Page 12 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“Yeah, you totally want to. Will she talk to you?” Logan asked.

“There’s only one way to find out,” I said.

Considering how she had looked at me when we were in the bar and how she had not been impressed with my confession by the cab, I wasn’t sure if she would even want to talk to me. She must have known I was living in New York City, yet she hadn’t come to find me.

“She came to us because she wanted to help. I don’t think she’s playing us. The only way to find out is to talk to her,” I said.

“Ten bucks he crashes and burns. Again.” Logan said.

“Let’s hope not,” Eric said.

“I won’t,” I replied and held his gaze.

I knew how important this was to him. I might be going to see Zoey because I wanted to see her again, but I would get the information that Eric needed. She had brought herself into this, and I knew she was telling the truth. I could tell that Eric wanted to believe her, as did Logan. If I were to go and talk to her, I could get her full story; I could see if I could poke any holes into it.

By talking to her, we could reconnect. The last time I saw her was right after our high school graduation. She had just gotten engaged to Adam McDermott. When she was at the bar, there was no ring on her finger, and I didn’t see Adam letting his wife go off to New York on her own. There was a story there, and I wanted to know what it was. I didn’t like using Lauren’s death, my friend’s pain, or our concern that Zoey was some sort of con artist as excuses to go and see her.

We shared a past, and she had no reason to talk to me, but I hoped she would. I told her we would be seeing each other again. I hadn’t thought it would be so soon. Going with the pretext of needing to talk to her about Blackwell and Denton was the perfect excuse because it wasn’t an excuse.

“Keep me posted on how it goes. I’ll still do my own research on her,” Sean said.

“Good. Now can we get back to work?” Eric asked.

We had all been dismissed. I was sure it was as much because Eric was more of a doer than a talker and was done talking about everything. I didn’t blame him. I was of the same mind. I just needed to figure out a good time to go and talk to Zoey and also figure out what the hell I was going to say to her.

Chapter 6

Zoey

“I want you, I have for as long as I can remember, and I have no idea what to do about it.”

Brody’s words and how he had looked at me when he said it kept going over in my head like a movie reel. Every time I closed my eyes, every time I stopped working or anything, he immediately came to mind. It wasn’t just what he said but how he looked when he said it. The look he gave me was intense. It left little doubt that the man meant what he was saying, and he wanted me to know it.

It had taken everything in me to look calm and like I wasn’t affected by his comment. It was only when I was in the cab and safely away from him that I dropped my head down to the headrest and let out a long sigh.

There was no way to comprehend what those words meant or what I should do about it. How could a sexy man like Brody think it was okay to say something to a woman and think she was going to be okay? I was anything but okay.

The last thing I needed to be doing was getting involved with anyone. I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship. I had come to New York to figure out my life, not get involved with the first guy who smiled at me. I had agreed to do the internship for a year. When that year was up, I was going to go back to Oregon or somewhere like that. New York City was a great adventure, but it wasn’t for me.

Brody, on the other hand, looked like he had taken to the city like he was born here. He had the perfect mix of a man who could and should work in a bar, that could change into a three-piece-power suit and go to a board meeting, or put on a tuxedo and go to the opera. He had always fit into any cliques in high school. It didn’t surprise me he was doing the same in New York City.

He certainly had taken to living here much better than I did. It was only one of the many reasons why I wouldn’t get involved with him. It wouldn’t be smart to even try something, knowing it was going to end.

It would have been nice to talk to Amber again and go to the dinner she had promised. Grace seemed nice, too, and it would have been fun to be friends with her. Brody had ruined that with his comment. I couldn’t go back to the bar because he would think that I was only there to see him. There was a part of me that would have loved to see him again, to look into his sexy green eyes and see that slow smile come over his face before he looked me up and down and undressed me with those sexy eyes. I might even have considered catching up with Brody. But it would only lead to something I didn’t want to get involved in. It would be too easy to fall for him, and then my plans would be ruined. I didn’t want any distractions while I was in the city, and that included Brody Chapman.

I did my best to keep myself occupied while I was at work, and the morning flew by quickly. As I went outside to have lunch I knew I was going to need a distraction to keep my mind from going back to Brody, so I called my sister. Not that I needed an excuse to call my sister.

“Are you all packed yet?” I asked her.

“Of course not. You know me. I’ll wait until the last possible minute before I do that,” she said.

“Or even later. Didn’t you wait one time to pack until the morning of, and you almost missed your cab?”

“He waited for me, and I gave him a good tip.”

“You mean your phone number?” I asked.

“That’s the best type of tip, the one that keeps on giving,” Alice said with a laugh.

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