Page 90 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

I stepped out onto my porch and called my lawyer. But before he could pick up, I saw Laura’s car coming through the gate and put down the phone. So she was here. Just as I’d asked.

If Laura did know something about this, I felt almost sure she wouldn’t have come here today. But as she parked on the driveway and got out, I saw her looking at the security van, at Aaron working in the hallway.

“Everything okay?” she said.

I looked at her, searching her face for any trace that she knew what had happened. But there was nothing. Laura was like a blank slate. Suspiciously so. I watched the gentle curves of her face, before I saw the dark circles beneath her eyes. Sleepless night, Laura Solomon?

“Not really,” I said tersely. “There was a break-in.”

“Last night?” said Laura.

I shook my head. “Two days ago,” I replied.

“During the storm?”

“Before the storm, actually,” I said. “Or at least, while it was blowing in.” So far she hadn’t betrayed any knowledge of exactly when the break-in happened. I was satisfied for now. I didn’t want to believe it anyway. I didn’t know what I’d do if it turned out that Laura was responsible.

Laura shifted uneasily on her feet. She did want to tell me something, I knew that. But was it about what had happened at the house? Or was it about us?

Was it about Conor?

“Go on,” I said. “You can get started. I’ll be up in a minute once Aaron’s gone.” I didn’t feel like it was a good idea to leave Laura alone for too long. But maybe that was just the paranoia.

“Fine,” said Laura. “Oh, by the way. I might work late tonight.”

“Work late?” I said.

“I’ve got a lot to catch up on,” she said. “Besides, I could use the distraction right now.”

I nodded, smiling. “I guess seeing Tracey was a lot,” I said.

“Yeah,” said Laura, nodding.

“All right,” I grinned. I wanted to kiss her but I turned back and looked at Aaron. At the house. Could someone be watching?

“Go in,” I said. Laura hurried inside.

*

By the time evening came, my suspicions had grown. For a start, Laura didn’t have that much to do. I’d taken care of some of her workload, and her slow pace shocked me. But I was also unnerved by the amount of time she was spending in my office that morning. At first, I thought she was just happy to see me. But gradually, I realized that there was something else going on.

At first, I noticed that Laura kept coming in to check things with me—little bits of information she could normally have figured out for herself. I wasn’t the grouchy, uncommunicative man she’d met a few months ago, so it wasn’t like I was angry about helping her.

But gradually I wondered if Laura was spending a little too much time in my office. I felt guilty about not trusting her. But at the end of the day, there was no one else who could have put all the information together.

Laura Solomon…a plant sent to uncover my secrets? I could barely believe it, that the woman I’d known all my life was now working against me.

But of course, it wasn’t Conor she was working against. It was Lucien.

Eventually I’d had enough, and I decided I had to know for sure. As Laura came into my office for the seventh or eighth time that day, I stood up.

“Going somewhere?” she said.

“Just for a walk,” I replied.

“Mind if I join?” said Laura.

“Actually, I guess I’d prefer to be alone,” I said. “Maybe I can catch you later though. Since you’re staying late.”