Working Him: A Billionaire Romance (8 page)

Chapter 13:  Rachel

Two Days Later

I fidgeted with the pen in my hand, following Brian’s lead as we walked into the office building, being led by law enforcement. I was late to work but it didn’t matter now. After all, everyone would know that I was a fraud in just a few minutes anyway. I rarely actually attended the raid, but today I felt like I needed to be there, to explain to Garrett and offer my support once it was all said and done.

Garrett
. Just the thought of his name sent a shiver down my spine. That night, the sex, I still felt the effects even two days later. And when he had left my condo that morning, I had cried like a baby in my shower, knowing that whatever we had that night was over. Luckily, he had been out of the office yesterday, tied up with some difficult client so I hadn’t been able to see him at all.

“Are you sure you want to be here?” Brian asked me again as we filed into the elevator, his keen eyes on mine. Though I hadn’t told him the details, he knew something was up with me and this job. Brian was no idiot.

“I’m fine,” I said, looking away. “Ready to be back home.”

The elevator doors slid open and I drew in a breath, watching the law enforcement walk through the doors, with Brian and I bringing up the rear. Garrett and Travis were in the lobby, discussing something that looked pretty heated as we walked in, both pairs of eyes swinging toward us.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Travis asked.

“Are you Travis Douglas?” one of the guys asked.

Travis nodded, his eyes narrowing when he saw me. “I am.”

“Travis Douglas, you are under arrest for fraud,” the other announced, stepping behind the realtor. Before Travis could react, they had him in handcuffs, reading his rights.

“Rachel?” Garrett said, confusion on his face. “What the hell is going on here?”

“I’m Brian,” Brian offered, pulling Garrett aside, though his eyes never left mine. “We have been investigating your business for a potential fraud case and through some digging, we have found that your partner was skimming money from the company, overcharging his clients and failing to turn in taxes on the properties.”

“What?” Travis shouted. “I haven’t done a damn thing! I will have all of your asses in jail for this!”

Brian ignored him as I hovered close, feeling slightly ill. He continued, “I’m sorry, Mr. Louden. Your partner has gotten your business in some hot water with the IRS.”

“Who are you again?” Garrett asked softly, looking over Brian’s shoulder at me.

Brian stuck out his hand. “I am representing a private party who asked us to look into your accounts. I’m sorry it has resorted to this. We don’t enjoy finding anyone at fault who is close to the business but in this case, we had no choice.”

Garrett stepped around him and looked at me, anger simmering in his depths. “You were part of this all along.”

“I-I’m sorry, Garrett,” I said quietly, hating the way he was looking at me.

They led Travis out of the office in handcuffs and Brian turned to walk away as well. I stepped forward, laying a hand on Garrett’s arm. He shrugged it off, his eyes blazing with anger. “So you fucked me because of this?”

I flinched, the hurt written all over his face. “I, that was…”

“What?” Garrett pushed on, releasing a breath. “A fuck, that’s all. Get out of my office. You’re fired.” He then laughed harshly, rubbing a hand over his face. “Hell, you weren’t ever an employee in the first place. Forgive me if I withhold your last paycheck, Ms. Tyler.” I watched helplessly as he stormed into his office and slammed the door, leaving me to stare after him.

“Come on, Rachel,” Brian urged, grabbing my arm and steering me toward the door. I waited until we were in the elevator alone before the tears came and was surprised when Brian awkwardly pulled me into a hug. “I should have never allowed you to do this job if you were so emotionally attached.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I sniffed, pulling out of his embrace because frankly, it felt too weird. “I didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah, about that,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t ever do that again.”

I nodded miserably as the doors opened and we walked out of the building, climbing into my rental car. Garrett was never going to forgive me for this.

Chapter 14:  Garrett

The doorbell rang and I ignored it at first, brooding with a cold beer in front of me. I couldn’t believe that she had betrayed me like that, after everything we had together. I thought that Rachel was different, that she could potentially be the one. After our sex fest the other night in her condo, I had already started seeing Rachel as someone that could turn into a long term affair. But now, she had nearly ruined not only my career, but the tender feelings that I had developed for her.

“Shit,” I swore as the doorbell rang again, followed by a furious knocking.

I still couldn’t believe it was Travis who had taken the money, Travis who had nearly ruined everything we had built. I had spent much of my day calling our attorneys and our PR rep so that when the news broke, we already had an answer to it. It hadn’t taken my attorney long to confirm what I had already suspected to be true. Travis had been screwing me over, dollar by dollar, for years.

The knocking continued and I stalked down the hall, throwing open the door. “What?”

Travis stood there, his eyes red rimmed. “They threw me in this shit cell, like I was a common criminal.”

