Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal)(19)

“I’m not pissed. I’m hurt. There’s a huge difference.” I paused as I prepared my words. “I thought you were different, Chase. When I married you and let you fuck me, I thought I knew you. I would never have guessed that all that time you were working on your little folder about me. You didn’t even tell me that we had already met a few months ago.”

“Fair enough.” He took a deep breath. “I’d been watching you for some time. Obviously, I couldn’t disclose that fact. Nor the fact that we met the day the floor crashed.”

I looked up and met his blue eyes. The way he said it, I was sure he didn’t even feel sorry. Heck, I wasn’t even sure he had any regrets.

Anger rose inside me.

“You hurt all those people.” My voice shook. I didn’t try to hide the disgust in my voice.

He shook his head. “No, I didn’t do that. That was pure coincidence.”

“Coincidence?” I let out another short laugh and leaned forward, eyeing him carefully. I had a hard time believing that one. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Only in patterns and habits.”

“How would you know that?” His question was cold, just like his gaze. “Do you know what fate has in store for you? Maybe it was destiny for me to meet you. I don’t see a pattern in anything about us.”

“What are you saying, Chase?”

“The answer’s simple,” he said. “I wanted to meet you. We arranged for you to attend an interview. On the day we were supposed to meet for the first time, I wanted to make sure that’d you nail the interview, so I got into that elevator with you. That day the floor crashed, and that was a coincidence.” He took a sip from his glass, taking his time before he continued. “I didn’t mean for that to happen, just like I didn’t plan to like you. There are no fixed patterns. Only plans and hope and coincidences, and a whole lot of mistakes that indicate something bigger than us is out here.”

Was I the mistake?

I had no idea, but a more important question hovered at the back of my mind.

“Who is ‘we’?” I asked.

He frowned. “What?”

“You said ‘we arranged it.’ Who’s that, Chase?”

“My brother and I.”

“That would be Kade?” My question sounded more like a statement. He nodded. “I thought you were an only child.”

“Well, you thought wrong.”

“Are you sure you’re related?” I replied. “You don’t look alike at all. Could be another one of your lies.”

“Not everything I told you is a lie, Laurie. I think I made myself clear on that one,” Chase reminded me softly. His hand moved toward me, and for a moment I thought he might touch me. That he didn’t sent a jolt of disappointment through me. “What I’m telling you right now is the truth.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I mumbled.

“My parents adopted Kade after I was born,” Chase said, ignoring my remark. “When they found out they couldn’t conceive, but wanted me to grow up with a brother.” He raised his eyebrows at my expression. “What? Is that really so hard to believe? You of all people should understand it. Clint adopted you when he married your mom.”

I frowned. “You know?”

“I did my research, Laurie,” he said dryly. “Obviously, I know.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Adopted is adopted. The circumstances don’t matter much.”

I stared at him in thought, undecided whether to believe him. “Talking about truth and all, did you send your brother to Acapulco to follow me?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I told you already that I had absolutely no idea he was here. He didn’t tell me.”

He looked so earnest, I had no doubt he was telling the truth—for a change. He also looked pissed, but I didn’t care. I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded him to see if his anger would manifest itself in some way. He didn’t vent, but then Chase never did, and that was scary.

It would have been easier to believe that he was a good actor rather than a lawyer. Mystery and fantasy were easier pills to swallow than reality. The thought that I might be falling for another one of his tricks turned my stomach to ice.

“I find it very hard to believe you,” I said at last. “There’s no way you can prove you’re not responsible for the fire.”

People did all sorts of things for money. He had already added deceit to his résumé, so why not arson?

His lips tightened, and the frown on his forehead deepened. He gave an exasperated, annoyed sigh. “My brother owns LiveInvent. You think he would have let me do that? Is that proof enough for you?”

My heart thudded in my chest. It shouldn’t really have been a surprise, and yet it was.

“Look, Laurie.” He leaned forward, misinterpreting my expression. “The building had some minor construction problems from the beginning. We were working with an engineer to solve the issues, and the renovation plans were awaiting approval. Everyone thought we had time. The whole thing was a ticking bomb.” He shook his head, his eyes dark and gloomy. “Trust me, no one wanted or anticipated that to happen. It just did. It cost Kade a lot of money, and it sure made things difficult for us to get close to you. It also pushed back our plans because we had more pressing issues to deal with.”

“What do you mean?”

“It kept the legal department busy for a while. That’s when I came up with the idea of befriending Jude.” He grabbed the bottle from the bar, filled another glass, then moved back to his seat. The space behind him was black, and I realized it was a partition that could be rolled down to speak to the driver.

For a few seconds, he sat here, the lights above us changing from violet to blue. When he spoke again, his voice was low and wary—as if every word spoken was well prepared. “The original plan was to interview, hire you, then work with you to build up trust,” he said. “You had all the qualifications anyway, so it would have worked out.”

“After which you wanted me to fall in love with you, and you would have proposed, right?” I asked.

He hesitated, the tip of his tongue flicking across his lips. “That was the plan, yes. Falling in love would have been a necessity.”

I let out a sarcastic laugh as another flash of pain rose inside me.

His words hurt, but what wounded me the most was that he was right. It was such a good plan. I had to give him that.

I would have fallen in love with him, just like any other woman out there. Given that I’d obsessed over a guy in a dark elevator, I would have probably jumped at the idea of dating him.

The truth was, it wasn’t hard to fall for Chase. He was sexy, confident, always knew what to say, available.

Too good to be true.

I knew that right from the beginning. I just didn’t listen to my intuition and the alarm bells ringing at the back of my mind.

If Chase were the light, I would be his moth, drawn to him even though I know I’ll get burned.

Even though I was already burning.

“So, it wouldn’t have made a difference if you met me then; the outcome would be the same,” I whispered.

“If you put it like that, yes,” he replied.

“You didn’t need months to make me trust you.” My voice quivered. “It took you what? Three weeks? You really did a fantastic job. Well done.” I clapped my hands to applaud him. “You should be proud of yourself.”

“Please don’t do that,” he said through gritted teeth.

I threw my hands up in the air. “What? I’m praising your talents. Or are you ashamed? Are you having regrets?” His mouth tightened again, and the nerve under his right eye began to twitch again. Nope. No regrets there. “Thought so,” I muttered.

My self-control surprised me, not least because inside I was breaking in places I didn’t know I existed.

I would leave Chase with my dignity intact.

That was the plan.

I lifted Chase’s half-full glass to my lips and, kicking off my shoes, I leaned back against the leather seat and took a generous sip.

The liquid burned its way down my throat.

If we had to have this conversation, I’d better get some alcohol in me. And fast.

“Why did you really marry me?” I asked casually as I took another sip. “I know it’s about money, but you don’t look like you need it. Besides, you know I don’t have any. And don’t tell me it’s because you want to help me. We both know that’s bullshit.”

“I thought you might ask that at some point,” he said again, avoiding my eyes. “It does involve your inheritance.”

“You said that already,” I said, infusing confidence I didn’t feel into my voice. “But you also said you weren’t interested in my money, and you know damn well I own nothing. So forgive me that I’m confused.”

“That’s right. I’m not interested in your money,” he explained. “It’s not money per se I’m after, but the inheritance Clint gets.”

I frowned as my brain began to struggle to put the pieces together.

“Clint?” I asked slowly and leaned forward. Chase nodded. “Why are we talking about him?”