Page 14 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“I went with that woman Amber I was telling you about to talk to her friends,” I said.

“See, you are a part of a true crime drama. How did it go?”

“As well as can be expected. They were wary of me. I’m sure they will think I’m only after the reward money.”

“There;s reward money too? You didn’t tell me that. Think of the fun we could have with that,” Alice said.

“Now you know why I didn’t tell you. I’m not going to take some money from a vet because he came to New York to find his sister’s killer. It wouldn’t be right.”

“All the more reason that you should take it. You could do some good in the world, like taking your sister to all the Buddhist temples in Thailand.”

“There are over thirty-three thousand Buddhist temples or something like that. There’s no way we could see them all.”

“Think about how wonderful it would be to say we tried,” Alice suggested.

“Not going to happen. I’m not even sure if they believed me. They thanked me, they were kind, but they looked at me like they thought I was crazy and couldn't wait to get rid of me. Sort of,” I whispered the last part and hoped that Alice hadn’t heard me.

“What is this sort of? Either they believed you or they didn’t,” Alice said.

“It wasn’t that; it’s nothing really. Or at least I don’t think it’s anything. If it becomes something, I will let you know. I need to get back to work. Call me before you leave the airport, okay?”

“Don’t I always?” Alice asked.

It was a tradition of ours that whenever the other left on a trip, we were the last person they talked to. It started when Alice had gone to Australia on an exchange program when we were in high school, and the tradition had stuck.

“Good. I’ll talk to you then,” I said.

“I’ll let you off the hook this time because I know you aren’t going to tell me. But, you’ll have to if there is anything new when we talk before I leave.”

“Deal. I love you. Good luck packing. If you need any advice, call me,”

“Love you too, and you know I will,” Alice said and ended the call.

I leaned back on the bench and smiled as I thought about my sister and her next adventure. It had been good to talk to her, and I was going to miss it while she was away. However, it might be for the best, as she was too insightful for my own good.

It had been intentional that I didn’t tell her about Brody. Our town was small enough that everyone knew everyone else, and she would want to know why I didn’t tell her about him being one of the owners of the bar. I honestly hadn’t thought he would recognize me, and I wasn’t sure what to do with his statement. Until I did, there was no point in talking to Alice about it. I knew what she wanted me to do, and I wasn’t going to do it.

I put my phone in my purse and walked into my office. I smiled at Perla, our receptionist, as I walked back into the office, and she gave me a dazzling smile. She usually greeted me as she did everyone else with slight disdain.

“Hello,” I said.

“You have someone waiting here to see you. Please, tell me it’s your brother,” she said and pointed to the lobby area.

I turned and watched as Brody came up to me. He looked just as good, just as sexy, as he had the night before. If anything, he looked sexier as the sun caught the light brown in his hair that hadn’t been visible the night before. His eyes were a little brighter in the well-lit lobby area, and his hair was more unkempt. I had thought I wouldn’t see him again. I thought our business was done, but by the look in his eyes, I knew that was far from the case.

I kept my eyes on Brody as I said to Perla, “No, that is definitely not my brother.”

Chapter 7

Brody

“Brody. What are you doing here?” Zoey asked me.

Her face was a little flushed from being outside, and I immediately thought about what it would be like if her cheeks were red from something that I did to her. She gave me an uncertain look as I walked up to her. The receptionist leaned on her desk and pushed her chest up, trying to give me a show. I barely glanced at her and was annoyed that she would be so blatant about flirting with me. She had been trying to talk me up while I was waiting for Zoey, telling me how much she liked to party, giving a clear indication of what she really meant by partying.

“Can we talk?” I asked Zoey.

“Really? Now you want to talk to me? About what?” Zoey asked and stood up a little taller.

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