An Improper Ever After(77)

She does a double take. "Annabelle … ? Uh … "

"I know. Mom really wanted a girl." I wink at her and walk into Keith's office before she can stop me.

The room is spacious, with a decent view of the city. The focal point is a giant desk, which is cluttered with paper and three laptops. Two couches face each other, with a coffee table between. A decanter half full of amber liquid and three empty glasses are on the tabletop. Some things don't change. Keith was never one to keep his workspace tidy.

He swivels in his chair. Shock registers in his gray eyes, a wide smile slipping from his lips. The change pleases me immensely.

He's thirty-nine, although he can pass for forty-five. He sports a thousand-dollar haircut, his jaw shaved clean. His charcoal-gray suit fits well, but it can't hide the fact that he's a skinny bastard with a soft body.

I take an empty seat. "You're moving up in the world. Offices in L.A. now."

"Just opened three weeks ago." He pulls out his phone, texts something and places it back on his desk. "Sorry about that. But you know how it is. The market waits for no one."

"Get tired of Chicago?"

"Nah." His clasped hands rest on his belly. "Expanding the business."

"You mean broadening your base to steal from."

"Tomayto, tomahto." His lips twist. "Where's your wife?" 

"She had to work late."

"A beautiful girl … although I think your interest is more due to the fact that her name is Annabelle."

Did he know about Annabelle Underhill even before the exposé? The way that secretary out front looks may not be an accident.

As though he's reading my thoughts, he says, "Oh yeah. I know all about Annabelle Graham. Oh, sorry, Reed. Oh damn, I mean Underhill." He throws his hands up theatrically. "Who the hell can keep track of a woman who marries so often?"

His tone is just a tad too bitter, and a sneer twists his mouth.

"You had a crush on her." I throw it out to test my theory.

"Wasn't a crush back then. It was love, and I borrowed that money to give her what she deserved."

My jaw drops. "You stole from me and Lucas for her? That conniving bitch?"

"Well, I was young. Didn't realize she was such a cunt back then. And it isn't stealing if you plan to pay it back."

"Tell that to your clients and see what they think." Jesus. It's difficult to process the information. I never suspected he had feelings for Annabelle Underhill.

Then I realize something. She wasn't just cheating on me with my dad, but also with Keith. That little bitch. A woman like her doesn't change. Perhaps I should surveil her and send proof of her current infidelities to Stanton as well.

"My clients worship the ground I walk on. And you can't prove I did anything wrong," he says.

"Only because you pinned it all on your assistant."

"Pssh. That cunt was reporting every move I made to Annabelle. She got what she deserved."

He's a complete asshole. But he's also free with information. Probably dying to tell me all about how clever he really is, and I'm willing to oblige. I want to know everything he's done. Even if I can't pin anything on him, I can try to use what he's telling me to foil him. "So why did you pay for my wife's living expenses? What did she do to deserve that? Or do you have a crush on her, too?"

Keith shrugs. "She didn't do anything. It was her father."

"What?"

"Aaron Key was my mentor when I came out of college. Nice guy, although not the sharpest tack in the carpet, if you know what I mean. But he taught me a lot about covering my tracks, especially when money is about to go missing. He was always so damn sneaky. When I heard about his death and that he was survived by two daughters, I had to look them up. Without the benefit of his instruction, I wouldn't have made it this far. So-out of the goodness of my heart-I decided to help them out some until they could get back on their feet."

"Through Grayson."

"I wasn't going to associate with them myself. I might've had some uses for them later."

"Like sending the oldest my way to marry me?"

He smiles. "Something like that."

I lean back, steepling my fingers. "How did you know I needed a wife in the first place?"

"Well, it's a funny thing. Your newest stepmother was more than a little peeved about the deal your father made with you." He shakes his head. "You really should've gone to her wedding. Pissed her off to get snubbed like that."

"Tiffany?" This is getting Kafkaesque. "How the hell do you know her?"

A shit-eating grin splits his face. "Her mother invests with me. When Tiffany was in town, we all decided to have dinner to discuss her money situation. She's smarter than people give her credit for. She knows the Julian gravy train won't last forever, and was eager to tell me all sorts of things about her marriage. Wasn't happy at all to think about those paintings going to you kids. I guess they're worth quite a bit of money."