"Nah. It wasn't that. I can't really explain what it was. He just seemed, remote. Like he didn't really give a shit about anything. Freshman year we were all partying pretty hard but I never really saw him with any girls. There was just something weird about it. I actually thought he was gay for a while but then I saw the way he looked at Mara, so…"
Eli chuckled. “It takes a lot to surprise me but I have to admit this one got me. Finding out that dude was some kind of bazillionaire was not what I was expecting to find when Mara asked me to check into him.”
Matt grunted. “I can’t believe she went behind my back like that.” It made him feel soft that he was so upset that she hadn't told him about her suspicions. Yes, he was friends with Trent first but she was his sister. His twin. He would do anything for her so it had rankled to find out that she'd approached Eli when she needed help.
“You know why she did that. She’s worried about you. And probably a little embarrassed.”
"Well, she has nothing to be embarrassed about. He lied to her. She didn’t do anything wrong."
Eli shook his head. "I know that. You know that. But in her shoes, I would feel strange that I was going to marry someone only to find out that they weren’t who I thought they were."
Matt parked the car in his driveway. A minute later, the front curtains twitched. He glanced over at Eli. “Do you mind coming in so you can assure Penny that I didn’t kill anybody?”
The curtains fell into place but Matt knew if he didn't come in within the next few minutes, Penny would come out to the car and drag him out. He thought back to his state of mind that evening. For the first time, Penny had witnessed his overprotective big brother tendencies in full effect. After he'd driven Mara to their place, he'd had the unhappy task of showing her the things they'd found. He'd been on the razor's edge of violence as Mara had cried quietly over the file. Especially the pictures of the brunette currently living in Trent's other place. His blood pressure started to rise again just thinking about it.
Another rare smile covered Eli’s face. “She was a little worried, huh?”
“Yeah. That would be an understatement.”
Chapter Six
THE NEXT MORNING, Mara rolled over and stared at the empty pillow on the other side of the bed. After their long exhausting conversation the night before, Trent had gone to a hotel. Her brother and Eli had stayed after he left to make sure he didn’t come back.
Even though she knew that Matt was just worried about her, it truly pained her to see the animosity between him and his former best friend. Especially watching him treat Trent like a criminal. Then she mentally kicked herself for feeling sympathy. Trent had lied to her. To all of them really. She wasn’t the one who should be feeling sorry.
That didn’t stop her from missing him so much it physically hurt.
It was a chore to get herself ready for work. The tasks that usually brought her so much pleasure, looking through her closet and choosing which pair of heels made her feel the most fierce, left her completely cold today. In an uncharacteristic move, she grabbed a ruffly white blouse¸ black slacks and plain gray cardigan and spread them out on the bed. Then she wrinkled her nose. She was depressed but this outfit was only going to make it worse. So she went back into her closet and pulled out her brightest pair of red high heels that she usually only wore clubbing. When paired next to the simplicity of her clothes, the shoes really made a statement. She hoped that statement was something along the lines of I’m not as gullible as everyone seems to think.
She carried the thought with her as she hurried through a quick shower and then pulled her damp hair back. The entire drive to work she thought about how she was going to approach Mr. Westbrooke.
It was simple. She would have to arrange for some time off. Her personal life was a mess and she needed time to figure things out. But Ethan was such a workaholic and had never taken a vacation in the entire time that she'd worked for him. She honestly wasn't sure how he was going to react to her sudden request for a week off. Her thoughts drifted to their strange conversation in his office. It would be the ultimate in flattery to think that he liked her but she was too smart for that. Mara knew she was beautiful. It was impossible to grow up with a beauty queen for a mother and not be aware of the effect her face had on men. But beauty didn't count for much with men like Ethan simply because he was surrounded by beautiful women all the time. She'd seen him at company functions and he'd always had a woman who looked like a supermodel on his arm. It wasn't that there was anything special about her.
Except for the fact that she wasn't afraid to yell back at him.
But for whatever the reason, he'd told her to ask for help if she needed it. Well, it was time to test whether he'd been serious about that.
She pulled into the employee parking lot and marched into the building. Then stopped short when she saw Lanie hovering by her desk.
"Mara! Thank god, the rumors aren't true."
"What rumors?" She set her things down on her desk and booted up her computer. The entire time she kept her eye on Ethan's door. He must be in a meeting but as soon as whoever was in there came out, she would go in and state her case. Originally she'd thought to wait until the end of the day and then make her request so she could escape home if he didn't take it well. But she couldn't stand the uncertainty of worrying about it all day.
"I heard that you got fired yesterday," Lanie whispered.
"What?" Mara forgot to keep her voice down and Ada looked up in alarm.
Mara smiled sheepishly and then pulled Lanie around the corner and into the employee break room. Aaron, one of the mailroom guys, stood at the sink stirring a cup of coffee. With only a cursory glance in his direction, she whirled around to face Lanie. "Spill it."
"Well, yesterday afternoon someone said they saw Mr. Westbrooke yelling at you and then he called you into his office. They said they heard more yelling and then you ran out and got your stuff and left."
Mara ran her hands over the low ponytail she'd pulled her hair into that morning. “The rumor mill around here is ridiculous. That’s not at all what happened. Ethan was yelling but that’s just how he communicates. I was having a bad day and left a little early. I wasn't fired.”
"So, why were you in his office so long?" Lanie asked innocently.
Mara glanced over her shoulder again. Aaron still stood at the sink sipping his coffee. When he noticed both of their glares, he lowered his eyes and shuffled past them and out the door.
As soon as