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He sat up, running his hand through his hair. Sir Barks curled up at the end of the bed. “What is it?”
“After the break-in yesterday, the team decided we needed to tighten security even more. I have put two men at each door, and I’m digging into some of the people at the resort.”
“Okay. Thank you.” He’d been surprised by the fan sneaking into his room, but she hadn’t hurt him, and security had immediately burst into the room and removed her. She hadn’t seen his face.
“We’ve come across a problem.”
His brain must have still been fuzzy from sleep because he wasn’t sure what Jeff was talking about. “A problem?”
“There’s a tabloid reporter at the resort.”
He was so confused. “Yes, we know. We caught her yesterday.” Wouldn’t Jeff already know about that incident?
“No,anothertabloid reporter.”
“Oh.” Another one? He hadn’t seen anyone else trying to get close to him. But they were sneaky.
“You hired her, sir.”
Wait…what? He didn’t understand. He hadn’t hired any reporters. “Excuse me?”
“Her name is Riley Campbell. You hired her to be Shadow’s personal assistant.”
Jalen’s mouth went dry, and he couldn’t breathe. Jeff continued to talk, but all he heard was a loud buzzing noise.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Do you want us to clear her out of the building?”
Kick Riley out? “No,” he said, his mind reeling. He didn’t want them to toss her out. They had to be mistaken, right? Somehow they’d gotten their wires crossed. Riley wasn’t a reporter. She couldn’t be.
“I’ll deal with the situation.”
He finished the conversation and hung up, then stared at the phone in his hand. They were wrong. She wasn’t a calculating tabloid reporter, there to write a story on him. She was too kind. Too caring. They had somehow made a huge mistake.
Needing time to think, Jalen got into the shower and turned on the water to almost-scalding. He pressed his hands to the shower walls, trying to let the water wash away the icky feeling that was growing inside of him.
Something odd had been going on with Riley. She had even told him she had a secret she couldn’t talk about. Was this it? Her secret was that she was a reporter, doing a story on him? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, and the more he felt sick to his stomach.
By the time he was out of the shower and dressed, he felt like a giant gun had shot a hole into his heart. He didn’t want to believe it was true, but it sure explained a lot, if he thought about it. Riley was everything he’d ever wanted. What a perfect plan. Be the woman that the lonely pop star wanted, and in return, knab the hottest story of the entertainment industry.
Riley had targeted him. That started to sink in as he put more food in Sir Barks’ bowl. She’d been playing him this entire time. And he’d willingly walked right into her trap. He practically told her who he was. What a fool he’d been. How had he not seen it?
He’d caught her wearing fake glasses. Was that because she was trying to act like someone else? He had noticed her shift in personality. There were times when she would act one way and other times where he’d see hidden pieces of her. So, which parts were real? How much of her was a lie?
His phone chimed, and he looked at the screen. It was a text from Riley.
Do you need anything this morning?
Her words sent a jolt of anger through him. Here she was again, playing a part. Yes. He did need something. He needed her to leave so he could sneak into her room and find out the truth about her. He wracked his brain for some errand he could send her on so he could dig around and find out some answers.
I’m out of my skin cream. I have sensitive skin, so I need a certain brand. Can you get me another container of it?
She texted back that she would, and he sent her the brand name. He knew it was hard to find and figured she probably wouldn’t be able to get it on the island. He waited until he heard her door shut, before leaving his room dressed as Jalen.
He walked to the front desk and asked the kid for a second key to Riley’s room. No one questioned him, since he’d booked it in his name. No one stopped to talk to him, either. That was one nice thing about being himself. No one seemed to care what he did or where he went. He slipped into her room, shutting the door behind him.
His gaze traveled over the room as nerves shot through him, making his stomach tighten. Her bed was neatly made. A phone cord lay on the desk, along with her laptop, which was open, the screen lit up, like she’d just been on it. A small part of him still hoped his security team was wrong. Hoped to get on her computer and find the obvious answer as to why they’d made that glaring mistake.
