He chuckles. “I have enough money.” He steps in even closer, settling his hands on either side of the counter, caging me in. “And I’d be willing to pay you for a night each week, if you’re not going to be with anyone else.”
“I’m not,” I say quickly, because I’m done with showing up at hotel rooms and wondering what’s waiting for me behind closed doors.
Grady runs his fingertips over my arm. “And we can just keep this between the two of us. No need to get your booking agent involved.”
“I’m not working with her anymore, anyway.”
“Good. Saves you some money. Saves me some money, if I can just come here.”
“Here?” I drop my voice even more. “What about Ruby and the other tenants?”
He presses his body into mine. I can feel his erection against my belly. “We’ll be really careful. I am only one apartment above you, and there is a fire escape connecting our apartments.”
I glance past him toward my bedroom. How much easier would this be, if he just showed up here, got what he wanted, paid me, and then left? Normally I’d never agree to this, but it’s Grady. He’s always been respectful and kind. He’s attractive.
And having one guy to please instead of several each week? One who I know and trust not to ask me to do weird things that I don’t want to do? It sounds like he wants to be discreet, too. The last thing I’d want is anyone around the building finding out, or even guessing at it.
“So?” He reaches into a back pocket for his wallet, to pull out a small wad of cash. He lays it on the counter, his warm eyes resting on my face, his breath skating across my cheek. “What do you think?”
I take it he wants to start this arrangement right now.
I eye the bills and smile.
Is Grady the solution to my money worries?
CHAPTER 35
Maggie
December 14, 2015
Jace settles against the edge of his desk. “Celine and I started dating mid-August. She told me that this thing between her and her super started a couple of weeks before that. She wanted to end the arrangement right away, but she needed that money until she left for San Diego.”
“And Grady told her he has a lot of money?”
He chuckles at my scowl. “Surprised me, too, especially after I met him that day at the apartment. Doesn’t look like a guy who can afford a decent haircut, let alone a girl like Celine at his beck and call. Anyway, the night I confronted her and we broke up, she told me that she was going to end it with him. She wanted a new life away from it all . . . with me.”
This man was once my salvation.
Celine saw Jace Everett—successful hedge fund manager and son of the governor of Illinois—as her Prince Charming, her gateway to a new life. The life she always wanted to lead, since growing up in La Jolla with my parents and me.
“But why would Grady pay weekly for an escort? He could go out to any bar, buy a girl a few drinks, and bring her home. Way cheaper.”
“How the fuck should I know? And I don’t care! He probably didn’t want to pick up some average woman at a bar. Or maybe he was in love with her and knew that a chump like him didn’t have a shot at a girl like her otherwise.” Jace shrugs. “And maybe he didn’t take it so well when she dumped him for me . . . if she ever did.”
I’d like to believe that Jace is feeding me lies to divert me from the trail I’ve been following, but the more he reveals, the more I’m realizing he may be telling the truth.
“Did she say anything else at all about him?”
“No . . . We didn’t talk much after that.” Cold eyes pierce mine. “You should have watched the full video. Then you would have seen for yourself.” He’s helping me here, but he’s enjoying my suffering far too much for my liking.
“I still can.” My laugh sounds hollow. “Oh, come on. You actually think I wouldn’t have a copy made? You’re smarter than that.”
“Remember what I said,” he warns, his jaw clenching. “I wasn’t bluffing. I will bury you, and I don’t care how much money you have.”
I let his threat roll off my back as I stand. “Home surveillance camera systems really aren’t safe. I wouldn’t recommend one.”
“So I’m now realizing.” He reaches behind him for a thick legal-sized envelope and thrusts it into my hands. “Thank God I hadn’t tied your money up yet. I’ve already made arrangements to release and return all funds to you and terminate this business arrangement of ours.”
I struggle to hide my surprise. I figured he’d be the type of guy to condemn me out of one side of his mouth and recommend investments to make us both a lot of money out of the other.
He stands to his full height and closes the distance to loom over me, his size and height all the more daunting. “I don’t want your money. I don’t want to see you ever again. I regret the day you ever walked in here. I regret the day I ever met Celine.” He delivers each statement in an overly calm voice. “Get out of my office, now.”
Judging by his poorly veiled fury, I’d say I’ve pushed him far enough. “If you honestly had nothing to do with this, then you’ll never see me again.”
“Then this is good-bye.” He rounds his desk and sits.
“Just so you know, I’m not letting this go. I will spend every last dollar I have figuring out what really happened to Celine. And when that stolen vase surfaces—because it will, eventually—I will know about it. It doesn’t matter where . . . New York, Chicago, Shanghai—” I reach for the door handle, “anywhere . . . I will find out, and whoever tries to sell it will have a lot to answer for.”
I leave, feeling a strange mix of relief, vindication, regret.
And fear.
Fear that I’ve been after the wrong person all along.
CHAPTER 36
Maggie
“By the way, whatever happened to those other cases you had?” I call out, dumping the last of Celine’s pots and pans into a box, my gaze wandering over the cupboards and counter. There’s nothing left but one cup, one bowl, a set of cutlery, and a drawer full of takeout flyers, none of which I probably even need. I haven’t been eating much, and when I do, it’s usually takeout on my Seamless account.
Now that Celine’s collection is in storage, my assistant has arranged for a Goodwill truck to come tomorrow afternoon and collect everything else that’s left.