by Fiona Brand
If she still wanted Tobias, that meant she had to change the way she behaved right now.
Uncannily, she had already made a start on Elena’s strategy by trying, to make herself “unavailable” to Tobias, and signaling that she was available to another man, by getting “engaged” to Mike.
She was taking a risk by continuing with the charade, but the way she saw it, she had no choice.
She could not commit herself to a man who might never reach the point of committing to her. If Tobias didn’t fight for her, it was a no-brainer. She needed to follow Elena’s advice and walk away from a relationship that had already consumed six years of her life.
Just the thought of playing that kind of game made her heart beat faster, because a part of her just wanted to cling to Tobias and build on what they had.
But that would only result in her getting ditched again.
Eleven
The sun was attempting to diffuse a dawn glow through sullen, dense clouds as Allegra dressed in a gorgeous, short turquoise skirt with a matching camisole top, and a sheer white blouse that went over top. The gauzy blouse tied in a knot at hip-level, giving the whole outfit a sharp, but groovy, holiday vibe. As a final touch, she secured the Chanel earrings through her lobes, then slipped into a pair of strappy turquoise heels. She checked her watch, noting that it was almost seven, a whole hour earlier than she normally left for work, and shoveled her purse, makeup and phone into a white tote.
Her hair was still loose, and she hadn’t put on any makeup, but she would do all of that when she got to work. Her main concern was to get out of the house before Tobias got up because, at a guess, he was going to be annoyed that she had walked out on him last night, and would want to know why. That was a conversation she didn’t want to have right now.
The way she saw it, it was imperative that she move forward with her “engagement” to Mike, and it was entirely possible that Tobias, being the alpha that he was, would demand that she get rid of Mike while she was sleeping with him.
If Tobias was masterful enough, and gave her that look that made her knees melt, she could not guarantee that she wouldn’t weaken and agree to “give up” Mike. If she did that, she would be throwing away the only leverage she had.
She didn’t know how long she would be able to keep up the charade. At an optimistic best guess, she had a day, because by tonight Tobias would be totally ticked off and, if all went according to plan, he would demand a conversation.
At that point, he would realize the danger: that he was about to lose her to another man and, hopefully, would be galvanized to fight to win her back.
So, first off, she needed to get out of the house without Tobias seeing her. Second, she needed to move forward with making her “engagement” to Mike look more convincing than it currently did. Her plan was to take a nice pic of them having a romantic champagne lunch together to use as a screen saver on her phone. Tobias would then see it, because she would casually place her phone near him. Third, she would wait for Tobias to initiate a conversation about how he couldn’t bear for her to marry Mike, because he had realized he couldn’t live without her.
Before she left her room, she did a quick check of the jewelry, frowning when she noted that one of the old velvet bags had actually split open. Rummaging in her drawers, she found a portable jewelry case, emptied out the pretty selection of costume jewelry and dropped that in her tote. Once the jewelry had been assessed, she would toss the shabby old velvet bags and store the pieces in the case.
She grabbed a light rain jacket and tossed it over one arm. Apparently, there was some kind of storm system heading their way, so the weather was going to get worse, not better. After a last check of her appearance, she walked to the door and paused to listen. When all seemed quiet, she turned the ornate brass knob but, a split second before she opened the door, she heard the sound of footsteps and the low tones of Tobias’s voice, as if he was talking on his phone.
Her heart slammed against her chest. Tobias was already up. She drew a deep breath and waited long seconds, just in case he was about to walk down to the kitchen. When she didn’t hear anything further, she opened the door a crack. She could hear his voice in the distance, so he was obviously still on a call, but the hall was empty.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped out into the hall and gently closed her door behind her. She made her way downstairs and cut through the kitchen, which were closest to the garage. When she reached her car, she delved into her tote in search of her keys. When she didn’t find them, her stomach sank.
With all the turmoil of moving into Tobias’s house, and the kiss in her room yesterday afternoon, she hadn’t returned the keys to her handbag as she usually would. She had a vague recollection of setting them down on one of the bedside tables. That meant that when she had transferred items from one handbag to another this morning, she had not stowed her car keys, because they were still on her bedside table.
Dropping her tote and the rain jacket in the passenger seat, she jogged to the kitchen, then started up the grand, curving staircase, listening intently as she went.
Her pulse pounded when she heard a door pop open. She froze. Luckily, she was just far enough around the curve of the staircase that she wasn’t visible to anyone in the hall. Although, if Tobias was walking toward the stairs, she was busted.
A few seconds later, she heard the click of a door closing. Straightening, she walked as quickly and quietly as she could to her room, ducked inside and found the keys.
She was tempted to brazenly stroll out of her door and down the stairs, but an innate caution made her pause. The sound of footsteps in the hall confirmed her decision. She waited for Tobias to walk past her door. He was clearly on his way to the kitchen so, once he was safely there, she could sneak down the stairs and leave via the front door.
