Page 55 of Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin

“You don’t have to say anything.” His smile wavered at my reaction. “I’m just glad to know that was the real reason for you looking into him and not because you wanted to build some make-believe case. That family is very powerful, and the wrong accusation would land the agency in more trouble than I care to discuss.”

Nodding, I said nothing since I didn’t trust my words. I was married to Andre Boudreaux, and I didn’t know how. I didn’t know when this happened. More importantly, I didn’t know why.

“T-Thank you for understanding it all, Agent Roberts.” I tried to keep my tone steady, although I was feeling anything but calm. “I’m glad we were able to talk early on. If you’d excuse me, I need to catch up on a few things.”

He stared at me briefly before walking out of my office and closing the door behind him. I couldn’t help but sit and glare at my computer screen in hopes I’d find the answer to my latest woes. Snapping from my thoughts, I went to all the emails congratulating me. After opening them, I was more confused than ever. Here I am, thinking I was being praised for placing a bad man behind bars, when in fact, it was because of a marriage I didn’t know I had entered. Upon checking my outgoing mail, I found the one sent from me saying I’d gotten hitched.

“What the fuck is happening?” I picked up my phone and clutched it tightly. “How did this happen?”

My hand slightly shook as I unlocked my phone and went to my contacts. I needed to call my parents and Jerome to see what I needed to do. Out of nowhere, my confusion turned to anger.

Andre Boudreaux.

I don’t know how or why, but my gut was telling me he was behind this. Could he have found out who I was? I shook the thought immediately because there was no way. The more I thought about Dre doing this to me, the faster my anger turned to worry. What was his reasoning? I wasn’t sure, but I had to find out.

Grabbing my keys, I locked everything and dashed out of my office without saying a word to anyone. I placed my phone to my ear and called Dre repeatedly, with no answer. One way or another, I was going to get to the bottom of this, and I hope this doesn’t end with me killing my so-called husband.

* * *

“Trust me,cousin… I get why you’re upset, but bitch! You act like Andre is some bum-ass nigga. Hell, let that man finesse me into marriage, and I’d be trying to get into his draws right damn now!”

As mad as I was, I couldn’t help but laugh at Jerome. I’d decided to finally call him and vent about my woes with Andre. He was the better option between him and my parents since I’ve yet to get in touch with Dre. I’ve been blowing his phone up for two days now, and I still haven’t been able to reach him. I even went as far as riding to City Hall in hopes I would see him there with Uno, but he hadn’t been there all week. While there, I spoke with the clerk about getting a copy of my marriage certificate, and sure enough, I was Mrs. Andre Boudreaux.

I groaned into the phone as I pulled my legs under me on the couch. “Rome! I’m being serious right now. How is that possible without my consent? I don’t remember even signing?—”

Flashing through my mind was the night of Bryce’s charity auction. I was drinking and so enthralled in the conversation I was having with Gabby and the girls that I didn’t pay attention to what Dre asked me to sign. I assumed it was a waiver saying I was attending the trip with him.

“Oh my gosh!” I slapped my forehead and threw my head against the back of the couch. “How could I have been so stupid? Why would he even want to do this after everything I’ve done?”

“What you mean, bitch?” I could hear Jerome moving around and his background growing quiet. He was currently at Sephora working, but he didn’t care. Whenever I called to gossip, he would stop everything and listen. “What did you do?”

Taking a deep breath, I took the next few minutes and gave Jerome the cliff notes on the reason I initially began entertaining Dre. I even went as far as telling him about Nate and I to put it all into perspective. Once I’d finished, the line grew so quiet that I thought the call was lost.

“Say something, Jerome…” I stood from the couch and paced the room, anxiously waiting for his opinion. “Tell me I didn’t fuck up too bad.”

He chuckled lowly. “Oh, you must certainly did. If you think he’s the man you were accusing him of being, why did you think it would be a good idea to try and run game on him?” I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “Exactly! If your gut was telling you the truth, evidence or not, you put a target on everyone you love simply because you didn’t mind your business.”

“I thought I was doing the right thing!” I threw my arms up in the air as tears swelled my eyes. “I thought he was a criminal!”

“A criminal you spread your legs for and allowed into your home where you and your child lay your head? For you to be so smart… you sure are dumb!”

Dropping my head, I couldn’t do anything but cry. I messed up; I know I did. I shouldn’t have ever tried to play my games with Andre. Now, he’s playing a game that I have no control over.

“I-I love him, Jerome,” I confessed as I wiped my tears. “I fell in love with the man I was supposed to be investigating, and I don’t know what to do because I thought I would hate that man, Rome. But he doesn’t have a bone in his body to hate.” I took a breath to try to calm down. “My mind is telling me he knows who I am. It’s telling me that he and I can’t be together because of who we are, but my heart doesn’t care. I want to be with him.”

“So, why are you so against being married to him?” he asked as someone called out his name for help. Sighing, he told them to give him a minute. “You’re attached to the man, so find a way to make it work.”

I heard what Jerome was saying, but it wasn’t that simple. He and I still had so much to learn about each other. Marriage isn’t something I take lightly, and I didn’t know if it’s something I could go through with it, being that Dre was still a mystery.

“I need time to think, Rome. Since Andre has fallen off the face of the earth, I guess now is the best time to do just that.” My phone dinged, causing me to pull it from my ear. I was hoping it was Dre, but it was a notification from Briley’s tracking app. “I’m going to make me some food and lay down. Call me later, cousin.”

Placing my phone on the counter, I decided to make some leftover fajitas. I haven’t eaten much these past few days because of worry, but this headache wouldn’t budge, so it was best I focused on my health. Taking a seat at the island, I began to eat as I strolled my phone. Remembering the notification, I pulled up the tracking app to see what fun my girl was having.

“Looks like they’ve been all over the city today.” I chuckled, thinking about Bri and how she was probably spending all of Bryce’s money. “Make his pockets hurt, baby.”

As I continued to stroll through her day’s events, I went to the live footage to ensure they were home. It was almost nine, and he knew how I felt about having my baby out late. Checking the location, I frowned in confusion as I noticed him nearing Sunset Valley. That was the shadiest part of the city, and my child had no business being there. Closing out the app, I called him immediately.

“Pick up the damn phone, Bryce!” I yelled into the phone as it continued to ring in my ear. “I guess everyone’s choosing to screen my calls.”

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