Page 22 of Gentle Fox

"She would love that. The studio is in the city. Maybe we could go together sometime, but I'm sure I can get her to show you some stuff before she sends it off."

"That would be amazing." Day one and already I was making friends. I knew this town would be good for me.

Now if only I could find a place to stay so that I didn't have to worry about waking up wrapped around a certain sexy man, then everything would be perfect.

As it turned out, I was pushing my luck.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Owen

"You'll never believe what Annalee's family is doing." Aaron dropped a folder on the desk in front of me. “They’re claiming Annalee forced her father to change his will because she was jealous of her stepmother, and then killed him before he could change it back. Then when they questioned the reading, Annalee took off with the money.”

I wasted no time opening it up and flipped through article after article. Each one was a variation of the same thing.

And they were all lies.

"A majority of these are gossip rags." I tossed the pile of garbage back down and looked through the mirror to where Annalee was typing away at her computer. If she got wind of this, it would break her heart.

"They are, but we both know it only takes one person to believe the story and make her life hell."

With a frustrated sigh, I ran my hands through my hair. There was no proof that the stories originated fromAnnalee's stepmother or stepbrother, but based on some of the accusations, I could see why Aaron assumed it was them.

"She hasn't even been gone for thirty-six hours. How the hell did they get something printed so fast?"

Aaron shrugged and took the chair at the next desk. "Money talks and journalists who write for those things don't care about the truth. They just want to sell copies and a story like that accomplishes that goal."

I hated Annalee's stepmother even more and I had yet to meet the woman or even look into her yet. I was so focused on Annalee's father and his job.

"I've spent the entire day researching her father and the company he worked for,” I told Aaron. “There was no bad blood there, and as far as I could tell, the shares he owned in the company were always supposed to go to Annalee. I'm not sure what he changed in his personal will, but from what I can tell, she was set long before the stepmother came into the picture."

"Beats me. I'm not getting shit from my mother and that's fine with me. I tell her all the time she needs to use her money to enjoy herself. Not worry about me anymore."

I agreed, and from the little I knew about Annalee, she seemed to be of the same mindset. Nothing she did screamed spoiled rich brat. Even her spending habits were well within her budget and not the one set forth by her inheritance.

"Let's keep this between us for the moment. Annalee doesn't need to add this to her already full plate."

I was going to do my best to squash the articles before she ever found out but I didn't tell my friend that. They were already talking about the two of us and I didn't need to add fuel to the fire.

"You sure that's the best idea? I would be pissed if someone kept this from me."

“No, I’m not but I’m going to do it anyway. She can be as mad as she wants but it’s my job to protect her from the bullshit.”

"Suit yourself. I'm in no position to be giving advice when it comes to women."

Aaron walked away before I could question him about that. I didn't make a habit of mingling in my friends’ love lives. I wasn’t sure if he had one, and maybe he didn't. My mind had been too occupied lately.

I pushed Aaron's vague comment off and opened the folder back up. Only two of these articles were written in semi-respectable magazines, so I focused on those first. Maybe I could get the journalists to give me some information on who their sources were.

I rippedthe phone away from my ear and tried to fight back the urge to chuck the fucking thing across the room.

Why the hell I thought a journalist would give up their sources was beyond me. And so much for even “semi-reputable.” The journalists I spoke with were money-hungry assholes who didn't deserve to have their names anywhere in the journalistic world.

"Things not going so well?" Maverick asked.

"You could say that."

"Then I apologize in advance for the information I'm about to give you."

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