A jumble of emotions rose in her throat, none of them good. “What did she want?”
“What she always wants.”
Money. Riley almost laughed out loud. “Really? Does she know we’re knee-deep in medical bills?”
Her father didn’t say anything, and a clawing panic gripped her. “Dad? What did you say to her?” He never could turn her mother down. Not even after she left him to raise their daughter alone. Not after she kept coming to him, begging to help her out of one scrape after another over the years.
“I told her to stop by.”
“Dad! She can’t come by. I’m not there. You know how she is.”
He didn’t speak for a moment, and Riley knew what that meant. He was getting emotional. Finally, he said, “I can’t tell her no.”
“We don’t have any money to spare. You know this. I’m massively behind on paying the rent. Please, just tell her you can’t help right now.”
“I have a little socked away.” By that he meant the $200 she’d placed in the cookie jar in case there was an emergency while she was gone.
She wanted to yell at him and tell him not to touch that money. Not if he was going to give it to her. But she was now first in line and had to order. “I have to go, Dad. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
She hung up, too flustered to think about the order. It took her way too long to get herself back together and tell the man behind the counter what she wanted in a take-out bag. Luckily, by the time she got back to Shadow’s room, she had herself under control once again. For the most part, anyway.
The man in the security uniform stepped aside as she approached. She knocked, and Shadow opened the door. After she pulled out the food onto the desk, he inhaled deeply and grinned. “That smells amazing. But this is a lot of food. Are you starving?”
“I thought we could see if your manager wanted some. He was so happy with the food yesterday.”
Shadow froze, a look she couldn’t quite interpret in his eyes. Was he upset? She didn’t ask about getting Jalen food. Maybe he didn’t want her spending money without getting permission. She was about to beg for forgiveness when he cleared his throat. “That’s very thoughtful of you,” he finally said. “Last I checked, he was going to be busy all night, though. He asked that I not disturb him.”
“Oh.” Her face grew hot. “Sorry, I guess I should have checked with you.”
Shadow placed his hand on hers, warmth seeping through his glove. “No. Don’t be sorry.”
“But I wasted food.”
“You were considerate. Never apologize for kindness.”
Something in his voice made her gaze snap to his. He squeezed her hand before letting go. Why did it give her butterflies? She looked down at the food. “Well, I suppose we could put the extra in the fridge.”
Shadow nodded. “Yes.”
They sat down, and Riley’s stomach growled. She’d never smelled anything so good. The taste did not disappoint, either. The clams were so fresh, she couldn’t believe how delicious they were. Delicate, yet chewy in a satisfying way.
Shadow closed his eyes and sat back in his chair. “Where did you find this place? This is amazing food.”
“Just down the street. The building is nothing at all to look at, but I followed the smell, and I must say, I’m pretty happy.”
“Great choice. I may eat Jalen’s portion and not tell him you bought extra.” He gave her a wicked smile.
She poked him in the side. “Don’t you dare. He went on and on about the shrimp. I think he’d love these.”
Shadow chuckled, so quietly it was almost to himself. “He would for sure.”
Riley’s phone made a noise in her bag, and she fished it out. A text had come from her neighbor, Mrs. Lewis.
Your mother’s car is out front.
She frowned and put her phone back in her bag.
“Everything okay?” Shadow motioned to her bag with his fork. “You don’t look happy about that text.”
Debating for a second if she wanted to say anything, Riley bit her lower lip. “Do you mind if I make a quick call?”
“Go ahead. You can step out onto the deck if you need privacy.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s okay. It’s nothing, really.”
He went back to his clams, and she punched in Mrs. Lewis’s name. The woman answered quickly. “Riley?”
“Hi Mrs. Lewis.”
“I’m sorry to bother you. I know you’re on a job. I just got worried when I saw her car.”
“Dad told me she was going to stop by.”
“Do you want me to go over there?”
Dorothy Lewis had lived in the apartment next to her father for ten years now. She was the sweetest woman, alone now since her husband passed away. She was always willing to check on Dad, or help with anything. But she didn’t want to send her over to deal with her mother. That was asking too much. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”
“I just worry about your father.”
“That’s so kind of you. I’m sure it will be fine. My mother will leave after she gets what she wants.”
“But your poor father…”
Riley’s heart filled. Mrs. Lewis knew all about her mother and what she was like. “It’s okay.”
“Oh, wait. I think I see her leaving. Just a second.” Rustling noises sounded, and Dorothy came back on the line. “Yes. She’s getting in her car. When she leaves, I’ll go check on your father.”
“You’re a good woman, Dorothy.”
“You know I can’t sleep well unless I know he’s okay.”
“I know. Thank you.”
“Goodbye, dear. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Bye.” Riley hung up and slipped her phone back in her bag. An awkwardness hung in the air between her and Shadow as he pretended not to have heard the whole conversation. But he had heard, and she knew he had questions.
“That was the neighbor. She worries about my father.”
“Oh?” He didn’t say anything else, but she could feel the unasked questions in the air. He was being polite. She appreciated that.
