Millionaire Hero (Freeman Brothers Book 4)

by Natasha L. Black

  “Okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, okay. I mean, I came to you because I had no idea what to do about the situation. This isn’t something I ever could have imagined would happen, and I just wanted to know what could be done about it. I don’t want Justin getting away with pulling something like that. Obviously, I want to get my money back. My inheritance was really important to me. Not just because of the money, but because of the fact that it came from my mother. Justin knew that and he still went behind my back and did this to me. That hurts even more than not having a nest egg anymore.”

  “Your ex stole your inheritance?” Lindsey asked.

  Bryn and I both looked over at her. She was leaned against the bar, her chin rested in her hand as she listened intently to the conversation unfold. When she realized we were staring at her, she straightened up, looking embarrassed.

  “Yeah,” Bryn told her. “That’s exactly what he did. He took every cent my mother left for me, invested it with an apparently incompetent investor, and lost it all.”

  “That son of a bitch,” Lindsey said.

  “Thank you, Lindsey,” I said. “Can Bryn and I finish talking now?”

  “Oh. Yes. Sorry, go ahead.”

  She went off to talk with some other customers, and I turned back to Bryn. “The hazards of having your best friend be a bar owner. You get the bartender who wants to listen to everything, and the best friend who wants to be all in your business.”

  “You two seem close,” Bryn said.

  “We are. Have been for a long time. Now she’s with my older brother, and that’s its own whole thing. But anyway, about your situation. I will keep looking into it and figure out what exactly happened. It’s possible it was just really irresponsible investing. That happens sometimes. But with that much money, I doubt it. I have a feeling something else is going on here. And when I figure it out, we’ll decide what can be done next,” I said. “I’ll keep in touch.”

  Bryn agreed and we spent a few minutes eating. When she was full, she gestured to Lindsey to get the bill, but Lindsey waved her off. Bryn smiled at me, said good night, and left. I was so focused on watching her leave, I didn’t notice Lindsey slide back into place in front of me. When I looked up, she was inches away.

  “You better watch out for her,” she said as I recovered from being startled. “She’s hungry for something.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I told her. “I have this under control. She just needs some help figuring this whole thing out. Don’t worry. I’ll stay on top just like always.”

  I cringed but tried not to let Lindsey notice.

  7

  Bryn

  Trish was an interesting figure in my life. Usually when I talked about her to other people, I would refer to her as an acquaintance. Sometimes a friendly acquaintance. Other times, a friend of a friend. But that was only because I couldn’t think of a more accurately descriptive term for her that wouldn’t get into the complicated way I saw this woman. If I really had to get right down to it and find a way to describe her, it would probably be that she was a sometimes friend if I could deal with her at that particular moment.

  That sounded really awful. I was fully aware of that. It wasn’t that I meant it to sound that bad. I didn’t really dislike Trish. At least, not most of the time. Not as a general rule, at any rate. She just wasn’t someone I clicked with immediately. Not for lack of trying on her part, though. From the first moment we met, she was eager to befriend me. She tried to latch onto me and develop much more of a friendship than I really felt building up between us.

  Not that there was anything particularly special about me. That wasn’t the point. Trish just liked people. She was one of those women who smiled all the time and wanted to be a part of everything. A lot of people really seemed to adore her. She was great for a gossip session at the coffee shop or to have somebody to commiserate with when you were having a bad day. But she was apparently also great for getting too flirty with other people’s boyfriends and forgetting to do the kinds of things she was supposed to be doing rather than gossiping. Things like work.

  But one more thing my sometimes friend was good at was being a brunch companion, and that Friday I woke up with a craving for eggs benedict. Wanting to thank her again for the tip about Nick anyway, I went ahead and invited Trish to a local brunch spot. She swept into the restaurant a vision in pink gingham. That was one of those fabrics that didn’t look like it would work on anybody over the age of five, yet in a sundress silhouette and paired with massive white sunglasses and a floppy hat, Trish pulled it off.

  She giggled excitedly when she saw me and scurried across the room. Her hug and a cheerful peck on my cheek were full of more energy and theatrics than was really warranted at this time of day, but I smiled at her all the same.

  I didn’t get a chance to even mention Nick before she launched into a story about the dates she went on that week. Trish wasn’t the type to relegate her dating activities only to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. That was far too limiting for her. We managed to get our orders in during a break between date descriptions, and she just kept on going.

  I had to admit, it was entertaining to listen to. Even if it didn’t sound like an actual person’s life. I was most of the way through my coveted eggs benedict when my phone went off beside me.

  I snatched the phone off the table and read it. The message from Nick was just as vague as the first time he asked to meet up. I told him I could come to his office again, then tucked the phone in my pocket. Trish was looking at me over the edge of her coffee cup in that wide-eyed way that said she was going to act like it didn’t bother her but was a little bit annoyed.

  “It was Nick,” I said. “Nick Freeman.”

  “Oh, Nick,” she said, wiggling a little in her seat and grinning at me. “You’re still talking to him.”

