Chapter 5
Audrey
Islam the book closed and stare back at the house. Reading during a stakeout is probably not advisable, but sitting here staring at a house is incredibly boring. If today proves nothing else, it has shown me that if being a doctor doesn’t work out, I would make a terrible private investigator.
Picking up the notepad I’ve been writing in, I read it over. Paying attention during an hours-long stakeout might not be my forte, but spying and documenting everything I see might be.
Figuring out how to use this to my advantage? I’m still working on that.
I have the hushed phone call he took in the driveway last night, while I was, once again, crouching in the bushes, and a security guy who wasn’t Tyler stood off to the side, keeping an eye on their surroundings but also giving Joe the illusion of privacy.
Then there was the lunch meeting with the man who looked like he wouldn’t know a legal business deal if it punched him in the face.
I took a few pictures a couple of weeks ago of Joe with a politician who has multiple rumors around town regarding some of his business dealings.
But none of that helps me if I can’t put the pieces together so I can use them against him.
I drop my head back against the headrest and close my eyes. Sometimes I think all of this is pointless and that I’m wasting my time, but then my mind replays a childhood memory of my mom and me that I’d forgotten about, and I’m reminded of why I’m doing this.
Joe won’t miss the money. If the newspaper articles I’ve read about him are correct, he has plenty.
Abandoning the notebook in the passenger seat, I dig through my bag for another snack. Ignoring the granola bar, I grab a bag of chips. As I rip it open, my eyes go back to the inactivity across the street.
This is the third day of the last week I’ve sat in my car on the street outside Joe’s house.
I’ve made sure to park in a different place every day so as not to draw attention to myself, more than a woman sitting in her car for hours on end already does.
Thank goodness, my windows are slightly tinted.
Though I have gotten out to walk a couple of laps when my butt can’t take sitting anymore.
I won’t be able to do this any other days this week, so I’m desperate for something to happen.
I followed Tyler every time he left, and besides taking Joe to meetings, he’s gone to the gym and back home.
He did stop at an office building for about an hour yesterday, but then he left and went to the gym.
A gym that I’m now a member of. I didn’t really want to spend the money on it, but I felt like it was a necessity. I need to find a way to get into this house and get close to Joe, and Tyler is my best bet. Or at least I could get some information out of him that might help.
When a person rounds the hedges and starts down the sidewalk, my eyes widen, and I throw the half-empty bag of chips to join my book in the passenger seat.
Tyler’s walking toward me, sliding sunglasses onto his handsome face.
He climbs into the SUV, and I start my car, ready to follow him wherever he’s going.
I have my gym clothes in the back just in case.
Behind the page in my notebook about Joe, there’s one that I’ve enjoyed making much more. One that’s filled with everything I’ve learned about Tyler in the past week.
Like how he spends so much time at the gym, but every morning, he stops at a donut shop near his house.
I also know where he lives since I followed him there…and also waited for him outside the last couple of mornings. Which really should concern me more than it does.
He drives off down the street, and I wait a minute before doing the same, trying to keep a little distance between our cars so as not to draw attention to myself.
Maybe I’m not so bad at this after all.
A smile moves across my face as we make a left turn.
I have a good feeling about this. We pull into a familiar parking lot, and I park far away from where Tyler does, but close enough that I can see when he walks inside.
After a few moments, broad shoulders connected to a slim waist and muscular thighs, which I’m unusually interested in, cross the parking lot and disappear inside the building.
I blow out a breath, attempting to clear my stomach of the fluttering nerves. I’m not leaving this coffee shop without talking to this man. I grab my purse and am about to climb out of my car, when the book I was reading catches my attention.
“Yes, this is perfect,” I mutter to myself. I can use the book to pretend I’m going to the coffee shop to read.
Clutching the book to my chest after hiking my purse over my shoulder, I follow the path Tyler just took to the front door. Hoping enough time has passed that it won’t look odd that I’m entering right after him, just like last time.
That’s assuming he even remembers me. Which he probably doesn’t.
Not that I’m ugly; I just don’t think I’m someone who draws a lot of attention. I tend to blend into the background.
Not even my dad wanted to pay attention to me.
My heart clenches with bitterness and rejection.
Huffing out a breath, I let the cool spring air bring me back to the mission. I can’t let my issues get in the way of helping my mom. She’s all that matters. And there’s no point in wishing that shitty excuse for a human had wanted me.
