Page 12 of Blackmail of a Billionaire

She’d never felt more alone than she did right now, but she wasn’t going to admit that to her sister. She’d kept her current circumstances a secret, and she had no intention of letting on. “I’m fine. And yes, of course, I’d love to grab a cup of coffee, or lunch, or dinner, or whatever he has time for. I’m not sure what the conference schedule is.”

“Great,” Alicia said. “I’ll let him know. He’s on a flight right now, so he’ll probably text you tonight once he’s settled and gets his bearings.”

“Perfect. It’s too bad you couldn’t come, too.”

“Someone has to stay in Harbor Cove and make sure Mrs. Kline’s cat can get out of that tree.”

The reminder of the nature of small-town life brought a genuine laugh from Julia. “Well, good luck with that. I’ll make sure Ethan is well taken care of while he’s in the big city.”

“Thanks, Juju. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Julia hung up the phone as a breeze rustled her hair. How would she manage this? She’d take a cab. She’d figure it out.

Before she could nail down the details, her phone rang again. This time James’s name appeared on her screen. He must have returned to Harrington Global to pick her up. Her shoulders slumped. She hated pulling other people into this fight. James was just trying to do his job.

She swiped to answer the call. “Hi, James.”

“Mrs. Harrington, did we get our wires crossed on the time?”

Her heart skipped a beat as she struggled to come up with a story. “No, I’m so sorry. Grant…was busy and we had to change plans. I just came to the park to wait and must have lost track of the time. I’m so sorry, I’ll hurry back.” She rose from her seat on the bench. He must not have spoken to Grant. The coast must be clear.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Well, I can come pick you up, just tell me where you are.”

“Riverside Park. And only if it’s not too much trouble. I can easily walk back.”

“Riverside Park. Got it. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, thanks so much, James.” She settled back into the bench’s wooden seat as she waited for him to arrive.

Within minutes, the sleek car pulled up, and James popped out from behind the wheel. Julia smiled at him until he opened the back door and someone else climbed from the back. Grant.

He’d used James to find her. She braced herself for whatever was coming with the flowers he carried.

“Thank you, James.” He turned his attention to her. “Julia, you’re really a hard woman to get a hold of.”

She didn’t answer him, her hands glued together as she struggled to keep a handle on any emotions that may spill over.

He closed the distance between them. “We need to talk.”

She needed to let him know he didn’t owe her anything. They didn’t need to play this game. “We don’t–” she started, but he guided her back to the bench.

“We do. It’s a misunderstanding. What you saw…it wasn’t what it seemed. She made advances, I was pushing back. That’s all.”

She processed the statement, though given their situation, she didn’t need to know what was or wasn’t going on. And she wasn’t certain she could believe him anyway. After four wives, he was likely well-versed in explaining situations away. “Okay.”

He lowered his chin, searching her face. “Are you…okay, I mean? You left so quickly.”

She flicked her gaze to her lap, not able to look into those eyes that seemed so well-versed in pretending to care. Well, whatever he wanted to pretend, she couldn’t do it. And she had no business meddling in his private affairs, nor making demands. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

He huffed out a sharp laugh, his features pinching. “No, you weren’t. That’s my point. You shouldn’t have left. She means nothing to me. In fact, I fired her already. It was totally inappropriate behavior.”

He must have been concerned about how it looked to have his new wife race from the office. She hadn’t considered that. Had she let him down in terms of what he expected from her with the contract? “I’m not sure that’s the image you want right now, but it’s your call.”

“Well, it’s not just the image I’m concerned with,” he answered. “And I’m very sorry about what happened.”

He thrust the flowers forward toward her. “These are for you. As an apology, along with…” He dug into his breast pocket and withdrew the long velvet box. “This.”

He snapped it open, allowing the sun to glint off of the sapphire and diamond bracelet.

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