“What?” Lindsey asked as she took out the ingredients for a salad and slid them toward me with a cutting board and knife.
“You sound just like my mother,” I said.
“Well, Minnie is delightful, so I’m going to take that as a compliment,” she said with a grin.
“Yeah, she’s delightful until she starts poking and prodding about me not being in a relationship,” I said.
“She just wants you to be happy,” Lindsey said.
“Has anyone considered I’m happy just the way I am?”
“Your eyebrows doing their best to introduce your forehead to your nose isn’t making real convincing arguments for you,” Vince said, coming into the kitchen. “You look like something’s bothering you.”
“It was just a long day at work. Everything’s fine,” I said.
But the truth was, there was something on my mind. Throughout the rest of the night, it bothered me, constantly pricking in the back of my thoughts. I recognized the name of the investor when I skimmed through the file earlier, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was still on my mind when I got home after dinner with Vince, Lindsey, and Remy. Taking off my tie and grabbing a beer, I went to the living room to look over the file again.
I skimmed through the pages until I found the investor’s name and contact information again. Now that I was reading it over, the name clicked. It was the same guy who had applied to the firm where I got my start five years ago before branching off to start my own. He didn’t get the position then, and I never found out what went into that decision.
Maybe what got him looked over for the position could have something to do with what happened to Bryn’s money. It wasn’t a sure thing, but it might give me more insight. I could give my old boss a call to see if I could find out why he didn’t hire the guy. Checking the time, I realized it was too late to be making that phone call. I’d just give him a call the next day.
Feeling good about my next steps, I got in the shower to wash off the day and try to work some of the tension out of my muscles. Flopping onto my bed, I closed my eyes to try to steal as much sleep as I could from a night that already seemed too short before heading to work early in the morning. As tired as I was, I should have dropped right off to sleep. Instead, all I could think about was pretty brown eyes gazing at me filled with both sadness and fire.
5
Bryn
I was never one of those people who had a clear, firm idea about what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was a little girl, everybody always asked me. Just like every other little child, when I was at school or when I encountered new adults who wanted to get to know me, that was a question I got asked over and over again.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Even when I was really young, it struck me as strange that everybody who heard that question immediately jumped to what type of career they wanted.
So far, the most significant step I had taken to accomplish my goals of financial independence was finding a job where I could work from home. It meant flexibility and freedom. It meant I could be at home and didn’t have to report at any specific time. As long as I got my work done and in by deadlines, that was all that mattered to my clients. That also turned out to be what sometimes made me question my choice. I had to do what needed to be done by the time it was expected, even if it was the very last thing I wanted to be doing.
That’s what I was dealing with that afternoon as I stared at my laptop screen. Freelancing from home was usually a good thing, but at that moment, I was still stewing so much in my anger, I couldn’t make myself focus. Sitting at home was the last thing I wanted to be doing. It made me think too much about Justin and everything he’d put me through. I wanted to be doing something, anything, that could distract me.
When I submitted the last project, I grabbed my keys and headed out.
I had been waiting to hear back from Nick Freeman for days now, and I had never been particularly good at waiting.
I shook my head as I drove away from the house. Maybe this was a bad idea. I didn’t even know if anything good was going to come out of it. It was entirely possible after all this Nick was just going to tell me the same thing as all the others. There was nothing he could do, and I just needed to call the police if I wanted to get something done. Maybe I should just let it go.
Driving around aimlessly for a while brought me to a cute local park where I liked to walk. Strolling along the picturesque paths was a relaxing way to spend a few hours while waiting. At least I wasn’t looking at the same walls or giving in to my compulsion to pace.
It was getting late in the afternoon when my stomach started to rumble. Stopping at one of the little outside markets that dotted the park, I ordered a sandwich and fruit salad and brought it over to a tree to eat. When my lunch was done, I tossed my trash and headed home feeling that at least some of the edge was gone. As I walked into the house and contemplated throwing in a load of laundry, my phone rang. I fumbled around trying to pull it out of my pocket. When I finally did, I saw Nick’s name pop up on the screen.
Excitement fluttered in my stomach at the sight of the name. Possibly a bit more excitement than was really warranted.
“Hello?” I said.
“Bryn? This is Nick Freeman,” he said.
“Hi, Nick,” I said. “How are you?”
It was a perfectly acceptable question, yet it made me cringe.
“Doing fine. I wanted to talk to you about a couple things,” he said.
“Alright,” I said, gathering up clothes from the hamper so I had something to do with my hands. “Go ahead.”
“Actually, I’d rather not talk over the phone. Do you think you could meet me tonight?” he asked.
I paused, my hands still in the hamper and my head pressing my phone to my shoulder. He couldn’t see me, but I couldn’t bring myself to pull my bra out while talking to him. Particularly after he just asked me to meet up with him. It was business. It was definitely just business
“Tonight?” I asked to give my brain time to catch up.
