The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  If she had just left him, broken and useless, it would have been so much easier.

  I thought if I could flirt a little and ask her out, it would all be said and done. But Garth had jumped on her the second he saw me near her. And I couldn’t keep going after her knowing that Garth was interested—otherwise, I’d look suspicious. I couldn’t peg anything on me. I couldn’t look like I might do anything wrong. That was what would win me this game.

  I forced a smile over my lips as my eyes locked on the man I had once called a best friend.

  That had been a long time ago. Long before my accident.

  Did you know you could turn into a psychopath? It was true. At least, that’s what all the studies seemed to suggest—at the simplist. And here I was. Wasn’t I living proof? Or maybe it was all in my head. A genuine smirk spread over my lips. Pun intended, I thought.

  Oh, come on; it was funny.

  Part of me sorta felt bad for what I was about to do. The girl didn’t really deserve to die, but I had to deal with this. I wasn’t going to let years of planning get ruined and wasn’t going to let Garth win. He always won. It was my turn.

  He stared at me with wide eyes. As if he could read my mind; as he if he knew I was about to kill him and his girlfriend and make it look like he had done it all.

  My smirk widened.

  I just had to hope that someone got the message, right? I mean it’s not like my life depended on it or anything. I strode into the living room and gave my friend a forced smile. I had no clue what I was supposed to do or say. She was right. He was behind all of this. Wasn’t he? My heart raced as I sat down across from my best friend. My best friend who had tried to kill my girlfriend. I took a deep breath as I heard the door open.

  She wandered out slowly, her eyes locked on Brent.

  “So,” I cleared my throat. “Should we beat around the bush a little longer, or should we just get to it?”

  Brent looked at me.

  Ally sat down at my side, her body shaking as I reached out and wrapped my arm around her.

  A grin spread over Brent’s face. “What do you mean, my dear friend?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Brent laughed. “What do you mean? I have no clue.”

  The doorbell ringing cut through the silence like a machete through butter. I stood.

  “Don’t,” he snapped.

  “Ally? Garth!” Rebecca called.

  “He’s got to.” Her eyes locked on him as she stared coldly. Like she was totally okay. “She’s a cop. What happens if she realizes we're in here and not answering her?”

  Brent stared at her, their eyes meeting. I opened my mouth to try and say something but couldn’t find the words. They stared each other down. How is she doing it? She didn’t look away from him the entire time.

  She just stared hard and cold. He looked away; finally, he looked away.

  "Fine, go get it," he said.

  I saw the tight smile spread across her lips as I nodded and walked towards the door, my heart racing. Are we going to have some kind of shoot out here? I couldn't help wondering.

  My pulse raced, and I could feel a cold sweat touch my neck as I reached out and grabbed the handle.

  I looked away from him the second I could. I hated the idea of having to stare at the man in front of me but wasn't going to be weak and let him know how much he'd affected me.

  "This isn't a movie," he whispered. I looked up. "You’re not going to win. Not after everything I’ve done. You should have died in that car crash—would have made my life so much easier.”

  My heart skipped a beat. He wanted me dead. I already knew it but hearing him say that made my skin crawl. He’s going to try to kill me, I thought.

  “Now everything is different. Now you’re part of this. You could have left when you had the chance.” His eyes sparkled.

  Part of it.

  I was part of this now.

  I lowered my voice, leaning across the table. “Then do it now,” I challenged.

  A laugh passed through his lips. “I see why he likes you. You have balls.”

  I didn’t really think I did. I wanted to piss my pants right now, but hey; at least, I was a good actor—right?

  I took a deep breath, forcing myself to straighten up as Rebecca and Garth came into the room. Garth’s face was pale and his eyes wide as he stared at me

  “W-what's wrong? I stammered. I caught the smile on Brent’s lips before he forced it away.

  “Garth, buddy, what’s going on?”

  “I-I’ve got to go down to the police station to answer a couple questions about some mix-up,” he said, his voice all but shaking.

  My eyes widened. What did Brent do? I wanted to ask. Rebecca caught my eye, and I tried to silently plead with her.

  “Oh,” Brent sounded so upset. “I’m sure you will get it sorted out in no time. I can stay here with Ally. I’ll keep an eye on her after everything she’s been through.”

  My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach as I saw the way he looked at me.

  “Actually,” Rebecca spoke up, “we need you to come along as well.” She gave him a tight smile.

  “We?”

  “Yes, we’re hoping you can help us clear up some of the miscommunication about your business partner.”

  “Oh, I’d be happy to stop by tomorrow morning, but don’t you think someone should stay with Ally?”

  “You’re completely right, someone should stay with her. That’s why I’ve asked an officer to come with me, who is willing to stay with her.”

  “An officer? It’s just the two of you.”

  “No, we have two patrol cars.” She gave him another tight smile.

  The more he spoke, the more I was sure she was starting to believe me about his guilt. I tried not to get too excited. He’s sneaky. He might get out of this.

  “Well, if you need my help, and it really can't’ wait. I just hope Ally is safe.” His eyes locked on mine as he stood

  A shiver ran down my spine.

