29. Rei #2
“Oh, Rei,” Jada breathed. “I’m so sorry...”
That wasn’t the end of the torment, though.
“When her family found out how she died, they blamed me. They wanted me to use my business insurance to pay for her funeral and their loss, but the problem was, I didn’t have insurance.
” I shook my head at myself. “I didn’t even know you needed that.
They could have sued me personally, but they knew I didn’t have the kind of money that would change their life.
The business we were cleaning for though...
They sued him for everything under the sun.
My friend’s husband. My advisor. The guy who’d given me my ‘lucky break.’” The words were bitter on my tongue.
I took in a shuddering breath.
“It was all over the news,” I said. “The families quit working with me once they found out, which meant all those girls working for me lost their jobs. One of them even had to drop out of college because she couldn’t find another job soon enough.
” Bitter tears fell, wondering what happened to her.
She’d wanted so badly to be a journalist.
“My mentor? He lost his business in the lawsuit because her family refused to settle and he couldn’t afford the legal fees. And if the news coverage wasn’t bad enough, he told me he would let everyone know never to work with Andrea Kelly.”
“Andrea Kelly?” Jada asked. Then her eyes flew open with understanding. “Rei Li.”
I nodded. “I had my name changed after the ordeal because I couldn’t get a job. Everyone Googled my name and found my past.” I shook my head.
“You’re a survivor for sure...” Jada breathed, her hand still on my knee. Gratitude for her presence overwhelmed me. She wasn’t running away from my problems, and that made my story keep pouring from my lips, the first time I’d told it from start to finish.
“I was evicted from my apartment because I couldn’t pay rent. Had to move back home. My parents were so ashamed of me. I was a college dropout with no job and headlines marring their last name.”
“That’s not fair,” Jada said with a deep frown. “Your family’s supposed to be there for you no matter what.”
“To them, letting me live in my bedroom was being there for me.” I sighed. My parents always made sure my physical needs were met, and it felt wrong to be ungrateful even if I needed more from them.
She rubbed my back like she was reminding me I still had a friend, and I had to take a shuddering breath not to cry.
Jada shook her head in disbelief. “I remember hearing about that on the news, but I had no idea it was you. I’m so sorry you went through that.”
I took in a shuddering breath and wiped away tears that had fallen. The truth was still heavy, but I felt lighter having shared it with someone else, albeit completely spent.
“I’m sorry I kept it from you, but there’s no good way to say you have a death on your hands and put yourself in the witness protection program just to have a life.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to say things out loud because it makes it more real,” Jada said. I wondered if she was talking from experience, but maybe I’d never know. “And still, after all you went through, look at you now. You own a company, one that works for the biggest business in Dallas. How?”
I twisted my lips to the side, thinking back to that time.
“I was working at a fast-food place and hating it. The bosses were terrible to the employees, and I kept thinking I could do better. Then one day an old friend from college came in to eat. I took my break to catch up with him. He told me he wasn’t getting any gigs as an actor and needed something to do, and I had this idea that he could be the face of a company.
One that I ran the right way this time with everything I’d learned. ”
Jada nodded like that was understandable. “So you did the heavy lifting, and he acted like the man in charge? Typical.”
I chuckled wryly. “Pretty much. It was so easy for Conrad to negotiate contracts and get clients. He just showed up as an overconfident white man and people wanted to work with him. They didn’t try to whittle down his prices like customers used to with me or question his work ethic.
I used those early deposits to get business insurance, safety trainings, ultra-safe cleaning materials...
and it’s been a success so far.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue because it felt like I was on the verge of losing it all, yet again.
“Wow... Does Quentin know?” she asked.
“He knows I own the business,” I said. “Not all that stuff. I’m worried if I tell him, he’ll think contracting with my company is too big a liability.”
She bit down on her lip, and I knew she was holding back her thoughts. “Tell me,” I said.
She looked down at her plate, picking up her fork to cut half-heartedly at her food. “Keeping my pregnancy from Bryce is one of my biggest regrets.” She set her fork down, blinking quickly. “I wanted to keep it from him until I had the contract signed guaranteeing my baby would be taken care of.”
My stomach knotted with how much I related to her.
“But Bryce is a good man,” Jada continued. “He saw Twyla as a blessing, not a liability.”
My throat got tight because that’s exactly how I saw myself right now.
A liability. It was easy to love an innocent little baby, especially one as precious as my goddaughter.
Much harder was committing to a woman with scars etched into her past and ties to a mysteriously vengeful man.
“I can’t help thinking Quentin wouldn’t marry me if he knew it all. ”
The way Jada studied me made me feel like an ant under a magnifying glass. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
The blood drained from my face, and I had to remind myself to breathe.
The understanding in her eyes caught me off guard as she said, “I know we’ll never know everything about each other, but please tell Quentin before it’s too late. I don’t want you to live with the same regrets I have with Bryce.”
I swallowed, despite my throat feeling dryer than sand.
With a sad smile, Jada said, “We better eat this French toast before it gets too cold.”
I came here convinced I would let down all the walls between Jada and me, but the deeper I got into MyHome, the better I got to know the founders, the more I realized that we all had secrets, truths left unsaid.
And that’s when I realized… Conrad would have secrets of his own. Maybe one dark enough I could use it to stop him once and for all.
As soon as we paid for our meal, I got in my car, parked around the corner and searched for the number.
I’d met Easton in the Nest at The Tower not knowing who he was.
He'd been waiting for a meeting with Jude and had a mustard stain on his tie that I helped him with. As thanks, he’d given me a card and told me to call if I ever needed his help.
Only once we’d parted ways did I notice his title beneath his name: Easton Parker, Private Investigator.
Although it sounded cool, I never thought I’d have a need for his services.
Most of my creeping was done on social media.
Thankfully, I was obsessive about saving information from business cards just in case because I always lost the physical copy. He was saved as PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
I tapped the button to call him, expecting to get an answering service, but he answered in his distinct scratchy voice. “Easton Parker, PI, how can I help you?”
“You answered?” I asked, surprised. My mouth always spoke before my brain could catch up.
“That’s typically what people do when they get phone calls. Can I help you?”
I winced. “Um, this is Rei. You probably don’t remember me, but I was cleaning in The Tower that day you had the mustard potato salad for lunch.”
“I have mustard potato salad every day,” he said. “But I do remember you. Calling in that favor?”
My lips quirked in a hopeful smile. “This guy is giving me problems, and I need to know if he has any secrets I can–”
“Don’t say anything else,” he said. “Less details the better. Just need his name. Text it to me.”
“One sec.” I typed out the text and hit send. “Done. How much?” I asked. No matter the cost, I’d make it work. I wanted this to be over, and fast.
“My initial intel gathering is free, for saving my favorite tie. If you need more after that, we can discuss rates.”
“Thank you, Easton. Really.” Sweet relief coursed through me at finally being able to take some action. I dropped my head back on the seat and closed my eyes, feeling hot tears leak through.
I didn’t want to betray Quentin with this marriage. Not if I didn’t have to.