Rei
Conrad demanded that I meet him at the office at nine to give him everything I had on Quentin.
I promptly went to the bathroom and emptied my bowels because my IBS knew the only “dirt” I had on Quentin was protected by my NDA.
Conrad was a loose cannon, and that news would surely cause him to explode.
While I waited for George to pull up in front of my house, my entire nervous system was on fire. I felt shaky, on edge in a way I’d never been before.
A news notification came up on my phone, and my knees swayed. It was an article about my wedding day. Why hadn’t I thought our marriage would be newsworthy? MyHome’s PR team had probably drafted the release themselves. A wedding announcement would also protect Q and me from attacks.
I felt so stupid. All this time I’d been worried about Conrad leaking my identity, but my marriage would surely accomplish that on its own. It was just a matter of time before someone from my old life connected the dots.
I scoured every website to see what had been said. If anyone had pieced together who exactly Rei Li was.
So far, all they had to say was that inside sources reported that we’d had a “whirlwind romance” and that it was “love at first sight” for Quentin. That part made my stomach flutter in a much more pleasant way.
The articles mentioned that I was on the janitorial staff and that I didn’t have a public social media presence.
A black town car pulled into my driveway, and I walked out to see George holding the car door for me, a paper mug in one hand.
“Dirty chai for the newlywed,” he said with a smile.
My fragile heart nearly burst into tears. I hugged him and said, “Thank you.”
After he got over the surprise, he relaxed and patted my back. “Of course. Is everything okay?”
I sniffed, backing away to take my drink. “It’s been a lot, you know?”
He studied me with concerned gray eyes. “Let’s talk about it on the drive.”
In the back seat, I braced myself to tell him the truth.
George was one of the people in my life I could trust—he’d proven that time and time again.
I told him about owning the business, which he expected, but when I got to the part about Conrad blackmailing me, he gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles went white.
“We need to report him to the police!” George exclaimed.
I shook my head. “I’m handling it.”
His expression in the rearview mirror seemed unsure. “You can’t give him what he wants, Rei.”
I twisted my lips to the side. “I won’t betray Quentin,” I said. It had been hard to place the bug when I only knew him as an aloof company exec. Planting evidence or spying on him would be impossible now that my heart was involved.
“I hate this for you,” George said.
“Me too,” I agreed, “but it means a lot to have you as a friend. You’re so much more than a driver to me, George. I hope you know that.”
“I wasn’t sure until you walked down the aisle with me.” He winked.
I laughed. God, it felt good to laugh, even if I knew we were getting closer to Conrad by the second.
We pulled into the parking lot, and he wished me luck, promising to wait outside for backup. Even though I knew he would be waiting for me either way, it was nice to have the reminder.
Squaring my shoulders, I got out of the car, preparing to walk into a bloody battle. I reminded myself that I’d been knocked down before, rebuilt my life from ashes. Conrad couldn’t defeat me. Not permanently, at least.
I walked into the Radiant Cleaning office, my head held high. Courtneigh looked up at me from the front desk, a grin on her perky face. She didn’t know that I was aware of her relationship with Conrad, but it wasn’t worth confronting her. Conrad was the one to blame here.
“Rei, it’s so great to see you again!” she happily chirped. “Let me tell Mr. Hale you’ve arrived.” Her strawberry-painted nails clacked against the plastic phone receiver she brought to her ear. “Mr. Hale, your nine a.m. has arrived... You’re welcome! I’ll bring her back.”
We walked in silence to the end of the hall where she knocked on Conrad’s door, making her charm bracelet rattle.
Within seconds, Conrad greeted us with a magnanimous smile.
Acting chops were working hard. “Courtneigh, thank you so much.” He gave her a wink.
I suppressed a groan. Did he have to be so obvious?
“Of course, Mr. Hale,” she said sweetly. “Need anything else from me while I’m here?”
“Not at the moment,” he replied, walking back to his desk.
“Let me know if that changes.” She curtseyed. I nearly barfed.
As soon as the door closed, the smile fell from Conrad’s lips, revealing a threatening scowl. “Sit. And keep your feet off my fucking desk.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I think you’ve forgotten who’s the boss around here.”
“You marry a billionaire and all of a sudden, you’re feeling high and mighty?
I wonder what your husband will think when everyone finds out he married a con artist who ruined a man’s livelihood and killed her friend.
You know your mentor’s wife left him last year?
She married one of his wealthier friends.
The one who didn’t go bankrupt in a lawsuit you caused. ”
I flinched before I could mask how deeply his words cut.
With a satisfied look, he said, “Now, tell me what you have on him, Mrs. Thomas.” He sat at his desk, fingers steepled, blue eyes intense and penetrating.
I took a slow breath, trying to steady the shake in my hands. I sat on them to hide just how upset I was. “Conrad, what did Quentin do to you?”
He narrowed his gaze and reached for the phone. He tapped the buttons, then brought the receiver to his ear. “Courtneigh, please connect me with the Dallas Times editorial staff.”
Frantic, I pushed the button to hang it up. “Don’t.” I needed to tell Quentin before he read it in the news.
“Then tell me what you know,” he said.
“I...” I looked down at my hands, not wanting him to see the frustrated tears gathering in my lashes. “I’ve looked, I have, but Quentin is a good guy. He does things by the books.”
He tilted his head to the side, eyeing me up and down. “You fell for him, didn’t you?” If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of pity in his eyes.
I nodded, taking a shuddering breath.
“Stupid.”
I gritted my teeth, knowing he wouldn’t respond well to anger.
But I wasn’t above begging. Not when it came to protecting Quentin.
“I don’t know what happened between you, but I’m begging you.
As your friend, please let it go. I’ll pay you.
I’ll make sure you don’t have to work a day in your life. Please.”
Conrad’s shoulders squared, and with an almost sad look, he said, “On Friday, when Quentin returns, plant this in his office.” He passed me a folder.
I stared at it, trying to hide the shake of my fingers on the card stock. “What is this?”
“Something that will make him pay for the mistakes of his past.”
“What mistakes?” I asked, hating the genuine spark of curiosity in me. What secrets was Quentin keeping? What lies had he been telling? It was horrible of me, but I almost hoped Quentin had been dishonest in some way because it would make my own lies more forgivable.
“All will be revealed in due time,” Conrad said confidently.
I put the envelope back on the desk, uncertain. “I’m going to need a little more than that to commit a crime, Con.” I hoped the nickname would appeal to him, remind him we used to be friends, no matter how impossible that seemed now.
“I’ve helped you commit fraud for years,” he argued. “You’re already a criminal.”
“I’m not a fraud,” I protested, but he cut me off.
“Not a fraud? You’ve lied to every single client we’ve had when you allowed me to act as the man in charge when you pulled the puppet strings while pretending to be a common maid.
” He sneered in disgust. “You and I aren’t any different, aside from the fact that I’m handing a guilty man over to the police and you’re conning innocent people while your employees unknowingly take the risk. ”
All the confidence I had built up before coming in fell over like a house of cards in a gust of wind. What if Conrad was right about me? Had I only gotten to this level by lying to everyone? I thought I’d been doing right, but maybe I was wrong.
Either way, I needed to tell Quentin the truth and find a way to get Conrad out of my business before I was forced to rebuild from the ashes all over again.