Page 37 of Murder or Margaritas

As soon as she saw her last name on the label, she went all cuckoo on me again. “You had me investigated?”

“What? No,” I laughed. “Are you insane?”

“Then why do you have a file with my name on it?” she challenged. “In the movies, there’s only a file if you’ve done an investigation on someone, Rush.”

“Sweet Baby Jesus,” I swore under my breath, not being able to keep from shaking my head, but also laughing. “While that’s true, we’re not in a movie, Landry.”

“I’m just saying,” she muttered as she flipped the folder open, absolutely convinced that I’d done a background check on her.

“Besides, why on earth do you think that I’d do a damn background check on you, woman?”

Those blue eyes looked up at me. “You’re filthy rich, own half the world, are freakin’ gorgeous, and have a big dick,” she snorted. “Why wouldn’t you do a background check on all your girlfriends?”

“Well, for the record, I haven’t had a girlfriend since my college days,” I informed her. “You’re the first, and I expect you to consider that a good thing. Also, I’m pretty sure that you’re not with me for my money, Landry.”

The crazy girl just shrugged. “Hey, if you don’t care that I might have done time in the past for murder, then that’s on you.”

“Will you just look at the damn folder,” I told her, wondering how early was too early to drink.

Landry started flipping through the pages, her face scrunched up like she couldn’t understand English all of a sudden. I watched as she was making a mess of the folder, papers flying everywhere, the lunatic trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

When her blue eyes finally looked back up at me, they were narrowed in suspicion. “What is this, Rush?”

“It’s the meeting that I couldn’t get out of yesterday,” I answered.

“I will beat you in the head with your own stapler,” she threatened. “Whatisthis, Rush?”

“I bought Jacobi Auditing,” I answered, even though she was very aware of what she was reading.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Rush, you can’t just go and buy a company-”

“That’s kind of what I do, baby,” I informed her, smirking. “While it’s notallthat I do, it’s done often.”

Her blue eyes narrowed again. “I will maim you, Rush Crawford.”

Grinning, I stood up, then made my way around my desk, so that I was standing in front of her. “What did you expect me to do, Landry?” Dropping down on my haunches, my hands found their way to the outside of her thighs. “I could hardly allow them to make a liar out of my girlfriend.”

“And they just sold? Just like that?”

“Let’s just say that I offered them a deal that only a fool would turn down,” I answered.

“Rush, this is insane,” she replied quietly.

“Can I ask you something?” She nodded. “How much satisfaction would it give you to be able to walk into that building and fire Bryant Stanton?”

“You’re going to think that I’m a horrible person,” she mumbled as she stuffed all the papers back in the folder.

“I think you’re the most fascinating thing that I’ve ever seen,” I told her honestly. “Nothing you can ever do or say will make me think badly of you, Landry.”

Taking in a deep breath, she said, “This is still crazy, Rush. You can’t just…go about doing stuff like this.”

“That’s where we disagree,” I replied. “What good is my money if I can’t use it to help my family? Besides, nothing gets me higher than seeing you happy, baby. No matter how many commas are on my bank accounts, no matter what business deals I land, no matter how much my corporation might change the world…none of it feels like seeing you smile.”

“You tell me you’re not too good to be true, but then you go and say stuff like that,” she grumbled, and it was crazy how I kept falling deeper and deeper in love with her whenever she opened her mouth.

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