Still, it felt odd to leave it as it was. “My parents divorced when I was young, but my mother still comes around every couple of years…when she wants money.” Nice. Now she was oversharing. Why didn’t she just tell him about the bump on her little toe she suspected was a wart? That would make the conversation better.
He frowned. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Now would be a good time to change the subject. Maybe talk about the food. Or the weather. It was a nice day for a swim. But for some reason, her mind blanked. “Yeah,” she said, trying to fill the silence. “Mom has never been, shall we say, a role model.”
His gaze softened, and he shifted. “That must have been hard on you.”
“Yes.” For some reason, emotion surged in her, and she found herself blinking back tears. Stupid! Why was she getting all weepy right now? She was at work. Her purpose was not to open up all her family trash to Shadow Walker. In fact, she should be trying to get him to talk to her about that kind of stuff. She shoved back the emotion and pushed her empty plate away. “What about you? Are your parents still together?”
Sir Barks-a-Lot decided to announce the presence of a seagull on the deck, his tail wagging as he barked out a happy greeting, his head stuck between the blinds. Shadow smiled at the dog, then looked down at the carpet. “They passed away when I was ten.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She had not expected that. But it was a great tidbit to Google search if she could pinpoint who Shadow reminded her of. That kind of information would be exactly what would expose him in the end.
A bit of guilt threaded through her, tightening her throat. He was telling her something personal. How could she be thinking of using it against him? Yet, she had to if she wanted to get the promotion and have any hope of paying the mountain of bills piling
up. It’s not like she wanted to do it. She had no choice.
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”
“Was it a car accident?” Was that rude to ask? She didn’t really want to know for research, she was curious how they both died.
Shadow’s gaze pierced through her, and he paused for a few seconds, as if he were trying to decide if he should tell her. He must have decided to confide in her, because he quietly said, “House fire.”
“Oh, no.” That sounded horrible. She couldn’t even imagine losing your parents and your home at such a young age. “Did you have family who raised you?”
He shook his head. “I went into the foster-care system.”
A flood of terrible images came into her mind at the thought. She’d heard too many horror stories about the foster care system.
He must have seen it on her face, because he leaned closer to her. “It’s not like in the movies. Not everyone has a terrible experience. I got placed with a good family and was adopted a year later.”
Relief for him flooded over her. She hated to think he had suffered in the system that was supposed to help. Every child deserved a loving parent. She stood and began to clean up the mess. “I’m so glad.”
“I talk with my mother every week. We have a good relationship.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“Yes, I had an older brother. He was also adopted. He passed a couple of years ago.”
She paused before snapping the plastic lid over the leftovers. “So much loss. I’m sorry.”
“It’s shaped me into who I am today.”
Riley had never thought about it that way before, but Shadow was right. She’d be a different person had her past been sugarcoated. She was stronger for it, even though it was hard to go through those things. She put the trash into the take-out bag and stuffed it into the small trashcan, then she nodded at him. “You’re right. I get that.”
“Is your father okay?”
Her chest tightened at the mention of her father. No, he wasn’t okay. He desperately needed a heart transplant. Being on the list was nerve wracking to say the least. They had to wait for people to either get a heart that could have been his or die from their illness and drop off so he could move closer to the top. It was a morbid place to be, and she hated thinking about it. And yet, she had to, because without that transplant, he would die.
She stared at the blinds covering the sliding glass door and wondered why Shadow didn’t let in some sunlight. Wanting to busy herself, she began straightening up the rest of the room. “He’ll be fine.”
It was a lie, but she didn’t want to talk about her father to the man she would be exposing to the world. She wanted to dig up dirt on him, find out who he was, and get home so she could get the promotion and the big wad of cash that would come from the story. It didn’t matter that he was a kind man who seemed to care about her and her father. Kindness couldn’t fix the situation she was in. Only money could. And that meant she needed to get her job done and get out of there.
Chapter 6
Jalen noticed the shift in mood as Riley rushed around cleaning up his room. She was uncomfortable with his questions. He could understand. She didn’t know him. He was prying, and he needed to back off. He picked up his phone and scrolled down the schedule for today. He’d started to look at it, but had gotten distracted.
“Looks like I’m free until three o’clock, when I lead a craft in the conference room off the lobby. They called it Painting with Shadow Walker.”
Riley lifted one eyebrow. “You paint, too?”
“Not really. But I’ve watched enough Bob Ross to know it’s all about the happy accidents.”
That got a smile out of her. “I love Bob Ross.”
“Well, don’t expect anything nearly as artsy coming from me. I’m basically going to be standing at the front trying not to look like a fool.”
She pinched her lips together, like she was trying not to laugh. “Do you have an idea of what you want to show them?”
“Not really. I was just going to wing it.” He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his neck, trying to look cool. To finish off the look, he propped his feet up on the desk. He was never the cool kid, but dressed as Shadow, he had found it was much easier to pretend to be.
“I could never do that. I wouldn’t know what to say. I’d have to get it all planned out.”
He shrugged. “They’re not really there to paint, anyway. They just want to spend time with a famous pop star.”
