Page 159 of The Nanny and the Beefcake
“We were in town and came in through the back. You must not have heard us.”
“I sure didn’t,” he answered, shifting his stance nervously as the pile of rocks teetered, then tipped over again.
What a perfect analogy for the man.
Raz joined her on the porch, and immediately, she wanted to melt into his embrace and erase this part of the night from her memory.
“Well, look at that. It’s Erasmus Cress. Hello, I’m Libby’s father,” her dad exclaimed, doing a crap job of faking surprise as he gawked at the man. He’d already started collecting intel for good old Tony, whoever the hell he was.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Raz said, his tone negating the nice part, but her starstruck father didn’t notice.
“Oh, it’s Connolly Lamb, but Connolly is fine,” he blathered.
Connolly Lamb.
C. L.
It hit her like a wrecking ball.
Was this visit part of a grander scheme? Would he try to pump information out of her by pretending to be an investor?
Would he sink to that level of deception?
Would he?
He already had.
She’d heard him admit it on the call.
“What are you doing here, Dad?” she asked, her tone razor sharp. This was his chance. If he admitted he’d come to glean info on the championship match, it would turn her stomach, but at least it would be the truth.
“Your brothers mentioned you were spending the summer here. They told me about your new job working with Erasmus Cress.”
Translation: He’d called Anders and Alec to fish for details about her situation.
“And?” she bit out.
“And…I was passing through town. I’m headed south. I’m on my way to Albuquerque for a job. Well, not so much a job…but an opportunity. A facility management position opened up, and a buddy of mine knows the owner.”
Translation: The man was using all his tricks to butter her up.
There was no job opportunity in Albuquerque, Timbuktu, or in a galaxy far, far away for Connolly Lamb.
She would have known this even if he hadn’t blabbed to his pal that he’d be back in Denver late tonight.
She stared at the man. “Are you theC.L. in C.L. Investments, Dad?”
Her father’s brow crinkled. Confusion replaced his plastic smile as his attention bounced from her to Raz. “Libby, I’m here to see you. Can’t a father stop by to visit with his only daughter?”
Each lie cut into her like a lash.
“Do you see that window on the third floor?” she asked, pointing to Sebastian’s room. “I’m willing tobetyou didn’t notice it went from closed to open a few minutes ago.”
She’d chosen her words carefully, speaking the only language her father understood.
He swallowed hard, the muscles of his throat constricting. “No, I didn’t notice. I was…uh…checking the ball game scores on my phone. You know how I love sports.”
Oh yes, she knew.
