Page 22 of Losing the Forbidden
“But—”
“I know. I know exactly how it looks, because he made me make it look that way.”
The ball of dread explodes and my heart starts to race at the thought of him ruining part of my heritage. “You need to start explaining, Erica.”
“He started investing the profits. It was fine to start with, but then a few went wrong. He borrowed some money to keep up with wages, but everything spiralled to the point that he couldn’t cover it up anymore. So I questioned him when he started demanding that I fudge the numbers.”
“I bet that went down well,” I mutter, knowing all too well how much he hated to be questioned, even when he was in the wrong.
“I was in a rough place at the time. He knew it and used it to his advantage.” Erica doesn’t look at me as she says this and my stomach twists.
“Erica?” She falls down into the chair in front of me and drops her head into her hands. “Erica, what—”
Looking up at me through her fingers, she sucks in a breath. “You know full well what a manipulative cunt he can be.”
“What did he do?” Fury starts to seep its way through my body. The vibes I’m getting from her aren’t good, and I know that whatever happened is going to make me even more glad the fucker’s dead.
“Let’s just say he used my weakness at the time against me.”
A low growl rumbles up my throat as I stand with my hands on the desk. My fingers grip onto the edge, turning my knuckles white as I try to keep my head together. Just the thought of him manipulating someone else I care about makes me want to do some damage. I pin her with a look that has her sitting up straight in the chair. Tears fill her eyes, but I can tell she’s fighting to keep them from falling. Her bottom lip trembles as she continues twisting her hands together.
“I…I can’t, Ben.”
The sound of the office buzzer rings out as we stare at each other. My imagination is running wild right now. There’s not a lot I wouldn’t say Nick was capable of. I need her to tell me exactly what it is so I can stop thinking the worst.
“What did he do?” She flinches at my cold tone, and I regret it instantly. I don’t want my anger at him to push her away, but I can’t help it.
“I…I slept with him.”
“You what?” I roar.
“I didn’t have a choice.” Her voice is quiet and weak. There’s so much more to this than she’s letting on. Walking around the desk, I pull her from the chair and wrap my arms around her trembling body.
“It’s okay,” I say softly when she fights to get away. She must realise she’s got no chance of overpowering me, because she soon gives up and relaxes into me for a few seconds.
It’s only the click of the door opening that has us breaking apart.
“He’s just in here,” Betty says, gesturing someone inside.
Chapter Nine
My brows draw together as I briefly wonder who’d be looking for me, but I soon get my answer when four people I was not expecting appear from behind Betty.
“Holy shit.”
The realisation that my worlds are about to collide renders me speechless as I stare at my two best friends and their girls.
“Surprise.” Liv comes over to give me a quick hug. “You must be Lauren.” She says, pushing me aside when she spots Erica hiding behind me. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”
“Oh, what? No…no. I’m Erica.”
Turning, I can’t help but laugh at the look of disgust on Erica’s face at the thought of her being Lauren. “No need to look so horrified. You know you’d love it.” I give her a wink and she makes a show of pretending to throw up.
“There’s not enough money in the world for me to go there,mate.”
Dec and Liam stifle a laugh while Liv looks between the two of us. “I think we’re going to get on,” she says to Erica.
I’m reminded of the similarities between the two women. Both have been my saviours at different points in my life. I’ll never be able to repay them for the support they’ve given me.
