Page 288 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 5
I took a deep breath as I watched the cars speeding down below. I needed to put a stop to him trying to insert himself into my life. And the answer was right at my fingertips.
It was my job to sort out financial messes. Which meant I knew exactly what to look for if I needed to…oh, I don’t know…find proof that someone was laundering money. And Mr. Pruitt was definitely laundering money. He had to be. He had a few legitimate businesses, but not enough to make him one of the wealthiest men in New York.
I was just a kid when Brooklyn died. Back then, I couldn’t do anything about it. But I could now. And I didn’t care what I needed to dig up. Richard Pruitt deserved to rot in prison for the rest of his life. I didn’t care what the cops and private investigators said. He was a murderer. And I’d find a way to make him pay.
Matchmaker - Chapter 12
Friday
I cringed as Jefferson kicked the extra point and actually fell over. It wasn’t even muddy. How was this kid capable of slipping on dirt? The football flew in the air and for just a second I held my breath. But then the ball fell like it had gotten struck down by lightning, landing short from the uprights. Super short. Like 15 feet away. Jefferson gave me thumbs up as he got to his feet. I tried not to grimace and gave him what I hoped was an encouraging thumbs up in return.
Every piece of advice I gave him somehow made it worse. But honestly? I hadn’t been the best coach this week. I’d been late to practice. My mind had been a little preoccupied trying to dig up dirt on Mr. Pruitt, only to find…nothing.
And that wasn’t the only thing weighing on me. My stalker was back in the stands tonight. And after my visit from Poppy on Monday, I was worried she had been sent by her. Or maybe even Mr. Pruitt. Either way, I could actually feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise whenever she looked at me. What the hell was she doing here again? What did she want?
I turned around to see her in the stands, but she was gone. I shook my head. I hadn’t been sleeping either. I’d tried the freaking chamomile tea and it didn’t work. Maybe I was imagining the whole thing.
But the worst part about this shitty week? Penny hadn’t spoken to me since leaving my place. My eyes traveled up the stands. She’d shown up tonight with James and everyone else though.Mason had his arm around Bee. I’m pretty sure they were laughing about that awful kick. Rob had just pulled Daphne onto his lap and was tickling her side. And Penny was staring up at James with the biggest smile I’d seen on her face recently. For him. Not for me.
Tanner waved at me. He was sitting with them too. It was great that they were all here. Supporting me. It should have felt nice. But them being here made my skin crawl. Like they were evaluating me or something.
I turned back to the field. I needed to talk to James about Poppy’s threat. I knew that. But I was hoping to have a solution first. I’d already waited a week though. A week too long. If something happened to Scarlett before I could tell James, I’d never be able to forgive myself.
“Coach Caldwell?”
I looked down at Jefferson. “What’s up?” We were up by three touchdowns, minus the three extra points he’d missed. And I knew he felt the embarrassment of those misses more than the joy of our victory.
“Do you think maybe we should start going for two-point conversions instead of extra points?” He looked so defeated.
And it broke me. I was supposed to be present enough to figure out how to help him. And all I was doing was worrying about literally everything else possible. “Absolutely not.” I slapped his back and his glasses slid down his nose. “We’re going to figure out how to make you the greatest kicker Empire High has ever seen.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Coach Caldwell.”
Now I just needed to make good on my promise. There had to be a way to get through to him. But as the game ended, I was no closer to a solution.
And all the high-fives in the world didn’t pull me out of my head. I felt the little hairs on the back of my neck rise again and turned around. My stalker was standing on the edge of the field just…staring. As soon as our eyes met, she quickly walked away.
She was definitely up to something. I tried to remember the night we spent together, but it was a little fuzzy. Why had she slept with me in the first place? Did she have some kind of ulterior motive? Had Mr. Pruitt actually sent her? Had she stolen something from me? Or copied my keys or something?I don’t know.I just had a really bad feeling. All I wanted to do was go home and take some sleeping pills.
But my brother and friends were making their way over from the stands.
Tanner waved and then pointed to his watch.
I waved back, knowing that meant he probably had a date or a late meeting. And it was probably best that he was in a hurry to leave. Because I didn’t need any more “my Tanner” jokes right now.
“Just like old times,” Mason said. But he wasn’t really talking to me. He was staring out at the field. I couldn’t tell if he looked sentimental or just…sad.
“You were great,” his wife, Bee, added and gave me a hug. “I can’t believe I didn’t know you coached at Mason’s old school. I would have gotten Mason out here way sooner.”
I didn’t really have anything to say to that. Because no one outside of Mason, Rob, James, and I knew why none of us wanted to step foot back on this campus. Maybe reminiscing about high school was fun for some people. I wasn’t one of them. And judging from the look on Mason’s face, I wasn’t the only one.
“This school is unbelievable,” Daphne cut in, and slapped Rob’s hands away so she could give me a hug too. “It looks more like a museum than a high school. Rob said we might get a tour?”
“Mhm.” I really didn’t want to walk through those doors. I’d somehow avoided doing that very thing. I wasn’t the gym teacher, so there was no reason to go inside. I even bought all our practice equipment and donated a shed to keep it in. Thinking about walking into the school made my heart start to race.
“Where are all your kids?” I asked. If someone could put a smile on my face, it was Scarlett. Or Rob and Daphne’s daughter, Sophie. She was just as funny as her dad.
“Ellen’s watching them,” James said. “Great game.”
