Chapter 22
Sebastian
A month later and I’m sitting inside my favorite coffee shop on third across from Xavier when he pulls out a bunch of photos and splays them across the table. “So you remember how we’ve been watching Sasha‘s uncle because of that case we think he’s tied to?” he asks me.
We have been watching Ethan Lockhart for about a year now. He doesn’t know we know, but he has been embezzling money through his business for years. Last year one of our long-term clients came to us with a shit load of documents dating back at least 3 years and a chip on his shoulder. Apparently Ethan had screwed him out of about $750,000. Chump-change to him really, but that’s not the point. If he did it once he will do it again, if he hasn’t already.
I’m certain this isn’t the first time and that no one else has caught on yet. The documents were enough to let us know what he’s been doing, but not quite the proof we need to open a case against him, so we decided to keep an eye on him in hopes we can catch him in any other scandalous activities. Scandalous is this guy's middle name. I already have an inkling he deals in a lot more than just petty fraud.
I’m sitting staring at these photos,and they’re clearly not what I expected them to be.
“Tell me Xavier, what the fuck am I looking at here?”
“Well Sebastian,” he smirks at me and points to the first picture. “That is Sasha, and that is Nate.”
He points to the second picture “That is Sasha leaning into Nate.”
He slides the second picture out of the way to reveal the third picture “That looks to be Sasha and Nate walking into her apartment building.”
“I know what I’m looking at,” I growl, “But what exactly do you expect me to do with these?”
Xavier leans back in his chair and sighs dramatically. “Listen Sebastian, I'm not stupid. I can see the way you look at Riley. It’s like you own her already. And if we are being honest here, I’ve never seen you as excited about anything as you are when she is around you.“
“I don’t get excited!” I snap.
He leans forward smugly “Your eyes light up when she walks into the room. There could be fifty naked women around and you wouldn't even look their way. You've never looked at a woman the way you look at her. You listen to every word that comes out of her mouth instead of ignoring her like every other female we have had working for us. ”
He sits back and says “If that’s not excited, I don’t know what is.”
I grunt in response and he smiles annoyingly.
“No response?” he asks me.
I’m suddenly leaning forward in his face, but he doesn’t back away. “I’m only enamored by her because she is playing hard to get. A married little mouse. I’m sure once I have her the excitement will fade. And even if I did want her, these pictures are not proof anything happened.”
He waggles his eyebrows. “I thought you would never ask Sebastian.”
With that, he dumps out the rest of the photos from the envelope. Ten different photos which look to be Nate and Sasha in various sexual positions. All photos taken from the window outside her bedroom. Most of them are blurry or partially cut off yet, you can still see clearly who the two people are.
There is one in particular that is clear as day showing Sasha pushed against her glass door with Nate’s head tilted over her shoulder slightly.
“How the fuck did you get these?!” I exclaim.
“I found a guy.” Xavier responds and shrugs.
“Well, whoever he is, he must be a ninja,” I say. “Put him on our payroll immediately.”
“Not a ninja,” he laughs. “Just a guy with a really good scope and perfect timing. He called me asking if he should follow them after the initial pictures. What can I say? I was curious who Sasha was spending time with aside from you, so I obliged.”
Xavier winks at me then “And of course, you know I’m a voyeur and couldn’t help a free show. Imagine my surprise when the other guy just happened to be our little intern's husband.”
I drop the photo in my hand in disgust. “Tell me you didn’t jerk off while holding these damn pictures Xavier.”
“Of course not,” he chuckles. And I relax. “But I did pin them all up to the wall and jerk off in front of them.”
I glare at him. “Sometimes I really wonder which one of us has more issues.”
Xavier roars out laughter in response.
Leaning back in my chair, I take a sip of my coffee
“Why did you bring me these photos, really Xavier?”
He sets his cup down and looks out the window momentarily losing himself in thought. Just when I’m about to get irritated with his silence he turns to me with a look of anguish I’ve never seen in my friend’s eyes before.
“Because Sebastian,” he says, “she tames your demons, even if you don’t know it yet. That only happens once in a lifetime brother…”