Page 62 of The Next Door Billionaire's Deception

I open my mouth to respond, but a thought stops me. What if someone is eavesdropping on our conversation? Who knows what was done in my office when I was on my brief break? This building is a lion’s den for me. If Alex wants to talk about Emerald, it shouldn’t be here.

“Can we go to a café nearby? I would like some latte as we catch up.”

“We should be safe here. What about Emerald did you wanna talk about?”

Alex heaves a deep sigh, before sipping some coffee. “It’s that bad now, isn’t it?”

“You know about Emerald?”

“Yes. I followed your career, ‘Lissa. When you became the CEO two years ago, I did some checks on the company. A lot of information was either hidden or didn’t add up, so I had to dig in deeper. Thanks to some contacts in intelligence, I discovered a lot of shady stuff was going on in the company.”

“Why can’t you take any legal action? I mean, you have the law on your side, don’t you?”

“You might know the reason why. It’s hard to pin something down when it’s very slippery. There’s not much evidence. I know the criminal dealings the top stakeholders partake in, and so I feared for your safety. It’s why I asked Richard to watch over you when I found out you two are neighbors.”

“Richard Burnes. Your business partner, yeah?”

Alex’s serious expression gives way to laughter. “Business partner? Is that what he told you?”

My eyebrows wrinkle. “What do you mean?”

“Wait. You’re serious. What did Richard say about me?”

“He told me you two are business partners, and that’s about it. You did some legal work for his consultancy firm or something.”

Alex stares onto space, as if in thought. When he talks, the words fall on me like bricks.

“Richie and I are best friends. We've been best friends for a while now.”

Alex's words leave a heavy feeling in my stomach. Breathless, I grip the arm rests.

Why would Richard be lying to me about Alex?

“Wait. I don’t understand. Richard was lying? But why?”

“He probably had his reasons. That’s all I can say. But that’s not the point.”

“Then what is?”

Alex holds my trembling hands, his warm and gentle touch calming my racing heart.

“You’re in danger, but I’m here now. No one is taking anything from you, and certainly not going to harm you, as long as your big brother is around.”

Chapter 19

Richard

“You’resureAlexisin New York now?”

“Positive, Mr. Burnes. His plane touched down yesterday morning.”

I pace. “If he’s here, he should’ve contacted me like he said he would. Why didn’t he give me a call, at least?”

Anna clears her throat. “Maybe he went to see his sister first. That’s what I would do if I were in his shoes.”

I stop. If Melissa tells Alex anything about her relationship with me, he won’t take it well. Likewise, if Alex tells Melissa about our relationship, or who I am, she’d think I betrayed her by lying. I can’t have any of that.

“Good point. But it’s been a day. He should have contacted me.”

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