Page 112 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
I noticed he kept looking down the hallway and speaking softly, which gave me a clue that he didn't want the old lady in the other room to know about me. Or about the shit he'd done.
“We don't remember. But nothing that an investigation wouldn't help. Now, are you going to sit down so we can talk?”
“I have nothing to talk to you about.”
“So, you’d rather talk to the police, then? Is that old lady your grandmother? I think she and the kids would be a little scared if the cops showed up here, don’t you think? Oh, and just to be clear: my lawyer knows I’m here right now. Don’t even try to do anything to me, or she’ll really call the police.”
Looking convinced enough, he sat down in an armchair that was facing the sofa where I was.
“You don't need the police, Miss Collins. I'm not going to do anything to you.”
“You'vealreadydonesomething to me. You put drugs in my drink and my fiancé's, you booked a hotel room and made us go there so that we could be caught leaving in the morning. And you were probably the one who filmed us drinking together on your cell phone, right?”
“But I didn't hurt anyone. I put an even smaller dose of the powder in your cups because I was afraid it might be too strong.”
“How very thoughtful of you,” I said ironically “But what you did to Alice, a baby, could have hurt her very seriously.”
At that moment, I slightly bent my torso forward, and I had to control myself so that the memories of that didn't make me fly towards his neck.
I had learned the day before that I was capable of breaking someone's nose. I had nothing to lose by doing it again.
“I didn't hurt the girl. I took good care of her, even fed her and changed her diapers.”
“You left her alone and defenseless on the floor of a gas station,” I raised my voice, furious at that memory.
He motioned for me to speak more quietly, looking back down the hallway.
“It was for less than a minute. And I was the one who told the girl at the counter that I had heard a baby crying coming from there. I stayed hidden for a while, watching to see if she would actually go and check and to see if she would call the police. What if she was crazy and did something bad to the girl? I have children, ma'am. I would never do anything to hurt a child.”
So, the two children were indeed his kids... Good to know.
Well, but the fact that he was a father did not exempt him from all his guilt.
“Did the Harrises hire you to do that?” I prompted, crossing my arms in front of me.
“Look, miss... I could get in serious trouble if I tell you who hired me.”
“You'll get into more serious trouble if I call the police.”
“Yes, it was the Harrises,” he declared, defeated.
“And the nanny was an accomplice, wasn't she? That whole scene of you threatening her with the gun and pushing her to the floor was pure theater, I bet.”
“When we drew up the plan, we also analyzed the place and saw that there were security cameras there, she couldn't just hand the girl over to me. Oh, but the gun was a toy, I don't mess with those things, no.”
“What a relief! You don't deal with weapons, you just drug people and kidnap little children.”
“It was just to scare you. I repeat: I wouldn't hurt the child. I would never accept a job like that.”
“Wow, he has principles...” I rolled my eyes.
“Look, I know I did things I shouldn't have, but... You saw it yourself, I have two small children, I'm a widower... The only family I have is my grandmother, who raised me, but her pension barely covers the money for the medicine she needs to buy every month. I was about to be fired from the hotel. When Mr. Caleb came to me, he made me a very generous offer. In addition to the money, he paid for my tickets back here to my hometown, so I could stay with my grandmother and my children, who I had to leave behind when I got the job at the hotel.”
That disarmed me for a moment. As I mentioned, old people and children were my weaknesses, and his arguments combined the two.
However, the end did not justify the means. And I was certain that this man had no idea of the extent of the harm he was about to cause.
“You did this so you could be with your children, Julian... But do you have any idea that the things you did could prevent another father from having the chance to be with his daughter?”