  “I’ll see you later.” It didn’t sound nice, more like a threat—and a promise. I all but whimpered. But I forced myself to sound stronger than I actually was and managed to form a smile over my lips.

  “For sure.”

  I’ll be seeing you behind bars if I have anything to say about it, I thought. I just had to hope that Rebecca had found whatever she needed to convict him. I want him out of my life. I want to make sure he never has a chance to see me again. What I really wanted was to make sure he could never try to kill me again, but I wasn’t even willing to admit that to myself.

  I looked at Rebecca; her eyes met mine. She looked sad for a fraction of a second, and I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized what was going on. Both of the men were being taken in for questioning, which meant there was a reason Rebecca needed to talk to Garth. Misconceptions was what he had said. What kind of misconceptions? I wondered. My heart raced as I watched them head for the door. I bit my lip; it took everything I had not to run out after them and beg to come with them.

  I didn’t dare move, though. I watched as the three of them made their way out of the room and into the hall, and I heard Rebecca speak.

  “Keep a close eye on her. She’s still … a target, and I want to make sure she’s okay. This is very important after …” She trailed off and cleared her throat. “Just … call for backup if anything happens.”

  My heart skipped a beat. What was going to happen to me? I took a deep breath trying to pretend I wasn’t scared shitless.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The cop sat on the couch the entire time. He was on edge, and every sound made him jump. Whatever is going on is much worse than I realized, I thought. I stood, padding over to the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge as I glanced at the clock. No wonder I was tired. I put the beer back in the fridge and turned to the cop.

  “I’m going to get some sleep,” I told him,

  He nodded. “If you need anything, just
give me a shout,” he said.

  “Now, you understand how that sounds, right?” Rebecca stared at me from across the table.

  “It’s the truth!” I insisted.

  She raised an eyebrow at me.

  I had no clue how a bloody shirt had gotten in my office! I wouldn’t lie about it. But she thinks you're guilty; of course, she thinks you’re lying. I blew out a deep breath.

  “Fine,” I said, trying not to get angry. That would just make me look more guilty, right? “Look, why would I keep a bloody shirt in my office? Why? You do know that we hire cleaners to come in every other night, right? They would have found it by now if it had been there for a while. I’ve been in Japan most of the time.”

  I watched the look on her face change; she tried to hide it, but I could tell. Please, please believe me. I wanted to beg but refused to.

  “So you’re saying you were set up?” She raised an eyebrow at me.

  “You and I both know what Ally told us. It was Brent who kidnapped her.”

  “And maybe you two are working together, and you are trying to pin it on him now that you’ve been caught.”

  “Why would I have Ally kidnapped?”

  “Maybe she’s gotten in the way.”

  “I love her,” I said without thinking. “You … you don’t kidnap someone you love. You don’t put them in danger.”

  “Then why did you let Brent in if you believed her?”

  “Because I don’t want to believe her,” I admitted looking down. We’d been at this for hours. “I wanted to think my friend wasn’t behind this. He’s my best friend. My business partner.”

  Rebecca shifted. She didn’t look happy. “And what would happen to the business if you were out of the picture?”

  I stared at her with wide eyes.

  “W-what do you mean?” The business would continue, I’d need Brent to keep things going. But … I’m not going to jail over this, I told myself.

  Rebecca blew out a deep breath. “Come on, Garth. You’re saying that it’s not you who is doing all this …” She pulled out a picture of the dead girl. I couldn’t bring myself to look at it and stared down at the table we sat at. “But if it’s not you, someone is trying really hard to make it look like it’s you, so who would do that?”

  “I’m sure I have lots of enemies.” I tried, one last time to defend my best friend.

  “Then who could be doing this? Who has access to your office?”

  I didn’t answer her.

  “Alyssa? Ally? Brent? Who else?”

  “I … I guess all the girls at the office, and the cleaners.”

  “And you think it was any of them? I’ve interviewed them, Garth. I know what they are like.” Meaning, she was sure they didn’t do it. She took a deep breath and pushed herself out of her seat. “I can’t go much further. Chances are, I’ve already crossed a line here with you, and I can’t afford to cross it any more than I have. I’m going to go talk to Brent. When I come back, do you want a coffee?”

  “Please,” I said softly. I couldn’t bring myself to look at her as she walked out of the room. How can this be happening to me?

  Was there any way Brent could be behind all of this? How? Why?

  I didn’t get it. Why would he do this to me? To us? If I go to jail for murder, the whole company will suffer. He will need to find someone else to take over this office, and the company name will be dragged through the mud.

  Who would want to buy a house from a company that had been run by a murderer? I inhaled deeply, my fingers running through my hair as I felt a tear hit the corner of my eye.

  What was going to happen?

  Am I going to get charged with murder? How could they have found a bloody shirt in my office? I’d just been in there today. I would have noticed a bloody shirt! And how had someone gotten one of my shirts on in the first place?

  I didn’t give anyone a key to my place. Which meant … Oh God.

