Page 47 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

Spencer couldn’t stay mysterious and closed up forever, and he was about to find that out.

I headed to the corporate offices of Ashbury Corporation during my break. But once I got to Spencer's floor, I was stonewalled by a secretary. "Would you tell him that his fiancée needs to see him," I tried, the word feeling more natural than I thought it should have rolling off my tongue.

The woman looked at me, kindly but determined to shoo me away. "I am sorry, but he was very clear that nobody was to interrupt his meeting with his lawyer. They're dealing with very delicate business. I'm sure you understand. You'll just have to talk with him later, but I can leave a message for you."

I looked over the secretary. She looked like the kind, quiet, motherly type, but I supposed that she was used to having to dodge insistent employees and more. During my perusal of her, something caught my eye, a coffee mug at her elbow that read Sunday's Donuts.

They were a Los Angeles restaurant and would often send out trucks to sell donuts at various offices.

I smiled at the secretary. "You like Sunday's?" I asked her amiably.

The secretary's professional demeanor slipped a little. "They're my guilty pleasure," she admitted with a small smile.

"Oh, I understand. My pops used to get them for us every weekend. I remember every Sunday waking up to the smell of those donuts. It still reminds me of him," I said fondly. "But hey, I'm surprised not to see you downstairs."

"What are you talking about?" A crinkle in her brow appeared, and she let out an awkward, but still polite, laugh.

"One of the vendors is downstairs selling the last of the donuts for the day."

Her eyes widened. "I didn't get that memo," she said more to herself than to me.

I shrugged. "Maybe it was a last-minute decision. Oh, well, thank you for your time, I appreciate it," I said. "Oh, by the way, could you direct me to the ladies' room?"

"Sure, go down that hall, and it’s the first door on your right," she said, directing me in the opposite direction. After thanking her again, I headed down the hallway towards the bathroom, ducking just inside of it and watching and praying.

Within sixty seconds, the woman looked around before she darted from her desk and hurried to the elevator.

I knew Ralph by now, and I doubted that he would mind if I dropped in, and I had to get these burning questions answered.

Once I was sure the coast was clear, I hightailed it down to Spencer's office, and much to my surprise, his door was actually cracked open a couple of inches, and I could hear two very heated voices: his and Ralph's.

I started to knock, but then some words caught my ears. I stilled, not believing what I was hearing.

Chapter eighteen

Spencer

"… Spencer, I am telling you, she's not playing her usual games. Something is truly up."

"Well, you said it was the same offshore count."

"It was. But I had my guys investigate it, and it was accessed from here in town. She's close by. She's up to something, and I don't think she's acting alone if she's changing up her game, and we need to be on alert."

I sighed. I had been going around and around in this stupid conversation with Ralph for the last half an hour. "What would you have me do, Ralph? Really, you seem to think I need to be doing something differently, so just spit it out."

Ralph sighed, not meeting my eyes, but finally, he sucked in a deep breath and said, "I think we need to tell Penny the truth."

"Absolutely not," I said instantly.

"Spencer, just listen to me—"

"No, that would destroy her. Not to mention that it would probably destroy our relationship. No, that woman is not worth it, and she doesn't get to have access to Penny. She's thrown away her chance to do so time and time again. I'm not even entertaining the thought."

Ralph let out a frustrated sigh. "Of all the things that you could have inherited from your father, it had to be your damn stubbornness. Spencer, I'm not talking to you as your employee. I'm talking to you as somebody who's known you since you were in diapers. This secrecy has been going on for far too long. I know that there will be a mess to clean up and fires to put out when you tell Penny the truth, but you can't keep letting it go on. Eventually, that greedy mother of hers is going to play too fast and too loose, and Penny's going find out, whether you want her to or not—then where will you be? You should just fess up now and face the consequences. At least if the news came from you, then you will still have a chance of salvaging your relationship with your sister."

I was shaking my head furiously before he even finished making his point. "I cannot believe that after everything we have been through together—after all the trouble we've been through to protect Penny from that monster—that you are actually suggesting that I just let it all go just like that. I gave up everything to make sure that that woman stayed away from Penny, and now, you just want me to piss it all away?"

"That is the last thing I want, Spencer."

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