Fifteen minutes later, Reid was gone and Rusty was all by herself in his stunning beach house. Besides the living area downstairs and Reid’s bedroom, she hadn’t really checked out the rest of the place. Pouring herself another coffee, she padded upstairs. The walls were painted in neutral colors. Not a lot of personal items or pictures. It still had a new smell, and she guessed he hadn’t lived here long. She also guessed it was worth some serious bank. The man worked hard, had ambition in spades, had grown one shop into ten thriving businesses across the country. He didn’t live large, but then that wouldn’t suit him. He had what he needed and didn’t flaunt his wealth, his accomplishments.
She admired that about him. Admired a lot of things about him.
Poking her head around the next door down from Reid’s room, she found another bedroom. It had a queen bed in the center, the duvet a dark burgundy. A guest room. She wondered if his mother helped him with that kind of stuff or if he did it himself.
She drifted across to the room opposite, another bedroom, but this one was empty apart from a few boxes and some exercise equipment.
Last she checked out the room opposite Reid’s. His office.
She shouldn’t snoop, but her curiosity was gnawing at her, and it wasn’t as if she planned to riffle through his filing cabinets or anything. A large map took up space on the wall behind his desk and there were red pins dotted all over it. The shops he already owned. She knew because she’d made it her business to know, even before he’d stormed into her life. To her he’d been the competition, and once they’d managed to poach a few of his customers, she’d done a little research. There were also green pins, not as many, but still quite a few that she guessed were where he wanted to branch out. There was a red pin in the Miami area—there was also a green.
Weird.
Why would he want another store in Miami?
She sat in his big comfy chair, put her coffee on the desk, and leaned back. It was hard to imagine him sitting here. She’d seen him in his office at R.I.P. Classics, but this was different. She always imagined him with his hands dirty, working on the cars, not behind a desk. This was where he planned his future, where he ran his empire, worked toward growing it.
She snorted. He’s not freakin’ Darth Vader.
Taking another sip of her coffee, she took in the neat piles of paperwork on his desk. All very organized. She smiled to herself when she realized Reid was a bit of a neat freak. His whole house was organized, just like his office.
Her gaze landed on the desk’s top drawer.
That would be snooping, wouldn’t it?
Gripping the handle, she slid it open, unable to help herself.
Pens, a stapler, and other office-y crap filled the drawer. There were also a couple sheets of paper sitting on top of it all, on an angle, the corners creased, like they’d been hurriedly thrown in there.
But what drew her attention was the name at the top of it.
West Restoration.
What the hell?
Sliding it out, she set it in front of her and read it carefully. A contract. A contract to take ownership of her business. The business that she, Alex, and Piper had worked their asses off to build after her father died.
She shook her head.
No.
She read it again, then again, because it couldn’t be true.
This can’t be happening.
But it was. It didn’t matter how long she stared at the words, they didn’t magically change. It was right there in front of her in black and white. Her stomach lurched, and she doubled over, gasping for breath.
Reid wanted West Restoration, and apparently he was willing to go to any lengths to get it, including using his childhood to manipulate her into coming back—sleeping with her.
He’d been using her, lying to her this whole time.
That explained the green pin. It was her shop.
Did he truly think she’d just hand her business over to him, that she’d be so grateful for the attention he’d given her that she’d just roll over and let him take it?
Her heart was hammering in her chest, slamming behind her ribs with enough force she struggled to catch her breath. He didn’t want her. He never wanted her. He wanted their business. And she’d fallen for it.
She’d fallen for him.
God. She covered her mouth with trembling fingers. She’d nearly told him she loved him last night, when he’d made love to her. No. She slammed her hands down on the desk, knocking her coffee across its surface, a raw cry escaping her throat. He’d fucked her. Manipulated her. Used her feelings for him against her.
I’m so stupid.
She should have known better, should have never believed in him. Trusted him. She’d shared things with Reid she’d never shared with anyone else, and he’d twisted that trust into something ugly, all to win her over, fool her.