Harper must have signalled. The fact that we are about to be interrupted was written all over Phoenix’s face.
The machine whirred loudly over the last document, and I pushed the papers into the pocket of my hoodie.
“Do you have what you need?”
“I think so,” I coughed, switching off the machine and placing the folder back exactly as I’d found it.
Then, with a glance around the space to check all was in order (barring the door), Nix hissed. “Then let’s get the fuck out of here.”
SIXTEEN
STORM
Every muscle in my body froze, the oxygen in my throat almost seizing up at Jasper’s softly spoken words.
“What did you say?” I managed to force out.
Jasper looked up from his half-empty plate with an unnerving calmness, like he was barely aware of how his words had just affected me.
“You’re many things, Stormy, but hard of hearing isn’t one of them,” Jasper replied, his lip curled at one corner. That self-satisfied grin on his face forced me to push my hands under my thighs: anything to stop myself from reaching over the table and gouging his eyes out with my thumbs.
My spine was tense. I shifted uneasily in my seat, the entire restaurant blurring into the background, and all I saw was the monster sitting in front of me.
My chicken terrine sat before me, going cold, but I couldn’t eat for fear of choking.
He’s lying, he must be!
After Phoenix and Reed’s veiled instructions, I rushed to my room to play his voicemail. The signal must have been poor, as I only caught part of what he said: something about Jasper’s green file and the possibility of blackmail. I had played the message a couple of times, purely to hear Reed’s voice. He didn’t sound like himself, and his voice was slightly slurred. He told me to trust him again.
I had managed to manipulate Jasper into taking me to lunch to keep him away from the office. It was the weekend, but he still usually spent a couple of hours there.
When I first sat down, having achieved my goal, I’d felt a sense of achievement. I had fully intended to call the wedding off during that lunch. It was the perfect setting to do so; we were in public, and so there was no way Jasper could make one of his scenes. I had made up my mind. I would end things and be with the man I wassupposed to be with. I would then confess everything to Reed, explaining how Jasper had blackmailed me by threatening his NFL career, both in the past and the future. I had intended to tell Reed everything that morning, but then he didn’t show up at the gym.
And that original sense of achievement had plummeted into helplessness at what Jasper had just revealed.
You underhanded bastard.I found it difficult to even look at him.
As I had told him straight that I would no longer marry him, Jasper had cut me off with a wave of his hand.
“If I can just stop you there, my sweet,” he’d interrupted, using his napkin to pat the corner of his mouth. The wedding rehearsal was due to take place in a few days. If I wanted to call off the wedding with as little embarrassment to my family and Jasper’s as possible, I had to do itbeforethen. Hence, my initial decision was to do it right then.
And now I knew that there was no way I could do that. Not without hurting Reed.
When Jasper had explained that he had arranged for Reed’s drink to be spiked the previous night, any hope of saving our future together was smashed away. At first, I didn’t get his point. I had seen Reed, and he was fine that morning. Well, apart from standing me up. Then it clicked, and Jasper noticed the shift in my expression. Reed’s slurred voicemail also proved that what he was saying could have been true.
“Yes. His drink was spiked with a traceable drug, anillegaltraceable drug.”
“You’re lying. Why should I believe you?” I’d shot out, even though I was unsure.
He lifted one eyebrow. “You don’t have to, but that would be quite foolish. I assure you, all it would take is an anonymous tip-off that Loverboy was seen taking something after his win last night, andvoila, they would piss-test the entire team in a heartbeat. And when they drug tested Reed, what do you think they would find?”
My muscles stiffened as I tried not to scream the restaurant down. “I have no idea, a trace of the shit you put in his drink, I imagine,” I snapped angrily.
“Flunitrazepam, to be precise. It also usually takes around a week to leave the system.”
The sonofabitch, the wedding was less than a week away.
I was screwed. If Jasper did what he threatened to do, and they found drugs in Reed’s system. He’d be suspended, maybe kicked out of the NFL. I knew the punishments were extreme after having several therapy sessions with a player who had been suspended for drugs. The sporting organization took taking drugs as cheating, and anyone crossing that line was made an example of.
