Page 81 of The Attraction File

“Huh? No, Evaleen, no. Well, maybe. Okay yes. Yes, I was filming us.”

“What?” I said. The word disappeared on my lips the lower my heart sank.

I trusted him. What a fool I was.

Of all the men I had known in my life, Edgar seemed like the only one who was kind and actually cared for people. He called Payne a friend, and anyone who did that had to be a saint.

But it turned out I was wrong.

“I mean, yes I have cameras in most of the main rooms in my house. So, technically, you were being filmed but I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m not a pervert.”

I folded my arms and glared at him. His lips softened and the dimples made an appearance.

“Unless you want me to be.” Edgar’s eyebrows moved up and down.

“No, Edgar. I do not want us being filmed having sex so you can do God knows what with that tape.”

He took a step backward tripping on the chair he sat in minutes ago, but righted himself before he fell.

“Look, Evaleen, I only want you at my house for safety reasons. Anyone could easily break into your apartment building.”

“Now I feel great,” I said as I tried to hold back an eye roll.

My eyes began to burn, and I knew I had to leave before the tears started to flow. Edgar was Edgar, and I had sex with him knowing that. That made sense, logically. But my heart felt something. It wasn’t as strong. It was a little beat up from when I last opened it to men.

Edgar enjoyed sex with me and nothing more. I knew that and I tried to remind myself every time we were together, but I’m no sex robot. I happened to be born with a heart.

“I’m not trying to scare you, Evaleen. That’s why I want you to stay with me.”

He needed to stop talking.

“Let’s discuss this later, Edgar, all right?”

I tried to move but he grabbed my arm. My office door opened and Jacob stood there. I glanced up to find his eyes jumping between me and Edgar.

“Ms. Bechmann, I hope you aren’t feeling faint again?”

Edgar let go of me and turned to his brother. He plastered his winning smile on his face. “No, Jacob; I was just informing Evaleen of what the police found. She was a little shaken by it.”

Jacob’s face softened. “Oh, I know. I couldn’t believe it. Suicide.”

Edgar and I said at the same time, “Suicide?”

“I got a call from Detective Mackeson about ten minutes ago. They believe he tried to kill himself. They found a note in his apartment. Terribly sad. We should discuss this at the meeting. How to address it with the company.”

I glanced at Edgar as his eyes slid to mine. We all walked to Payne’s office in silence. I had a bad feeling about this. Somehow now that the case was solved I felt worse.

Of course, I was sad that Ashton was dead, but I didn’t really know him. What disturbed me the most was Ashton’s dealings with Damien Rosen.

We stood outside Payne’s door and I asked Edgar a question, “Did Ashton seem depressed or act strangely with you at any point in his two years with the company?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Jacob knocked on the door but got no answer, so he opened it. We stepped inside and what we found made Jacob gasp, Edgar curse, and I broke out into the biggest smile of my life. I quickly suppressed it of course, but the grin was there bubbling just beneath the surface.

Payne and Morgana were in a very compromising position. They were having sex on his desk.

There was no way Payne could talk himself out of this one.

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