  I always kept two spare shirts in the office. Everyone knew that. So anyone who had access to the office could have gotten the shirt and put it back in there. My mind raced as I tried to figure out the last time I actually used one of my spare shirts.

  For all I knew, that bloody shirt had been there for ages. A shiver ran down my spine at the idea that I’d been sitting in an office with a bloody shirt.

  But I still don’t get it, I thought. Why would he do any of this?

  I was left with that question for a long time. And the truth is, I couldn’t come up with a good reason. Maybe I was stupid, maybe he was stupid, or maybe I just didn’t want to see the truth.

  Finally, the door opened. Rebecca stepped inside with two coffees in her hand.

  “Long night?” I asked, looking at the dark circles under her eyes.

  “I just heard from the officer stationed with Ally. She’s sleeping.” She looked around. “Not that I should be telling you that.”

  “Then why are you?”

  “Because, I believe you. I don’t think you did any of this … But …” She paused, handing me the coffee.

  She watched as I took it from her and drank back half of it. “But what?

  “But, Brent is doing a good job. He’s … saying exactly what he should be, and he’s very convincing.”

  “But you don’t believe him?”

  “He’s too convincing. I’m not the only one who sees it. But he wants to testify against you. He wants to help solve the case. If he goes on record saying ...

  My heart raced. He was going to lie?

  "No!" I said. "He's lying."

  "I know, but there is nothing I can do about it."

  "He's setting me up. He'd have access to my spare shirt in my office."

  Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Really? And you'd be willing to let us look at your office videos from the past two weeks?"

  "Of course." Why was she even asking me. She should have known that I'd say yes. She should have just told me she wanted them. "Go get them if you want."

  A smile touched her lips. "I'll send someone." She stood, paused, and flashed me a wide smile. "Thank you for cooperating with our investigation."

  Of course. What else was I going to do?

  I just nodded; I didn’t dare say it and didn’t want her to decide she shouldn’t be nice to me. I took a deep breath, trying not to worry about it. But I mean really, how could I not worry about this?

  I might be going to jail for something I didn’t do. And if I didn’t go to jail, my best friend and business partner would be. I breathed deeply and tried to relax. Yea, that’s not going to work.

  I woke the next morning to a door opening.

  My heart slammed in my chest, and I bolted upright. How could I have slept? I looked at the clock. How could I have slept that long?

  Throwing the blankets off my body, I jumped out of the bed, rushing for the door to see who was there.

  “Garth!” I almost screamed.

  I ran towards him, throwing my arms around his neck.

  His arms wrapped around me tightly, pulling me close to him. His head nuzzled into the crook between my neck and my shoulders as he took a deep breath.

  “Ally.” He whispered my name so softly I almost missed it.

  I pulled away and looked him up and down.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing … everything … I don’t know.”

  I looked past him. Rebecca stood there.

  My heart skipped a beat. “Are …wh—” I couldn’t bring myself to put together words, let alone a sentence. “Brent?”

  “He was released along with Garth,” Rebecca said.

  “What?” My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. No. No, there was no way this could have happened. “No.” I shook my head. “You can’t.”

  “I can’t convict him right now. There … isn’t enough evidence on him.”

  “What about Alyssa?”

  “Alyssa is dead.”

  I felt my knees give. If it weren’t for
Garth holding me, I would have hit the floor and knew it.

  “What? No. She’s—”

  “She was found in her hospital bed an hour before I came to pick Garth up last night,”

  “No.”

  My mind raced. I felt like I was going to puke, it was buzzing so fast. I shook my head. This couldn’t be happening.

  I had never liked Alyssa, but that didn’t mean I wanted her dead. She had saved my life.

  “It looks like she took her own life over the guilt.”

  “You don’t believe that,” Garth said.

  “If she were truly guilty over it, she would have helped us catch her partner,” Rebecca said. She looked away. “I shouldn’t be talking to you guys about this. You’re part of an investigation.”

  My heart did a double take. We were part of an investigation. I couldn’t believe it.

  I pulled away from Garth.

  “I need to sit,” I muttered more to myself than anyone else. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to stand much longer and couldn't make Garth hold me up the entire time.

  “How could this have happened to her?”

  “We didn’t have her guarded,” Rebecca defended. “We didn’t think it was going to be that bad. We didn’t think …” She shook her head. “After it happened, I knew Ally couldn’t be left alone when I took you away. She still can’t be left alone.”

  “I won’t leave her alone.”

  “Same.”

  I looked up at Rebecca. She was going to be staying with us until all of this was said and done.

  “You’re …”

  “I have to.” She cut Garth off. “I uh, might have accidently said something to Brent that could put her in danger.” Her cheeks flushed. “I’ve got an officer out in the hallway as well.”

  “Do you think he will actually risk it with an officer there?”

  “Honestly, no.” Rebecca cleared her throat. “That’s why we’re going to need to get a little lucky. I’m hoping he will be watching the place. And I’m hoping he’s desperate enough to make his move as soon as that officer goes to get a coffee.”

  “That’s a lot of hoping,” Garth said. I could tell he didn’t sound happy.