Page 17 of Georgia Guy
The quiet, sinister threat must be frightening because Brinkley begins backing out of my office. “I’ll get her on the phone and patch her through immediately.”
Within moments, he has her on the line. Without bothering with a greeting, I say to the woman, “You’re going to be sorry for this.”
Harlow’s voice is shaky when she says, “I know it looks bad, but I swear, it wasn’t me. I gave you the only copy of the information I found, and I haven’t said a word about it to anyone. Maybe someone at the medical facility leaked the information?”
I shake my head as I say, “After all of this time? I don’t think so.”
“Well, someone else must have known because I didnotbreak our agreement,” she says vehemently.
She gasps in a breath as the idea hits her, “Maybe it was Joe!”
I scoff at the mere idea of it before saying, “You’re really grasping at straws here.”
“But Joe has held a grudge against your family, ever since your grandfather fired his dad and kept the artificial intelligence technology that he was working on.”
Blood roils in my head, and I get the distinct impression that I might pass out, even though I’ve never done so before.
Not seeming to sense the hurricane of emotion she’s creating inside me, Harlow adds, “I’m sure that’s why he went after your family in the first place.”
I can’t listen to her anymore. My vision swirls before me as I hang up the phone and stare down at my laptop. I’ve been so busy with work today that I didn’t even notice, but the port where I inserted the flash drive Harlow gave me is now empty.
12
ALEXANDRA
This nightmare seems too awful to be real, but the bright flashes of light and yelled questions leave little doubt that I’m in the midst of the scandal of a lifetime. Somehow, I manage to make it through the swarm of paparazzi stationed outside my office building and into the awaiting limo.
I instruct the driver to take me to my grandfather’s estate. He needs his family now, and I’m too upset and devastated to confront Joe just yet.
My heart shattered into a million pieces when I realized that Harlow wasn’t lying to me about Joe’s vendetta against my family. It was easy enough to fact-check that Joe’s dad used to work for Morrow Industries and was let go after he made a major A.I. discovery. All Morrow employees sign over the rights to any inventions and intellectual property created during their terms of employment.
Joe’s family has a valid reason to have a grudge against my grandfather, but I can’t believe Joe used me like that. I’d thought he was different. Even though it happened fast, I’d truly believed that we had something special and were falling in love with each other.I’m such a chump.
The group of paparazzi outside of my office is nothing compared to the vast sea of interviewers and videographers camped outside my grandfather’s palatial estate. As the wrought iron gate slides open to grant us entry to his driveway, the boldest members of the group pound on the limo’s windows and holler out questions––obviously hoping to get the inside scoop.
I turn back to watch as the gate automatically closes behind us. Luckily, the reporters aren’t allowed to follow us onto private property. The last thing my grandfather needs right now is to have cameras shoved in his face, while people demand answers to invasive questions.
Although I have no idea how to comfort him or what to say to make this better, I know that I need to be here for him. This is what family does… We stick together in times of crisis.
As the car pulls to a stop in the circular driveway, I glare at the shiny motorcycle parked just ahead of us. It doesn’t make sense for Joe to be here, unless he came to rub this betrayal of confidence in my grandfather’s face even further. But I can’t imagine who else would be here on a bike.
I’m not ready to face Joe, but I can’t leave my grandfather to deal with him alone. The older man must be devastated, and I hate it that I was so recently cavorting with the enemy.
As soon as the somber butler guides me into the formal parlor, I’m surprised to see my grandfather and Joe sitting near the blazing fireplace and sipping from glasses of cognac. Oddly enough, the two men are smiling at each other when I barge into the room.
Both of their faces light up with surprise and delight when they see me. I rush over to stand in front of my grandfather.
He stands to give me a hug, saying, “Alexandra, what a wonderful surprise.”
It hits me then. Somehow, he hasn’t yet heard. Joe is likely here to savor the look of devastation on the older man’s face when he finds out that his deepest, darkest secrets have been revealed to the world.
“We need to talk.Alone.” I speak to my grandfather, but glare in Joe’s direction when I emphasize the last word.
“There’s no need to leave your young man out of anything, darling,” my grandfather assures me.
“He’s notmyanything,” I answer in a flat tone.
“Well, he should be,” Grandfather weighs in with a jovial smile.