“Yeah. I’m going to see my best friend for a bit in about an hour. We can have a drink and talk. I’ll text you the information,” he said.
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”
We ended the call, and a few seconds later, a text appeared. I opened it and read the information for the bar. It wasn’t somewhere I’d ever been, but I recognized the area. It was local and would only take me a few minutes to get there.
I hopped into the shower and blow-dried my hair before throwing on clothes and doing my makeup. I stared in the mirror, trying to decide if this was the look I was going for. We were meeting at a bar, so I could get away with being a little extra. But it was technically a business meeting, so I didn’t want my cleavage doing the talking for me. It was a fine line.
When I finally settled on my look, I headed out. I didn’t want to give myself any time to rethink anything, either the clothes or the fact that I was doing this at all. I wanted to know what was going on, but the fact that he didn’t want to talk about it on the phone made me nervous. If I didn’t go right then, I might end up talking myself out of it.
Leaving so fast meant I got to the bar early. I walked in cautiously, evaluating the space so I could settle into it. It was still early in the evening, which meant the place wasn’t crowded. I made my way over to the bar itself and sat on one of the round, backless stools.
“Hey, there,” a woman behind the bar said, walking up and setting a napkin down in front of me. “What can I get for you?”
She was smiling in that way that involved her eyes as much as her mouth. The happiness radiated out of her like it was just her natural state of being, and it put me at ease.
“Just a beer,” I said.
“Any particular kind?” she asked with a laugh.
I looked at the handles on the taps and shook my head. “Whatever’s your favorite.”
The woman grinned a little wi
der, if that was possible, and pulled a glass out. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”
“My first visit,” I said, watching her masterfully pull the beer.
“Then, welcome.” She looked like she was about to say something else, but her attention snapped over to the door as it opened. “Here comes trouble.”
It was said in a playful, teasing way rather than like she dreaded a brawl breaking out any moment. I looked up and was surprised to see it was Nick striding across the bar toward us. He dropped down onto the stool beside me and gave the bartender a look.
“What are you saying about me?” he asked. “Bryn here doesn’t need you spinning tales.”
The woman’s eyes widened, and she looked between us. “You two know each other?”
“Not really,” I said.
“This is Bryn Stephens,” I said. “She came to the office to talk to me about an issue she’s having, and I had her meet me here to discuss it. Bryn, this is Lindsey Trewes.”
“This is your best friend?” I asked, then was immediately embarrassed.
He glossed over my awkwardness again and nodded. “Best friend. Bar owner. Brother’s girlfriend. In that order.”
Lindsey shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.” She looked over at me. “It’s very nice to meet you, Bryn. I’ll do my best to keep this one in line.”
I laughed somewhat awkwardly. “Good to know.”
Nick turned to me with a big smile, and for a second, all I could concentrate on was how hot he was. Young and model-attractive, he was too sexy to be an investor. I couldn’t stop looking at him until he spoke again.
“So, I have news,” he said.
I immediately forgot his looks and zeroed in on the possibility I could get my money back.
6
Nick
It was difficult to interpret the look on Bryn’s face. There was some sort of emotion there, something affecting her expression. But I couldn’t quite figure it out. Not right up until the moment when I told her I had news. Then her eyes widened just a little, and I knew what that look was.
Hope.
It was a good thing I was the one who asked her to come out here to the bar and that I had potentially good news for her. It would have made me feel like a serious ass if I had to look into those big eyes, see the hope in them, and totally let her down.
The involuntary sway in her hips and the way she rolled her bottom lip in to bite down slightly on it when she was thinking meant I wasn’t going to fully discount hitting on her. Maybe just a little bit. But that wasn’t why I was there. I actually had good news for her.
“Are you hungry? Can I get you something to eat first?” I asked.
Bryn shook her head. “No, I’m fine. What’s the news you have to give me?”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
She looked something between aggravated and confused, squeezed her eyes closed, and then looked over at Lindsey. “Um, sure. Whatever’s good.”
Lindsey looked at me and lifted her eyebrow just enough to silently ask me what was going on. I smiled at her.
“Give us a couple of my favorites,” I told her.
“Sure,” my best friend said, continuing to stare at me for a couple more seconds before she turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
I turned to Bryn. “Alright. So, I went through the papers like you asked me to. You were right; what this guy did was pretty shady. And it was definitely illegal. He shouldn’t have been able to access your account to take the money out. But that’s a different point. The investor losing the money is serious bullshit, so I wanted to look into what kind of investor he was using.” Bryn looked down to conceal a giggle, and I tilted my head to get a better look at her. “What?”
She looked up and shook her head, making her hair bounce around her face and tumble back over her shoulders. “Nothing. It’s just… I like how you just kind of go for it. You’re so straightforward.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass as she stared at the remnants of her beer, then gave a shrug. “My mother and grandmother would both probably have the vapors if they heard you. All the other people I spoke to were so… delicate. They were so stuffy and formal, almost like they were too afraid to say anything even slightly negative. I think the world I’m looking for is litigious.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is obnoxious. But I understand what you’re saying,” I said.
