Page 34 of Mr. Billionaire's Second Chance

It was quite hot, which was unusual for this time of year, but I didn’t mind it. I basked in the scent of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries. I got up to the counter, glancing at the menu board behind the cashier, deciding on a macchiato.

“Is that everything?”

“Yes, thank you,” I said, handing her enough cash.

She punched it into the register, handing me my change and my receipt before I made my way over to the pick-up area. The place wasn’t as busy as I thought it’d be around this time, but I didn’t mind stepping away from the chaos that was the busy Manhattan streets. I glanced over my shoulder for a moment to see a woman standing there and when our eyes met, she quickly looked away. I didn’t think anything of it at first until I felt her approach from behind me, and I wrinkled my brows, wondering what she could want.

I looked over at the counter to see if her order may have been done, but it hadn’t yet. What does she want? I took in her bright auburn hair, the freckles across her pale face, and the way she clutched her black purse like she was nervous.

“Katherine? A Macchiato?” I heard the barista call out.

“Thank you.”

I grabbed my drink, trying to rush right out of there, but she followed me. I turned around, ready to confront her, and that is when she stuffed a tape recorder in my face.

“Katherine Hollis?”

“What is this about?” I asked, still trying to walk away from her, but she kept up. It didn’t seem like she was going to stop until she got some sort of answer. I was confused, uncomfortable, and definitely ready to just head home. I headed towards the street, trying to wave a cab down as she started firing questions at me.

“Word on the street is that you’re the one handling the audit for Kingsman Enterprises. Would you like to comment on that?”

I stared at her, my mouth nearly dropping to the floor. My heart started beating so loudly and I felt like I couldn’t breathe, especially now that the world was about to find out my connection to the investigation. The entire time I felt comforted by the fact that everyone was supposed to honor their non-disclosure agreements, but with all the leaks recently, I should’ve known better than to think someone wouldn’t talk eventually.

“No, I wouldn’t.”

I tried to wave down a cab so I could get away from this reporter but they just whizzed past me, deciding not to stop. I wasn’t going to give up because I needed to get home. I needed to get away from the people that were now going to be watching my every move. They don’t need a comment from me to run with the story. That’s how this works.

“You’re also rumored to be sleeping with the head of Kingsman Enterprises and notorious bachelor Preston Clarke. Is that true?”

“No, it isn’t. Now, I have no other comments. Will you please leave me alone?” I asked.

It was no use. She kept bombarding me with more questions to the point where I was sure that this was more than just someone chatting a little too much with the press. She knew details about me that no one else was supposed to know and it made my stomach turn. I finally managed to get into the backseat of a cab, slamming the door and ignoring the taps on the window as I finally headed straight for my apartment.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, but I was scared. If there’s ever anything that would jeopardize this investigation, it would be the press speculating when they have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.

When I arrived outside my building, I was glad to see that the press hadn't gotten ahold of my address and were waiting to hit me with more questions. I rushed inside, kicking off my shoes and tossing my work tote aside to see that Poppy had been home.

“Pops?”

“Wow. What the hell happened to you?”

“I just nearly got mowed down by the press. That’s what happened. They know that I’m the one auditing Kingsman Enterprises and they somehow know that I’ve been seeing Preston lately. What am I going to do? I have to call Jamie. Someone needs to shut this down,” I answered, frantically.

Poppy got up, slipping out of her beige blazer, slinging it over the back of the dining chair before making her way over to me. She led me to sit, and that’s when we got to talking about everything that happened. I knew better than to tell anyone about what was going on with work, but I’d been so overwhelmed and I couldn’t keep it quiet any longer. Poppy hung onto every word, nodding her head ever so often as she absorbed all of the chaos I’d been dealing with these past few days.

“I just don’t know who to trust, Pops. I don’t know if this deal with the hotel has anything to do with Preston, and if I find out that it does, I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. Now that the press knows who I am, I don’t know if I can do my job anymore,” I confessed.

“What does your gut say?”

“My gut says that Preston couldn’t possibly be involved in something like this. He’s a lot of things, but I don’t think fraud is one of them.”

“Then you need to get to the bottom of this no matter what, Kat. Look, something is obviously going on here and with all the uproar, it’s better you be handling it than someone who wouldn’t even give Preston a real chance. I know it’s tough, but you can get through this. Lately, Preston has been good to you. He’s made up for lost time, or so it seems. Don’t throw that all away yet. Not until you know what really happened, okay?”

“You’re right. Thanks, Pops. What the hell are you even doing home in the middle of the day?” I asked, trying to distract myself.

“Meetings got canceled so I decided to come back home to grab a few things before I need to be at the courthouse. I’ll be back later tonight and we’ll talk more. Right now there’s nothing you can do but do your job.”

I felt comforted by her words, and I was finally starting to feel better until she left. I started from scratch, combing through every piece of information I learned, and putting the pieces together. It looked bad, pointing to Preston more than any of his associates or even Mr. Wolfe. I knew that once I got the rest of the paperwork and I knew more about the hotel deal, I’d have the answer I was looking for. I just hope it’ll be the right one.

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