His footsteps slowed, then stopped directly outside her door. She froze, certain he was about to knock. A split second later, she heard an audible vibration, then Tobias’s low, curt tones as he answered a phone call. His voice receded, signaling that he was walking away as he took the call.
She made herself wait one more minute, then quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Taking a deep breath, she walked as quietly as she could down the stairs, checked that Tobias was nowhere in sight, then tiptoed across the grand front foyer. Moments later, she was outside and walking around the side of the house to the garage. Luckily, none of the kitchen windows overlooked the garage, so she should be free and clear.
* * *
Tobias strolled through to the study to collect his briefcase, which, in all the confusion of moving in yesterday afternoon, he had left there.
He kept his phone to his ear as Tulley, the private investigator he had tasked to check out both Allegra and Mike, ran through a dry list of facts about Allegra. Facts that he already knew and that provided details of the scandal that had unfolded in San Francisco, but which did nothing to further illuminate what had happened.
Tobias had hoped Tulley might find evidence of coercion or financial pressure that would explain what his gut told him didn’t fit, because the more time he spent with Allegra, the more discordant the online stories seemed.
And, after the couple of hours they had spent together in the beach house last night, he had been forcibly struck by something he should have seen before. Allegra was gorgeous, confident and mouthwateringly sexy, but she was also ultra-organized, assertive and direct.
Those qualities didn’t sit easily with claims made by social media sites that she was an ambitious party girl using her looks and sex to snag a wealthy husband. Added to that, Tobias had found that, when it came to sex, if anything, Allegra was slightly awkward, even a little shy, almost as if she was unaccustomed to intimacy.
He frowned as that thought brought back a memory of the first time they had made love, two years ago. At the time, as unlikely as it had seeme
d, it had passed through his mind that Allegra could have been a virgin. But then he had read the online scandal around her and decided there was no way. Then Lindsay had miscarried, and he had done the only thing he decently could, and broken with Allegra completely.
His jaw tightened as a hot flash of the way Allegra had pressed against him last night sent a wave of heat through him. If she was not the free-and-easy party girl that certain social media accounts made her out to be, but the focused-and-professional businesswoman she appeared to be in Miami, then that made sense of her walking out on him last night. From her point of view, his behavior had been self-centered and insensitive for the second time.
As he picked up the briefcase, a flash of movement caught his eye. He glanced up in time to see Allegra, in a short turquoise skirt and a filmy white blouse and wearing high heels, jog across the gravel drive in the direction of the garage.
Dropping the briefcase back on the couch, he curtly told Tulley he would call him back. Terminating the call, he strode toward the kitchen. The throaty purr of her convertible starting broke the morning silence as he went through the door that opened onto a covered walk. Two strides later, he stepped into the garage.
Allegra was in the process of backing out. He called her name and was almost certain her gaze locked with his as she braked. Although, it was difficult to tell, because she was wearing sunglasses. A split second later, she spun the wheel and disappeared down the drive.
Jaw taut, he found her number and rang her. The call went straight through to voice mail.
He left a brief message, then slid his phone back in his pocket.
There was definitely a problem. He didn’t know what, yet, but he would find out.
As far as he knew, Allegra never went anywhere without her phone. She was either on it, or she was listening to music, but there was no way she didn’t know he was calling her. She just hadn’t chosen to answer.
His jaw tightened as he returned to the sitting room and hit redial on Tulley’s number.
It occurred to him that he had been asking the wrong questions.
Online social media platforms were notorious for twisted stories and outright lies. He had been the victim of a few himself. Four months ago, social media influencer, Buffy Hamilton, had, entirely by chance, been snapped with him at the same charity event. She had then implied they had spent the night together. JT had been on his case for weeks.
When Tulley picked up the call, Tobias told him to email him a copy of the report, then tasked him to do a second investigation, this time on the two wealthy guys, Fischer and Halliday, who had claimed that Allegra had slept with them for expensive gifts, and to further her career.
“I want to know everything,” he said curtly. “And I want the report yesterday.”
“Uh...before you hang up, I think you might want to hear what I found out about Mike Callaghan.”
Tobias frowned. He had almost forgotten about Callaghan. “Go ahead.”
“Aside from being employed by Miss Mallory as a yoga instructor and personal trainer, the guy’s an actor. Apparently, he’s waiting to see if he’s got a part in some online-streaming daytime soap based in Hollywood, and once he’s got that, he’s out of here. And, get this...he’s got a girlfriend. That is, someone other than Miss Mallory. And, apparently, he and Miss Mallory don’t seem to have ever dated. In fact, my source, who works with them both, didn’t even know they were a couple. Furthermore, she was pretty sure Miss Mallory was over Callaghan as an employee, and was on the verge of firing him.”
Until she found a further use for him.
Satisfaction relaxed the tension that had gripped Tobias ever since Allegra had announced that she was engaged.
It was official. The engagement was fake.
In all likelihood, she had chosen Callaghan for the role because he was an actor. If that was the case, she had to be paying him. Given that her finances were stretched with starting a new business, and that she was looking to expand, that was something she probably couldn’t afford.
