Chapter 22
Saffron
Malaya’s latest boyfriend was a very handsome and athletic man. He had invited Malaya to come watch him compete in the marathon, and by extension, Malaya had invited me.
“I think he just wants you to be there and not a third-wheel cock-blocking friend,” I said when she asked me.
“Please,” Malaya brushed me away. “He’ll be running for a whole three hours, and after that, he’s going to be sweaty. I need someone to be with while he’s doing all that.”
“I don’t know…”
“And besides, I want you to meet him. He might be the real deal, and I want you to tell me what you think.”
And since I had seen and spoken to him, I had to say, Kiran was a nice guy. He was very warm and happy to see me when I came with Malaya, even though she hadn’t mentioned I would be joining her. After he had gone to join the rest of the runners, Malaya turned to me with expectant eyes.
“He’s a fine man,” I said.
She giggled. “What about his personality?”
“He’s really welcoming. I feel like I can talk to him about anything.”
“Right! I’m like that with him.” She said as we joined the crowd of onlookers at the starting line. “He’s not a jerk like the other men I’ve been with before. It’s as though he doesn’t mind being nice not just to me, but to other people.”
“Congratulations on bagging a golden retriever,” I said.
Malaya crossed her fingers. “Hopefully, it’s not for show.”
We waited on the sidelines as the athletes gathered on the start line. I was watching the group when Malaya nudged my ribs. “Is that?” She pointed to a group of people on the other side of the road.
“Who?”
“Nothing. I thought I saw Tyler Hawthorne over there. Or maybe it was Sebastian.”
My pulse picked up. I glanced at the crowd again, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized. Though there was a man behind the crowd who had the same physique as Tyler. Was that him? I couldn’t make him out from where we were.
“I’m probably seeing things,” she said. “Speaking of which, how is it?”
“How’s what?”
“Working with your husband? Is anything in that article true? I mean, we might have to think of contingencies if H&H were to sink.”
I shook my head. “It’s not.”
Malaya breathed a sigh of relief. “You have no idea how good that news sounds to my ears. You’ve been running around a lot lately, so I thought we were on a sinking ship.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it, honestly.” I was more worried about the person behind the article.
I thought I would have the answer by now, but the more I dug into it, the more confused I became.
My lead suspects were Bill, Dad’s estate executor, and his third wife, Collina, who was currently AWOL.
“The paper used a disreputable source, and most of its proof is a bunch of lies. It could have harmed the Hawthornes had their clients jumped at the news, but they held firm. So, we’re good. ”
“Sure?”
I nodded casually. My nonchalant stance seemed to calm her.
She took a deep exhale and smiled. We turned our attention to the race.
Malaya cheered her beau as I anxiously peered at the same group of people where Malaya thought she had seen Tyler.
It’s possible she confused him with someone else.
Marathons didn’t seem like the type of events he would be into.
And besides, why was I worried that he was here?
It’s not as though I had done anything wrong.
But there was a sixth sense that was warning me of some impending doom.
After the initial start, the fervor of the race died down.
Malaya and I followed the crowd as we went to various touchpoints of the race so we could cheer for the runners as they went past. Most people were happy to stay where they were or talk casually among themselves.
The day turned into some sort of mass picnic as most of the spectators gathered in the park.
It was fun. Hanging around with Malaya was fun.
And when Kiran was close to the finish line, we went to cheer him on as he finished his race.
“That was amazing!” Malaya said to Kiran as she handed him a towel and water bottle.
“I could never run like that. A mile is my maximum,” I said.
Kiran doubled over, pouring water all over his body, trying to catch his breath. “Anyone... can... do... it,” he said, smiling. “Whew, but this is the last time I am attempting that,” he said and sat on the ground.
Malaya and I chuckled.
We let him catch his breath, and when he could finally stand again, he said, “I have a friend of mine who was running as well. She’s from our running club. She was a few feet behind me.” He pointed to the woman coming up to the finishing line. “There she is.”
“Is that…” Malaya nudged me.
“Yep, that’s her all right,” I replied as dread filled me. “Seems like you were right, Malaya. You did see him.”
