Page 12 of Georgia Guy
She turns and narrows an accusatory glare at me. I know she wouldn’t have bothered getting ready or tidying up for me. She’s worried about the great Alexandra Morrow viewing her as a slob.
Not wasting a moment, Alex dives in. “We’re here to see if you’ve done anything with the private information you found online about my family that you copied before deleting.”
Understanding dawns in Harlow’s expression, before she says “I’m biding my time and taking offers before making a decision on how to proceed.”
I can practically see the dollar signs dancing through her mind as she pictures everything that she can buy with a healthy chunk of the Morrow fortune.
As if she has dealt with this a million times, Alex nods before saying, “I see. Since I intend to be the highest bidder, how about if we save us all some time and cut straight to the chase. How much would you like in order to sell this information to me and forget that you ever saw it?”
Harlow’s eyes sparkle with excitement as she tries to figure out how high she can go without scaring the other woman away. Obviously trying to up the ante, she rubs her chin as she pretends to think it over. “I don’t know. The information I have on your grandfather is really juicy. I could make big bucks by selling it to the news outlets, then doing interviews about it. I might even be able to score a book deal out of it.”
Alex lifts her chin before asking again, “How much?”
“Hmm, it seems to me that buying this secret and my silence is worth at least a million dollars,” Harlow says. Her eyes dart to Alex’s as she tries to gauge if she has overshot.
“Done,” Alex answers immediately, already diving into her Louis Vuitton briefcase for the contracts.
Harlow peeks over the top of the case before saying, “I was half expecting this to be full of cash.”
“No one deals in cash anymore, except drug dealers and money launderers,” Alex explains as if she knows all about such nefarious characters.
During a quick call to Brinkley, Alex hands her cell phone to Harlow and says, “He needs your bank account routing details for the money wire.”
Harlow’s eyes are wide with disbelief as she accepts the phone and relays her banking information to Alex’s efficient assistant.
Once that is taken care of, Alex drops her cell phone back into her oversized handbag, retrieves a thick business card, and says, “The money should be in your account by end of business day tomorrow. If it’s not, contact Brinkley, and he’ll get it taken care of.”
Harlow stares at the card as if it is made of alien material. “Just like that?” She snaps her fingers. “It almost feels like I should have asked for even more money.”
Alex shrugs her shoulders, letting the other woman know that she could have likely gotten more if she’d played her cards right. This gesture makes Harlow’s face pinch with annoyance.
It hits me then, that some people will never be happy. If someone had told Harlow before we arrived here this morning that she would have a million dollars headed her way in the next twenty-four hours, she would have been thrilled. Now that it is actually happening, she’s focusing on the fact that she might have been able to negotiate for an even higher amount.
Harlow barely glances through the stack of contracts before signing and dating them. Once she finishes, she hands them, along with a thumb drive, to Alex, saying, “That’s the only copy of what I found.”
“Very well,” Alex says, before turning to leave. She stops in her tracks and turns back when Harlow speaks again.
“You know, when you guys first arrived, I thought maybe the two of you were a couple.” Harlow scoffs loudly at the ridiculousness of her first impression.
Alex tilts her head to the side and asks, “What’s funny about that?”
“Umm, everything,” Harlow says, as if it should be obvious. When Alex remains frozen, silently demanding an explanation, Harlow sputters, “You’re a billionaire goddess, and he’s…” She indicates me with one hand as she searches for the right insult. Finally, she says, “He’s nothing. He’s just an ordinary, average Joe.”
I stare down at my feet, hating it that Alex is hearing how other people view me. For some reason, the captivating heiress seemed to overlook my mundaneness, but she won’t be able to continue to do that with Harlow pointing it out to her.
“That’s how you view Joe?” Alex asks.
Her tone is filled with disbelief, which makes me raise my head to look her in the eyes. Her gaze searches mine as Harlow answers, “Uh, yeah––have you met him? He barely makes ends meet with that stupid motorcycle repair shop. He spends all of his free time staring at a computer screen. There’s absolutely nothing remotely special or remarkable about him.”
I can’t tear my gaze away from Alex as she absorbs this information about me. It had been fun having her take an interest in me, even if it was only as someone who could help her with her family’s problem. Now, she’ll see me through the tainted lens of Harlow’s disdainful view of me.
Going in for the kill, Harlow reveals, “He’s so dull, I had to cheat on him to keep from dying of boredom when we were together.”
It’s typical Harlow to blame me forhercheating, but I don’t have the bandwidth to fight with her right now. My sole focus is on Alex as I brace for her reaction to Harlow’s unflattering revelations about me.
Just as I’m becoming convinced that Alex is going to run from here, repulsed by my lack of interesting traits, the elegant woman drops her briefcase and purse to the carpet. Never breaking her gaze from me, she says to Harlow, “You’re wrong about him.”
With that, she rushes forward and kisses me senseless.
