Page 63 of Crushed
CHAPTER 21
Scarlett
My stomach was full of knots as I walked to my car. Cormac’s driver had dropped me off at the Dahlia District, and I had only gone inside long enough for him to leave the parking lot. I needed to go to the coffee shop alone, to meet with Issac face to face. To put an end to the assignment.
This was one of my many first-time experiences. Lizzy didn’t call off many assignments, and the one time she did, she had left me at home while she did it. But it had ended better than she had expected, and we had celebrated with pizza and ice cream.
I wished that I could have been there to hear what she had said. Was she straight forward? Or did she try and break it to the client gently?
I missed Lizzy. I would have given up alotto have her there with me, telling me if I was making a huge mistake. But I had to do this. It was the only way I could be true to Cormac. Even if I held off on telling him about my real job, at least the burden of canceling it wouldn’t be hanging on my shoulder.
I texted Lizzy:Will you finally respond once I end the deal? You have to help me get another assignment, remember?
As I pulled onto the freeway, I noticed a black SUV a few cars behind mine. I turned on the radio and sang along to pop songs, pretending that I was an ordinary girl in an ordinary car with an ordinary life. I switched lanes, and the SUV followed.
Most likely, it was Cormac’s security team. Which meant that he didn’t trust me. I had to be watched, like his daughter. I rolled my eyes. It was sad that his security was that obvious. They could take a lesson on being discreet.
Or maybe that was the point. That I was supposed to know that he was watching.
Issac was sitting in the window seat, next to a large potted plant with leaves that dwarfed him. An espresso cup sat empty in front of him.
“You’re not ordering?” he asked.
“Already had my fair share of caffeine today,” I said, sitting. It was a lie; I hadn’t had any, but my hands were as jittery as if I had sixty shots of espresso.
“I see things are going well with you and Mr. Stone,” he said.
I blushed. Issac had seen me, mid-orgasm and pantiless, the night before.
“I’m sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize,” he grinned, “but youdidfinish the assignment this time, right?” He leaned forward, resting on the table. “Tell me some good news, that we’re done with that vacuum of life.”
My stomach rolled into a giant, squeezing ball. I had to tell him. I had to do it. For Cormac’s sake.
“I’m—” I paused, taking a deep breath, “I’m—”
“Before you say anything,” Issac interrupted, “I have some new information about your parents.”
An icy chill ran down my back. My parents.
“What about them?” I asked.
“No, no, no, child. I can only tell you once you’ve finished the job. Or have you forgotten that already?” He forced a smile. “Ada and Gavin will be so disappointed to learn that their only daughter has given up on them.”
My body was heavy, as if filled with lead. I glanced out the window; the black SUV was parked outside, pretending as if he was eating an overpriced croissant. I glared, making eye contact, then turned back to Issac.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Someone is tailing me,” I said.
“Stone?”
“Probably.”
“Now, what were you going to say, sweet child?”
It hurt to say it, to know that there was a chance I would never know the information Issac had about my parents. But I had to do it. Mom probably had to do something similar when she fell for Dad.