Coming to congratulate Kiran’s friend was Tyler Hawthorne. Dressed casually in a loose sweatshirt and pants, he was smiling and hugging the woman. My chest constricted when he kissed her cheek. It could have been interpreted as a platonic kiss, but it did not look like that to me.
“You know the guy?” Kiran said to us.
“He’s a client of ours,” Malaya replied.
“Cool.” Kiran nodded as he waved at the woman. “I had no idea you knew Lauren’s boyfriend. What a small world!”
She caught his eye, waved back, and said something to Tyler, who turned in our direction. His smile slowly disappeared to be replaced by a slight scowl. I don’t think Lauren noticed, because she then took his hand and dragged him over to us.
I darted my gaze around looking for an exit. I couldn’t leave without making a scene, so I stayed rooted and waited for Tyler and his girlfriend to march over to us.
“That was something, wasn’t it?” Lauren said when she was within hearing distance. “I thought I was going to give out at the halfway point. I was ready to just do the half marathon, but then I remembered your words, Kiran, and I can’t believe I did it!” She jumped up and down and hugged Kiran.
“I knew you could do it.” When they separated again, Kiran added, “I don’t think I’ve met your friend. I’ve only seen him a couple of times at the club.”
Lauren blushed prettily. “Kiran, this is um…Tyler. Tyler, meet Kiran and?”
Tyler shook Kiran’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I know these two,” he said, motioning to us. “Surprised to see you out of your work clothes, Malaya.”
“I do love slumming it from time to time. Question is, what’s a guy like you doing amongst the plebs?”
Tyler’s gaze darted to me but quickly went back to Malaya, and he put an arm around Lauren. “Supporting my girlfriend.”
Lauren lightly slapped Tyler’s chest. “He says that as though we’ve been dating for years when we've been on like a couple of dates.”
I wanted a hole to open up and swallow me.
Of course, someone like him would have a girlfriend.
Tyler was a serial dater, maybe now add cheater to that list. I don’t know why I thought that just because we had sex once on a work trip that we were what?
Boyfriend and girlfriend? In a relationship?
And if he did cheat, it certainly wasn’t on me, but on Lauren.
She didn’t seem like his usual type, though.
She was not the actress-slash-model woman I was used to seeing next to him in news articles.
She was more on the shorter end, and while athletic, she didn’t look like she would grace the cover of a magazine soon.
Not that it meant she was ugly. If anything, her round face was pretty, and her body, while not as curvy, was still appealing. Just not his type.
I listened in silence as the group discussed the race while avoiding looking at Tyler. I was sure I could feel his gaze on me, but I dared not look at him to confirm it. When I felt it was finally appropriate for me to leave, I bid my goodbyes.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Come on! We’re about to go celebrate!” Malaya was genuinely saddened that I was leaving.
“I need to catch up on a few things before work,” I said, feeling Tyler’s stare on me.
Malaya pouted. “If you have to.”
I waved goodbye to them all, noting how Tyler acted as though we were merely colleagues. But I guess we were.
Malaya sent me a text:
Malaya: Girl, isn’t that your husband with another woman?
Me: It’s fine. We agreed to date other people because our
marriage wasn’t real anyway.
It hurt to type that message. It was now clear that I had been tending a small flame for him.
I didn’t know I was doing it, but it was time to snuff it out.
I didn’t go to my apartment. Instead, I went to the storage unit where I had put away some of the stuff my father left after he died.
It wasn’t a place I liked to visit and I avoided it at all costs, but if I wanted to find out more about who was actually blackmailing Tyler, the information might be there.
I entered the storage unit and scoured through the files and documents he left.
There were plenty of them, most regarding his business dealings and offshore accounts in his name.
And—what is this? Tucked within a file named Panama was a company in my name.
I’d never heard of this company. Dad probably used my name to dodge tax filings.
I went through the file. There were plenty of company documents, most in his name and some in Aunt Pamela’s name as well.
Of course. He probably used her as well.
I took the file. The storage felt like a dead end, but there might be something in this file.