Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I’m pushing, but the door is closed.
“That’s good.” I nod.
I want his friends to be as loyal as he thinks they are. I really do. I’m just not convinced.
“It is good. I don’t doubt any of them.” The tension sheets us like thick fog, and none of it is sexual. “You’re lucky,” I say.
“Very,” he says. “I’ve known them all a very long time.”
I’d known my uncle my entire life and look how he betrayed me. But I don’t say it. I don’t need to. Bennett isn’t an idiot, and if he believes that his friends are entirely loyal to him, there’s no point in suggesting anything else. Not until I have more than a gut feeling and a couple of days with my laptop. I need more.
TWENTY-TWO
Efa
The hotel doesn’t need me today, so I’m making the most of my time off by catching up on missed sleep. I don’t know what time Bennett left this morning, but he left an apple on the pillow for my breakfast, so I didn’t even need to get out of bed.
I take a bite and my phone goes. It’s my sister and thank god it’s not a video call.
“Hey,” I say as I answer.
“You’re not working,” she says.
“They don’t need me. Apparently the vomiting bug has passed. And the weather got really hot. I don’t think they’re as busy as they expected.”
“Good for you, I guess. Any luck getting an interview at Fort?”
I wish I’d never told her that I’d made some progress. I’d just been so shocked to have stumbled upon Ben Fort, I had to tell somebody something.
“No. Fort by name and fort by nature,” I say. “They wouldn’t even admit that Fort was in the building when I asked at reception.”
“What, they pretended they were the FBI or something?” she asks.
“It’s a mixed-use building. They just said that they don’t have any record of Fort in the building.”
“Wow, so they just lie?”
“I guess.” My gut churns a little. I set my apple down on the bedside table and sit up so I’m against the headboard.
“And how’s this Bennett guy? Are you still seeing him?”
“Yes,” I say, in the best fake-breezy tone I can muster. “I mean, obviously it’s casual.”
“Didn’t you just go away for a weekend?”
“Yeah, to the Catskills. It was beautiful. Completely in the middle of nowhere.”
“That doesn’t sound casual to me. Tell me about him.”
I snuggle back down the bed, catching Ben’s scent in the pillow next to me. “He’s kind,” I say. “And tall. Like, he’s at least as tall as Dax. He’s a little grumpy. Not to me, but he’s not a big people person.”
“Right. Sounds delightful.”
“He is,” I say. “Well, maybe delightful isn’t the word I’d use exactly, but… I have fun with him and he makes me laugh.” I don’t want her to hate him, even though on first impressions he might not come off as the pussycat my sister might want for me.
“What does he do for a living? He does have a job, doesn’t he?”
I groan inwardly at the thought of having to lie to Eira. What am I meant to say? Make up a story for my sister? I want to tell her every single detail about Bennett. “He’s in tech,” I say.
“Wow, that’s a coincidence,” she says.
“Not really. He’s into the hardware. Processers and stuff, you know?”
She laughs. “No, not really. What’s his surname? I’ll Google him. See who we’re dealing with.”
I wince. What am I going to say? I shouldn’t have to lie to my sister. Or even half-lie.
“Oh, he’s not on the internet. He’s really… private.”
“What do you mean, he’s not on the internet. Is that even a thing?”
It is if you’re Bennett Fordham, I don’t say.
“He just doesn’t like people knowing his business.”
“Eddie!” she gasps. “Is he a criminal?”
“Of course he’s not a criminal,” I say.
“Then tell me his name.”
My brain is clunking in my head, trying to figure out how I can stop my sister thinking Bennett is a mob boss while not betraying him.
But why would talking to my sister about the man I’m sleeping with be a betrayal? It’s ludicrous that I can’t talk to her about him. I talk to her about everything.
“I can’t,” I say. “I’m sorry, Eira.”
Silence echoes on the other end of the line.
“It’s fine,” she says finally. But I know it’s not, and I hate the fact that she’s pretending to be okay. Because it’s not okay. We don’t have secrets between us. Bennett shouldn’t be the first. “Does this mystery tech man at least know someone at Fort who could get you in?”
“No. Apparently, Ben Fort makes all recruitment decisions himself, and he handpicks from a pool of candidates recommended by people who already work there. I don’t have much chance. But there are plenty of tech companies in the US. I just need to cast my net a little wider.”