With my thoughts back on track, I finish crossing the parking lot and pull open the door, the gust of heat from inside instantly warming my body as I enter.
There’s a short line, and I take my place at the back of it.
Only one person stands between me and Tyler.
Anxiousness rolls through me from the uncertainty of how this is going to go.
Once the person in front of Tyler finishes their order, he steps up to the counter. The woman working isn’t the one he knows, so it doesn’t take him long to finish his order before he starts to turn around. I watch the action as if it’s in slow motion. My mind races with what I should do next.
How do I get his attention?
He’s slipping his wallet back into his pocket as he steps away from the counter.
His head raises until our eyes meet, and his forward motion halts.
My stomach flips as his dark eyes bore into me, as if trying to uncover all my deepest, darkest secrets.
It’s hard to ignore how attractive he is when his attention is laser-focused on me.
I give him a shy smile before the movement of the person behind him trying to order their drink spurs him back into action. He mumbles a quick apology and moves away to wait at the end of the counter.
I try not to stare, but out of the corner of my eye, I see him stealing glances at me every few seconds. A tremble of fear swirls with the nerves. Is he staring at me because he’s suspicious that I showed up here again right after he did?
The person in front of me moves to where Tyler’s waiting for his drink, and I give the woman working a shaky smile as I step up to the counter.
“Hi! What can I get for you today?”
“Could I get a chai latte?” I opt for something with less caffeine than my usual coffee order for fear of getting too jittery from the mixture of fear and anxiety.
“Absolutely, anything else?” She smiles warmly.
“No, that’s it.”
“What’s the name for the order?”
“Audrey.” My hand trembles slightly as I hand her my card.
As I finish my transaction, I slowly turn away from the counter, unsure if Tyler will still be there. I didn’t dare look around after he moved away from me, fearing it would make me look too suspicious.
My worry is unfounded when my gaze finds the darker one that fascinates me as much as scares me, not because I’m afraid of him, but because I’m afraid of what I have to do.
As I get closer to where he’s waiting, my legs feel unsteady. He has a small, curious smile on his face when I stop a few feet away.
I return the smile. “Hi.”
His face brightens in response. “Hi.” He pauses before commenting, “You look familiar. Have I seen you here before?”
My heart rate picks up as my mind scrambles for a casual reply. “Oh, uh, it’s possible. I come here a lot”—I shift the book in my hand to draw his attention to it—“to read.”
He nods with a grin. “I used to read a lot when I was younger. But now, I’m more of a movie guy.” His expression morphs into an adorable grimace, and his cheeks flush pink. “That was lame. You don’t care about that.”
I bite back a laugh. “I do care, actually. Though I have to admit, I don’t watch a lot of movies.”
Any embarrassment leaves his features, and his grin widens. His mouth opens to say something else, but he’s interrupted.
“Large Americano for Tyler.”
With a glance at the barista sliding his drink across the counter, he leaves me to grab it.
I think he’s going to stop next to me when his steps falter as he draws nearer, but a faint vibrating sound pulls his attention.
Reaching into his pocket, he retrieves his phone.
His voice is tinged with annoyance when he says, “Mr. Bassham, what can I do for you?”
Even with Tyler being a few feet away, I can hear the faint, muffled voice of the man I unfortunately share DNA with.
Tyler’s jaw muscles twitch before he replies with a terse, “Yes, sir. I’ll be over in a few.”
The evident displeasure Tyler shows at having to deal with my father further endears me to him, if his good looks weren’t enough. At least he might be one positive in this ridiculous plan of mine.
Well, except for having to use him for my own gain.
My conscience, which has always been set on the right path and rarely strays, reminds me of the havoc I’m going to wreak on this poor man’s life by dragging him into my family drama.
Guilt eats at me even as I smile at Tyler one last time.
He gives me a little salute with his cup and stalks out of the coffee shop.
I blow out a breath through pursed lips as Tyler climbs into the SUV.
“Chai latte for Audrey.”
Tearing my stare away from the parking lot, I step forward to grab my drink from the barista. “Thank you.”
The drink warms me as I leave the coffee shop and walk back out into the brisk afternoon. I’m not sure I can say today was a success, but it was one step closer to getting what I need from the man who deserves it the least.