Page 75 of The Billionaire's Runaway Bride

“Because.”

She smirks and tucks her gray hair back behind her ear. “Because?”

“Do I need to justify it to you?” I challenge good-naturedly.

“Um. Yes?” She nods in that no-nonsense way she has. My father hired her two decades ago and I swear she’s one in a million. Sharp, smart, and always on top of everything. She doesn’t miss anything, either.

“You do report to me about these kinds of decisions.” She reads through the lines in the caption attached to the graph in her report. “I see that my administrator tagged you in this action.”

“I signed off on it,” I reply. Within the first twenty-four hours of being home, I had.

“Why?”

“I wanted to.”

My CFO is a ball-buster, but I can’t begin to figure out how to explain myself. I pulled out of Lauren’s father’s business out of spite. Out of rage. Out of many different emotions that helped me live through my pain. I’ll never forget the way he offered Lauren to me, like she was a bargaining chip. That bastard didn’t care one bit about his daughter’s welfare. If anything, he coerced such old-fashioned and backward-thinking controlling habits over her.

“I don’t want to associate my wealth with the likes of that man.”

There. That summed it up. It was the truth, and I didn’t have to delve any deeper into it than that.

“Really? Jamie Hendrickson? Why?”

I sigh, moving my chair side to side. So much for making my explanation short and sweet.

“I looked into him,” she says. “I can’t see anything that would suggest unethical behavior that wouldn’t align with your personal mission statements nor the ones for TMW.”

Because he hides it.

She shrugs. “Part of my gig. Checking who’s been the next victim of cancel culture and what we need to avoid.” She glances up at me. “But what’s your issue with him?”

“A personal matter.”

One gray brow jumps up. “Oh?”

“Yes. And that’s final.” I realize I sound like a parent again, and I grimace.

“I’m surprised is all. The ROI is quite high.”

I shake my head. “I don’t care if I make all the money in the world. He’s not getting anything from me.”

I’m half tempted to go after the man somehow, but that wouldn’t do any good. If Jamie caught on and assumed I was targeting him, he’d remember my brief connection with his daughter. I don’t want to cause any damage or harm to come her way, and I have no clue what that man would do. He’s already scum, sinking so low to treat her like dirt to manage, not a special person to love.

My phone chimes with a reminder, prompting me to remember I gave in and had agreed to meet up with Dalton at a bar. His nagging was getting old, and if I go tonight and hang out for a while, he’ll get off me about moving on from Lauren. He chose a bar, and I agreed to head there soon.

I can’t. I don’t want to, either, but I’ll try to prove to my friend that I’m not in need of an intervention of any kind.

“Is that all?” I ask my CFO.

She nods and leaves. On my way out, my phone buzzes with another email.

This one is from my lawyer, a forwarded message from a private investigator he’s employed before. Before, when I was curious about Lauren’s ex, I went through a more “unofficial” channel of casually asking Dalton to look into the guy. Snooping for information online isn’t that hard. It’s shocking how many details can be pieced together from what so many people share online.

After Lauren left, and recalling the terror in her eyes when he grabbed her arm, a deep sense of worry settled within me. She hadn’t admitted that he’d physically harmed her before. Marian had shared that concern. She told me how she’d looked to no avail for evidence of bruises on Lauren when she arrived.

But I wasn’t naïve. Just because Jeremy hadn’t physically abused her before she ran away didn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t now. Simply put, I don’t trust that asshole. I wouldn’t go back on my word. I would let Lauren stand by her choices. I couldn’t make her change her mind about choosing Jeremy. To try to overrule her decision would only make me no better than the people controlling her life. I had to let her make this choice and stick with it.

However, I would always stand by my word. If she reached out, I would be there. If she wanted my help, she would have it. Anything. I would do anything to help her.

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