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And even if there was something in him that was worth the effort to unveil, would he even let me see it completely? It sounded as if he’d been burned by every woman who’d ever crossed his path. So why would he give me a real chance?
I mean, who was I? No one. He was a rich, handsome, sophisticated man. I was not. We had nothing in common aside from the fact that we liked to kiss. Any possibility of a future between us seemed completely doomed. If I wanted to be smart, I’d just keep my mouth far away from his.
But then I glanced up as I approached Lana’s blinged-out front door and groaned. “Good Lord, no.”
No wonder why Hayden seemed so damn appealing.
Just look at the options I’d been given.
There Diego lurked, ringing the doorbell to Lana’s place.
“Lana. Darling,” he called, pounding his fist on the diamonds next, only to wince and pull his hand back, as I’m sure rapping your knuckles against diamonds had to hurt. “Just give me one more chance. Please.” Then he closed his eyes, pressed his forehead against the diamonds and cried, “Gabriella? Are you in there?”
“Nope,” I said to myself, low enough that he couldn’t hear me, and I turned right back around. I’d had enough of this guy gushing over me. No way was I going to be witness to him making a fool of himself over another woman and me both.
Remembering there’d been a back entrance to Lana’s, I scoured the halls until I found it. Once inside, I realized Lana wasn’t home. However, I did discover a note full of duties from her in the kitchen.
Figuring she must’ve escaped out the back to avoid Diego as well, I chuckled and shook my head. “Serves you right, bee-atch.”
Grateful that I’d remembered to bring earbuds today, I plugged them in to block out the sound of the doorbell ringing over and over again and Diego alternately begging for me and then Lana.
I cranked the music up nice and loud and got to cleaning. It was around noon by the time I stumbled across a doorway I’d never seen before. The entrance was actually partially hidden behind another door, which I had to close in order to open—or even see—the other.
“Well, what do we have here?” I murmured, peering inside only to discover Lana’s personal office.
Finally!
Lana had never mentioned this room in any of her lists of things to clean. But hell, if she didn’t want me to go in, I guess she should’ve locked it.
Idly spinning my feather duster over the desk as I rounded it to sit in her seat, I hummed under my breath and opened drawer after drawer, finding paperwork after paperwork to riffle through. The only problem was I had no idea what I was searching for. It all looked legal and terribly complicated to me. I might as well be reading a foreign language.
After abandoning the desk, I moved to the filing cabinet. And right there, under the A’s, was a file tab that read, Arthur’s Will.
“Holy shit.” I yanked it out and flipped it open. The will was thick, folded in thirds, and tucked into a leather pouch.
With shaking fingers, I pulled it free and ironed it open with my palm.
“Jackpot,” I whisp
ered, fisting the air before tugging my phone from my pocket to take a quick picture before sending it off to Hayden and asking him if this was what he’d been searching for.
He responded within seconds.
* * *
HAYDEN: Show me page seven.
* * *
“Page seven?”
Making a face because I thought he’d be a heck of a lot more excited, grateful, and complimentary with maybe a bit of oh-Gabby-you’re-the-best-I-can-t-believe-you-did-it, and a lot less demanding than this.
“I guess everyone’s a critic,” I mumbled before I licked my thumb and flipped to page seven.
“Page seven,” I announced, pulling up my phone. I didn’t even bother to read it—because, let’s be honest, I wouldn’t understand the lawyer mumbo-jumbo—and I snapped another shot.
A minute after sending that baby off, Hayden responded.
