Chapter 6 Are You Following Me?
Chloe flushed and shot him a murderous look.
“Shut up!”
Richard’s face hardened. He ignored the remark.
“We’ll make sure he takes the medicine. How often does he need acupuncture?”
“Every three days to begin with. We can leave longer gaps between treatments later.”
“All right. Chloe will contact you in three days.”
Ryan recognized the dismissal.
“Sounds good. I’ll get going.”
“I’ll walk him out,” Chloe said quickly.
Richard nodded.
Outside the inpatient wing, she stopped and rounded on Ryan.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“The acupuncture?” he asked, smiling.
“You saved my grandfather, and I’m grateful. But don’t get any ideas. I’m not interested in you.”
She couldn’t have made it much clearer.
Ryan found himself more amused than offended. She had all the arrogance of a spoiled rich girl, but at least she said what she meant. He couldn’t quite bring himself to dislike her.
He held out the card.
“The acupuncture will help him recover faster and more thoroughly, but he can manage without it. Take this back, give your father whatever excuse you want, and I’ll stay out of your way. How’s that?”
She stared at him.
“You’d walk away from seventy-five thousand dollars?”
“You already paid me seventy-five hundred.” He smiled. “Consider the treatment a free extra.”
Chloe hesitated, then pulled out her phone instead of taking the card.
“Keep it. Just take good care of my grandfather. Give me your number.”
“Sure.”
They exchanged contact information. Ryan glanced around, then raised a hand in farewell.
“I’ll see you around. Right now, I need a restroom. I’ve been holding it forever.”
“A bathroom break. Of course,” Chloe muttered. “Men always find a reason to disappear.”
She was about to head back upstairs when her phone rang.
“Grace? Oh, I forgot to send you the address… You’re in the parking lot? I’m outside the inpatient wing. I’ll wait here.”
A tall woman approached a few moments later. She wore a blue skirt suit, its short-sleeved jacket cut without a collar, and black heels. Her resemblance to Chloe was striking, but her cool gaze and reserved manner gave her a very different presence.
Chloe slipped her arm through hers.
“Look at you. You even make office clothes look glamorous.”
A small smile softened the woman’s expression.
“Why are you flattering me? We look so much alike that people ask if we’re twins.”
“Our faces, maybe,” Chloe said with a grin. “I don’t have your presence.”
Grace started toward the building.
“How’s your grandfather?”
“He’s okay now.” Chloe held her back. “But there’s something I should tell you first.”
She gave a mischievous laugh.
“I hired a fake boyfriend today.”
By the time she finished the story, Grace was struggling not to smile.
“You’re ridiculous. Still, it sounds like you did some good by accident. Your grandfather might have been in real trouble otherwise.”
“I’ve always been lucky.”
Chloe linked arms with her again and led her inside.
Across the way, Ryan emerged from the restroom just in time to catch sight of them entering the building.
He only saw the other woman from behind, but that was enough to get his attention.
Tall, with legs like that. Did beautiful women always travel together?
He shook off the thought and left the hospital.
A quick look at the directions showed that one bus would take him straight to his destination. He headed for the stop.
He wasn’t in a hurry. There was no reason not to save a little money.
Besides, buses had air-conditioning, too.
After a leisurely ride, he reached the address his mentor had left: Rainfall Grove, 69 Ridgecrest Lane.
His fiancée’s neighborhood.
A security guard stopped him at the entrance. The gated community admitted residents and invited guests only.
Fair enough. Ryan took out his phone and called the number his mentor had given him.
It rang until the call went unanswered.
He stared at the screen. Now what?
He’d come this far. He might as well wait.
He sent a message: Hello, this is Ryan Carter. My mentor asked me to visit. I’m waiting at the front gate.
Then he crouched on the steps beside the guardhouse and lit a cigarette, unconcerned about how he looked.
He was halfway through it when a white luxury SUV pulled up to the barrier.
Through the driver’s window, he saw a beautiful woman in a blue suit jacket. Her cool gaze passed over him as she waited for the gate to open.
Ryan recognized the face—or thought he did.
Chloe?
He sprang to his feet.
“Seriously? You followed me? Shaking me down once wasn’t enough?”
The woman frowned, looking from him to the guard and back again.
“Do we know each other?”
“Now you’re pretending you don’t know me?”
He stepped closer and bent toward the open window, lowering his voice.
“Come on, let’s be reasonable. Even if I did see your breasts earlier…”