Page 64 of The Next Door Billionaire's Deception

We shake hands. “If you’d stay a bit longer, I can arrange for a bottle of red wine to toast to this huge win.”

“Hmm. Tempting, but I should be going. I’m a very busy man. You should have an idea, Mr. Burnes.”

“I sure do, Mr. Lamar.”

The fish has taken the bait. Now, all that’s left is to reel it in.

As we walk out of the conference room, Anna approaches me, signaling she has something to tell me. My brows furrow. What’s wrong?

“Sorry to intrude, Mr. Burnes. I’ve gotten a hold of Alex. He’s ready to talk to you. Call him.”

It’s evening, and New York is coming alive with lights in every building and on the streets from vehicles, dotting the landscape like millions of bright stars in the night sky. Central Park isn’t left out in this flood of lights and electricity, with lamp poles and fluorescents providing their illumination.

As I wait by a lamppost, a family walks by. The woman holds a young boy while the man pulls a cradle. I remove my glasses and wipe the evening mist off them as a wistful longing for a real family takes hold of me.

There’s a light tap on my shoulder.

“Richard.”

I turn to see Melissa standing behind me in a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

“Hey, Melissa. I’m glad you could make it.”

I pull her into my arms, and my lips brush against hers. My racing pulse slows when she opens to me, warming up to my touch.

Looks like Alex hasn’t told her anything about our friendship or my position in Vibrant Corp. Good. It should stay that way.

I pull back from the kiss. “Let’s take a stroll, Melissa. The evening is a beautiful one.”

“Sure thing.”

Wrapping a hand around her shoulder, with a hand of hers around my waist, we stroll through the park.

“How was your day?”

“Stressful, like every day. At least I’m catching up with all the work I left. Yours?”

Why hasn’t she mentioned Alex? Hasn’t he visited her?

“Same old. Most of these days, it’s the merger my firm is processing that’s been keeping me busy. Your method is a good one, though. Been working well for the guys and me. It’s not easy for a firm of freelancers to merge with an established one, no matter what they might be going through.”

“I’m glad you found that useful.”

We stroll a few more yards in silence. All the while, a debate goes on in my mind about the best way to approach the subject of Alex. I run simulations of some scenarios in my head, trying to decide which would be best.

In the end, I opt for a direct approach.

“Alex is back.”

We both pause and stare at each other. We said it simultaneously.

“I guess we both knew about that,” I say, chuckling.

Melissa’s lips are straight. Noticing there’s a bench just nearby, I lead her to it.

“When did you find out?”

“Yesterday. Alex came to see me, just as you called.”

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