Page 64 of Pursued By My Grumpy Fiancé
IparkedmyTeslafarther away and have begun the short walk to the warehouse. I didn’t want to leave my car anywhere obvious that it could be tampered with. My watch indicates that I have about fifteen minutes until my meeting with Ivan.
He said no guests, but Ivan isn’t smart enough to know if I wear a wire that lets Bruce hear everything that we say, and I’m not dumb enough to meet my enemy in a remote location without any back-up.
What could this meeting be about? He said it was about Hailey. Is he after her like he was after Victoria? Hailey would certainly never give in to a sleaze like Ivan—I saw the way she looked at him the night of the charity gala. I admire how smart and dedicated she is, the way that she holds herself to a high standard.
It’s truly incredible how lucky I am to have found a woman like that to be mine. I’m getting closer to the warehouse, and even if I was unsure of which warehouse it was, I would certainly be tipped off by the bright red Aston Martin sitting out front. Idiot. His penchant for flashy vehicles and showing off his money is going to get him in a lot of trouble one day. I’ll be surprised if the car hasn’t been hotwired and put on Craigslist before we even finish our meeting.
Making sure that I’m not noticed, I slip into the warehouse door. Ivan is standing in the middle of the dimly lit building when he spots me.
“Good, you came alone,” he says.
“Yeah, not that this is very discreet with your Aston Martin parked outside. Do you really think anything through, ever?”
Ivan’s jaw sets, irritated that I pointed out his faux pas. That was one of the most difficult parts of our friendship for him—when I would try to help him by pointing out his mess-ups. Turns out, he would rather be wrong in silence than try to improve.
“Moving along, come join me so we can have a chat. Care for a cigar?” He pulls one out of a box sitting on a table behind him. Did he bring the table, or was it conveniently already here?
“No, thank you.” I avoid cigars out of principle for the most part.
But there’s also the off chance that this idiot would try to poison me.
“Fine, your loss.” He lights it and takes a puff before continuing. “So, your darling Hailey. She sure is gorgeous isn’t she? All that red hair. Red hair is the rarest hair color in the world, you know.”
I’m losing my patience with him. He’s taunting me, talking about Hailey’s looks, after he already had an affair with Victoria. He’s always wanted what I had, whether that be a toy, business, or a woman. I rip the cigar from his mouth and crush it under my shoe.
“Enough, Ivan. Get to the point. I didn’t come here to play games with you.” My voice is low and intimidating, almost a growl.
Ivan stares at my foot, at the crushed cigar on the ground.
“Well that was rude. And a waste. Haven’t you heard of zero waste, or sustainability? It’s all the rage nowadays.” He lights another cigar from the box. “Very well. I know about Hailey.”
He leans back against the table as he takes a slow puff on the cigar.
“You know what about Hailey?” I ask cautiously.
I know everything about her already, of course. But what he knows might be something he thinks he can use as leverage, or it might even be a non-issue.
“Oh god, must you drag out everything? I know about what she used to do for work. An escort, hmm. That’s a very interesting career choice. Even more interesting is how there seemed to be no record of the two of you together before your announced engagement. Now I know you’re going to claim that you kept it private for her sake. But you know what I find particularly interesting about that?” he asks, an eyebrow shooting up on his forehead.
He seems to be waiting for a response, but he will be waiting for a long time if he thinks I’m going to be playing his stupid games. Ivan sighs and rolls his eyes before continuing.
“What I find particularly interesting is that I know a man who claims to have paid for her services during the time when you two were supposedly in a relationship.”
I try to make my face appear as neutral as I can, attempting to avoid giving anything away. The unimpressed look on Ivan’s features indicates that I’m not reacting how he hoped I would. Perhaps he thought I didn’t know.
“Still nothing? Maybe this next part will evoke something from you. You’re not a robot, after all. The most interesting thing is that I know another man. And wouldn’t you know, he was supposed to go out with Hailey, and pay her for her services. But, for some reason, Hailey didn’t show up that night. No, instead of accompanying my dear friend Daniel to a small gala, she somehow ended up at the rooftop launch party with you. That’s very curious, isn’t it?”
I inhale sharply. How on earth has a dimwit like Ivan figured this out? He has to be working with someone, because the Ivan I know isn’t smart enough to have put this all together.
“What do you want, Ivan?”
Ivan smiles at me smugly, content to have finally gotten a reaction from me.
“I am so glad you asked, Landon! I only want a few small things, of course. First, I’d like you to break off your relationship with Hailey—”
“Why would you want that?” my voice rises a few octaves.
He can’t possibly want Hailey. I know Ivan, and if he wanted her, he would have tried a hell of a lot harder to get her the traditional way before resorting to a mess like this. Especially since it was so successful the first time.
