Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 133321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 667(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 667(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Eric laughs. “Okay. You’re distracted. Good morning, Mia.”
Grayson and I both laugh. “Morning, Eric,” I greet.
“Glad to have you back, sweetheart,” he says, “but I need his attention.”
I push to my toes and kiss Grayson. “And I need coffee.” I dart away from Grayson and call out, “He’s all yours, Eric.”
“I’m all yours, Eric,” Grayson mimics, pressing his hands to the island while I think about those hands on my body. He has really good hands.
“I hired a new hacking expert,” Eric says. “He’s going to dig for answers on this Ri/DA situation and look for ties between Becky and Ri that we might have missed in the past.”
“And Mitch,” Grayson says, as I stick a pod of coffee in the Keurig. “Mia and I think he helped setup the Becky incident. That could mean that he’s on board with Ri.”
“Mitch,” Eric says. “Interesting. As is the idea that Ri plotted to break up you and Mia to distract you while he landed a larger blow.”
That statement guts me. I helped Ri set Grayson up. How do we come back from that?
“I’ll have Mitch monitored,” Eric adds. “Maybe he is the one helping Ri set you up.”
“If Ri has the DA interested in taking me down,” Grayson says, “it’s a lot broader than Mitch, but he might be our door to answers.”
That very accurate statement is unsettling in its content, but I’m relieved that Grayson is taking this threat seriously. Ri is coming for Grayson and he’s coming in a big way. I know it. I feel it. “Davis just texted me,” Eric says. “He wants to meet and talk about this threat from Ri. He says he has pressing information.”
“What information?” I ask urgently, forgetting my coffee and joining Grayson back at the island.
“He said it’s better talked about in person,” Eric explains. “Our chopper is at two, Grayson. How about noon?”
“If your chopper is at two,” Grayson says, “Mia and I will fly out on our own a few hours later but, yes, twelve is fine. We’ll see you then.”
I turn to Grayson. “If he won’t talk about it on the phone, it’s something bad, right?”
“Something sensitive,” he says. “Which doesn’t always mean it’s bad.”
“But this situation—Grayson, if the DA—”
“We’ll head off the problem,” he says, cupping my face. “Thanks to you, Mia.”
“But what if—”
The doorbell rings and we both say, “Leslie,” at the same time, referencing his godmother, the woman who was his mother’s best friend, and who now protects Grayson like he is her own. We both know this because she’s the only person, outside of me, that he allows to enter the gates without his approval first.
“I love her,” I whisper, “but I really want to talk about this Ri situation. And I really just want to be with you right now.”
“She’s going to be ecstatic to see you.” He strokes my hair, tender in a way that defies what a hard businessman he is. “Go make her day and answer the door. I’ll call Eric back and see if I can get anything else out of him.” He kisses me and turns away, already walking toward the patio, which to me is telling. He’s concerned and he’s trying not to show it.
I force myself to walk toward the front door and I yank it open. Leslie stands there looking as elegant and pretty as ever, her dark hair shiny and perfect. Her petite frame and perfect skin defy her age, which she teasingly changes all the time, but it’s older than she looks. Of that, I’m certain. Her expression is that of shock and then pleasure. “Mia!” She rushes forward and hugs me. “You’re back,” she says, leaning back to look at me. “You are back, right?”
“Yes,” I say. “I’m back and this time for good.” And I have never meant any words more than I do those.
A few minutes later, Leslie and I are in the kitchen drinking coffee, but Grayson hasn’t appeared. I do my best to eagerly interact with Leslie, but I’m worried. Ri is setting Grayson up in a way that would destroy him and maybe even put him behind bars. I can’t let that happen, and that means I have to use my leverage with Ri, but Grayson won’t like it. He’ll forbid it and that’s going to be a problem.
Chapter twenty-four
Mia
Ispend a good twenty minutes at the kitchen island chatting with Leslie with no sign of Grayson returning from the patio, which is starting to worry me. “I have cookies in the car I didn’t bring in,” Leslie says. “I brought them for Grayson to take back to the city.”
“Your famous oatmeal raisin?” I ask eagerly.
“Of course, and you know that I love that you love them.” She holds up a finger. “I’ll be right back.” She hurries away and my gaze slides to the patio door where I will Grayson to appear, but still, he doesn’t. I finish off my coffee and set the mug in the sink, pressing my hands to the granite counter and praying desperately that I didn’t find out about Ri’s plan to hurt Grayson too late to stop it from becoming a major problem. I spend about three minutes reminding myself that Grayson is filthy rich, honest, and powerful. He also has thousands of attorneys surrounding him. He’ll beat this.