Alex stopped massaging her back and looked at her stunned. “I’m sorry, a child?”
“He was having an affair with my best friend at the time. They had been sleeping together for almost a year. She wanted him to break it off with me and he didn’t want that so my lovely ex-best friend didn’t take her birth control which allowed her to get pregnant. She tricked him into the relationship that she wanted with him.”
Alex couldn’t speak. He didn’t have the right words for her. He stared at her in disbelief. “Eve, that is so horrible, what did you do?”
“What could I do? I stood there as he told me what he had done. He claims he thought he loved her too but after the stunt that she played he didn’t know how to handle the situation. I cried, he cried and then I told him where he could stick it and I left.”
Alex stood up and pulled her from her chair. He moved his fingers across her cheek. He looked into her eyes and frowned. “I don’t know how any man does that to another woman. But, I hope you know I would never do anything like that. Though, your friend isn’t much better. I have to say I was in a very similar situation and it hurt like hell.”
Eve nodded as he saw a tear run down her cheek. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t allow for that to happen again. So, I have been with guys who only wanted a fling.”
Alex wiped her tear away and grinned. “Well if I have a say in this, we are going to change your way of thinking.”
Eve smiled and leaned in to kiss his lips lightly. “I told you that I liked you, right?”
Alex nodded as he grabbed his suit jacket. “I need to get you back to your hotel so I can get back to the gallery and see how the investigation is going.”
She nodded as she grabbed her purse and headed out the front door with him. As they reached his car and got in, Alex put the key into the ignition and sat there for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“What happened with your friend and the baby?”
Eve smiled. “Their little girl is beautiful. She looks just like Ethan. They tried to make it work because of her but Ethan never really trusted my friend again. They split about a year later. Ethan’s sister told me that he loves that little girl but he regrets what happened every day.”
“His loss was my gain.”
CHAPTER TEN
Alex arrived back at the gallery around three in the afternoon. He had dropped Eve off at the hotel and set up plans for the evening. She would be arriving with her agent as the show began around seven.
In the meantime, he needed to clean up the gallery and talk to the officers that were there earlier in the day. As he walked through the main doors, his receptionist greeted him.
“Mr. Smith, the detective left his card and asked that you call him as soon as you can. They allowed us to have access to the room that we needed for tonight’s show but that’s it.”
“Have you seen Becca?” he asked her.
“Not since the detective asked her to follow him downtown. Did you want me to try her cell phone?”
Alex shook his head. “No, go back to cleaning. I want this place to shine tonight for Ms. Matthew’s opening.”
“Of course, Mr. Smith,” she said as she left him with the detective’s card.
Alex climbed the stairs to his office which had tape across the door. He ducked underneath it and walked over to his desk. He grabbed some of the paperwork that he needed but when he shifted the paperwork, he accidentally bumped his laptop and the screen turned on.
He sat down in his chair as pictures of Eve flashed on the screen. There were some topless photos and the others were what he assumed were with the rock star ex-boyfriend. They must not have realized that they were being photographed. He didn’t know how the pictures got there or why but he was furious as he threw his stapler across the room.
He slammed the laptop closed and stormed out of his office with it secured under his arm. He walked past the main desk and stopped. “Was anyone in my office today?”
“No sir, just the detectives from this morning but it’s been closed off all day.”
“I need to head downtown, if you need me for anything Beth, just call me. You are in charge this afternoon while I sort out this mess.”
Alex disappeared out the door as he phoned the detective.
“Masters,” he abruptly answered.
“It’s Alex Smith from the Lakeshore Gallery. I’m heading downtown right now. I need you to look at something.”
“That’s fine. I have some new information to go over with you. See you soon.”
Alex headed into the underground parking garage for the police station and hopped in the next available elevator. He leaned against the wall as he thought about Eve from that morning. The day had started out so peacefully and quickly turned into chaos.
He stepped out onto the floor as he passed through the hallway towards the detective’s office. He stopped at reception and saw Becca talking with another detective. He was surprised that she was still being detained.
“Mr. Smith, I’m over here,” the detective shouted across the room.
Alex made his way through the large amounts of desks and entered the detective’s office. “Why is Becca still here?”
The officer closed his door and sat behind his desk. “She’s involved with the break in last night.”
Alex gasped. “You have got to be kidding me?”
“No sir. She admitted that she turned off the alarm but she hasn’t come clean on why yet.”
Alex sat there and stared at the laptop. “I think I know why.”
The detective looked at him and then the computer. “Is that why you bought your computer here?”
“Yes, I think she may be jealous of someone in my life and wanted to start playing games. If you look at the computer, you will find evidence of that. I really don’t want you to see the pictures but it’s clear she wanted me to see them and it may help in your investigation.”
“My suggestion is that you put her on some kind of suspension until the investigation is complete. It may not be safe to have her around the building and make sure you change all the keys and your alarm code.”
