Page 53 of A Billionaire Gentleman

I felt like an idiot as I ended the call, but I hoped it’d come across as general concern rather than creepy. I wasn’t trying to be stalker-ish, and I had no right to be annoyed that she hadn’t told me she was leaving. We were still trying to figure out who we were to each other.

When a phone rang, I fumbled with it, thinking it was Sofi calling me back. It rang a second time before I realized it wasn’t my cell, but rather my office phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Deklin Holden?”

“It is.”

“My name’s Brady Conlon. I spoke with you several days ago in Las Vegas.”

I vaguely remembered him now. “Yes. Mr. Conlon. Of course. How can I help you?”

“I’d hoped you were still in the area, but since you’ve returned to Houston, I guess I’m wondering if you’d be available to come back for a meeting.”

Someone wanted me to come back to Vegas on a work-related matter shortly after I discovered that the woman I was seeing had taken a trip to Vegas herself?

I was going to call that fate.

Thirty-One

Sofi

I felt…weird.

I shouldn’t have. I was home. Not just home in my city, but home in my own apartment. I’d gone grocery shopping, cleaned the apartment, and made everything presentable for Dallas’s visitation. All of it should have felt like getting back to my real life after a strange and surreal dream-like vacation.

But it just feltweird.

Like my skin didn’t fit right anymore.

I told myself it was just because Mead would be here for the visitation, and he’d pick apart everything I’d made of my life since I’d left him. The money Jude had given me had gone a long way toward making things look less stark here, but I hadn’t used a lot of it.

I planned on doing some research tonight and making calls tomorrow so that I’d have a lawyer before I went back to Houston. The next time I came back to Vegas, I’d have local interviews in place, and whatever job I ended up getting would provide me with a deadline to give Jude.

Having a plan in place helped calm my nerves, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Maybe it was the voicemail from Deklin that I hadn’t responded to yet. Maybe it was the lingering effects from the stress of Cynthia’s birthday party and the revelations there.

Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.

I straightened the papers on my table even though they didn’t need it. When I’d left this morning, Jude had given me one of those yellow envelopes. Inside were page after page of everything I could possibly need to prove that I had gainful employment. He’d also included several copies of a reference letter.

None of those things mentioned that he was located in Houston since I knew Mead would use that against me, no matter what I said about my plans to get a local job. Everyone who needed to know where I’d been had known, but I wasn’t required to tell Mead since I didn’t plan to take Dallas out of the city, much less the state.

The one thing in the envelope that wasn’t sitting on the table right now was a hand-written note from Jude, telling me that Royd was still working on his investigation into Mead and might have something for me by the end of the week. That note was safely tucked into my wallet behind my ID.

I jumped when someone rang the buzzer and then practically ran to the door to buzz them up. My heart was still racing when the knock came a minute later. I didn’t have to fake my smile as I opened the door and Dallas ran to me. I bent to hug him, ignoring the fact that Mead and Ms. Stanton were still in the hall. When I finally straightened, I motioned for them to come inside while listening to Dallas tell me all about his preschool.

While Dallas and I talked, Ms. Stanton looked around the room, taking in all of the changes and improvements I’d made since the last time she’d been here. Her expression didn’t change, but I still hoped that she approved of what I’d done. I could hire the most expensive lawyer in the city and still lose Dallas if Ms. Stanton didn’t think I was a parent capable of providing for and protecting my son.

“Great neighborhood,” Mead said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. “Exactly where I’d choose to raise a child.”

I ignored him and addressed my comments to Ms. Stanton. “Can I get you something to drink? Water? Tea?”

“No, thank you.” The small smile she gave me was encouraging.

“Mommy.” Dallas tugged on my arm. “Where’s horsey?”

“Horsey’s at home,” Mead answered before I could. “With Mouse, remember? Mommy doesn’t have any toys for you.”

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