Page 60 of Secret Billionaire

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She had cancelled karaoke because she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it without another bartender. Saturdays had become busy enough without the added draw. The front door opened, and she looked up to see a girl standing there with another vase filled with roses. Faye’s heart thudded in her chest.

“Hi, are you Faye Bennett?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Here ya go. Someone must really like you.”

Faye took the vase out of her hands. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve done wonders with this place. Looks great.”

“You’ll have to stop in sometime when you’re not working.”

“I’ll do that. Bye now.”

“Bye.” Faye’s hands were shaking so hard she could barely open the card. Yours forever J. Just like before and she never had thanked him for them. She scrambled to find her cell phone then before her nerves could get the better of her, she punched in Jesse’s number.

“Hello?”

“Jess it’s me Faye.”

“I know your number Faye.”

She held her hand over her heart, almost overwhelmed from hearing his voice. “Um Jess, I’m just calling to thank you for the beautiful flowers and to say that I’m sorry I never got around to thanking you before.”

“What flowers? I didn’t send flowers.”

She whispered, “You didn’t?”

“Why would I send you flowers? It wasn’t me.”

“Oh God, I’m sorry to have bothered you, I’ve got to go.” Faye hung up the phone, her heart racing. If it wasn’t Jesse, then who? She got up and locked the door with trembling hands.

“Faye wait!” It was too late she’d already hung up the phone.

Jesse knew something wasn’t right. He needed to check on Faye. He jumped on his bike and pulled out onto the road full throttle. When he got to the bar, he tried the door. It was locked.

Pounding he called out, “Faye, it’s me Jesse. Can you let me in?” He heard the dead bolt sliding and then, there she was. His throat tightened when he saw the dark circles under her eyes. He could tell she’d been crying.

“Faye.” Jesse cupped her shoulders in his hands. She wouldn’t meet his eyes and that was like a kick in the gut. “Baby, what’s happening? Talk to me.”

Her voice was shaky but subdued. “The flowers were the last straw. I think I’ve been trying so hard not to overreact to things that I went too far in the other direction. I’ve been burying my head in the sand.”

“What other things are you talking about?”

He could tell she was fighting back tears. “It’s possible the flowers came from Julian… which could mean that he’s behind the graffiti… which had a heart with J loves F right smack in the middle. I buried my concerns right under that paint roller. He could also have been the one to break in.” She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know what to do…what to think.”

“You don’t have to carry this alone. We’ll figure it out.” A tear slipped down her cheek and it was all Jesse could do to keep himself from pulling her into his arms. He wasn’t sure if she’d welcome it at this point.

“I’m going to call Maddy and get her to come over. Hand me your phone.”

“Faye?” Maddy said.

“No, it’s me Jesse.”

“Oh, did you finally decide to man up?”

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