  “I am,” I said. “I actually wanted to thank you again for recommending I get in touch with him. He has been really helpful.”

  “Does he think he’s going to be able to do anything?” Trish asked.

  “Yeah, actually. At least, there’s a possibility. Apparently, he has some history with the investor Justin went to.”

  I gave her a basic explanation of what Nick told me, and Trish narrowed her eyes slightly.

  “That’s a lot for one text message,” she said.

  I shook my head. “It wasn’t all in that message. We had a meeting the other night.”

  “Night?” Trish asked. “He stayed late at the office?”

  “No, we actually went up to the bar.”

  Trish started giggling, and I wished I just went along with a late-night visit to the office.

  “Did you try anything?” she asked.

  “Trish,” I said. “Seriously.”

  “What? I would have.”

  “I know you would have,” I said.

  “Why not? I don’t exactly have the connections to be in a position to, but you should. If you can swing it, you definitely should try and hook up with Nick.”

  “Come on,” I said.

  “Come on, what? He’s rich and he is now the only one of the Freeman brothers who is still single. And have you seen the man? He’s gorgeous,” Trish said.

  I looked at her across the table. She took a bite of her food, met eyes with me again, and nodded like she was emphasizing her point. I considered her briefly, wondering if maybe I should trade that “sometimes friend” for a “never friend” thing.

  Trish rolled up a piece of pancake and dipped it into her coffee. When she pulled it out, part of it had fallen off, and she peered over the edge of the mug in search of it. I had to laugh. So, maybe I didn’t have to click the real-life unfriend button with Trish. She wasn’t harmful. Just sort of vapid. Sometimes there was a use for that.

  “Here’s the thing. I literally just got out of a relationship with a man who stole from me. And not just a little bit, like he swiped some cash out of my wallet. He cleared out my inheritance from my mother so he could
try to make money off it, then lost all of it. I’m not really in the mood for a new guy,” I said.

  Trish shrugged and nodded, muttering under her breath. “He’s still gorgeous.”

  “Tell me more about the project you’re working on. Is it going well?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  Trish worked for a nonprofit organization as a fundraising and event planner. For all the vapid personality traits she showed when she was just having a conversation, she was creative, brilliant, and sharp as a tack when it came to things like that. Her eyes lit up when I asked, and I settled in to finish my food while I listened to her elaborate plans.

  She decided helping one cause just wasn’t enough, so her current project involved several different organizations and causes in the area. It was aimed at each of them addressing a need for the other, while gaining support and funds from the community so they could all benefit. It was dizzying in its complexity and potential for good. It also left me with the thought that adopting a cat might not be a bad idea.

  We finished eating and chatted for a bit longer before Trish checked the time and realized she needed to leave so she wouldn’t be late for her next meeting. I glanced through my emails to make sure there was nothing too pressing I needed to deal with before heading to Nick’s office. A few reply emails were enough to tide everything over for a few more hours, and then I left for the office.

  I started feeling a bit nervous when I got to the office building. Up until that point I had only been thinking about the fact that he wanted to meet with me. It was just another step in my day. But without Trish there to talk to and just my own thoughts to keep my brain occupied, I started thinking about what he might want to say.

  I hoped it was good news. The truth was, at that point I had pretty much accepted I might not get my money back. Of course, I wanted it. If I had my way, there would be some path to take where I could look in my account and see everything was fully restored. But after hearing Nick say that might not be an option and having a long talk with myself, I was resigned to the idea that it might not happen.

  There was a chance, a good chance apparently, that what Justin did was irreversible, and I was never going to see a cent of my mother’s bequeathal to me ever again. I could live with that. Again, I didn’t rely on the money. It wasn’t necessary for my ongoing survival, and there weren’t any huge plans in my future hinging on it. The thought of not having it anymore was upsetting, and it might create some hassle if I wanted to embark on any big expenses sometime in the next few years.

  But that didn’t really matter at that point. What I realized was really important to me was holding Justin accountable and making sure he was forced to face responsibility for the wrong he did and the hurt he caused.

  Alright, so what I actually wanted was for him to have a smackdown. I wanted him to face massive legal issues for what he did. He skated by much too much in his life, and now I wanted him to have to deal with some actual consequences. Even if I never got my money back, just knowing he was dealing with fines, jail time, and whatever else they could do to him, as well as it being on his permanent record, would make me feel better.

  As I opened the door to the office building, my stomach rippled a bit. It wasn’t nerves. Instead, it was a vague, rolling nausea suddenly taking over. I rubbed it to try to settle it down a bit. Brunch must not have agreed with me. A few deep breaths helped to calm it down enough so I could go inside. The sick feeling was lost in confusion and curiosity when the receptionist directed me to a meeting room, and I walked in to see Nick sitting at a long table with two other men.

  8

  Nick

  It really wasn’t supposed to unfold exactly the way it did. From the very beginning, I had the full intention of keeping the whole situation with Bryn to myself. It wasn’t actually work. We hadn’t talked about anything like her hiring me, or me becoming anything more than just somebody giving her some insight into her situation. That was all I was supposed to be.

