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“Don’t pause.” I know what he’s doing when he does that.
“I need a checkup.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Marshall always comes to the house for our checkups.”
When I came home from the hospital, Marshall was in and out of our house daily till I was fully recovered, so this really isn’t out of the ordinary.
“Okay.” I let it go, but I sense something is off.
“I’m surprised Fontaine hasn’t reached out. Aren’t you?” My dad is the one now who redirects the focus of our conversation.
“No. All I can tell you is that he was lying about believing the deal was only worth 1.1.”
My father lets out a sigh. I can hear his fingers drumming on the desk. I was shocked when my dad told me he was going to sell. All he ever does is work. It’s his whole life. “Is there a rush to make the sale for some reason?”
“Yes.”
Oh, boy. This game. “Dad.” I drop my voice, walking quickly into the en suite. “The stocks aren’t going to drop, are they? Something that is going to tank you?”
“No. Fontaine would want revenge for that.”
Me.That’s the first thought that springs into my mind when my father brings that up.
At least that's what my father told me. Part of the reason he was so protective.
“I sell and we’re out.”
“All right.” My head is spinning now. Could this have something to do with Marshall’s visit? My heart drops for a moment, but I push it away. We always get yearly checkups. Everything’s fine. Besides, I have more to worry about with the fact that I’m in Vargas’s house where I amdefinitelynot supposed to be. I have willingly hopped my way into a trap and I’m not trying to find an escape route. My father talks to me for a few more minutes before letting me go after I promise to come home for dinner one night.
“He’s off,” I tell Sassy. It’s nothing new for him not to tell me everything that’s happening business-wise. He says it’s better that way. It bothers me this time, however. “Give me cuddles.” I grab Sassy and bury my face in her fluffy fur. “Let’s go explore.” I put her down, knowing she’ll want to walk.
I venture out into Vargas’s home or mega mansion. This place is built for a family. A giant one at that. I was thinking of a penthouse not a home behind its own private gates. At each turn, Vargas surprises me.
“Is it terrible if we peek in his bedroom?”
“Meow,” Sassy agrees and is already trotting over to the double doors that have to be the master. It’s also next to my room as he said. Sassy is already sniffing at the doors. Does she smell him? She really is a hussy.I’m one to talk.
“If we get caught, this was your idea,” I whisper to her. He did say I could explore. When I open the door, Sassy is off to the races. She dashes inside. “The heck!” Where the hell did she go?
The room is massive. So is that bed. I shake the thought.Focus.
“Sassy, get your cute furry butt back here.” I check under the bed first. That’s her favorite place to hide usually, but nope. A door sits half open. I push it open to only blackness. My hand roams along the wall as I go deeper into the dark room. Clothes brush against my fingers. How big is this closet? Sassy meows. “Seriously! How far back did you go? I can’t see in the dark. If you don’t–” A sharp pain in my knee cuts me off.
“Ahh!” I fall forward. I try to catch myself. Absently, I reach out and manage to grab hold of something. Whatever it is comes with me. I hit the floor, and then it hits me.
The lights flicker on. I stare up to see Sassy sitting on the island in the center of the closet. “Are you okay?” a woman asks.
“I’m fine.” I scramble to my feet to see the older woman. “I got lost.” I start to clean up the clothes that came out of the box I dragged down with me. “Oh my God,” I whisper. I’m going to murder Sassy later.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I’m holding a pair of boxer briefs in my hand. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
Sassy meows, calling me a liar.
11
