Since then, I’d been fuming.
Why hadn’t I bothered looking at the company email until Monday? I could have spent the weekend… Doing what exactly?I rubbed my jaw, more annoyed than I’d been in a long time. No one turned me down.
What the fuck was the issue? The money? Fine. Maybe all her sweet and innocent bullshit had been just a perfectly orchestrated act and she’d played me. I’d fallen into her trap so easily she would consider it child’s play.
I jerked up from my chair, trying to figure out how best to handle the situation. I wasn’t going to beg her to work with me. What I needed was leverage. The woman was hiding something and I was determined to find out what that was.
Call it principles.
Call it being furious because I never lost. No one dared deny me. Why her?
Hissing, I stared out the window at the bright sunshine and for the life of me, I wasn’t certain why her refusal bothered me as much as it did. But here I was so angry I couldn’t breathe normally.
The light knock on my door was met with a snarl. “What?”
Michael laughed when he walked in. “I can see you’re in a worse mood than before. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“She turned me down.”
The corners of his mouth upturned. “The girl’s got moxie.”
“That’s not what I’d call it.”
“You’re practically foaming at the mouth.”
“So the fuck what?” I noticed he had a folder in his hand. “Tell me you found something.”
Now he seemed hesitant. “Please tell me you’re not going to use what I discovered to hurt her, but only to try and convince her to change her mind.”
“Why would I want to hurt her?”
“Because I know you too well. Remember?”
Gritting my teeth, I walked closer, trying to snatch the file from his hand, which he jerked away.
“Promise me,” he demanded.
“Fine. Just tell me what you found.”
“Okay. First of all, she has a brother.”
“Don’t we all. As if I wanted to admit I do. That’s nothing.”
He grinned. “Well, he was arrested on Saturday.”
“For what?” Now it was getting more interesting.
“Selling drugs. He’s been in trouble before, but this time, the charge is likely to stick given the amount found in his possession. The authorities also charged him with intent to sell.”
I half laughed even as a small part of me felt sorry for her. “Ouch. Is he still in jail?’
“Nope. Guess who bailed him out?”
My grin widened. “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Find out everything you can about her brother. I mean everything. The information could prove to be very useful.”
Michael sighed. “I debated telling you and I’m starting to think I did the wrong thing. My guess is she’s not in a very good place right now and from what you’ve told me, the two of you areoil and water. Add a little gasoline and you’re combustible. She doesn’t need you bringing a flamethrower to the party.”
“Yeah? So what? She started this game.”
