Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
I didn't follow the Jeep when it pulled out. I knew what foreplay looked like. I didn't need to watch them enter a house to know more. The idea of sitting in a car outside and knowing that they were fucking … I would go nuts. A surge of emotion swelled in my chest, and I swallowed it down. Frustrated, I grabbed the gear shift and yanked the car into reverse.
I needed a plan. I had seen enough. What I needed to figure out was how to destroy them.
Chapter 30
"I was thinking about us heading to the island for a week." Brant spoke across a decadent table full of fruit, quiches, breakfast meats and breads.
I lowered a toasted baguette topped with smoked salmon, pleased at the suggestion. Brant never brought up travel. He was normally so buried in work that I had to drag him, kicking and screaming, away for fun. “Sure, when would you want to go?"
"Maybe Saturday. We just finished the design phase of the photo frames. It'll take the tech team a week or so to get me initial mockups."
I took a bite, chewing slowly as I thought through the timing.
This Saturday, for a week. It was smack dab in the middle of Operation Remove Gymnast Barbie. The timing wasn’t ideal, but it was a week with the man I loved. Twenty-four hours a day of Brant and any bit of fun that I could coax out to play. He needed this. WE needed this. It'd been three or four months since we had gone anywhere, his full focus on the last development, then the new one, and soon the next. He lived to build, to improve. And it looked like, for the next week, his focus—his project—would be us.
The island he was referring to was our Hawaiian home, which wasn’t its own island, just a private peninsula that jutted off of Honolulu. The property held a twenty thousand square foot vacation home, with private pools, a full-sized gym, spa, library, and theatre. We’d purchased the property last year and had yet to visit it since the closing. We were overdue for this trip, and it would be good to get away. My sabotage of Lee and Molly could wait.
I smiled at him. "Sure. I'll coordinate with Jillian and get it set up."
Finishing his coffee, he wiped his mouth with a white linen napkin and stood, leaving his plate with a half-eaten bagel still on it. He walked over to my seat and leaned over, placing his hand on my knee as he pressed his lips to mine. "I love you."
I looked up into his face and smiled, happy. "I love you too."
"When will you let me be your husband?" There was a quiet husk to the words and a raw need behind the question. I glanced around his dining room, making sure that we were alone. His personal chef was back in the kitchen, and I met Brant’s eyes. He was one of the most brilliant men in the world, a man whose fortune was unparalleled, but he was still—in so many ways—a lonely little boy who played in his basement while every other kid was outside. I hated to tell him anything other than ‘yes’ but I couldn’t, not with all of the lies between us, accept his proposal.
"One day,” I said quietly.
"A man might get tired of waiting." The curve of his mouth belied his words.
I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled myself to my feet. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pressed against him. "Well, then maybe I should give you another reason to stay."
He took my kiss and deepened it. He tasted like bitter coffee and I loved the bite of it. I yanked his shirt loose from his pants and undid his belt as he walked me backwards, into the sunroom. He sat on the couch and I was right there, straddling him. As the morning sun streamed through French doors, I distracted him from thoughts of marriage and reassured him of my love in the way I knew best.
Chapter 31
New fact about Molly Jenkins: she liked to drink. In my home office, I looked at the most recent PI report, and page 9 included an inventory of her trash can.
12 empty bottles: Smirnoff Ice
4 empty cans: Bud Light
Tags from an article of clothing: Gap. $24.99
Dry Cleaning receipt: One Price Cleaners
Empty bottle: Kahlua
Empty bottle: Absolut Vanilla Vodka
Thank you card and envelope from ‘Mom’ (see photo)
Monthly statement from Capital One credit card (see photo)
Empty Bag of Nacho Cheesier Doritos
I called him and he answered on the second ring.
"Yes, Ms. Fairmont."
"Is this normal, all the alcohol?"
“I’m not sure. It’s the first bag we've inventoried. It's from last week. I left off all of the food items, but if you'd like we can also include those."