“You just wait,” he says, turning toward me. “The more you discover, the more you’ll realize I’m right.”
“Sure, sure,” I say, averting my eyes back to the wall.
Miles' phone rings, and he holds up a finger, putting a pause in the conversation before pulling it from his pocket and heading out of my bedroom door.
“Probably the Captain,” I mutter as an excuse for his sudden departure. I hear the apartment door click closed as he takes the call in the hallway. He’s never been able to have a conversation with others around. We’re too distracting.
“When did this Feenix guy start becoming more than the job itself?” Rochelle asks quietly.
I whip my head to face hers and find her expression curious. “What?”
She rolls her eyes heavenward and lowers her half-eaten plate to her lap. “I know smitten when I see it, Charlie. You’re in real trouble here.”
My shoulders deflate, and I slump in my seated position. “I know,” I whine softly. My eyes widen as I add, “Please don’t tell anyone. Please, Rochelle.”
She holds up a hand. “Your secret is safe with me, but you should be considering your own safety here.”
I lean forward and scrub my face with my hands. “I’m more worried about my heart.”
“That it’ll stop beating?” she asks sarcastically, insinuating my impending death.
I drop my hands to my lap and study my palms for a second before raising my gaze to hers. “That it’ll break.”
She gives me a sympathetic look. “That’s a very real possibility. He’s not who you think he is, no matter how much you wish otherwise. You know what he does for a living, but you only know a sliver of who he truly is. Don’t let yourself romanticize him.”
I sigh, knowing she’s right but also knowing that, deep down, I don’t care. I like him and I can’t just banish those feelings. “My husband just died. I can’t be falling for someone else.”
She places a hand on my knee. “You and Nathan may have been married, but you weren’t together for a long time, Charlie. I wish you were falling for someone more respectable, but at least you now know that falling for someone else is a possibility. That you haven’t revolted against the idea of finding another person to have in your life.”
“Yeah,” I whisper, grabbing her hand and twining my fingers with hers. I need the support right now, and she’s always been supportive of my life. A mother when I needed one most.
She squeezes my hand. “Have you looked through the rest of his stuff?”
My shrug is small. “A little. I haven’t brought myself to look at his laptop though.”
With a little more pressure on my fingers, she releases my hand and stands. “I think it’s time we change that,” she says as she heads out of my room. I hear her set down her plate in the sink, and a second later, she’s returning with Nathan’s laptop.
“Now?” I ask when she hands it to me.
“Miles might be awhile, and you shouldn’t have to look into his life without someone by your side.” She sits back down beside me and scoots in close. “Now, open it.”
Sadness wiggles its way into my chest, but I do as she asks and lift the screen to open it. The screen glows, and I type in his password. It’s always the same, and for someone who is in accounting, I’d teased him in the past about the security risk he’s taking.
The screen opens to the desktop lined with folders and spreadsheets.
“That’s a lot of clients and businesses,” I breathe out.
“Not really,” she corrects. “But he probably specialized in certain areas.”
I look at her. “You really don’t think that’s a lot?”
She shakes her head and leans to get a better glance. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything personal. Do you know anyone on there?”
I bite the inside of my cheek and read the names of each folder, but I almost miss it. I almost overlooked it, but something in my brain niggles, and I go back to reread a certain folder again. “Oh my god,” I whisper.
“What?” she whispers back.
I point to the folder. “That’s the business Andre is supposedly with.”
