Page 83 of Enticing the Fixer

“Leo.”

“Leo is a billionaire.” She says the words as if she’s trying to process the information. “That’s a surprise.”

“Yeah, it was.” I pick up a crystal princess with the cropped off-the-shoulder top and matching aqua pants and run my fingertip over the edge of the cut glass. “And I still wouldn’t know if it wasn’t for Carla blasting him out on front street without him knowing I was listening. He used a fake name.” I shrug. “I guess it’s not completely fake. He used his real first name and his mother’s maiden name when he applied for the open position.”

“Why didn’t he tell you? Did he say?”

I clutch the figurine until the edges of the glass bite into my palm.

“Here.” Ann pries the object out of my hand. “It doesn’t cost that much but picking up the pieces would be a pain in the ass. And that’s nothing compared to getting stitches on your palm. That would sting.”

“Fine.” I reluctantly let go, giving up the dream of slugging it against the wall. “His reason was over a bet. He bet 100k with four of his friends to see which one could get a woman to fall in love with them first without their money. They each bet 100k. That means one of the assholes would pocket 400k extra.” Blood whooshes in my ears. “I can’t believe he lied to me about who he was. Who does that kind of thing?”

Ann tilts her head and gives me aI can’t believe you’re asking me that questionlook. “My husband. Only he wasn’t a billionaire.”

I crinkle my nose and shake my head. “That was different.”

She stands and crosses her arms over her chest. “How is it different? Sean used his mother’s maiden name when he met me because he didn’t think I’d give him the time of day because of who his father was. How is that different?”

“The money,” Emma spouts off from the office’s interior.

“Yes, the money.” Ann nods. “Sean doesn’t have that much money in his bank account. If I was going to get lied to, the least he could have done had an overabundance of cash.”

“I’m serious. This is not a joking matter.”

“I’m also being serious.” She glares and taps her fingernails on the glass surface of the counter. “I get being angry. I was pissed at Sean when I found he’d lied to me, but he was right. I wouldn’t have given him a chance and missed out on the best things in my life. My husband and our baby.”

“You had me,” Emma calls out in a singsong voice.

“See. Isn’t that more of a reason I should have given him a chance? I could be growing old with my sister.”

“And I could be going old with my sister.” Emma steps to the doorway’s threshold and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I didn’t tell Jake I was Ann’s sister when I met him. Talk about family dinners being complicated.” Emma is married to Sean’s brother. “You get to know people in layers.”

“What are we, a children’s movie?” I roll my eyes. “Now we’re all onions, and you have to peel us back to get to the center?”

Ann shrugs. “What’s wrong with that?” She walks around the counter and grabs my shoulders. “Sean is a fantastic husband and father. I would be miserable if I’d been stupid enough to walk away from him when I found out he hadn’t info dumped his entire backstory to me the first week.” She sighs as a sappy expression covers her face. She thinks about Sean, how I do a melted chocolate fountain. And Leo.

Am I wrong to be angry? No. No, I’m not wrong. I have the right to be angry.

“Does he know how many zeroes are in your checking and savings account?”

“No. Well, yes, but not because I showed him. While he was investigating the stolen money, I’m sure he’s seen my bank statement. Which should be a big red flag. The man can break into anything.”

“But he’s helping you.” Emma crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the doorjamb.

They have a point. I haven’t told him everything about my past, including my ex-boyfriends and every sexual position I’ve ever tried. Or what I ate in seventh grade when I got food poisoning. Or the song I performed on a recorder in the fifth grade. Maybe in the future, but it hasn’t come up.

Am I wrong to consider never seeing him again?

The video.“I forgot the most important piece of information. He has a sex tape online.”

“Oh….” Ann’s eyes widen, and she snatches her cell phone off the counter.

“Stop.” I cover her hand and press it down until she drops the phone. “It’s not a good sex tape.”

“Oh….” She curls up her lip as if she’s disappointed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he was that bad in bed. I guess it’s good to find out he was lying so you can move on. If he sucks at sex and lies, let him go.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “He doesn’t suck at sex. He’s quite skilled, as a matter of fact, and his penis piercing is….” I shudder as my eyes roll back into my head.

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