Page 22 of A Billionaire Gentleman

“A toast to the happy couple.” He raised his glass, his expression as unreadable as if it’d been set in stone. “And after that, Deklin, you and I need to talk about our trip to Vegas this weekend.”

As if today couldn’t have gotten any stranger.

Thirteen

Sofi

I’d always hateddriving in Vegas traffic, but I would’ve given almost anything to be in a comfortable, air-conditioned car instead of on a stuffy bus with a heavy bagful of groceries. Ms. Stanton was bringing Dallas here tomorrow for our visit, and I’d planned to make us lunch. I didn’t know if Mead was working again or if Ms. Stanton had decided to observe without him around, but whatever the reason, I was grateful.

My hand went to my cheek. The bruise I’d gotten earlier this week had faded enough that I could cover it up with makeup, but I still felt it like a pulse beneath my skin. It didn’t physically hurt anymore, but the humiliation and shame would take longer to go away.

Or, rather, it’d get pushed down into boxes and packed away in my head, because I hadn’t yet been able to get any of it to leave entirely. Maybe now that I was away from Mead on a day-to-day basis, I’d be able to actually heal and not simply survive.

I had one more stop to make before I went home, and as I went out into the late summer heat, I wondered how many years it would be before I could afford a car. Then I realized that if it was going to take years, it’d be better if I didn’t think about that at all. It was too depressing.

I walked into the hardware store and smiled politely at the cashier who greeted me. I’d discovered this place by accident about two weeks after moving into my apartment. I’d forgotten to get a towel rack for my bathroom when I’d gone to one of the bigger department stores, and while I’d been trying to decide if it’d be worth getting back on the bus, I’d seen this place. An out of the way, family-run hardware store where the employees didn’t talk down to me if I didn’t know specifically what I was looking for, it was exactly what I needed.

This morning, I’d pulled my dresser handle off the drawer and then discovered that I didn’t have the right screwdriver to fix it. I’d thought about borrowing one from the super, but I didn’t want to have to keep calling a man every time I had to fix something so simple.

It was one thing to have the super fix a leak or an appliance where some level of understanding was needed. It was something else to not be able to screw in a drawer handle. Mead had often ridiculed me for the things I couldn’t do. Finding what I was capable of was helping me build back up my self-worth.

I dug a screw from my pocket and started looking for the right size screwdriver to fit it. I’d just matched it when someone behind me cleared his throat. For one heart-stopping moment, I thought Mead had followed me here, and then I forced myself to turn around and face my fear. Relief made my knees weak when I saw that the man in front of me wasn’t Mead.

Unkempt gray and sandy brown hair, coal-black eyes, and a scar through his left eyebrow, he looked like the type of man that should have scared me, but after what Mead had done to me at work, seeing a stranger while out shopping in a public place was hardly enough to get my blood pressure rising.

“I’m sorry. Am I in your way?” I asked, taking a half-step sideways.

“No, Miss. My name is Royd Kichner, and I’m a private investigator, contacting you on behalf of a client.”

The muscles in my jaw clenched as I fought back the sliver of panic trying to get a foothold. This guy had to be pushing sixty and was only a couple inches taller than me, but he had an athletic build that told me not to underestimate what he could do. It was that thought that kept a civil tongue in my head.

“Could you repeat that, please?”

If Mead had hired someone to come at me in public like this, I needed to find the money for an attorney sooner rather than later. Then again, this guy might not have been here to physically threaten me, but rather to dig up dirt, and this was the caution to back off before the shit hit the fan, so to speak.

“I have an employment opportunity that will pay you enough to hire the representation you need to get your son back.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I shook my head. Any trace of worry was burned away by anger. “I’m not Julia Roberts, and this isn’tPretty Woman.” I fought to keep my voice down, not wanting anyone else to hear me being propositioned like some prostitute. “I don’t sleep with men for money.”

One corner of his mouth twitched up like he was trying to hide a smile, and that just pissed me off more. “You don’t have to sleep with him, just make him fall for you.”

My jaw dropped. Who thehelldid this man think he was? What sort of balls did it take to walk up to a complete stranger and try to hire her as a girlfriend for a client?

Except he’d mentioned Dallas. Not by name, but he’d said that he could pay me enough to get my son back. He knew that I was fighting my ex for custody, which meant this wasn’t some random approach.

“Who are you?” I asked, taking a step back. If I had to, I’d scream.

“My client wants to hire you to date his grandson. Make the kid fall for you.” He held up a hand to stop a protest. “Not akidkid. He’s in his twenties.”

Like that made it all okay. I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to hear anything else. I’m not interested, and you need to get away from me before I call for security.”

Completely unruffled by the threat, he held out a business card. “If you change your mind, just give me a call. Don’t wait too long. I’ve got other women to talk to besides you.”

I didn’t want to take the card, but he kept standing there with his hand out, so I snatched it, hoping that would make him go away.

“Have a good day, Miss Brennan.”

It wasn’t until I heard the bell over the front door ring that I realized he’d called me by my maiden name, as if he wanted to assure me that he wasn’t coming to me as Mead’s wife, but as a single woman. If the circumstances had been different, I might’ve appreciated it, but as it was, I just wanted to get my screwdriver and get home so I could concentrate on getting ready for Dallas’s visit. I didn’t want to spend another minute thinking about my bizarre encounter.

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