She laughed and looked over at me. “Like that. You don’t try to sugarcoat things. The words are right there, and you say them. You don’t try to figure out prettier ones or try to make yourself seem smarter or more important. You just say what comes to mind.”
“Well, sometimes I would probably sound smarter if I did take a little time to figure out a better way to say things,” I said. We exchanged a quick smile, and I forced myself to look away. “Anyway, when I was going through the papers looking for the information about the investor, I thought something looked familiar. But it took me a minute to realize it.”
“To realize what?” she asked.
“The investor who Justin worked with was someone who came into the firm where I worked five years ago looking for a job. This was before I started my firm,” I said.
The kitchen door opened, and Lindsey came back out with two massive plates of food. She set one down in front of each of us. I dove right in, but Bryn just stared down at the mountain in front of her. It included a bacon, swiss cheese, and sautéed mushroom double-patty burger on a bun griddled with garlic butter, a pile of double-fried fries, a couple of mozzarella sticks, and small bowls with dipping sauces.
“Um,” Bryn said, cautiously poking at the toothpick tenuously holding the towering burger together. “I’m a vegetarian.”
I paused with my mouth full of beef and a tiny piece of crispy bacon sticking out of the corner of my mouth. “Oh, shit.” I poked the bacon back into my mouth. “Are you serious?”
Bryn shook her head. “Not even a little bit. This looks amazing.” She pulled the toothpick out of the burger and set it aside. “What is it?”
“Lindsey came up with it for me a couple of years back. I was kind of going through a funk.”
“A funk?” Bryn asked after her first big bite.
“Yeah. Work stuff. Trying to decide if I really wanted to stick with this career or do something more exciting. I’m the only one of my brothers who didn’t stay with the family business, and I was suddenly having questions about that.”
“It was a whole thing,” Lindsey said.
“Anyway. I came in here one night, and Lindsey made this for me to drown my funk in,” I said.
“So, it’s like the guy version of eating a pint of ice cream after a bad breakup,” Bryn said.
“Just a pint?” Lindsey asked. “Girl, you must have had some easy breakups.”
Bryn looked up at her with her mouth full and then glanced over at me.
“Not exactly,” I said. “Which is how she ended up here.”
“Ah,” Lindsey said.
There was an awkward silence until Bryn pointed at the little bowls sitting at the edge of her plate. “What’s that?”
Thankful for the diversion, I plunged a fry into my own little bowl. “The red one is marinara. It’s for the cheese sticks. The other one, though, that’s where the magic is. Mayonnaise and garlic. It’s to dip your fries in. I know it sounds weird, but it is pretty common in other cuisines. Just try it.”
Bryn looked at me with the same kind of incredulity my brothers did when I told them to try it. Finally, she picked up a fry and dipped it into the mixture. She bit it and her face contorted. Picking up the little bowl, she dropped it on the bar near my plate.
“See?” Lindsey said. “I told you it’s not universal. I might have made it, but that stuff is gross.”
I shrugged. “Can’t win them all. Which, actually, brings me back to the investor. He came in to have the interview at the firm where I was working, but he didn’t get the job. I never heard
anything else about him after that. My boss never talked about it and nobody else seemed to know what happened. I didn’t even think about him again until I saw his name in their papers. So, I called my old boss.”
“Did he remember him?” Bryn asked.
“He did. So, I asked why he didn’t get the job. He said when the guy came in for the interview, he exuded untrustworthiness. That’s a big problem when you work with money. He said there was more to it than that, but the biggest thing was he just didn’t feel like this guy could be trusted or would be able to handle large investments properly,” I said.
“And that’s the guy Justin worked with?” she asked.
“Yep. Apparently, someone took pity on him and gave him a job. And now that I know he’s the guy who’s responsible for this, I can look into the actual practices he used to see if he cut any corners that we could catch him on.”
Bryn nodded like she understood and looked back down at her burger. I was glad for that. If she wasn’t looking at me, I didn’t have to see the hope in her eyes anymore. That was good, considering it was possible I was about to steal it all right back.
“Okay,” she said.
“Now, I have to tell you. Even if I can prove he did something illegal, it might not mean you’ll be able to get your inheritance back. The money might be gone for good. And if, a very big if, this goes to court, it could take years to make it all the way through and deal with the red tape, appeals, everything. So, I might be able to prove your ex did illegal dealings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be able to get your money back,” I said.
I didn’t want to dash her hopes completely, but I also didn’t want her to get built up and then disappointed later. Being honest with her now might not be easy for her to hear, but at least it prepared her for the possible outcome. I could only hope maybe the situation was about justice and accountability, and not just about the money.
Bryn looked over at me, her eyes scanning over my face for a few seconds, and then she nodded again. “Okay.”
Millionaire Hero (Freeman Brothers Book 4) Page 3
