Page 84 of Enticing the Fixer

“Oh, God, yes.” Emma rushes across the floor, completely forgetting she was leaving us alone. “What kind?”

“A Jacob’s Ladder and a Prince Albert.” I waggle my eyebrows.

Ann stabs her fingertip onto the phone screen. “Are you sure we can’t watch?”

“It’s not newsworthy. They have sex for two minutes, and he rolls over and goes to sleep while she videotapes the entire thing and posts it to social media.”

“He didn’t know?” Emma’s eyes widen. “I know who he is. I followed his ex until I figured out, he didn’t know he was being taped. It was a complete invasion of his privacy. The woman posted so many private moments between them. Arguments. How he ignored her. Everyone thought it was an act to grow followers. When he found out, he came unglued, sued her, and had all her social media sites taken down. She’s been blacklisted by the big tech companies.” She crosses her arms. “And the sex was embarrassingly lame.”

“It makes sense that he didn’t tell you who he was. He wouldn’t want you to think he was a loser in bed until he proved otherwise.” Ann sighs, “He loves you. There’s no other explanation. He didn’t love that girl and didn’t care about doing anything but getting himself off. But with you, he puts on the full court press.”

“You’re right. He does.” They’re not wrong. The man is obsessed with ensuring I’m satisfied in the orgasm department. Repeatedly. “But what about coming to work for me. What if that was fake? I mean….” I groan. It’s all so complicated. “I know it was fake. But maybe his fake was fake.”

“What?!” Ann rubs her hands down her face making her mouth stretch downward. Her frustration with me is evident.

“What if he’s the buyer, and he had my dad killed? Or he’s in on it with someone else?”

Ann lurches forward and slaps her palm over my forehead. “Honey, you’re delusional. He didn’t kill your father. I’m going to take that as a complete reflection of you being in love with him and trying to sabotage things before he has the chance to break your heart.”

“By breaking my own heart?”

“I just said you were delusional.” Ann eases backward. “We’re never rational when we first fall in love. We’re a hot mess of irrational thoughts and behaviors.” She picks up the figurine I’d almost crushed and polishes it with a cloth.

“You’re right. I was freaking out, trying to come up with all the reasons to shove him away. To avoid getting hurt. And got hurt anyway. It’s stupid. What does it matter if he made a bet with his friends? He hadn’t met me yet. And it’s kind of flattering.” One corner of my mouth raises. “And what? I’m going to get mad because he has money? That’s stupid. And the sex tape? That doesn’t mean anything. He doesn’t perform that way with me.”

“And your father?” Ann places the figurine onto a shelf.

“He could buy the company a hundred times over. We’re not playing on the same field. There’s no reason he’d want the company or kill someone to get it. He could start his own pharmaceutical company.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Leo

After I snatch the bug out from under Kinsley’s desk, I drop it into a glass of water and walk to the window. A barge floats across the river at a snail’s pace as if it doesn’t have a care in the world. The serenity of the scene conflicts with the whirling vortex of dread in my gut. I should have told her the truth.

I spin on my heel and tap the first number Truman gave me into my phone.

“Bryant Corporation.” The female voice is clipped and professional.

“I need to speak with Curtis Bryant.”

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“Tell him I can solve his problems.”

“One moment, Sir.” The phone goes quiet as I rake a hand through my hair.

Two seconds later, the phone clicks in my ear. “Who is this?”

Clearly, he’s dealt with people calling his office and jerking him around. Maybe he should have thought of that before going to my casino and getting neck-deep in debt.

“This is Leo Radcliff.” The only sound is the clicking of the clock.

“Yes?”

“So you know who I am?” The only reason people didn’t know who I was since the beginning was because I didn’t use my legal name.

“Yes, I know who you are.”

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