Page 67 of The Marriage Bid
Saffron
Tyler was not home when I entered his apartment. He had given me his key, and I still hadn’t gotten used to coming here without him being around. He sent a text telling me he canceled dinner and to meet him at his place. It was a curt text that gave me doubts, but there was nothing amiss in our life so far. Now that the hotel was almost done, work was getting easier. The final touches were all that remained, and I would soon finish working with Tyler. I wondered if that was the reason for the sudden change in plans. Had something gone awry at work? Nah. It had to be personal; otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited me to his place.
I took my overnight bag to the bedroom and unpacked my clothes. I had left a few items the other times I’d stayed here. Not deliberately, but because I’d practically become Tyler’s roommate. Tyler liked dropping by Marble Row near or at the end of the day and driving me back to his apartment. Malaya knew we were a thing but wasn’t saying anything. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that we were seeing each other, but people were polite enough not to say anything.
I had finished putting away my stuff when I heard Tyler enter. A burst of warm, fuzzy feelings spread through me. I rushed downstairs without giving it a second thought, and mylips widened when I saw him standing at the foot of the stairs. Only he didn’t have the same look of joy or desire whenever he saw me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“We need to talk.”
My heart skipped a beat. Tyler went to the living room. I followed him there and sat on the sofa opposite his. He placed a stack of documents I hadn’t noticed he was holding the entire time on the table between us.
“The material. I’ve finally got it.”
I gasped. “Who was blackmailing you?”
He rubbed his forehead, tendrils of his hair falling onto his fingers. His shoulders were tense. “My private investigator found out that your aunt, Pamela, was the one who continued the scheme after your father died.” He leaned forward and flipped through the documents on the table. “Your father must have left her this after he died.” Then he took out his laptop and placed it on top of the papers facing me. “And that’s her, going to take the money I sent her.”
I got up, stepping back as though jumping away from what he was showing me. It could not be true. He was probably mistaken. Yes. That had to be it. I shook my head. Tyler tapped a button, and another image popped up. The name on it made me pause. My name. I peered closer. It was a company document.
“That’s not me!”
“I know. She set up, or maybe your father did, a shell company in both of your names, but never told you.”
“Come on. Maybe because you’ve never met her, you think all of this is possible, but trust me, she’s an old-fashioned woman who likes to be pampered. She would never pull off something like this on her own.”
“Think about it. What does she do for a living?”
She worked at a finishing school. The money she got paid there was more than enough to pay for her current standard of living. If she had had any more money, I would have seen the signs. “She’s an etiquette teacher.”
Tyler cocked his eyebrow. “Are you sure? Because from what my man gathered, she’s been unemployed for years at this point.”
I shook my head, folding my arms. “No. He must have made a mistake. There has to be a mistake somewhere.”
Tyler got up and came over to my side. He wrapped his hands around me and made me sit back down on the couch. Slowly he went through the investigation. Each and every document he found, including the ones that were being used to blackmail Tyler. Then he showed me evidence of the shell companies used to obfuscate the money. Then he showed me images and bank statements of Aunt Pamela withdrawing money from the same bank, with the same account with her name on it. It all added up. It was all there. Fuck.
“She lied to you,” Tyler said when he finished his story. The soothing motion of his hands rubbing my back was the only thing stopping me from pulling my hair out. How could she? I trusted her. She acted as though she had no idea.
“You’re saying she’s never worked at the finishing school?” I said in a small voice. How many times had she told me tales of her work? The people there. The spoiled rich kids. Did she make all of that up? Who the fuck was she?
“There’s no employment record of her ever having worked there.”
“I have to talk to her. Maybe she can explain. Maybe…” Tell me more lies? If she had lied all this time, she could lie again.
“I’ll come with you.”
???
Aunt Pamela opened the door on the third ring. Her face brightened when she saw me, only to go blank when she recognized Tyler. Then she gave us a tight smile. “Saffron. When you said you were coming, I didn’t think you’d be bringing him here.” She hovered at the door, only partially opening it so just a sliver of the apartment beyond was visible.
“He wanted to see you. I hope that’s okay.”
“Sure. Sure.” She opened the door wider and let us in. I clasped Tyler’s hand for comfort as we ventured into the apartment. Stuff I hadn’t noted before became more apparent. For starters, the furniture. Sofa set by Bentley Home. Thermador appliances. I’d always assumed that since she loved living in luxury, she got the best her money could buy. But now I was not so sure.
“Oh!” Pamela reddened when my gaze landed on the Chanel bag on the couch. “I was just coming from an after-work shopping spree,” she said, hauling the bags and taking them to the kitchen, where she put them behind the counter. “We were paid early, you see,” she said when she came back.
“Is that so?” I said.
