Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“I sent you the files on Julieta Jones,” Graysen informs me, seconds before it pops up in my inbox. I click the files. “She is already on a plane headed this way.”
“How?” That was quick. How the hell had she managed to get out so quickly? When I looked earlier, there were only four flights leaving from her closest airport today. The first wasn’t for another two hours. I wish I could’ve just sent a plane for her, but that might have spooked her. When Graysen doesn't answer me, I turn my attention away from my computer screen. He’s holding something back, and it doesn’t look like he wants to tell me whatever it is. “Say it,” I order him, not in the mood for games.
“Her boss gave her a ride. Her name popped up in his flight manifest.”
“Her boss?” I grilled Travis on Julieta. He said she didn’t have anyone in her life. He’d know it because Raegan would have mentioned it. I click on my screen, pulling up her job information.
“Ivan Lawson.”
Fuck me. I don’t see Ivan giving one of his assistants a ride out of the kindness of his heart. Ivan isn’t a cruel man; he's just not a gracious one, either. I haven't seen him in years, but I don’t see the man changing. Then again, Julieta has me doing things I never have before. This is going to be a problem. A big one.
“I’ve done a bit of digging already, and I don’t see anything romantic between them. I pulled up some security footage too of his office building and home. She’s never been to his home, and at the office, he barely talks to her. Like I said, I don’t see any romantic connection.”
“You hacked his security footage?” I feel marginally better after hearing this bit of information.
“I don’t know if I’d call it hacked. I know the owner of the security system he uses. He had a look for me and sent me a few clips.”
“I want to see them.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, Graysen hits a few buttons, and the footage is in my inbox.
I watch through the clips, not seeing even a spark of interest on either of their parts. Sometimes Ivan is so lost in his work he doesn't even know Julieta is there. That’s the Ivan I know. We went to college together, and he’d been the same way. It’s why we’d gotten along. We both put our heads down and worked because we wanted to get our shit done.
When I’m done with the videos, I go back to her file. As Travis had said when I’d all but interrogated him, Julieta, or JJ as they call her, met him and Rae while they lived together in a foster home. They’d all stuck together until a few years ago when Julieta went off to college on a scholarship. Travis said it would only take a panicked call from his sister Rae to get Julieta to rush home.
Rae was hesitant to call her, but her fear for her brother overruled it all. I laid their options out on the table and let them decide how they wanted to proceed. I haven’t forced anyone to do anything. Though some may consider my choices to be a form of blackmail.
“Should I call Carson?” Aaron asks, stealing my attention away from learning everything I can about my sweet Julieta.
“Why?” Aaron opens and closes his mouth. He really doesn’t know how to handle me right now. I’ve never been invested in someone the way I am with her.
“Where do I begin? Marriages and children. Protecting your assets and rights.”
“Don’t call him.” I can already hear Carson losing his mind. Then as soon as he got it back, he would draft a contract that would likely scare Julieta. Then again, what if I could give her something that made her feel safe? Made her feel secure to a degree. “Actually, set up a meeting. I need to talk to him as soon as possible.” I will do whatever I feel is necessary in order to get my sweet Julieta.
“Oh, thank God,” Aaron blurts out in one breath before he’s half running from the room to get a hold of Carson. Most days I find Aaron a bit amusing, but today isn’t one of those days. I’m still on edge. This isn’t going to be an easy thing to complete. While I might be able to get her to agree to some of this deal, I have to do it in a way so she doesn’t hate me. In fact, I want the very opposite.
4
Julieta
The first half of the plane ride is odd. That’s the best word I can think of to describe it. This is my first time on a private plane. Being at the bottom of the totem pole of Lawson’s assistants, I was never needed on the trips when they were required. The plane is as nice as I’ve heard some of the other assistants say it is. It’s a bit surreal to be flying in such luxury. And that it’s not for work. I still can’t believe Lawson offered to take me to Rae. It’s so out of character for him.