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But all Eldon said was “Of course.”
Hunter was on edge the entire drive. Traffic was bad this time of day, and he had to bite back his impatience. It wouldn’t do any good to lose his temper at Eldon since he wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow.
Eventually they pulled up in front of Hawkings Conglomorate’s primary office building. “Wait here,” Hunter said in a clipped voice. He got out of the back of the sedan before Eldon could get out to open his door. “I’ll be back shortly.” He slammed the door to the sedan and crossed the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians. Normally he’d tense up, his nerves on edge, waiting for people to stare at his face and flinch. To stagger backward and move out of his way.
Today, he didn’t have time for any of that bullshit.
He headed into the building, ignored the lobby full of people, and headed for the elevator. The receptionist didn’t stop him because he was a recognizable face and had been here several times before. Jamming the button on the elevator, he impatiently waited for it to rise to the top floor. When it did, he stalked down the hall to Logan Hawkings’s office.
Audrey would be there. And she would know where Gretchen was and why she’d refused the contract that he’d more or less put together specifically for her.
But when he burst into Logan’s office, the secretary’s desk was empty.
Hunter gritted his teeth in frustration. Was fate working against him? He raked a hand through his hair and then pushed open the door to Logan’s office.
Logan had his feet kicked up on the corner of his desk, a headset on. He was obviously on a conference call. He frowned at Hunter’s burst into his office and toggled a button on his headset, speaking into the microphone. “I’ve had something come up. Someone send me the meeting notes when you’re done.” He disconnected the call and swung his feet down from the desk, casting an irritated look at Hunter. “Don’t you knock?”
“Where’s Audrey?” A sharp burst of fear hit him. What if Gretchen left town just like Brontë had? Logan had had hunted her down, only to find out that she was right under his nose. He didn’t want Gretchen leaving. He wanted her back, damn it.
“Probably getting my lunch from the cafe downstairs. Calm the fuck down. What’s wrong with you?” Logan’s brows furrowed.
“I need to find Gretchen.” Hunter moved in front of Logan’s desk, ignoring the chair offered to him. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace.
“So you admit that you fucked up?”
He gave Logan a scathing look. “What are you talking about? What do you know?”
Logan shrugged, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair, his pose far too leisurely to suit Hunter. “I know that Brontë’s been talking to Gretchen.”
“And?”
“And,” Logan stressed, “she says she’s really upset. Cries a lot. You fucked it up, didn’t you?”
He’d thought Gretchen was angry at him. She was crying? Hunter’s heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest. “What did she say?”
“First you tell me what you did.”
Hunter collapsed in the chair, frustrated with the situation. With everything. “She found out the project was a sham.”
“And that made her cry? Damn, she’s a sensitive type, isn’t she? I wouldn’t have pictured her as the type—”
“Then I accused her of sleeping with me for money.”
“Ah.”
“And then when she was packing, I told her that I didn’t care if she loved me or not. I’d pay her to use her body regardless of how she felt.” Now that he was recounting it, it sounded awful even to his own ears. “She turned it down.”
Logan grimaced. “Yeah. I’d say you fucked it up.”
“Shit.” Hunter suddenly felt weary. “I thought for sure that she was using me for my money. Her agent said—”
“Her agent thinks everything’s about money,” a tart female voice interrupted. “Or didn’t Gretchen tell you that?” Audrey strolled forward and came into sight, no-nonsense in a stern bun and oatmeal-colored tweed, her round face scowling. “Or were you too busy calling her a whore and a money grubber?”
“Audrey, this is not the place—” Logan began.
“The door was open,” Audrey replied in a cool voice. “I’m sorry. I overheard. I’ll leave.”
“No! Stay.” Hunter studied Gretchen’s sister. “What makes you so sure she wasn’t with me for my money?”
