Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Emerson and I were both wearing concerned expressions as we walked into the waiting area and saw utter chaos. My concern was real, but his was well done and damned near believable even to me. The cops that were now standing by my receptionist’s desk would never know the difference.
Shit.
There were cops, and fuck, a handful of men in suits that looked suspiciously like lawyers.
This would not be good.
“Is everyone alright?” Emerson’s expression and tone were right on point for his current character.
I didn’t let it distract me as I looked around, though. “What’s going on?”
The cop closest to us tried to say something that probably would’ve been perfectly professional, but Angelique shrieked. “Someone stole my car!”
“What?” Emerson and I spoke at the same time and must’ve looked convincing because the cops glanced between themselves before the tension in the room dropped somehow.
What the hell happened to her car?
What had she said about us?
No. I wasn’t going to ask.
I could almost hear Emerson’s voice in the back of my head saying that innocent people wouldn’t ask that kind of question, so I played dumb. “How? We’ve been here all afternoon. There isn’t any crime around here.”
It was honestly a very reasonable question.
The building had never been empty and no one had ever tried to even break into one of the cars, much less steal one.
Emerson frowned, looking confused with a touch of disbelief. “It was here when I came in earlier. What happened? Did it get towed?”
Angelique looked like she was getting ready for another round, but the cop closest to us shot her a look that said to stop screaming. Thankfully, she took a deep breath and decided to look frustrated and confused.
Emerson did that look a lot better.
Once the cop seemed to believe she would behave for a minute, he turned back to us and the lawyers started whispering amongst themselves. “So you’ve both been here all afternoon? Is there anyone else in the building?”
He glanced between us and was definitely looking at us oddly, but nothing screamed outright homophobic. “You’ve been together?”
Personally, I’d have taken a bit more of an aggressive route with my response, but Emerson stepped in and cocked his head looking confused again. “Of course. We’ve been working on a big project with half the employees here working on it at any one point. It’s taken weeks to even get to this level.”
Hmm, had he said what we did here?
Oh, and we had been seen by a lot of people today.
Fuck.
Ignoring all the clues I should’ve picked up earlier, I shrugged. “I think we’re the last ones here.”
I gestured between Emerson and Angelique. “I’m not sure, though. She screamed the same way about a bug last week, so I don’t think anyone else would’ve come even if they’d heard.”
I wasn’t lying either, so there was nothing she could do except huff and start getting wound up again. But something had her pausing and taking a breath as the cops looked oddly thoughtful. She at least knew what was going on here.
The cop who’d been speaking to us gave Angelique a side glance that said she’d been up to something. “We have questions for you both.”
Oh dear.
“Anything we can do to help, but can I ask who those men are? This is private property and they don’t look like cops.” Emerson looked at the men in suits and frowned. “They also don’t work here.”
And they’d arrived very quickly.
Hell, how long had her car been missing?
There were huge holes in every aspect of this story.
The cop sighed like the whole thing was painful, but it was one of the lawyers who spoke up. “We are Ms. Wellington’s attorneys.”
Huh?
Why did she need an office full of high-priced lawyers if her car had been stolen?
“What is going on here?” I looked around the room, getting just a bit frustrated at the insanity. “I want answers or I’m going to call my lawyers, and I guarantee they’ll be more aggressive than those three.”
They just blinked.
Great.
Evidently, I was believable because Angelique shrieked again, shooting daggers at me as she glared and looked more than just a bit unhinged. “You’re running a drug ring.”
For fuck’s sake.
****
“I don’t even know where to start, pretty one.” I couldn’t decide if glaring at him or seducing him would get a better result. The wide-eyed innocent expression he was wearing didn’t match the jeans, but it did make me lean toward the seducing aspect, so it was good to know I wasn’t just manipulated by feminine clothing.
“We should probably get back to figuring out our plans for the evening.” He looked down at his clothes and frowned. “I’m not dressed right for most things, but we would blend in very well at any upscale restaurant. Dating is an important part of getting to know one another.”