Page 37 of Scarlett and the Big Bad Billionaire
“It certainly is.” And it wasn’t somethinggood.
I knew it.
I’d been right about him and his friends at the bar that night.
He lied to me.And I’d bought that stupid tale they’d spun.
He was agoodliar.
Then it hit me—thatwas why he’d left so suddenly without a look backward at the end of our week together.
He’d probably been called into duty somewhere, thrown himself into some godawful international situation where he could have been killed or maimed for life.
In fact, he probably was. Not physically obviously—he looked very… intact. But mentally, emotionally, he was probably a wreck.
Just like my dad.
And like my mom, I’d been left behind with no idea where he’d gone or how to reach him.
Now I felt even more certain Gray shouldn’t be solely responsible for my grandmother’s well-being.
A man like him couldn’t be counted on. He was capable of divorcing himself from his emotions whenever necessary, of walking away at the drop of a hat.
Now that I thought about it, as a security specialist with Viridian, he probably could have found me at any point if he’d wanted to. And he hadn’t.
At least the career in high-profile security made sense now. A lot more sense than the ridiculous promotional sex toy salesman story.
Thank God wehadn’texchanged contact information and kept in touch—or worse, gotten involved seriously. I would have been just another statistic in the left-behind ninety percent.
Whatever poor girl he was dating had my pity—if he had a girlfriend, that was.
“Is Gray seeing anyone?” I asked Victoria in as casual a tone as I could muster.
“I don’t think so, dear. But then he doesn’t run his social calendar by me. If I had to guess I’d say no. I don’t think a girlfriend would approve of how much time he spends with an old ‘cougar’ like me.”
She scratched the air like a cat and cracked up, and I couldn’t help but join her infectious laughter.
“These old claws are getting pretty dull now I guess,” she said.
“You’re enough woman for any man,” I assured her.
“So are you, sweetheart. So are you.”
CHAPTERELEVEN
STARVING ARTIST
Gray
After work I went to Victoria’s house to start the process of preparing her paintings, sculptures, and other valuable collections for auction.
I was already familiar with them, having created unique security systems for each item. With a few exceptions, I’d already had the pieces appraised for current market value.
Clearly suspicious of my intentions toward her grandmother, Scarlett stayed close, shadowing me as I moved through the mansion.
Not that I minded.
Seeing her again had done something to me. It was like a medic had applied defibrillator patches to my chest or something.
