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“So, what loophole did you find for the portfolio?” I asked quietly.
He glanced at me grimly. “What makes you think I found one?”
I shrugged. “Just a hunch.”
“Well, maybe I didn’t. Maybe I just stole it outright, completely undermining my own brother and stepsister and the entire fucking company in the process.”
With a laugh, I shook my head. “Bullshit.”
Pausing to open the door to the outside, he waited until we were in the cool November evening before saying, “I scanned PDF copies of every page so they’d still have something to display at the presentation without the actual physical portfolio. But then I learned later that Kaitlynn had already done that, so I didn’t have to worry about trying to sneak my PDF files to them. And now, when they have the designs to show at the presentation tomorrow, Lana won’t be able to sell them to competitors, because by that point, we’d get them out to the public before anyone else would. But holy shit…”
He paused by his car to turn in a circle and run his hands through his hair, clearly distraught. “She really would’ve sold them off, though. I had no idea she had those kinds of plans. This means we need to find that proof in her apartment fast. Because over my dead body will she hurt Arthur’s company or pass the other half over to someone else. It was bad enough when Nash took part of it, and I actually like him and what he’s done around there. But it’s not his. It’s Kaitlynn’s. It belongs back in Judge family hands.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t found anything yet,” I muttered, my hope slipping until— “But, oh! I forgot to tell you about the phone call.”
Hayden glanced at me, suddenly alert. “What phone call?”
I scanned the area. No one looked suspicious, but I still lowered my voice when I turned back to him and said, “In the car.”
Nodding, he opened the door for me, and I waited until he was behind the wheel and had started the engine before I explained what I’d overheard.
He blew out a breath and shook his head. “So she was definitely involved in something with him and she must’ve paid him off for it, but now he wants more. It’s looking like I’m right about everything.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I just wish we could find some freaking proof.”
“I know. Dammit.” He smacked his hand impatiently against the steering wheel. “I wish I knew exactly what they were involved in together. That’d help us at least know what we’re looking for.”
“Wait. I’m confused. I thought we were looking for your stepdad’s will.”
“Yes, but what if I’m wrong about that? What if the will you found today is the only one he ever wrote, and whatever Finley and Lana were in on together had nothing whatsoever to do with that or the company at all? What if it’s nothing illegal? I mean, maybe they just had an affair together and—”
“And he’s still hiding out this long after your stepfather died?” I asked with a lifted eyebrow. “No. Whatever they’re involved in, it can’t be good. It can’t be legal. He faked his own death and skipped the country, and now he thinks he has every right to demand more money from her. So obviously, it’s bad, neither of them is innocent, and she’s in just as deep as he is. We just have to figure out what they did wrong.”
“Fuck,” he said under his breath. Looking weary, he glanced my way and reluctantly admitted, “You’re right. There’s no way she’s completely innocent, is there?”
I opened my mouth to crack off something sarcastic and biting about Lana, but the pain in his eyes caused me to pause. He wasn’t as unaffected by her wickedness as he pretended to be. Weighing my words and trying to come up with the right thing to say next, I huffed out an exasperated breath when my phone buzzed.
“Just a second,” I said and dug it from my purse before checking the text that had just come in. Then I frowned. “Huh. That’s strange.”
Hayden zipped his attention to me. “What?” he asked with a certain amount of dread in his voice.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” I shook my hand to calm him down. “It’s just weird. Papá texted, asking if I could pick Miguel up from school today.”
Head tipping to the side in confusion, Hayden answered, “I thought you picked Miguel up from school every day?”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “I do. That’s why his message is so—oh! He’s writing some more.” A second later, another text came through. “Holy shit,” I cried, reaching out to jostle Hayden’s arm as I explained. “He said he’d been planning to pick Miguel up today but it turned out he has an interview instead. Oh my God, Hayden, I didn’t even know he was looking for a job. Wow.” Breathing out a happy breath, I lowered the phone, smiling, only to pause and frown. “I wonder who it’s with.”
“Does it matter?” Hayden asked. “He’s out there. And he’s trying. That’s a start.”
“You’re damn right it is. And I still refuse to thank you for giving him the push he needed to get out there again, because you were seriously a total jerk about it, but…” I bit my lip and rolled my eyes, mumbling, “Thank you for giving him the push he needed.”
He didn’t seem to know what to do with that, so he cleared his throat and offered, “If this interview doesn’t work out for him, I could help him find something somewhere else.”
“What?” Grinning, I bumped my elbow into his and teased, “Are you going to offer Papá the same job you offered me, cleaning your apartment?”
He sent me a dry glance. “You know I only said that to illustrate how I could find you anything more pleasant than cleaning for Lana, in case you decided you didn’t want to help me with my search, right?”