  And now that it wasn’t, I could only hope that she wasn’t going to be completely pissed at me. She had every right to be, of course. I was pretty certain I had reassured her I wasn’t going to start talking about it to other people. She hadn’t looked exactly pleased when we’d ended up telling Lindsey about it at the bar. But at least in that circumstance, she had taken the initiative to tell her. I hadn’t just blurted it all out. In fact, I had been pretty proud of myself for the restraint I showed and not telling Lindsey everything.

  It had started with Gabe. After the conversation with my old boss about the investor, I had the whole thing on my mind. When Gabe called me just a couple hours after that conversation, I decided he had an actual stake in the whole thing. After all, he worked at this firm, too. That meant anything I was involved in, technically he was also involved in. Also, he would just have extra insight into it.

  Maybe I wasn’t seeing the entire thing. Maybe there was something I hadn’t thought about that would be helpful to Bryn. Maybe I just need to talk about it because it was building up pressure inside my skull and I needed to let it out.

  Whatever the reason, I ended up telling Gabe all about it. That wasn’t so bad. He took it from a professional perspective, and we were able to talk through everything so I could be completely confident in how I was approaching it. It was when I accidentally got my brother Quentin involved that things started to go a little sideways.

  So, there we were. Sitting in the conference room with Bryn at the doorway, staring at the two men she didn’t know. I gestured for her to come inside, and she sat down. I tried to gauge her reaction as I introduced the two men.

  “This is my older brother, Quentin,” I said. “And this is my good friend and business partner, Gabe. I told them about your situation, and they have some input they’d like to give.”

  “Input?” Bryn asked, sounding unsure.

  “Both have friends in law enforcement,” I explained. “So, they wanted to be sure I was doing everything right.”

  I did my best not to let the aggravation I felt trickle into my voice. In reality, the whole thing rankled me. I understood both men had insight into the situation and really did have friends in law enforcement. They would want to make sure I was handling all aspects of the situation properly. Both from an investment perspective, and from a legal one. But I knew what I was doing. I didn’t need them hovering over me.

  As much as it frustrated me, though, I decided I might as well go along with it and willingly accept the help. Not only did I not have much choice in them butting themselves in, but I trusted both of them. They would do everything they could to help. These were the kind of circumstances that would dig at both of them. Neither responded kindly to crooks. Especially crooks who took advantage of women who cared about and trusted them.

  “I already told you there might be some illegal dealings going on here. Gabe is going to speak with his friend on the police force and see if he has any ideas. Quentin here is going to get in touch with the cybercrimes unit he is friendly with, as well as his contact with the police department. They are going to make sure everything I do is properly documented so there is no question or ambiguity about what’s going on.”

  “This sounds like it’s getting pretty complicated,” Bryn said.

  She looked kind of pale, and I noticed her lean back in her chair and rest her hand on her stomach for a second. It was the same kind of gesture my father did when he ate too much, too fast and got heartburn. I was fairly confident she hadn’t spent the five minutes prior to coming into my office gorging on chili cheese dogs, so I figured it must be the stress getting to her.

  “It could be a pretty complicated situation,” Gabe agreed. “But we’re going to help you figure it out.”

  Bryn glanced over at me, then back at the other two men and nodded. I sat back and let Quentin and Gabe talk. They asked her questions about her relationship with Justin, how they handled their finances, and how she found out about the theft. When she had told them a
ll of that, they asked again, then delved into other elements of their relationship and her life before it.

  By the way she kept glancing over at me, it seemed Bryn wasn’t totally on board with how much they were prying, but after a while she either gave up wanting to be put off by the questions, or figured out they were asking to get a full picture of what was going on. They had been talking and going over everything she knew about Justin and the situation for over an hour when I finally called an end to the meeting.

  “Alright, I think we got some pretty good work done this afternoon, but we should go ahead and wrap this up. I’m starving. Is anybody else hungry? We could order some food in,” I offered.

  “Can’t,” Gabe said. “I really got to get back to Cynthia.”

  “No problem,” I said. “Let her know I’m thinking about her and hope she is on the mend.”

  Gabe said goodbye to Bryn and headed out of the office. I turned my attention to Quentin.

  “How about you?” I asked. “Are you hungry?”

  “I, too, have a wife I need to get back to. She’s been bringing the baby to work, and I need to get back there to take over for a bit,” he said.

  With him gone, all that was left was Bryn.

  “Down to your last resort,” she said.

  I laughed and shook my head. “Actually, I was going to say, ‘save the best for last.’”

  “Much like that burger at the bar, it’s cheesy, but I’ll take it,” Bryn said.

  “Speaking of which, why don’t we go back there? They have some good food other than giant greasy burgers,” I said.

  “As long as you promise not to get garlic mayonnaise anywhere near me, I’m in,” she said.

  We headed for the bar, but rather than perching on the stools, we took a corner booth. She ordered ginger ale, and I noticed she seemed hesitant about ordering anything to eat. Finally settling on a bowl of soup and club sandwich, Bryn settled back into the seat and let out a sigh.