Page 59 of His Captor

I was still anxious, though. Half my day was spent fielding calls and emails about the Victory Holdings lawsuit. They were coming in fast and hard, and it would take sharp focus and keenconcentration to ward off their attack and the attempt to claim my intellectual property as their own.

I did have an unexpected stroke of luck halfway through the afternoon.

“Mason Canton?” the older-sounding man on the other end of the call Lincoln had put through to me asked in a no-nonsense tone.

“Mr. Harvey,” I replied, my heart racing. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

I leaned back in my chair, pretending casualness, but wishing I had arms long enough to shut the office door for the call. The call could determine whether Canton Enterprises sank or swam.

I caught Hayden leaning back in his chair again, like he was listening for ways he could help. Or maybe just for hot gossip.

“You have me all confused now, Canton,” Mr. Harvey said. “First I thought your company was the best thing to hit the East Coast since soft pretzels with mustard. Then someone sends me all this information about shady dealings and pending lawsuits. But now I’ve just had a call from General Fitzpatrick himself, vouching for you and your integrity.”

Thank God! I nearly melted into my chair with relief. I hadn’t spoken to General Fitzpatrick myself, but my guess was that Alex had. Alex had been friends with the general for ages, and I’d been venting about the whole Colin, Victory Holdings fiasco to Alex via text conversations for the past few days.

“I apologize for the confusion, sir,” I said. “I’ll be frank with you. My ex business partner isn’t happy that I chose to set out on my own. He’s been attempting to undermine Canton Enterprises from the day I started it.”

Mr. Harvey hummed. “Professional jealousy is a bitch,” he said, sending my eyebrows skyrocketing.

Hayden was watching me like a hawk and sent me a questioning look, but I wasn’t able to address it.

“I’ll tell you what,” Mr. Harvey went on. “I know it’s short notice, but I’m hosting a fundraising dinner tomorrow night at the Grand Hotel. I’d like you to come so we can talk in person.”

Hope as big as the ocean swelled up in me. “I’d love to, sir.”

“Good,” Mr. Harvey said. “I’ll have my assistant speak to your assistant and set things up.”

It was perfect. We said our goodbyes, and I hung up with the first burst of confidence I’d had in weeks. Colin might be spiteful and Victory Holdings might be dangerous, but I had people on my side as well, and integrity still counted for something.”

Five minutes later, Lincoln was back in my office with the details.

“Happy Hour for the supper starts at five-thirty,” he said. “Attire is semi-formal. You’ll be expected to make a donation to Mr. Harvey’s chosen causes. Oh, and they want to know if you’re bringing a plus-one.”

“Thanks,” I said, not thinking anything of it. “No plus-one.”

A scrambling, thumping sound came from the area of Hayden’s desk. The next thing I knew, Hayden was stumbling into my office, pink-faced and holding his belly.

“What do you mean, no plus-one?” he demanded, his expression hurt.

Lincoln grinned.

Several heads popped up over cube walls nearby.

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. Hayden. God love him, but he was going to be the death of me.

“Do you really want to go to a stuffy fundraising supper for a hospital magnate on a Tuesday night?” I asked, wisely not adding, “In your condition.”

It was as much of an admission that Hayden and I were together as I could make without standing up and declaring it was so.

“Yes!” Hayden nearly shouted. “I love that sort of thing. The food usually sucks, but there’s no entertainment on earth as fun as watching people with money show off to each other. Don’t forget, my family is part of that crowd. I’ve been to dozens of these, and I?—”

I held up a hand to cut him off.

“Hayden, you know I l—” I cleared my throat over what I’d been about to say and shot a look to Lincoln.

Lincoln looked like Christmas had come early, he was so excited by the juicy gossip unfolding in front of him.

I focused on Hayden again. “You know things are dicey right now,” I said, knowing it wasn’t the best recovery. “You do remember that someone trashed my apartment just over a week ago. Colin is still pissed with me. He’s suing me, but I know him well enough to know he won’t stop there. It might be dangerous out there for anyone too attached to me right now.”

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