Page 27 of Captivated

“Yes, that’s right. I’m engaged to their daughter… give me a day or two and I’ll have it.” I hear a ruffle of papers being shifted across his desk, followed by footsteps. Shit, he’s moving. I can’t let him know I heard him, although I’m thoroughly confused by what I heard.

Shuffling down the hallway, I head for the kitchen, willing my heart to slow down as I pretend to wash dishes to keep me busy. My pulse is frantic, my head is spinning. Why on earth would Mason need money? And why would he mention my family to the person he was talking to? I mean, my parents are very wealthy, there’s no question about that. My father’s investment firm is one of the most successful on the east coast, but Mason’s parents are equally wealthy as mine. His father owns a real estate company where Mason also works, specializing in commercial properties in Manhattan, but branching out all over northern New York. Did Mason do something within the company that requires him to borrow money from my parents, no less? I have so many questions, and no idea how to even approach the subject.

The click of his shoes alerts me to his arrival, followed by the surprise in his voice. “Hey, babe. I didn’t know you were home. How did your class go?” He strides up behind me, his hands encircling my hips as he presses a kiss to my temple.

“Oh, really well. I can’t wait to just take this test already and be done. I missed you. How was your day?” I ask, avoiding his eyes and hoping he’ll share some morsel of the stress I heard earlier in his conversation.

“No complaints. Busy as usual. Landing clients and closing deals. Are you hungry? We should go into the city for dinner.” The calm he exhibits as he speaks sends chills up and down my spine—not only because he can seem so unaltered by whatever was causing him to panic earlier, but because I’ve never sensed he was keeping something from me before, and now I’m questioning every word he’s ever said. Why is he lying? What is going on? How can this man that I agreed to marry all of a sudden appear to be a stranger I’ve been sharing a life with?

I turn to him now, searching his face for any fluster or indication that he knows I overheard his conversation, but he is cool, calm, and collected as usual—classic Mason Thompson. “Dinner sounds great. Italian?”

“Oh yeah. Let me call ahead to Montevallo’s to get us a table. Go change. I’ll wait for you in the car.” He kisses my cheek and then fetches his phone from his pocket, clicking away on the keys as he turns and heads for the garage to gas up the Aston Martin.

I set the dish towel on the counter, and then run down the hall to our room, sliding my jeans and sweater off and changing into a black floor-length maxi dress that is elegant, yet still comfortable and casual enough for the restaurant. Releasing my hair from my clip, I run my finger through it, creating soft waves and grab my lip gloss, gliding the color onto my lips in a hurry.

Normally, I would spend more time on my appearance, but I’m dying to peak in Mason’s office before he comes searching for me, claiming that I’m taking too long. I push open the door, greeted by the larger-than-necessary mahogany desk that sits in the center of the room, surrounded by walls covered in rowing trophies and Dean’s List certificates, and his degree and certifications for real estate. I scurry across the carpet in my wedges and begin searching his desk, looking for anything that may seem suspicious. Of course, if Mason is hiding something from me, I assume he wouldn’t leave it out in plain sight for me to find.

I open drawer after drawer until I come to one at the bottom that requires a little banging before it pops open. Inside is a burgundy padded notebook, which I’ve never seen before. I bend down to fetch it and slowly open it, like something may fly out and catch me off-guard.

But the list of names and dollar amounts staring back at me is just as alarming, if not even scarier, as I take in the zeros following the numbers. It looks like some sort of ledger, and if I consider what I just heard Mason say on the phone, I’m guessing that this isn’t the amount of money he’s earning, but rather what he owes to someone else.

I put on my best face during dinner, but internally I’m drowning—drowning in Mason’s lies and the impenetrable fear he’s instilled in me. After Mason leaves for work the next day, I rush to my parent’s house, seeking my mother to talk to. I find her in the formal dining room, reading the newspaper while she sips on her coffee and eats her breakfast.

“Pfeiffer?” Her head pops up as she wonders why I’m here. I was so anxious to get to her, I didn’t even take the time to call her and let her know I was on my way.

“Mom,” I say, partially out of breath. “I need to talk to you. I… I don’t know what to do or think right now.”

She moves to stand, walking around the table to pull me into her arms. “Shhhh, it’s okay, baby. You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Mom,” I start and then push myself out of her grasp so I can see her eyes as I speak. “I think Mason is in some sort of trouble… money trouble. I heard him on the phone, pleading with someone to give him more time to come up with money he owes them, and then he threw our family name out there when he started sounding desperate. He told them he is engaged to me and that he needs a few days to get the money…”

My mother’s face shows her confusion. “Mason? Money trouble? This just can’t be right. Are you sure you heard what you think you did, honey?”

“Mom, I know what I heard. Mason doesn’t even know that I heard it though. He came out of his office and I pretended to be washing dishes so he didn’t know I was eavesdropping. He acted like nothing just happened… he was calm and casual. It freaked me out! Obviously he’s hiding something from me, but then he put on this face like he was perfectly fine. My head is spinning here, Mom. If he could act like that so easily, what else has he been hiding from me?”

“This is alarming. And now that you’ve told me this, I wonder if his call to your father this morning to meet for a working lunch has something to do with it.” Her eyes dart around the room as she processes the information I shared.

“He called Dad to meet up?”

“Yes, early this morning before he left for the office.”

“You need to call him, Mom. Tell him not to give him money, or at least let him know what Mason is up to.”

“I will. But until we know more, you need to pretend like you know nothing, Pfeiffer. If Mason is in serious trouble, there’s no telling what can happen. Just keep playing your part and hopefully, we can get to the bottom of this.”

I nod, even though my body is still shuddering from the adrenaline running through me, her hands rubbing my back soothingly.

“It’s going to be okay, Pfeiffer. It’s going to be okay…”

Chapter 11

Cash

“You seem more irritated than normal,” Cooper huffs as we spar in the ring at the gym. “Having trouble getting laid after your STD diagnosis?”

I swing hard and connect with the padded helmet on his head, still landing a good punch, but not doing irreparable damage. “Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s been a while, yes,” I grit out, shuffling on my feet as we bounce around each other, waiting for the other one to make a move.

“Your poor dick. It must be depressed, huh?” He jokes, and I swing hard again, but he ducks this time to avoid the hit.

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