Chapter 27
I bite my lip, biting back a response, when someone else enters the room. She walks right over and sits in the third chair at the
table.
“What if it’s not true?” The new woman asks skeptically. “King Nolan hasn’t been married for years, and he hasn’t been seen
with Tara in any of that time.”
I want to agree with this new woman, but I don’t know what to think. My heart wants to believe that he’s not with anyone, but then again, he’s a handsome man with power. He could be with anyone he wanted, so what’s to stop him?
I try to tune out the rest of their conversation as it only causes me to become more upset, and as soon as my copies are made, I
race back to my desk for the rest of the day.
***
“Billy, hi!” I say as I squeeze in beside him in the café booth.
“Hey!” He pushes a cup of steaming coffee in front of me and smiles. The flamboyant attire makes me pause. Last time he was wearing a flamboyant suit, and this time, he’s dressed like a cowboy. I thought maybe he was just dressing for the bar when we’d
first met, but now, I realize he just dresses oddly.
It gives me pause and makes me wonder if he abilities are up to the standard I need, but when he pulls a file folder out of his bag and flips it open, I gawk. He points out several key pieces of information about Andy and about the patent that was plagiarized. He also shows me a page of my research that matches the current experiment at the company.
I read through the materials he found, amazed with the detail and precision that he displays. Unlike his crazy outfit, his work is
meticulous.
“The evidence was hard to verify since so much time has passed,” he tells me, making me look up. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find more. If you’d contacted someone three years ago, the results might have been different, but I can try to dig up more on your guy.”
“I figured that would be the case,” I mutter, closing the file. “Thank you. I would like you to keep looking. Anything you can find would be helpful.”
I take a sip of the coffee, feeling a bit disappointed, but I try not to show it. It’s not Billy’s fault.
“So, you were with King Nolan the other night. Are you two…”
“I’m his personal secretary,” I answer, not wanting any misunderstandings. That’s what Nolan would want me to say.
Billy smiles and leans on the table, “Would you want to get dinner with me?” The question surprises me, but what surprises me more is that I accept. He may be a bit strange, but Billy is nice and interesting. Even if this is just as friends, dinner sounds nice.
Our destination is apparently right down the road from the café, and when we arrive, I notice it’s a very high end and upscale
Chapter 27
+40 Bonus
restaurant. My business suit may not be appropriate, but I don’t have a chance to ask because Billy, in all his cowboy cockiness, struts right inside.
“Howdy, Ma’am,” he drawls in a fake southern accent. The hostess blushes when he tips his hat at her, and I giggle under my breath. I wonder why he acts and dresses the way he does.
However, my amusement doesn’t last long because as we’re seated by the flirty waitress, I see Nolan. Sitting right across from him is his rumored love interest, Tara, who is grinning and laughing at something he said.
The sigh makes my heart drop, sinking into my stomach like a rock in a river.
Comments
