Page 62 of Blackmail of a Billionaire

“Thanks for the card,” she murmured as she reached for her door again.

“Take care, Julia. Be safe,” he said as he stood and backed away.

She slammed the door shut and fired the engine before she backed from the space. A glance in her rearview mirror as she pulled away showed his icy blue eyes still fixed on her.

She pushed it from her mind on her ride home, arriving at the quiet solitude of Harrington House. She pushed inside, her muscles aching from the tension she’d held in them most of the day.

“Mrs. Harrington, how was lunch?” Worthington asked as he hurried toward her.

She raised her eyes to his kind face, her features melting with upset.

He hurried forward to steady her. “Oh, dear, I hadn’t meant to upset you. I thought your lunch with Mr. Harrington would have provided much-needed relief after the tension this morning.”

She heaved a breath as her eyebrows knitted. “You mean…you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“I didn’t have lunch with Grant. I–”

“OMG!” Sierra’s shrill voice shrieked before her pounding heels announced her arrival. “What is this?”

Sierra closed the gap between them and shoved her cell phone into Julia’s face. The video labeled Billionaire Brawl showed the fight at the Azalea Room on a constant loop.

“Is that Mr. Harrington?” Worthington questioned.

“Yes,” Julia exhaled with a weak breath as she sank her forehead into her palm.

“How did this happen?” Sierra insisted. “Is that the doctor from the emergency room yesterday?”

Julia’s shoulders slumped. “It is. And it gets worse.”

Sierra’s features took on an even more stunned appearance. “How?”

Julia sucked in a breath as her mind sought the best way to explain. “Kyle…Dr. Carter is under the misguided impression that Grant is…abusive. That’s how the fight started.”

Sierra wrinkled her nose, shooting Julia a disgusted look. “Kyle? You’re on a first-name basis with him?”

“Please, Sierra, it’s been a really long afternoon. I’d like to go upstairs and lie down.”

“Of course, Mrs. Harrington. Can I bring you anything?” Worthington asked.

“No, thank you, Worthington.”

Sierra scoffed, her sharp features twisting. “Lie down? What about my dad? Where is he?”

“The police station. Mitchell is with him. He should be home later.”

Julia took a step toward the stairs when Sierra side-stepped in front of her, blocking her. She crossed her arms, narrowing her scrutinizing eyes at Julia. “Don’t you think you should be a good little wife and scurry your way down there to offer support?”

“I’ve already done that. Mitchell sent me home to wait here.” Julia skirted her and started up the stairs.

“Well, fine, but this isn’t over. And if he loses anything because of this…I will hold you personally responsible, Julia!”

Julia waved the comment away as she continued up the stairs and slogged to her room, tossing her purse down before she flung herself across the bed. The weight of the day exhausted her but made her too antsy to sleep.

Instead, she paced the floor for an hour before she tried to work on her manuscript. With one hundred words written in the span of ninety minutes, she dismissed the document, too distracted to work on it.

As the clock struck six, car lights lit the back garden as someone drove down the drive. Julia’s heart rose to her throat as she hurried to the railing overlooking the foyer. Grant let himself in through the front door with a deep sigh. He tugged his tie looser as Worthington approached.

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