AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No way could Cole afford that,” I thought but as soon as the words came out, I know I sounded like a judgmental person.
“Maybe you pay him more than you think.”
“He did have a really nice boat.”
“You went out on a boat?” Paul’s look of amazement made me want to eat back the details and not tell him anything further. He gushed, “you hate boats and always talk about how unsafe it is after watching that horrible crash the first day you bought the house.” Remorse hit me just thinking about the two teens that died that day.
“Yeah, he just made me feel,” I tried finding the best words but my mind raced back through the memories of the time we spent together, while my stomach started to feel funny again. I mouthed somehow, “made me feel,” and again failed as to how I must say it to Paul. “Safe,” I blurted out the best word I could find.
Paul kept his hand on his chest, intentionally fluttering his eyelashes at me. “Girl, you’re in more trouble than you think.”
The next hour we talked about Drake and how Paul suspected he was cheating. He had been lying about his location and the workhours. Paul respected my position enough to keep his worries away from the business.
After talking for hours, Paul and I dragged ourselves out. As soon as I stepped outside I found Molly with a beautiful thin and tall woman getting into a Porsche. She wasn’t her babysitter, the one who’d knocked on my doorstep. Being the stalker that I was, I paced quickly to my Mercedes and started following them.
Pulling up in front of my house, I noticed the news vans missing. Steve was an amazing lawyer who worked hard to protect my privacy. The black car pulled into the other driveway. Not acting surprised, I kept my car parked towards the end of my driveway. The thin blonde woman stepped out to check the mail.
“Hello, you must be my new neighbor.” My voice startled her.
“Hi, it’s such a pretty place.” She had long, thin legs, and her hair looked like she belonged in Stepford wives’ magazine.
“Nice to meet you. Miles has been adjusting wonderfully to the business. Do you like the new place?” This was the best question I could pose to see if she lived there.
“Well, this is only my second day as his assistant, but he has been nothing less than charming.”
His assistant. Instantly it hit me. This was the same woman I saw leaving his office when I went to tell him about the updates of my contract with Cole. Since I’d went out the last day, I forgot I was even mad about that. “How is training going with Drake?”
“He is amazing and hopefully someone I can replace soon with him moving and all.”
“Moving?”
Her face went flat. “I’m sorry, he didn’t tell me it was a secret. I figured you knew with being so close and all.”
I nodded in her direction, smiled, and offered my best, “let me know if you need anything, and welcome to Forever Fitness.” It was the only reaction I could come up with. Immediately, I jumped back into my car and headed towards Paul’s. Walking up to their home, I saw Paul was pulling in. I yelled in utmost urgency, “Get in, something is going on, and WE are going to figure it out together.”
Paul looked shaken with my unusual behavior but followed. He jumped in my front seat, and we took off to my home.
“Holy, Bed of Roses,” he mocked, looking around my house, where it was hard to see any furniture due to all the roses. Smiling in flattery, I waved for him in the direction towards my office. Paul took a seat in the chair across from me.
“Paul, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
Looking offended, he just stared in my direction.
I continued, “I just met Miles’s new assistant, Jenny,”
“Jessica,” he interrupted with a smug look on his face.
“Yeah, whatever. She just told me she is looking to take Drake’s position in the company because he is moving.”
Paul took a deep breath and remained silent. I kept searching his face for an answer but he was as clueless as me. In the lowest voice of what I’d ever heard from Paul, he stated, “you know I can’t move. My mother is a nursing home here, so you just confirmed she is lying.”
Realizing that Drake was keeping this a secret from Paul I knew something big was going on. “Yeah, I don’t think this is something she would lie about. Do you have a tracker on his phone?”
“No, not since you purchased his new one. I have yet to get into it to download.” His voice sounded annoyed and worried all in one.
“New phone?” My eyes widened. “I didn’t get him a new phone. He’s on the company line”.
Sitting back down and logging into my laptop, I felt a strong figure appearing from the side door. Paul and I both tensed, thinking it was Drake. But, instead, it was Cole.
“My house has a doorbell,” I remarked pointing towards him just barging into my house.
“This door was open,” his voice upbeat and innocent. Tibby always warned me of my bad habit of leaving things unlocked and doors open. “Whoever sent you the entire city worth of red roses must be crazy about you?” he quickly changed the subject. His positivity was so attractive and genuine. Paul turned to look in my direction gave a wide-eyed face. Oh shit! Cole didn’t send the flowers either.
