AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve heard enough.” She cut him off with raised hands. “The last person who asked me to trust him was Owen. And we know how that turned out.” She stepped out and slammed the door behind her.
He grabbed a vase and threw it against the wall, scattering shards of porcelain as well as his dreams. “Fuck!” he shouted to an empty apartment.
His phone rang. It was Ben.
“What do you want?” he barked.
“Whoa. What’s wrong?” Ben asked.
“Cassandra left me.” The story of his life was about people leaving. He’d finally found someone who believed in him and would stay by his side, but now she was gone. Loss threatened to consume him.
“What happened?”
“Malcolm is what happened. During the party, I got a text from the informer. He wanted to talk to me right away. It caught me off guard. I was worried he had second thoughts. I left the party to call him. While I was away, Malcolm did what he always does. He told Cassandra lies about me.”
“You didn’t tell her anything about the takeover, did you?”
“No,”he said, exasperated, but he’d tried to.
“That’s a relief because if you did, this whole thing could have fallen apart.”
His dilemma slammed into him from both sides. Cassandra would still be here if he had told her about the takeover. On the other hand, this wasn’t only about taking over the company. He, Ben, and the informer had a duty to bring Malcolm to justice. It was the right thing to do. It wouldn’t bring Cassandra back to him, but he owed it to his father’s legacy and Sutton Properties.
“True, but Cassandra’s gone.”
“She’ll be back,” Ben said with a sigh. “Give her some time to calm down.”
He massaged the back of his neck in frustration.
“You’re my best friend, Leo. Things will work out, but right now, I need your complete attention on the informer. What did he tell you?”
Taking a deep breath, he focused on the phone call. “At first it was hard to understand him because he used a voice disguising tool. He told me he has the final cache of information ready to send. This is the documentation of all the money Malcolm pocketed while cutting corners on the Kronos Hotel.”
“What happens now?”
“I had to reassure him I would be at the board meeting. He promised to email a code to access the information.”
“I can’t wait to see what is sent over.”
“He also warned me if any hint of an informer leaks out, he’ll stop cooperating. That’s why I couldn’t risk sharing any details with Cassandra.”
“I’m sorry, Leo. It put you in a tough position.”
“Listen, I’m going to back to the party to talk to my grandfather. Maybe he saw Cassandra before she left.”
“Be careful of Malcolm. We don’t want to give him any reason to be suspicious.”
“Yeah,” he said through gritted teeth. If he saw Malcolm, he would have to act like nothing happened. It would be next to impossible not to kick his ass, but he’d have to control his anger. “I’ll call you soon.”
“Take care.” Ben ended the call.
He slid the phone back into his pocket, ripped off his tie, and poured a drink. Taking a deep swallow, he wandered around the apartment that held traces of Cassandra everywhere. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his nerves and focus on her hurt and what he could do for her. But how could he do anything for her when she didn’t want to see him? What she wanted was space. He could give her that. Not forever, but for now.