Riley made a face, her nose wrinkling. It looked cute on her. “Are you being egotistical right now?”
He chuckled, enjoying their banter. He liked that she was challenging him. “I’m not being egotistical. Just realistic. I’m famous, and people pay to be around me.” He wasn’t normally cocky, but he was in a strange mood, so he added on a wink. Unfortunately, he must have leaned back a bit too much because his chair chose that moment to tip backwards. He lost his balance and careened to the floor, the chair shooting out from under him and crashing against the desk.
Riley let out a laugh as Sir Barks jumped on him and raised a ruckus, licking his face and happily barking, thinking he was on the floor to play with him. Heat rushed to his face, and he was glad he was wearing a mask to hide most of his embarrassment. Instead of getting up, he stayed on the floor, letting Sir Barks assault him with kisses.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked, obviously trying to get her giggles under control but failing.
“I think I bruised my butt…”
“And your pride?”
“Most definitely my pride.” He shifted and groaned. “And maybe my back.”
Riley stopped laughing and crouched down next to him. “Does it hurt? Did you throw your back out?”
Throw his back out? He winced, and sat up. “No. How old do you think I am?”
“I don’t know.” She stilled, and something about her changed, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. “How old are you?” she asked, quietly.
Jalen studied her, trying to unlock what was behind her fascinating green eyes. He hadn’t noticed them before, but now that he was this close, he could see the flecks of gold embedded in them. Stunning. He blinked and tried to remember what she’d said. His age. Yes. Was she asking because she wanted to know if there was a possibility they could be compatible? The thought made his breath hitch. “Twenty-seven.”
A strange mix of feelings filled him as he watched Riley’s face. She must have thought he was a lot older, because a look of surprise flitted across her features before she carefully masked her reaction.
He shouldn’t have told her his age, and regret sunk into the pit of his stomach as he realized the more he divulged, the closer she would come to knowing his real identity. And yet, he wanted her to know his age, for some reason. He wanted to be the kind of man she could see herself getting involved with.
Her eyebrows knit together, and she squinted at him. “Oh, no. Did you get a sunburn?”
Leave it to Riley to notice and care about something so minor. He smiled. “Just a small one.”
“Does it hurt?”
“No.”
She could have said, “I told you so,” but instead, she gingerly reached out and touched his jawline. The touch of her skin on his sent a sensation through him he’d never felt before. Like warmth and softness mixed with an electric current that raced over him. It took all his willpower to not gasp at her.
“Are you sure? I have some aloe vera in my room. I could go get it.”
She removed her hand before he was ready which sent a wave of disappointment through him. His face didn’t hurt, but he found himself wanting the aloe vera anyway. “If it wouldn’t be too much of a bother.”
“No.” She jumped up. “It’s just next door. I’ll be right back.”
Jalen debated whether to move to the couch while she was gone or to stay on the floor. Sir Barks had curled up into his lap, which ultimately made the decision. He waited fo
r her to return.
It didn’t take long. Riley sat on the floor next to him and handed him a small, green bottle. Sir Barks, the traitor, jumped from his lap to hers. He squeezed some gel onto the palm of his hand and dipped his fingers into it. Her gaze followed his movements as he spread it over his skin.
“Why don’t you go into the bathroom and put it on? It looks like it would be easier if you could take off your mask.”
“I think I got it.”
Riley shook her head, holding back a smile. “Not really.”
“I didn’t? What did I miss?”
Instead of telling him where he missed, she grabbed his hand, scooped the last of the gel and applied it to a couple of spots on his skin. He held perfectly still as she touched him, unable to breathe.
“There,” she said, wiping her hands together. “That should make it feel better.”
He slowly exhaled, staring at the few strands of hair that had worked themselves free from her bun and now hung down the side of her face. He wondered what she would look like with her hair down.
Her phone rang from her bag, and she flushed. “Sorry, can I take that?”
“Of course.”
Sir Barks jumped off her lap when she grabbed her bag, but instead of fishing out her phone, she rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. He could hear her muffled talking a second later.
His curiosity piqued as he wondered who she was talking to. Her father? A boyfriend? Maybe he could find a sneaky way to find out if she was in a relationship. He rolled his eyes and picked himself up off the floor. It was stupid of him to feel jealous of a phone call. And if he wanted to know if she had a boyfriend, he should just ask. He wasn’t twelve, and neither was she.
He passed by the mirror and adjusted his skull cap and mask. He really shouldn’t be so careless with Riley. He didn’t know her. If she had wanted to, she could have grabbed his mask and yanked it off. Even though he doubted she’d ever do anything like that, he still needed to be careful. This was his entire career. If people found out who he was, he could kiss all his success goodbye.
As he waited for her call to be done, he started to feel guilty for monopolizing her time. He wasn’t paying her much at all. Just enough to be fair for grabbing a meal here and there and bringing him ibuprofen when he had a headache. Asking her to stay with him all day was selfish. She had things of her own going on.
A Deception of Massive Proportion: A Romantic Comedy (The Billionaire Club Book 3) Page 4
