Page 17 of Her Billionaire Hero
Chapter Nine
Baldwyn
It had been a week since the run-in with Sloan’s ex. It seemed as if she’d gotten over it. That was until I overheard her on the phone.
“I’ll come to you. I’d rather not talk here at work.”
Stopping in my tracks, I hung outside the door to her office, eavesdropping as a chill ran through me. It seemed to me that she must be talking to her ex, and I wasn’t keen on her going to see him at all. The way he’d made her entire personality change—even though it didn’t stay that way for long—bothered me to no end. The mental abuse she must’ve suffered made my heart ache.
“See you soon,” she said, sounding like the call was over. But then she added, “Love you.”
My heart jerked hard inside my chest.Why would she tell that man that she loves him?
I didn’t want to jump right in with a bunch of questions. Especially since I’d been listening in on a private conversation, so I came up with something else to try to get her to tell me what the hell she was about to do.
I made a quick tap with my knuckles on the door to alert her to my presence. “Hey, Sloan, you busy?”
“Nope.” She slipped the cell phone into the pocket of her jeans. She didn’t dress like a shapeless person anymore. Instead, she often wore blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a simple t-shirt, her hair done up in a ponytail. Still no makeup to speak of, but she didn’t need any. “Whatchya got, Baldwyn?”
“I thought you and I could take a run around Lake Travis after work today. I could use the fresh air and I bet you could too.” I hoped that would spur her into telling me what her secret plans were.
Her lips pulled to one side then she turned away from me. “Not today.”
Moving around to get in front of her so I could see her face, I asked, “Why not today?”
“I just don’t feel like it.” She went to her desk and began to put her laptop into her bag. “I’m heading out a bit early today.”
I wanted to blurt out that I knew exactly why she was leaving early. But she didn’t tell me about meeting up with her ex, so I didn’t want to overstep my bounds with her. “Wanna grab dinner later?”
“I’m not real sure what I’ll be doing for dinner. Sorry.” With one swift movement, she slid the strap of the computer bag over her shoulder then headed toward the door.
She’d left earlier than I had that morning, so she had her car at work. She’d done that now and then, so I hadn’t thought it was a big deal. But now I had to wonder if she’d planned to meet that jackass all along. “You heading home now?”
“No.” She wasn’t usually this flippant. And she seemed to catch herself, as she stopped and turned to look at me with a smile on her pretty face. “I’ve got some shopping I need to do. I wanna get some new clothes and maybe even a couple of pairs of new boots. I’ve been wearing these every day.”
A plausible explanation—although a lie.“Have fun then.”
“Thanks. If you’re still up when I get home, I’ll come over for a drink or two.” Her offer only served to piss me off.
If she thought she could go screw around with her ex then come hang out with me, then she was certifiable. “I think I’m gonna turn in early tonight. But thanks for the offer.”
“Okay then.” With a shrug, she turned away and left me standing there.
But not for long.
It wasn’t like me to be so nosy, but I couldn’t seem to rein myself in. I cared about Sloan and didn’t want anything bad to happen to her—especially not at the hands of that bastard she used to be married to. So, I went against my better judgment and followed her.
The heavy Austin traffic helped hide me from her as I stayed three or four cars back at all times. She pulled into a parking garage only about two miles from the worksite.
Stopping on the ground level, she parked then so did I, watching her as she walked toward the Murphy Building. With enough distance between us, I got out of my truck, then followed her.
As I went up to the glass doors, I caught sight of my reflection and nearly stopped what I was doing.This isn’t me. I need to stop.
My hand on the door handle, I nearly turned to leave, but then I saw Sloan opening a door to one of the offices inside. There stood a man. A man about the same age as her ex—but not her ex. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head, then pulled her inside and closed the door.
Frozen, I didn’t know what the hell to do. Sloan hadn’t said a word about seeing anyone. She’d told me that she’d only ever been with Preston. But if that was true, then what the hell was she doing with this other man? And what was with her liking all these old guys anyway?
Daddy issues.
