Page 91 of Sweet Surrender
He sighed before running a hand over his hair. “I told you, it’s a longstory, one I can’t get into right now because if your driver finds me here talking to you, he’ll report back to Nash, and then I’ll never get to tell you the truth,” he said hurriedly. “I’m staying in the Ridgeview Motel, it’s about thirty minutes out of the city. Do you think you can meet me there later? I’ll explain everything.”
I gaped at him as everything he’d said turned over in my head.Memories flooded me of how I’d felt when Harry told me he had no choice but to let me go from the diner, and the fear of winding up homeless after I received the letter from my landlord.
Was Nash that callous? Would he go through those kindsof extremes to manipulate me?
Without conscious thought, I slowly nodded.
“Thank you, Sav. I promise I’ll tell you everything. And I know it’ll behard, but we can make things right between us again. I’ve missed you,” Liam said softly, raising a hand to stroke a finger down my cheek.
Instead of the warmth I felt whenever Nash stroked my cheek, ashiver ran down my spine at Liam’s touch.
“I’m in room 402,” he said, oblivious to my need to bleach my skin. “I’ll be waiting.”
With that, he turned and walked away, heading to the back of thestore and leaving me incomplete turmoil.
I didn’t utter a single word on the way home. The purpose of my tripto the store was long forgotten as I stared out the window replaying everything Liam had said.
Aaron knew something was wrong. I could feel him throw worriedglances my way, but I didn’t have it in me to care. All I wanted was to get home and lock myself away so I could think everything over.
By the time we reached the house, I was on the verge of tears, andAaron had barely stopped the car before I was out and running into the house. I intended to go to my studio, but as I ran down the hallway, I came to a sudden stop outside Nash’s office.
Staring at the closed door, a war raged in my head. One half toldme to go into his office and see if I could find anything that would prove Liam’s claims, the other half wanted me to walk away. Ignore everything Liam had said, or at least wait until Nash was home and tell him what had happened, and hear what he had to say.
In the end, the part telling me to go into Nash’s office won.
Tentatively, I pulled the handle down, wondering if the door would belocked, but to my relief, it wasn’t. I crept inside, and quietly shut the door behind me, not wanting to let Jessica know I was snooping in Nash’s office.
I’d been in here a few times over the past two weeks, when on theodd occasion, Nash had worked from here instead of going into his office at The Grand Palace.
The room was typically Nash, neat with everything in itsplace. I didn’t know what I was looking for, truthfully, I wasn’t even sure if there was any point looking. If Liam was right about Nash, surely he wouldn’t keep proof of his actions somewhere I could find it, right?
Still, I crossed the room, opening the drawers to Nash’s desk, andmoving bits of paper around to see if there wassomethingthat would help me make sense of the chaotic thoughts turning over in my head.
When there was nothing obvious in the top two drawers, I moved tothe next two, but again, nothing stood out.
I moved over to the filing cabinet and searched through the firstthree drawers, but aside from paperwork relating to Carson-Fox Resorts, I didn’t find anything. Feeling stupid, and not seeing much point in looking in the final drawer, I opened it to find more files relating to Carson-Fox Resorts.
Dejected, I was about to close the drawer and accept that I wouldeither need to find a way to get to Liam and let him explain his version of events, or wait for Nash to come home and confront him.
But as I slid the drawer shut, a file amidst all the others caught myeye. The tab simply had the letters SM written. I supposed it could have meant anything, but I had to check. I pulled it out and opened it, and my heart sank.
Collapsing on the floor, I stared down at the photo of me, attached toa report detailing my life. The hospital I was born in, the preschool I went to, where my mom worked. Every little detail of my life right down to my shoe size, even the hospice my mom was in when she died.
My hands began to shake as I turned to the next document, this timefinding copies of my bank statements over the last six months. Every transaction I’d ever made, every payment I’d received from the diner when I finally got a job.
My heart sank further when I scanned the transactions and found theone showing $378 being transferred out of my account and into Nash’s.
Flipping to the next page, a surge of anger coursed through me whenI found a copy of my tenancy agreement of the apartment I’d rented inBrownsville, along with a photocopy of the letter my landlord had sent me telling me my rent was increasing.
Liam’s words churned in my head.He’s the reason you lost your joband your home back in Brownsville. He orchestrated it all so he could get you where he wanted you.
I didn’t know I was crying until a tear landed on the letter,smearing the ink.
I turned to the next document. It was a copy of a car insurancecertificate. Scanning the page, my heart plummeted further as I realized it was confirmation that my Honda had been insured, paid for by Mr. N Carson.
I didn’t know how to feel at realizing Nash had insured my car fromthe very first minute I’d taken ownership of it. Despite the myriad of emotions coursing through me, anger being the main one, I couldn’t deny the little part of me that admired him for insuring my car. He’d been looking out for me, even before I knew him.
Unable to stop myself, I turned to the next page, my brows shot up insurprise when I read over the information. This time it wasn’t about me.