The only reason that made sense of the fake engagement was that Allegra wanted to make it clear she’d had nothing to do with the clause in Esmae’s will.
But then she had given him the exact opposite message by sleeping with him.
Tobias pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t believe it, but he was actually beginning to lose track of what was happening. It was a far cry from his days in tactical military intelligence when he had used to track down terrorist cells. But those were days when one plus one equaled two. And, with Allegra, apparently, that equation could add up to almost any number, depending on what she wanted. If she had been a spy, she would have run circles around the CIA, the KGB, Mossad...hell, everyone.
A little grimly, he noted that it was time to step away from a situation that was getting more and more entangled by the day. The only problem was, after last night, he didn’t want to step away.
He wanted her back.
The decision settled in. There was no logic to the decision, just pure, unadulterated desire. Despite the red flags, he found Allegra to be quirky, challenging and fascinating. Making love with her was nothing short of addictive. After years of what had devolved into something less than a friendship with Lindsay, followed by the superficial relationships that had filled the gap since then, keeping Allegra in his bed was a no-brainer.
Fake engagement or not, he didn’t want out.
And, if Allegra thought she could walk away from him without at least an explanation, she could think again.
He found the dating schedule he had picked up off the driveway yesterday and unfolded it. Two years ago, he had left Allegra cold. Now, he had to consider that he had made a mistake. He had hurt her, but he would make it up to her, if she would let him. But, first, they needed a conversation, and that was going to happen at... He found the date with Callaghan, which was scheduled for today, at the Atraeus Mall. At twelve, sharp.
Tulley cleared his throat. “Do you still want me to, uh...keep an eye on Miss Mallory?”
A flash of Allegra jogging across the drive, clearly trying to avoid him, played through his mind. She was up to something. His jaw tightened. Hell, yes.
In a clipped voice, he gave Tulley his orders. Keep an eye on Allegra’s movements for the morning. “If she and Callaghan leave the resort together, call me.”
Terminating the call, he walked through to the kitchen to make coffee. As far as Tobias was concerned, now that he and Allegra had made love, Callaghan should be out of the picture, but there were no indicators that that was happening.
He found grounds and started the filter machine. He should have made sure Callaghan was gone last night. The only problem was, he hadn’t been exactly interested in conversation until he had woken up to find Allegra gone.
He had walked up to the house and noted that Allegra’s light was on but, by the time he had reached the door of her room, her light was out.
He had considered knocking. Maybe it was just a coincidence that her light had gone out just seconds before he had gotten there, but he didn’t think so. She had been avoiding him.
That notion had been confirmed just minutes ago when he had watched her accelerating down the drive.
Frowning, he went over the sequence of events that had led to their lovemaking, then the encounter itself. From memory, there hadn’t been a lot of conversation. In point of fact, his interactions with Allegra were the exact opposite of those he had with every other date he could remember.
But then, what he felt for Allegra was a whole lot different to what he’d felt for any other woman. It was a fact that his feelings were knee-jerk and intense and, he had to admit, his manners were mostly absent.
Normally, he was methodical and controlled in most areas of his life—in business, and especially in relationships. One of Lindsay’s criticisms of him had been that he had been t
oo locked down, too reserved. But, when it came to Allegra, he could not even seem to control his responses.
The rich fragrance of coffee filled the kitchen. Tobias filled a mug, but, before drinking it, he spread the two-page dating schedule out on the counter.
The crisp organization inherent in every neatly formed box was impressive. It confirmed that Allegra was take-charge and detail-oriented, even when it came to her personal life, and that, evidently, Callaghan did take orders.
Despite his frustration over Allegra neatly avoiding him last night, and this morning, he grinned at the thought. Even if he hadn’t known Callaghan was a fake, the way she ran him around was clear evidence that he was all wrong for her. She would be bored with him in ten seconds flat.
Tobias studied Allegra’s bolded instruction that she would organize a ring. The word was clearly code for the fact that Allegra would be providing the ring.
His jaw compressed at the thought that she was going to the expense of buying a ring when she couldn’t afford to do so.
On impulse, he retrieved his phone and opened up the email with the attachment of the report Tulley had just sent through.
He had never thought overlong about Allegra as a businesswoman—he had been too busy focusing on nixing the attraction that sizzled between them—but now that aspect of her was brought sharply into view.
He knew she had a business degree from Stanford, but Tulley had clarified that it was actually a master’s in Finance, which was a considerably more prestigious, longer and more difficult degree. To add to the picture, apparently she had been a driven student, because she had graduated with distinction, with a grade point average of 4.7, which was crazy good.
Suddenly, the picture of Allegra as a good-time girl in search of a wealthy husband didn’t even come close to panning out.
If that was her goal, and with her looks, she could have married at eighteen and spent her life shopping and lunching. Instead, she had gotten into Stanford, which was no easy task. Then, she had worked for five years for a degree that fitted her out for a high-flying career in the financial fast lane, earning six figures just to start.