I sighed and stepped aside, a part of me knowing that the lure of money could take anyone down. So could the lure of a future with a desirable woman, but I wasn’t going there just yet. “You are a criminal, Travis.”

He turned and I saw something in his eyes I had never seen before, something that had me concerned. “I’m not a criminal! Sure, I jacked up some commissions and cut some expenses here and there, but that isn’t illegal!”

I laughed harshly. “Yes, it is, dude. I’m sorry, Travis, I looked into it. Our attorney will represent you but you have left me in a hell of a mess.”

“I left you?” he laughed. “I’ve always been in your fucking shadow, Garrett. You never treated me like a partner, but more like a worker bee. Not even my house or my cars could impress you.”

I stared at him, disbelieving what he was saying. “I have been your friend!” I shouted. “Screw the money, I brought you into this business and made you a partner, Travis! What the hell are you even talking about?”

Travis waved his hand and stalked to the door, his stride angry. “Fuck you and your little bitch of a secretary. Yeah, I know you’re fucking her and what did she do? Fuck you and me both!”

“Leave her out of this,” I warned, lowering my voice. “Rachel didn’t do this, you did.”

He scoffed and threw open the door, slamming it after him. I swore and looked at it, my anger and frustration threatening to boil over. That was not the man I had brought into the business, the one I had trusted as the best of the best. I had no idea he felt like I had treated him that way, no idea at all.

Sighing, I walked back to the counter, picking up the beer and throwing it at the sink, the glass bottle shattering all over the granite back splash. My business that I had worked so hard on was on the brink of falling apart, my best friend a traitor, and the girl, well, I still didn’t know what to think about her. She would go back home now, everything she was telling me and the red flags now making sense. The condo, the reason for her taking the position, it was all part of this ruse and I had fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.

So why didn’t I feel the hate toward her like I thought I would? Why did I still want to see her after she had been part of the reason my life was ruined now? I didn’t know, but I did know that I wasn’t going to be satisfied until I went and confronted her about it.

Swearing, I walked out of the condo and took the stairs down a floor, mentally rehearsing what I was going to say and feeling somewhat anxious about it all. What if I didn’t like what she had to say? I reached the floor and threw open the door to the hallway, hearing the shattering of glass that had my heart drop to my stomach.

Oh shit. Breaking off into a run, I found Rachel’s door to her condo kicked open. “Rachel!” I yelled, running inside. There was only one person that could do something like this, one person that was desperate to recapture what he had just lost. My heart in my throat, I skidded to a stop in the living room, not seeing her or Travis. Where were they?

Racing to the bedroom, I found Rachel holding her cell phone, her other hand clutching a towel as she tried to dial the numbers. Travis lay at her feet, what looked like the remains of a vase littered all over the floor. She looked up and I saw the tears on her face. “Are you okay?” I asked roughly, my fists clenched tightly together.

“I-I’m fine,” she said shakily. “I can’t, I’m trying to call the police.”

I walked over and took the phone out of her hand, dialing 911 and giving the address in response to a break in before throwing it on the bed, reaching out to gather Rachel in my arms. She shuddered against me and I clenched my jaw, wanting to beat Travis to a bloody pulp for scaring her like this.

“H-he surprised me,” she said, clenching my shirt tightly in her fists, her wet hair and tears soaking the fabric. “I had just gotten out of the shower.”

“I’m so damn sorry,” I bit out, my hands attempting to warm her cold body. “I had no idea he would go to this length, Rachel, I swear.”

She pulled back and I felt gut punched at the sight of her tear streaked face, the fear still lingering in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Garrett. I didn’t mean, I wanted for it to not be true.”

“Shh,” I said softly, brushing the tears from her cheeks. “We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

“Police!”

I pulled from her as the officers stormed into the room, covering her with my body. “He broke in and tried to attack her,” I said dully as Travis started to groan. “She defended herself.”

“Miss, I need you to come with me,” the officer said, holstering his gun as his partner checked on Travis. Rachel gave me a look as she brushed past, sliding on the robe that was on the bed before walking out of the room.

I allowed myself to breathe then, looking down at the man I used to call family as the police officer hauled him upright. His eyes collided with mine and I felt nothing for him. “Don’t ever come near me or her again,” I warned him. “Or I will fucking kill you.”

He groaned but didn’t say anything as they led him away, giving me a moment to take a deep breath in, the adrenaline flowing through my veins. What if I hadn’t come down here? What if Rachel hadn’t been able to defend herself? The thought of Travis hurting her caused me to blow out a breath. Despite everything, I didn’t want her to be hurt.

I walked out of the room to find Rachel being questioned by one of the officers, Travis nowhere in sight.

