dropped to my knees. “What about her?”

“We recently received notice that she’s started in a position of employment with you,” he said crisply. “As a special projects manager, we believe?”

“Yes. What about it?”

“Well, sir.” He cleared his throat nervously. “Under the Wage Garnishment Laws of Louisiana, we⁠—”

“Let’s cut to the chase.” I leaned back in my chair, knowing I was sticking my nose in where it didn’t belong, but that knowledge didn’t make me any less confident in what I was about to do. “How much does she owe?”

“Excuse me?”

“The credit card debt,” I snapped. “I know that’s what this is about, so just give it to me straight. How much does she owe?”

“In total, sir?”

I grunted in frustration. “Yes, in total.”

“Twenty-two thousand, four hundred and seventy-four dollars, sir.”

My eyes widened. It was no wonder she’d been so stressed about it. What I paid her was a generous salary, and since what she had been paying in rent had now become disposable income as well, it wasn’t an impossible amount to pay off, but it was still a lot.

Rage boiled in my veins at the thought that her ex-husband had saddled her with that amount of debt. As a graduate with no previous work experience when she’d left him, he must’ve thought she’d never become debt free, and frankly, he’d had a damn good point.

I had half a mind to send the collections agent after him instead, since I knew he’d been the one to rack up all that debt, but then I remembered her saying that he’d saddled her with it in the divorce. Legally, I assumed that meant she’d accepted responsibility for repaying it all.

“Who can I make the payment to?” I asked as I shook myself out of my thoughts about how unfair this was.

“I’m sorry?”

“Don’t be sorry. Just give me the details. I’ll ensure that payment is made in full today.”

“Today, sir?”

“That’s what I said.” Exasperation coursed through my veins, making me feel all itchy and bottled up. “The details, Mr. Harper. Now, please.”

He rattled off all their information and I took it down, then logged into my bank account while he was still on the phone and made payment electronically. I didn’t even want to fuck around with a check right now.

“You should have the proof of payment in your emails,” I snapped once the deed was done. “Send me confirmation that you’ve received it and that she’s debt free before the end of the day.”

As I slammed the receiver down in the cradle, I blew out a heavy breath, honestly not understanding why anyone would do that to a person they supposedly loved. It was vile. Disgusting.

I fumed as I sat there quietly, drumming my fingers on the glass top of my desk and contemplating what to do about it. Part of me wanted to track down this Carter guy and give him a piece of my mind, but doing so might result in him finding out where she was, who she worked for, and trying to weasel his way back into her life.

After everything he’d done to her, the very last thing I wanted was to invite him back in. While he wasn’t a threat for her affections, I simply detested the possibility that he might cause more trouble for her.

My door opened and my glare darted toward it, apparently confusing Jake when he walked in. He threw his hands up immediately, arching an eyebrow at me as he crossed the room. “Whoa. That doesn’t look good. What happened?”

“Tallulah’s ex-husband,” I said gruffly. Sighing, I dropped my head and massaged my temples, focusing on my breathing in an attempt to regain control of my heartbeat. “The fucking asshole racked up a small fortune in credit card debt after she told him she was leaving, and then he left it like a hot potato in her hands when they got divorced.”

Jake’s features contorted. “That’s terrible. I hate people like that, don’t get me wrong, but I just don’t understand why it’s made you look like someone took a leak in your Corn Flakes.”

“I’m seeing her,” I confessed harshly. “Have been for a couple weeks now.”