Page 78 of His Beloved Princess
"There is norecordof someone else," she continued, frowning. "What makes you assume Sarah Pearson has such an important witness?"
"Call it intuition," he answered nonchalantly, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Intuition isn't proof. I'm sure you know that, Mr. Thorn," she pointed out icily, holding his gaze. "I can't do it by the book if it's only an unsubstantiated claim."
"Then do it off the books," he suggested, tilting his head to the side. "We both know my instincts are rarely wrong."
"I won't risk my career—" she started, but he immediately cut her off.
"You’ve risked your career for much less, Miss Botegga," he barked, and her expression darkened. "I'm giving you an opportunity to erase your debt and start over."
I blinked a few times in confusion, staring at my best friend. In the past, she had some gambling problems and had complicated her life because she borrowed money from dangerous people, but I believed those times were behind her. She had a great job she loved, which she wouldn't risk because of cards. At least, I hoped she hadn’t chosen this path again.
"What debt?" I asked quietly, stretching my arm to touch Zoe's hand. She bit her lower lip, avoiding eye contact with me, and at that very moment, I knew something was wrong. My heart painfully clenched in my chest when I realized my friend was in deep shit again, and my brother-in-law decided to use thisopportunity to make sure she would help us. I wasn't certain if I was angrier at her or him.
"Leave it for later, Ellie," Zoe pleaded, moving her hand away from me. I granted her wish, but only because I didn't want to scold her in front of two strangers.
"What your answer will be, Miss Botegga?" Andreas inquired; his piercing eyes were clearly making Zoe visibly uncomfortable. She was pushed into a corner because if she agreed with his proposition, she would confirm the existence of said debt. And if she refused, she would lose the chance to get rid of the issue.
"Say yes, Zoe," I uttered, and all three pairs of eyes turned to me, but I ignored them. At that moment, I cared only for her. If it was the same situation as the last time, she could lose her career and her life, too. "You have a license as a private investigator. You can work for us."
"You're on his side," she mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief, and my brows shot up.
"I'm on your side," I snapped, glaring at her. The blood rushing in my ears was deafening me. I was furious with her for succumbing to her addiction and angry at myself for not noticing it earlier. I was so engrossed in my relationship with Bastian I forgot to check on my best friend. I knew she couldn't fight it, and she gave in to temptation when the opportunity came. And I wasn't there to stop her because I was enjoying myself in Bastian's arms.
Fuck!
"We are all on the same side here," Andreas interrupted our staring contest, earning a snort from me. He called us here, trying to form an alliance, yet I wasn't sure if this could work. We were too different, and I still didn't understand why Rosalind was there. She didn't say a word and looked unfocused on the conversation.
"If I do this, I need a guarantee that it will never be traced back to me," Zoe said, a deep scowl settled on her face.
"I can't promise it," Andreas shook his head, his thick black eyebrows almost connected into the line above his eyes. "If it goes to the court, you’ll have to testify."
"Find a way to leave me out of it," she demanded, playing with her fingers nervously.
"Find me that woman, and I'll take care of the rest," he stated confidently, nodding at Rose.
"You will get the first half of the money at the start of our cooperation and the second when the job is finished," Rosalind claimed, taking a blank paper and a pen from her brown purse. "Write me the exact number you need. I have to ensure the cash will be available by tomorrow." She moved the paper to a flabbergasted Zoe, who took the pen tremblingly. "If by any means someone uncovers our collaboration, the deal is off."
"And if she doesn’t find the other woman?" I asked, worried about my best friend taking on more debt.
"She'll either bring us the evidence of my mistake, or she won't get the second half of the money," Andreas replied, watching Zoe as she wrote the sum on the paper. My head fell dizzy when I saw sixty thousand dollars.
"Please, Electra, be so kind as to not try to break this deal." Rosalind winked at me, hiding the note in her purse. I frowned, staring blankly at her.
"You can't take money from Bastian's account without my signature," Andreas explained, staring at Zoe, who looked like she wanted to vanish into thin air. She was embarrassed. "I understand you want to help your friend but leave it to us. Okay?"
"Are you accusing me of doing something I didn't even think about yet?" I asked, confused and slightly offended by their assumptions. I would never take money from Bastian's account.
"Well, technically, you're a billionaire," Rosalind pointed out, standing and zipping her jacket. "Practically, you're still a poor nobody, but the woman you deeply love is swamped by the pile of her own trash, and she can barely breathe under the weight of her horrible choices. It could look like a good idea to take themoney and pay the debt, yet for you, it would mean another problem you won't be able to deal with. So please, don't interfere, and let us do our job—"
"I'm sure she understands, Rosie. I appreciate your help," Andreas interrupted her monologue, but she only nodded and left. Her words still shocked me, yet I had to admit they were right to the point. She prevented me from sabotaging everything.
"Start as soon as possible, Zoe," Andreas commanded, standing as well. We followed his example because none of us knew how to escape this maze. "You'll report directly to Rose. If she's unavailable, I'll give you a number to the head of our security team. He'll always be at your disposal. Whatever you need, just call him."
"Okay," Zoe agreed, and he opened the door, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him from going out. I stood behind them, trying not to freak out about everything I learned today.
"If I take only half of the payment to Rocco, I won't walk out of his office alive," she whispered, her eyes glistening with fear.