“Is there anywhere you can go, ma’am?” the officer was saying, closing his small notebook. “Somewhere where you won’t be alone?”

“She can come with me,” I said immediately, ignoring the way her eyes widened. “I’ll watch over her.”

The officer raised a brow, looking from me to Rachel. “Are you sure, ma’am?”

“I, yes, I’m safe with him,” she responded quietly, looking away. The officer nodded and walked out the door, leaving Rachel and I alone.

“Come on,” I said, holding out my hand toward her. “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll call the building management and get the door fixed.”

She swallowed hard and I was upset to see the tears in her eyes.

“Please,” I urged. “Let me take care of you, Rachel.”

After a moment, she laid her hand in mine and I inwardly sighed in relief, helping her off of the couch and after finding her shoes, walking her out of the condo. She was silent as we rode the elevator up one floor and I showed her to my condo, pushing open the door and allowing her to enter. I felt like I should say something, but I didn’t know what to say. I was pissed she had even been put in that position to choose between her job and, well, would she have chosen?

“Can I get you something?” I asked softly as I closed the door and walked into the living room.

She was standing before the couch, her eyes red and looking exhausted. I wanted to gather her in my arms and hold her tightly, tell her it was all going to be okay. She took in a breath and rubbed her arms with her hands. “Maybe some clothes?”

I nodded tightly and walked to the bedroom, grabbing one of my favorite t-shirts and a pair of jogging pants before laying them on the bed. Walking back out, I pointed toward the bedroom. “They’re in there. I’ll fix some coffee.”

She nodded and disappeared into my room, giving me a moment alone. I walked over to the kitchen and picked up the shattered beer bottle from earlier, looking at it and reflecting for a second. All of the betrayal tonight, all of the hurt, it was beyond belief that this had happened to us.

Angrily, I pulled out the coffee maker and started it up, pulling two mugs down from the cabinet. I wanted the whole story out of her, who she really was and why she had pulled the rug out from under me and had me thinking about long term. Most of all, I wanted to believe her. I wanted this to work out, for the both of us.

Chapter 15:  Rachel

I nervously donned Garrett’s clothing, enjoying the smell of him surrounding me like a warm hug. My nerves were shot, the unexpected showing up of Travis still had me rattled. I had been in the shower, crying my damn eyes out over the day’s events when I had heard someone kicking in the door. With no options, I picked up one of the vases that held a floral arrangement in the bathroom and hid near the doorway, crashing it on the first head that had popped in.

I should have been smarter to know that Travis wasn’t going to take this lying down, but the devastation on Garrett’s face had gotten me all upset and I had forgotten one of my cardinal rules in this profession – always watch your back.

Now I was in Garrett’s apartment and he was treating me as if I was going to lose it at any moment. I had already lost it – I had lost him. Tears welled up in my eyes and I brushed them away, clearing my throat. I had to move on. Tomorrow I would go home and this would be behind me, but not forgotten for a long time in my heart.

Walking out to the living room, I spotted Garrett outside on the balcony, clenching the railing as he stared out over the city I knew he loved so much. I walked out and joined him, the wind blowing my hair around my head as I stood next to him. “I’m sorry I lied to you,” I said softly. “I couldn’t tell you what was going on. I wasn’t sure who to trust or who was causing the issues.”

He said nothing and I blew out a breath. “I hope that we can, I hope that we can get past this. I was only looking out for you, Garrett. I know how much you have worked to get where you are.”

“Stop,” Garrett said, halting my words. “Just tell me. Did I mean anything to you?”

“Everything,” I whispered, feeling the emotion welling up in my chest again. “Everything.”

He turned and I could see the mixture of emotions in his eyes, ranging from hurt to anguish. My heart tumbled over in my chest.

“I should be pissed at you,” he started, his voice barely loud enough for me to hear. “But for some reason, I can’t find the emotions to do so. I hurt, because you hurt, Rachel. I want to kill Travis for what he has done to both of us.”

“Garrett,” I started before he held up his hand, his expression unreadable.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” he said firmly. “I don’t want you to go, Rachel.”

My heart puddled at my feet as I heard the plea in his voice. I reached up and cupped his face with my hand, searching his eyes. “I love you, Garrett. I think I have loved you from that first day, all those years ago and though we were separated for years, I don’t think I’ve ever stopped.”

He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine, the tenderness bringing those ever present tears to my eyes once again. He wasn’t pushing me away. He was pulling me closer. With a sob I fell against him, allowing him to crush me to his chest.

“I don’t care,” he said harshly. “They can take my damn business and this condo, but please, don’t leave me, Rachel.”

“I don’t plan to,” I said. “Ever.”