Page 163 of Undercover Billionaire

Chapter 40

Kelly

I’d arrivedat the hotel late enough that I could be confident Adam and his father weren’t in the lobby.

As expected, the lobby didn’t contain my boyfriend.

“I’m meeting a party who’s already here,” I told the hostess.

She nodded, and I passed her by.

It didn’t take long to catch sight of Adam and his father at a table by the window, beyond the bar.

Adam had his back to me.

“Bullshit. What’s gotten into you?” I heard his father almost yell.

A couple at a nearby table looked over, clearly not happy about the disturbance.

I pulled up short and took a seat at the bar, close enough to hear.

Showing up in the middle of a family argument was not a good strategy. And, maybe the whole showing up unannounced thing wasn’t such a good idea. As I listened a bit longer, I couldn’t believe my ears. Dennis had told his father about me after all.

“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked, interrupting my listening session.

I waved him off. “In a minute.”

“You continue to see her, and I’ll ruin you,” I heard his father continue. The group at the next table laughed before he added, “You’ll be done at the FBI.”

As their waiter approached the table, I turned for the door. I pulled a tissue from my purse before reaching the street. I grabbed the first taxi and gave the driver my address as the tears began to flow.

She shot me a concerned look in the rearview mirror. “You okay, dear?”

Okaywas not a part of my world right now, but I nodded to her anyway. “I will be.”

“He’s not worth it. Don’t let him ruin your life.”

She had it all wrong—he was the one in danger of me ruining his life.

There was only one thing to do. “Change of plans,” I told the driver with a sniffle. I gave her Adam’s address.

My tissue was soaked, and it came away from my face with smudges of the makeup Kirby had so carefully applied. Leaving my house, my future had looked sunny, just like my makeup. Now it was as messed up as my face.

My phone rang. It was Adam.

“If that’s him, let him stew,” the driver said.

I declined the call.

We stopped at a light, and a couple passed in front of us on the crosswalk. They held hands and walked in lock-step. The woman looked his way and smiled.

Yesterday, I’d been in her shoes: happy to be walking with my boyfriend toward a bright future. Today, his father was determined to rip that possibility away from us.

The light turned green, and my driver looked back at me again. “You have a sister?”

I nodded.

“When I have problems, I talk to my sister.”

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