“What has she said to you, can you tell me?”
“We know that she went back to the gallery around eleven o’clock last night. She said that she forgot something and had to go back but we believe shortly after midnight is when the break in occurred. She claims she had nothing to do with it. I’m still looking into that.”
Alex nodded. “Can I talk to her?”
He nodded. “Sure but we’ll be watching and see if she slips up on anything.”
The detective stood up as Alex followed him out of the office and down the hall. They approached the door to where Becca was being interrogated by another detective. The door opened and he walked out as he shut the door behind him.
“I think we finally have the story, Masters.”
“What’s going on?” he asked as he introduced Alex.
“She saw Mr. Smith with a Ms. Matthews at a local night club. Apparently she became jealous of the two of them and decided to return to the gallery.”
Master jumped in. “Let me guess, she left very revealing photos of Ms. Matthews on Alex’s computer so he would be dissuaded from pursuing Ms. Matthews.”
“How did you know that?”
“Alex just came in with the computer and pictures.”
“Well yeah, she wanted to show him how Ms. Matthews wasn’t a good match for him. She thought that would put a wedge in the relationship and pull her and Mr. Smith closer to each other.”
“That doesn’t explain the break in though,” Alex stated.
“She said that she left in such a hurry that she forgot to put the alarm back on. Some officers just located the missing merchandise. It was a couple of local kids just causing trouble. We can return the items as soon as it’s official.”
Alex nodded and couldn’t believe how the last twenty four hours had played out in front of him.
<
br /> Masters turned to Alex. “How do you want to proceed with the charges?”
“I want to press charges against the kids. They can’t get away with that. They ruined something very dear to my heart. As for Becca, I would like to speak with her.”
Masters opened the door and Becca buried her head in hands. Alex sat down at the table and stared at her. “Becca, I just don’t understand this. You were so wonderful to me and had a promising career in front of you.”
“I know, Mr. Smith. I’m so sorry about all of this.” She started to cry. “I don’t know what came over me. When I saw you and Ms. Matthews kissing last night, something just snapped inside of me.”
“Why Becca, it’s not like we were a couple, I’m your boss. You never even made an inappropriate comment to me in the past.”
“I tried to hide it. I’ve been in love with you since the moment I saw you.”
“You are in love with me?” Alex shouted.
Becca buried her head again. “I couldn’t help myself. You are gorgeous and well mannered. You are everything that I wanted in a man. But, no one could get near you because of Emily. I knew that you guys had dated. I knew everything about your relationship. I played dumb so I could get closer to you.”
“God Becca, are you serious? Do you know how crazy this all sounds to me?”
She continued. “When I saw you and Emily in your office and then she had the nerve to kiss you as she left. I wanted to hurt her. She doesn’t even deserve your friendship. Then, I saw you kiss Ms. Matthews. I couldn’t understand how you fell so fast for her. You barely know her and you guys were making out.”
“Becca that was none of your business, I don’t want you near Eve, do you hear me? Did you destroy Emily’s painting?”
She slowly nodded. “I hated what she did to you. She broke you when she went back to that football player. I took my anger out on the painting.”
“If you knew anything about me, you would have known that painting meant the world to me.”
“I’m so sorry that I caused all of this. I swear I didn’t have anything to do with the break in though.”
“I know you didn’t, they caught the kids but I trusted you Becca and you betrayed that trust. You are fired. If I catch you anywhere near me, Ms. Matthews or my gallery, you will regret it.”
Alex stood up and left the room. On the way out he ran into Masters. “I want to press charges against her and the kids. They need to learn from their mistakes.”
“Of course, here’s your laptop. I know you don’t want those photos to be seen by prying eyes and we have all the evidence we need and her confession. I will be in contact if I need you.”
Alex nodded and headed towards the door. He couldn’t believe how the day played out. It started out so wonderful with Eve and ended in disaster. He needed to make sure her show was a huge success and nothing was going to stop him.
He rushed back towards the gallery but realized that he needed to hire a new assistant but didn’t think he could do it alone. He obviously had issues when it came to judging people and called in his reinforcements.
“Hey Alex, how’s the investigation going?” His sister answered the phone.
“Bottom line is Becca screwed me over. She’s at the police station right now. I need your help.”
“Of course, what can I do?”
“I need you to find and hire me a personal assistant. I’ve been through almost five of them and I’m not doing a good job. You are a good judge of people. Find someone and send them over to me.”
“Sure, I can handle that. How fast do you need someone?”
“I’m starting a new exhibit today so why don’t we say next week?”
“Sounds good, I will keep you posted on how things are going. Good luck with the new show.”
“Thanks, I’m looking forward to it. After this afternoon, I need to have some fun.”
Alex hung up with sister and walked into the gallery. Beth ran up to him with some paperwork to sign. “Everything is all set for tonight. I have confirmed with Ms. Matthews’ agent that she will be arriving at seven. We have confirmed with the caterers and everything is all set. We have cleaned the gallery except for your office. We didn’t want to touch anything until you gave us the green light.”
