Page 42 of Convincing Him
Gabe groaned as the chime from the doorbell continuously rung. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was five in the morning. His own alarm was set to go off in an hour. Grumbling, he stumbled out of bed, heading for the door.
Britney’s door was still ajar. Gabe was surprised to see she hadn’t come home. Yesterday he had surmised she was probably sleeping off the aftereffects of her bachelorette party at her friend Tara’s house. He felt a small measure of unease.
Friday had not gone well. Jessica had disappeared sometime after lunch and Parker had been in a foul mood before avoiding Gabe altogether. Thankfully, Britney had left him lunch. Gabe had been ravenous after being grilled by board members who were worried about the news that accounts had been frozen for other Ramesly businesses. Gabe had spent until the late evening soothing their fears. He had bolted down Britney’s cold lunch and made his way home to fall into bed. The next day, he had spent it doing the same thing, quelling the fears of nervous investors so they wouldn’t think of selling their shares. He had been in front of the press answering and dodging a lot of questions. Sunday had been a day to catch up on his regular work and he had been surprised Britney wasn’t home yet. Once, he had even thought of calling her just to see if she was okay but had decided against it.
“I’m coming!” he yelled at the constant harping of the doorbell. Annoyed Gabe flipped the locks and jerked the door open only to be surprised to see a couple of moving guys and a cleaning lady. A man in a suit stood nearby. Gabe frowned as he took in the sight of them.
“We’re here to clean out Miss Crawford’s items,” the cleaning lady said briskly. She held up a paper. “I have a list of her belongings.”
“Excuse me?” questioned Gabe, entirely confused. “I don’t understand.”
“My name is Rex Hudson,” the man in the suit introduced himself. “If you could let us in, I’ll explain everything.”
“Why don’t you just explain it now?” Gabe stepped further into the hallway, crossing his arms across his chest and blocking the doorway.
Hudson gave him a look of dislike before proffering a large envelope. “Yesterday I was instructed to purchase one quarter of Ramesly Hospital and Medical Corporation. I was successful in the acquisition. Those shares have been transferred into your name as a condition of sale.”
Gabe slowly took the envelope with surprise. “You’re saying someone bought out my share of the business and is giving it to me?”
“Yes. I’m Miss Britney Crawford’s investment advisor. We met with the majority of the board yesterday and convinced them to circumvent James Ramesly’s stipulations on your inheritance. It was an emergency meeting with just enough members to pass the motion. Britney also preserved your position within the company,” tersely Hudson informed Gabe. “In this envelope is your shares of Ramesly HMC.”
Gabe slowly opened the envelope, sorting through the papers. He barely noticed the movers and cleaning lady had slipped past him during the distraction. “I don’t understand. Why would she do this?”
“If you don’t know the answer then you are a bigger fool than I thought,” glowered Hudson.
“You don’t know me,” Gabe snapped his gaze up from the paperwork in his hands to glare at the man before him. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t malign my character.”
Undeterred, Hudson took a step forward, pointing a finger at Gabe in anger. “I know more about you than I ever wanted to. You are an unfeeling, self-absorbed prig who doesn’t deserve Brit.”
Gabe narrowed his eyes as he contemplated the man before him. “Didn’t she date you in college? Is that what this is all about? You’re jealous because you don’t measure up to me in her mind?”
“Are you serious?” Hudson had a short laugh before waving his left hand in Gabe’s face. “I’m married to her best friend Tara. Brit’s our friend. Maybe you would know that if you had bothered to be involved in her life rather than just expecting her to exist with adoration in yours.”
“I don’t expect…” sputtered Gabe.
“Really?” interrupted Hudson. “What’s her favorite color? What movies does she like to watch? How many kids does she want? Is she a dog or cat person?”
“How is any of this relevant?” Gabe noticed a defensive note creeping into his tone. He didn’t like the way he felt defensive which meant he disliked Hudson even more for making him feel inadequate.
“She knows all those answers about you which proves you aren’t worthy of her,” Hudson responded in contempt. He grabbed a letter out of his suit pocket and slapped it against Gabe’s chest. “Read this. If you ever want to call yourself a decent human being, you’ll either make it right or stay out of her life entirely so she can heal and move on.”
Gabe grabbed the paper as Hudson stalked off down the hallway. The moving guys slipped past him to follow Hudson with a bunch of boxes on a trolley. The cleaning lady wasn’t far behind as she gave him a curious look before in the wake of her cohorts.
She had left him. Gabe couldn’t believe it. Six days before the wedding and Brit had left him. Gabe retreated into the apartment, noting the mixing stand they had argued about taking up too much space in the small kitchen was gone. He wandered into the spare bedroom which he had begun to think of as hers was essentially bare. The bed and all the furniture was gone. The closet was empty. It was like she had never been in the apartment.
Going back into the living area, Gabe tossed the majority of the paperwork he had been given onto the coffee table. Opening the last envelope Hudson had shoved at him, he quickly scanned the financial document before sucking in a surprised breath as his brain registered what all the numbers meant.
Britney had nearly bankrupted herself to give him his share of Ramesly HMC. She had taken a loan from Rex and Tara Hudson equivalent to the current value of the shares in her and Tara’s company, combined it with her savings plus investments to make the purchase. With her condo she was barely in a positive equity position.
Gabe sat down heavily on the sofa, rereading the paper to make certain he understood it correctly. It didn’t look much different on the second reading. Wiping a hand over his face, Gabe could understand Hudson’s frustration. Why had Britney chosen to wipe herself out financially for him? If they had been married for the five years as they had intended, he would have received the shares at no cost to her. Why had she suddenly chosen to back out of the wedding?
Pulling out his phone, Gabe decided to call her. An automated message informed him her number was no longer in service. Irritated, Gabe quickly rushed through his morning routine, deciding to confront her at her condo. He wanted to know why she had changed her mind without so much as a word to him.
The drive over was quick and uneventful as he had managed to beat the morning rush.
Gabe pounded on her door and received no answer. At the noise, one of Britney’s neighbors opened their door and primly informed him Britney wasn’t home.
“When was the last time you saw her?” Gabe reined in his temper to talk to the frail elderly woman.
