Page 9 of The Husband Contract
But then I think about David. My cousin. My best friend. The first person who’d ever really seen me. Looked out for me. Made me laugh. Took me under his wing. Loved me.
And I think of the one time I’d focused on myself rather than his screwups. And I think about what happened. And then I go back to worrying about Sergio again. Because he’s my blood. And I would do anything for him. And I’m not too manly to admit it.
“I think I need to make a call.” My mind is racing as I look over at Jack and stand up. My right hand is itching, and my brain is racing. I’m pissed off that a woman has taken mybrother for ten million. I’m pissed off that he’s so down that he’s avoided me for a week and is fleeing to another country. I’m pissed off that I can’t control what happens next. At least, I can’t with Sergio. I may be able to infiltrate this mysterious woman’s life and show her that she made a huge mistake when she messed with a Laurence.
“You want me to order another round, then we’ll play darts?” Jack asks, his eyes narrow as he takes in my cold expression. “You bringing down bombs on someone?”
“I will be.” I nod with a grimace. “Another round sounds good. I’ll be back.” I head to the periphery of the room, next to some dark crimson velvet curtains, and pull out my phone. I scroll to Louisa’s number. She’s an old friend of mine who works at the corporation as my investigative assistant. I realize that the room is quite full, so I head to the corridor. I don’t want my conversation overheard. I make my way down the corridor and find myself standing near the coat room. The blonde from earlier is there, looking out of place, staring at something in her hand. She looks up, sees me, smiles for a moment, but then looks away quickly when I don’t smile back. There’s a flash of something in her eyes as she glances away. A fire I’d noticed earlier. She was a spitfire, even if she had no fashion sense.
The phone rings a few more times, and then just as I’m about to hang up, Louisa answers.
“Hey, Sebastian. How are you?” Her voice has that breathy quality it always does on the phone. I can never tell if she does it deliberately for me, or if it’s just how she answers. I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. I’ve known her since we were both sixteen. We met at a movie theater, my friends and her friends mingling. We’d all gone out for burgers after, and then even later in the evening, she proceeded to give me a blowjob in a side street. I’d been happy in the moment, but not interested in more. In thosedays, guilt and fear of failure consumed my every waking hour. She flirted with me for a couple of months until she finally realized I wasn’t interested in anything more than hanging out in groups. I’d been thankful when she’d started dating one of my friends. And even more grateful that there had been no theatrics involved. She just moved on with her life. Ever since, we’ve been acquaintances, our social circles often overlapping, but we ourselves were never that close.
When she’d reached out to me for a job, I hired her as a market researcher, and she’d soon worked her way up to investigator. I trusted her to do the job right and quickly. And because she’d known me for years, she knew all about my personal life and background. Which was going to be helpful in this situation.
“Can you look up some information for me?” I ask softly, cutting to the chase. I don’t have time for small talk right now. “I have a special project for you.”
“Sure. What do you want to know?” She’s immediately business-like.
I let out a deep sigh, wondering if I’m doing the right thing. I should just move on with my life. Monitor Sergio and forget about everything. I have so many business projects to work on, yet I can feel that niggling in my stomach. I am not going to be able to let this go.
“That was a deep sigh,” she says, her voice soft now. “What’s wrong? You can talk to me, Sebastian.”
“It’s about Sergio.” I should let it go. “He told me some stuff tonight?—”
“Sergio did?” Her voice rises nervously. “What did he say?”
“He’s gone off the deep end again.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t know that something had?—”
“Why would you? Look, he’s been dating some girl?—”
“What’s her name?” She cuts in quickly.
“That’s what I want you to find out.”
“Oh. Okay. Sorry. So tell me exactly what’s going on.” Her voice is low again.
“He’s been dating some girl. He gave her ten million dollars. And he’s dropped off the board because of her and hisheartache.” I can’t stop the sarcasm in my tone.
“Not the board of the company! You need his vote for the Sunflower merger.”
“Exactly. He’s lost it, Louisa. I’m scared he’s going to spiral out of control. I need information on the woman he’s been seeing, and exactly what went on between them.”
“Of course. I’m on it. Anything else?”
“No, that’s it. Oh, and Louisa.”
“Hmm?”
“I need that information stat.”
“Yes, Doctor,” she teases.
“I’m not joking.”
“I know. If you want, I can see what I can find now. Then I can come over later tonight, and we can go over whatever I?—”
