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Thomas’s lips draw down and his voice is soft, full of regret that sounds misplaced, but somehow isn’t. “Did you know he is getting married in December?”
Getting angry at hearing all that is wrong in my relationship with his cousin, I answer with a bite to my tone. “You’ll have to do better, Thomas. Royce has told me everything.”
Although, I haven’t processed it yet. That’s why I can remain calm. But when I do...
Thomas raises his head. There is curiosity mixed with disbelief in his gaze. “And none of that bothers you?”
I take a moment to think. It bothers me, sure. But if he hadn’t told me he loved me...
“It would if he weren’t going to call the wedding off. Yeah, that would be an issue.”
“So, you don’t intend to become his mistress?”
I let out a mirthless laugh. “Not now. Not ever.”
Thomas narrows his eyes to slits. “Are you after his money?”
“What money?” I cackle this time, long and loud. “His grandfather will leave him destitute if he chooses me.”
“And you’re all for that?”
I give him a careless shrug, belying the disquiet I feel at ruining Royce’s life for my happiness. “It’s Royce’s decision. Not mine.”
He studies me for a moment. His reddish-brown hair, artfully styled, is glossy in the recessed lighting. His beard, as full and as thick as Royce’s only a different color, carries a tantalizing scent. It wafts under my nose as he shakes his head.
“You are so different from what I expected.”
I shouldn’t ask, but I have to know. “How so?”
“Uh... I heard you were... ah, for lack of a better term... well...” He digs a finger under his collar that seems to have grown uncomfortably tight. A button pops off, skidding along the polished surface of the table to land in the middle of it.
Thomas, face flushing red, loosens the silk blue tie around his neck and clears his throat before continuing, “Genesis, I heard you grew up in a trailer park. I heard you had received a charity scholarship to a prestigious prep school and you were almost expelled for fighting. You left your job in Dallas under dubious circumstances, and at STS, you slept your way into the position you have now.”
What the hell?
Chapter Fourteen
Family Business
Genesis
“Whotoldyoutheselies?”
Thomas smirks. “So, it isn’t true?”
I shake my head. My ponytail swishes across my back. “Not in the least.” It’s my time to smirk now, thinking of the cash he has wasted. “If you hired an investigator, you should get your money back. Pronto.”
Thomas flexes his shoulders in his charcoal gray suit, his expression abashed. “Well... I… uh didn’t hire anyone… I got the information from a disgruntled employee.” He leans back in his chair, crosses his arms and swivels his neck like he is speaking fact, not fiction.“Make that two employees.”
The mental shoe in my mind quickly drops on just who the prime culprit is. “Let me guess. One of them was Greg Sumpter?”
Thomas answers rather primly for a man of his stature. “I’m not at liberty to say. “
He doesn’t have to. His flushed expression tells me all I need to know. Greg is a scumbag to the highest degree, but I guess I get his motivation to throw me under the bus.
What I have trouble with is the other “disgruntled employee.” I can’t think of one person at STS who hates me enough to spread lies.
ButI willfind out who it is. Later. Right now, I need to set Thomas straight.
