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Sighing, I kicked off my shoes and made the way to my bedroom. I was greeted by Lady laying not so lady-like on my mattress, on her back, paws in the air, ready for a good night’s rest herself. Geez…if life were only that easy.
“I know girl. It’s past our bedtime.”
I stripped out of my clothes and got into sweats and a T-shirt. With Lady snuggled in my bed, I reached for the Kindle on my nightstand. I needed to escape the real world for a bit. Sliding books from right to left, I finally settled on a historical romance. My favorite genre.
For one brief moment, my mind wandered to Tripp. Would he spending the night with Mallory? Maybe they would go back to his place before he took her home. Or maybe he stayed with her at her house. The thoughts were starting to make me feel sick. Pushing him as far out of my mind as I could, I was soon lost in my book.
All my problems would have to wait. Tonight was all about the perfect love story—two characters who were destined to be together forever.
Something I thought I knew about…once upon a time.
I stared at the paperwork on my desk. My mind raced with everything except what I was supposed to be working on.
It had been days since I’d seen Harley and Toby leave Cord’s Place, and of course, it was all I could think about. Mallory had ended up getting a headache and asking me to take her home. We were both having a miserable time anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal to call it a night early. Plus, she could tell I wasn’t in the mood for staying out. After I dropped her off, I had been tempted to drive by Harley’s house. Luckily, I got my wits about me and went home.
Three knocks on my office door had me looking up while I called out, “Come in.”
Karen walked in with a piece of paper in her hand. She slapped it down on my desk and raised one brow. “You owe me.”
With a grin, I folded my arms and waited to hear what she had found out.
“I’m sure your next bonus will more than make up for the one favor I asked of you.”
She huffed. “According to my source over at Pete London’s office, they confirmed Harley met with Mr. London.”
I learned forward, my arms on my desk. “What else did she find out?”
“I didn’t say it was a she.”
Rolling my eyes, I blew out an exasperated breath.
“Karen, I know it’s your sister, Riley. She works for Pete. That’s not a secret.”
She shot me a dirty look. “And if you so much as breathe a word of where you got this information, I’ll quit.”
I held up my hands and then crossed my heart. “I swear. Not a word. Now spill it.”
“Okay, well, apparently Doc Harris has a brother who is a big time investor in Texas and beyond.”
I nodded. “I knew that.”
“I guess when Doc was opening up this clinic in Oak Springs, he borrowed money from his brother or something along those lines. Doc says he paid his brother off, but the brother is saying that isn’t the full story and that Doc Harris had no right to sell to Harley. He’s trying to take the vet clinic away from her. Said that he was the rightful owner and that he intends on taking over and booting Harley out.”
Anger raced through my veins. “Where was this guy all those years Doc was running the clinic? Has he put any additional money into it?”
She shook her head.
“Any major decisions he was a part of?”
“The brother? Not that I know of. Might be they just haven’t found out yet.”
I nodded. “What’s Pete’s game plan?”
Giving me a shrug, she replied, “I don’t know. Pete has set up a meeting with the brother’s lawyer and a mediator.”
I dropped back in my seat. Damn it. Pete wasn’t going to be able to help Harley like I could. He wasn’t that great at this type of thing.
“There is a bit of information I got that you might also be interested in.”
“What’s that?” I asked, knowing the second the words were out of my mouth I would regret it. I never let myself get caught up in gossip.
“Harley had dinner with Toby two nights in a row.”
My brow lifted. Okay…maybe just this once. “Why do you think I would be interested in that? I have a girlfriend. Harley and I are old news.”
Karen tilted her head. “Really? So then what’s the reason you can’t focus on your work?”
“What?” I nearly shouted.
“You’ve been staring at this deposition for hours, Tripp. I’ve worked with you long enough to know your mind is somewhere else.”
“It’s on the race.”
Her left brow raised like it always did when she was calling me on my bullshit. “The race?”