“Thank you, Beth. Please inform the staff that Becca no longer works here and is not permitted anywhere near this gallery.”
“Yes, of course, sir. I hope you don’t mind but I took a picture of Mrs. Mason’s painting and sent a copy of it to my friend. He repairs art work and I thought it was worth a shot. I know how much that painting meant to you.”
“Beth, thank you. That means the world to me. I will pay him anything to restore it. Keep me posted.”
“I will inform the staff about Becca. That’s a shame. I thought she would be around here for awhile.”
“Me too, Beth,” Alex stated as he headed upstairs into his office.
He placed the laptop back on his desk and tried to straighten up his surroundings. He sat down and sighed. He heard his cell phone ring and smiled.
“Hello Ms. Matthews.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a sexy voice?”
Alex laughed. “A few times but it’s always nice to hear.”
“How is everything going?” she asked.
“There are a few things I would like to discuss with you. Can I stop over for a short time?”
“Of course, I’m just sitting here on the patio.”
“I will see you shortly.” Alex hung up and grabbed his laptop again. He placed it into his bag and headed back downstairs and into the exhibit room. He noticed his employees as they cleaned the rugs and made sure the catering tables were properly set up. He briefly chatted with Beth and headed out the door to see Eve.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alex knocked on her hotel room a short time later and heard her feet cross the hardwood floor. He smiled when she opened the door. “Why hello there, Alex,” Eve said as she allowed him into the room.
“Hello, how are you?”
“I’m doing better now,” she said as she moved over to him and lightly kissed his lips.
Alex sighed as he closed his eyes and melted against her. His hand moved into her hair and held her lips against his.
Eve looked up at him. “Did you want some wine on the patio? I was just about to have a glass.”
Alex nodded. “That would be great. I have a couple of things to discuss with you.”
Eve smiled as she poured their glasses. “What’s going on?”
Alex grabbed his glass from her and placed it on the small patio table. He removed his suit jacket, tie and placed them on the chair behind him. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Becca was the cause of all my problems. She was so upset when she caught us kissing last night that she went back to the gallery, disabled the alarm and started her mission of hurting our relationship.”
Eve pouted as she listened to him. “What exactly did she do?”
Alex reached into his bag and pulled out his laptop. He slid it across the table and watched her. “Just open it up and the photos will start to play.”
Eve looked worried as she did what he asked her to do. He watched as her eyes scan the screen and she gasped. “Alex!”
He didn’t say anything right away. “I only saw a few of them.”
“These were taken with my ex-boyfriend. Most of them are with the rock star one. I had no idea that some of these existed. I thought I had found the majority of them and had them destroyed but that scummy ass dick wad had more of them and leaked them to the tabloid sites.”
“Becca thought she could show these to me and I would run screaming for the hills.”
Eve looked up from the screen horrified at the images in front of her. “You’re not?”
Alex shook his head and waved at the screen. “This was before me. We all make stupid mistakes. You trusted him and obviously he took advantage of it.”
Eve started to c
ry. She shut his computer and covered her face with her hands. “I’m so embarrassed right now, Alex.”
He stood up and went around the table and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t be embarrassed. I told you that I really don’t care about them but if you are worried that there are more pictures out there, I will hire someone to find them.”
Eve looked up into his eyes. “You would do that for me?”
“Yes. I like you, Eve. I really want to continue to see you and if that happens, I need to know that I’m the only person looking at that beautiful body of yours.”
Eve lightly kissed his lips. “You are too good to be true.”
“I’m not but I look out for my friends. I will handle the situation, don’t worry about it.”
“What happened to Becca?”
“I pressed charges against her and fired her. I need people around me who support me not hinder me.”
“I hope everything is ok for my show tonight.”
Alex nodded. “I have a great staff, we are all set and waiting for the guest of honor to arrive.”
Eve smiled and grabbed her glass of wine. “Are we still going to celebrate by going out tonight after the show ends?”
Alex grinned. “I would love that. I have a great spot that I’m going to take you.”
Eve looked up at him and smiled. He moved a piece of hair from her face and moved it behind her ear. He leaned down and gently kissed her.
He quickly parted his lips and found her tongue. Alex lightly bit her lower lip as he pulled away. He placed his hand on the side of her face and traced her lips with his thumb. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, Eve.”
Eve smirked at him. “I appreciate that but I really don’t want you to be.”
Alex groaned softly and shut his eyes. When he opened them, he grabbed Eve’s waist and twirled her around and pressed her back against the wall. He covered her lips with his and immediately pressed tighter against her.
She moaned softly as he felt her fingers tighten in his hair. She pulled him closer as if she was convinced there was still space between them. Alex held onto her as he lifted her from the wall and walked into her hotel room.
True Love (Volume 4) (Now and Forever) Page 5
