Page 96 of Bitter Confessions

“We’re not the only ones who write reports. Every guard does his own, so any inconsistencies will be noticed.”

“He’ll understand,” she said as she dragged him into the elevator.

“I doubt it,” he muttered as he boxed her into the back corner, while the other guard positioned himself to her left, so no one had direct access to her.

Although the ride took less than a minute, it felt like an eternity. When the doors opened on Roth’s floor, she pushed past her guards and heard Johan sigh when she shrugged him off. She was acting a little nuts, but her need to see her husband overrode all else. Her talk with her sister had set off a volatile mix of emotions that sent her seeking the only person who could reassure her everything was going to be okay.

“Mrs. Roth,” one of the receptionists said in a tone that was clearly surprised.

“Hi,” she said, not bothering with pleasantries as she rounded the desk. She looked a little more presentable than she had the last time she visited the office, but she cared one hundred times less.

“Are you looking for Mr. Roth?” the woman called after her as she started down the hallway.

“Yes.”

“He isn’t here.”

She swung around so abruptly Johan barely avoided running into her. He stepped aside so she could make eye contact with the receptionist.

“Is he out to lunch, or...?” She stopped when the receptionist’s eyes widened. “What?”

“He’s traveling.”

She cocked her head, sure she hadn’t heard right. “I’m sorry?”

The woman looked ill at ease and took a step back as if she regretted opening her mouth at all. “He flew out this morning. He’s in Los Angeles, California.”

Her mind went blank. “Was this a last-minute trip?”

The receptionist held up her hands. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Roth. I wouldn’t know...”

“Of course.” She glanced around and realized quite a few people had come to stand in their office doorways to listen to the commotion. She was acting like a lunatic. She composed herself and approached the receptionist with a smile. “Sorry for interrupting. Thank you for letting me know where he is. I’ll give him a call.”

“You’re welcome,” the receptionist said, but she couldn’t hide her discomfiture.

When she was standing in front of the elevator, Jasmine asked quietly, “Did you know he left the city?”

“Mo spoke to him this morning. He didn’t relay that information to me,” Johan replied.

Roth called to tell her about Ariana but hadn’t bothered to mention he was out of state. Why?

Johan was on the phone when they reached the lobby. She didn’t wait for instructions but walked through the front doors and out onto the sidewalk.

“Jasmine.”

She ignored him and wrapped her arms around herself as she marched into the unforgiving weather. Once again, she wasn’t dressed properly. She had no hat, scarf, or gloves. Within a block, her face was numb. Two additional men from her security team hopped out of the SUV and spread out to corral her as if she were a wild animal. Interestingly, they didn’t try to stop her.

She ignored the festive windows displays people traveled from all over the world to see and navigated through excited shoppers loaded down with bags full of presents. By the time she entered another building, she felt like an icicle.

As she shuffled to the elevator, Johan grabbed her arm as he took in the grand lobby. “Where are you going?”

“To see Lyle,” she said and couldn’t resist adding, “Unless he’s out of town too.”

His gaze came back to her. He eyed her for a moment before releasing her. “Do you want me to call him?”

“No.” She’d call Roth later, when she was alone and not so emotional.

She felt abandoned. She shouldn’t, because he hadn’t left the country, just the state, but... why hadn’t he asked her to go with him? Sarai had come to the penthouse yesterday with Cazandra to see how her office was coming along. His personal assistant, who knew his schedule inside out, hadn’t said a damn thing. Was he there for just a few hours and would be back so quickly that he hadn’t felt the need to mention it? She would have been none the wiser if Ariana hadn’t met with her dealer.

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