Page 33 of Mr. Billionaire's Second Chance

Chapter Nine

Katherine

I sat on the couch in my living room, going over countless documents until I heard my cell phone ring. My heart nearly leaped out of my chest and for a moment I thought that maybe I’d lost track of time again, but that’s when I got a good look at the name on the screen.

“You do know I’m coming into the office today, right?”

“Yes, well I wasn’t going to wait all of that time to make sure we were still on for dinner tonight,” said Preston.

I smiled brightly, rolling my eyes as I started packing files into my work tote.

“We are definitely still on for dinner tonight.”

“Good. I’ve got a few more surprises up my sleeve,” he said.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” I teased.

I wanted to ask him how dinner with the board went and I still had a million questions flitting around inside my mind about the Laurier deal, but I just couldn’t bring it up. I relished in the fact that we were finally at a good place again, and I absolutely did not want to ruin that. I pulled my hair back into a low ponytail, grabbing my keys, rushing towards the front door so fast I nearly ran right into Poppy.

“Where are you off to so early? I thought you didn’t have to leave for the office until nine?”

“I actually have a meeting with my client out of the office before that. I don’t want to be late. We’ll catch up tonight, okay?” I asked, slipping into my shoes.

“You got it.”

It wasn’t a long cab ride before I was standing outside of the little brunch spot where I was supposed to be meeting William. It was there, standing in the cool morning breeze that I thought about the missing money that I couldn’t seem to track down. For the past few days I’d been trying not to think about it because I knew that the closer I got to the truth, it would either make or break my budding relationship. You can’t think like that, Kat. This is your job. I wanted to separate myself from all of this, or even step down from the investigation because there was a clear conflict of interest building, but I couldn’t. I was too close, and I just had to hope that when I found out the truth, there’d still be a chance at a relationship with Preston. There won’t be if he’s really behind all of this, but until I find proof, I just can’t believe that.

I walked into the restaurant and the hostess led me to Mr. Wolfe’s table. He seemed to be much happier than usual, smiling brightly, and offering me a full spread of food before we even got down to business. It was strange to see, but I went along with it. As much as I felt like there was something he’d been hiding, he was the one that had given me all the information that got me this far. Now I just had to figure out whether his suspicions about Preston had been right or if my client was more involved in all of this than he was letting on.

“Katherine, it’s so nice to see you. I hope that everything is going well with the investigation. Has there been any more news?” he asked, playing with his eggs.

I took him through everything I learned, watching the change in his expression carefully, but for some reason he didn’t seem all that surprised. I furrowed my brow, taking a sip of my water before we continued.

“Seems like you’ve been taking advantage of all of the information after all. So I take it you haven’t been able to track down the money yet, have you?”

“No, I haven’t,” I responded, shaking my head.

“You know, Katherine, I didn’t want to be right about Preston, but the more you learn, the more I think I may have been onto something. I remember that right before my brother passed, he purchased a hotel he was going to turn into a Manhattan gem, and he gave it to Preston. I wouldn’t be surprised if that money is hidden in the paperwork of that building,” he said.

He cut into his eggs Benedict, getting a few homestyle potatoes on his fork, and I watched him eat so peacefully. I sat there completely shocked, wondering why he hadn’t given me this information earlier, and that is when I started to have a real bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Preston, you know that I’ve been investigating the Laurier account but you didn’t mention anything about this hotel. Are you really hiding something here?

“Katherine? Katherine, are you okay?”

Mr. Wolfe waved his fork at me, snapping me back into reality, and I knew that I had to get straight back to work. I need to know what happened there and I need to know now.

“Would you be able to get me access to the paperwork for this deal? I would also like to see the place if that’s alright with you. If this really is what you think it is, then you might have a case here after all. If this sale came out of the Laurier account, and Preston somehow pocketed all of that cash, I’ll have no other option but to report him,” I said.

My stomach was doing backflips now and I felt like I was about to throw up my entire breakfast. You need to calm down. You don’t know anything for sure yet. I told myself, but it didn’t help the way I felt.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Katherine, but if that’s the way it has to be, don’t let me stand in your way. I’ll have someone get in touch with you about the paperwork. It’s quite confidential so it would be best if I send it to your home or your office instead of your temporary one at Kingsman Enterprises. It’s going to take me some time to get it, but I won’t let you down. Let’s find out the truth so we can close this, shall we?”

“We shall. Thank you, Mr. Wolfe.”

I grabbed my things, deciding to take a long walk back to my apartment because I needed time to think. I walked down the Manhattan sidewalks, trying to figure out what I was going to do now. I knew I was going to be at the edge of my seat until I heard from Mr. Wolfe again about the paperwork and information he’s going to dig up, but now it all had me questioning Preston. Did he just come back into my life because it was convenient for him? Is he just trying to lead me astray? I remembered him joking about it, but at the time all I believed it to be was playful banter.

As far as I know, Mr. Wolfe didn’t have any direct involvement with this deal, but something about the way he’s been feeding me information still seems strange. Ugh. Am I ever going to figure this out?

I didn’t even realize how long I’d been walking until I made it into a busier part of town. The sidewalk was packed with people going about their busy lives, some with shopping bags in hand, others with briefcases. I stopped at a little coffee shop a few blocks away. I decided that I could use a little pick-me-up before I headed back home to comb through all the files I had again. I need to make sure I don’t miss anything before Mr. Wolfe hands me what I need. I thought, entering the store as a gust of cool air hit me.

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