Curves Envy 4 - Curvy Conquest: BBW Billionaire Romance (10 page)

“I’d keep this close to your chest for now until she brings it up. I know she’s a bitch, but I find it strange she’s the only person who’s not extended her condolences. A few of the VPs who were overseas reached out to you, but your boss can’t take thirty seconds to send a quick email?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“You should call Dr. Mills and inform him of this latest development. He doesn’t strike me as the type who follows celebrity news, although at this point the medical community must be buzzing about Damon West’s mom.”

“Why? Leo is dead. Marvel is also dead. What’s the point?”

“Call me crazy, but something tells me Dr. Mills would want to know about this if he doesn’t already. These pills are lethal, he said so himself, and the company behind them needs to be stopped before they kill more innocent people or pets.”

Lia’s words send a chill down my spine. I was so consumed by my own grief, I didn’t think of the fact other people could potentially end up six feet under if the truth doesn’t come out. Dr. Mills was speculating this morning, but Marvel’s death is far too real.

“You’re right. Dr. Mills needs to be made aware of this,” I whisper. “Let me call him now.”

“Do you want me to come over later when I’m done with work? I don’t think you should be alone.”

“I’m going to go back to Max’s place tonight. I wanted to come back to my apartment after Dr. Mills’ autopsy report, but I find it hard to sleep here without Leo’s presence.”

“Good, as long as you’re not alone, because this is a lot to process in one day.”

“This day has been brutal.”

“Big hugs. I have to get back to work, but call me if you need to talk.”

“Thanks, Lia, for being such a great friend.”

I hang up the phone and I place it on my desk before hiding my face between my hands. This news is so heavy and it’s eating at me.
I still don’t know what to make of Jennifer’s reaction, or lack thereof, to the death of my cat or her involvement with these deadly pills.

“Coffee. Now I really need more coffee.” I peel myself off my chair and march to the kitchen area to get a fresh cup of coffee before calling Dr. Mills with the latest bomb Lia dropped on me. “I can’t handle any more drama without caffeine.”

Thanks to the magic of Nespresso, it takes me no time at all to sip on a strong dark roast espresso. I walk back to my desk with a lump in my throat. I decide to finish my cup of coffee before dialing Dr. Mills’ office because I have a suspicion there’s more bad news coming my way once I share the latest chapter in my drama.

I open the window to my browser to continue reading about Marvel West’s tragic death when I notice I’ve received a new email.
What now?
With the day I’ve had so far, I’m tempted to ignore the email, but this one comes from one of my blog readers. The support from my incredible fans has been a blessing and I’ve made sure to answer each and every one of the heartwarming messages I’ve received. I click on the message and after reading the first few lines, I stop breathing.

Candice,

I read your blog post and I’m sorry for the loss of your beloved pet. I had no intention of contacting you so quickly, but Marvel West’s death and the latest news that’s already gone viral have expedited things. I’m sorry to say this, but there is a direct link between your cat’s and Marvel West’s deaths.

Unfortunately, those two tragic deaths are also tied to your parents’.

I wasn’t planning on revealing my identity so soon, but there are a few things you need to know urgently. My real name isn’t Annie Smith, as you know. It’s Laurie Paddington. I was your dad’s biomedical lab assistant and I worked very closely with him on most of his research and testing. After your parents died, I quit my job at Bio-Cytrax Cosmeceuticals and I went into exile. I needed to hide because I couldn’t handle things and I knew too much. I mustered up the courage to reach out to your grandmother’s attorney eighteen months ago, but he abruptly stopped returning my calls. When I read about the details of his death, I went deeper into hiding, fearing for my own life. I knew too much to believe it was an accident.

I’m putting myself in grave danger by contacting you like this, but I can no longer live with the secret I’ve been harboring for five years.

I’m including my cell number below. I know this is scary, but if you want to meet, there are a lot of things you need to know.

I can’t force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with and I’ll respect your decision.

Whatever you do, don’t let your boss know I’ve contacted you.

—Laurie

Laurie Paddington? I remember her well. There was so much going on when my parents died, I forgot she had disappeared off the face of the planet and I remember how my grandmother’s attorney tried to locate her for months without much success. Was his death more than an accident? What does she know that links Marvel’s, Leo’s and my parents’ deaths together? What does she know about Jennifer’s involvement with these poisonous pills and why is she warning me against my boss?
God, my head hurts.

Once the severity of the situation fully hits me, I run like a scared rabbit to Max’s penthouse.

I’m so disturbed by Laurie’s words, I stuff my belongings in a weekend bag and I grab a cab. I only call Max to let him know I’m on my way after twenty minutes of riding in silence at the back of the taxi. I’m beyond shocked by my dad’s former assistant’s claims and scared by the idea that the people who harmed my parents could still out there. I’m unable to wrap my head around her last sentence.
“Whatever you do, don’t let your boss know I’ve contacted you.”

By the time I arrive at Max’s home, Gabe, Francis and Sheena are there anxiously waiting for me. Max has summoned all three to his home so we can get to the bottom of things. All five of us take turns to reread Laurie’s message, hoping to find a missing clue between the lines.

After two hours of debate, Gabe declares I’m to avoid contact with Laurie at any cost because being seen with her could be life-threatening. When the members of my legal team leave, I roll into bed and cuddle inside Max’s arms, praying there’s a reset button I can press to erase the last five years of my life.

Chapter 9

I can’t sleep a wink and when Max gets up at five to go to the gym before an early-morning meeting, I decide to head to the office and spend the next three hours in solitude drowning my sorrows in work. I think of going back to my place and working there for the day, but the solitude would kill me, not to mention Jennifer will have a fit if I don’t show up again today. Although I’ve been staying at Max’s penthouse for over one week now, it still doesn’t feel like home and I need to be in a more familiar setting to process the last ten days.

Max insists on dropping me off in front of
Sassy
magazine, but instead, I ask him to drop me off at the Perfect Grind. Since I barely slept more than a few hours, I need a booster and the short walk to the office will help clear my head.
Thank God I live in New York. Where else can you buy a decent latte at this early hour?

There are only a few times of day where the streets of New York City are practically deserted and this is one of them. There are a few eager joggers and early risers, but the vibe is quite mellow compared to what it will be in the next thirty minutes. As I pull open the door to my building, I look down at my watch and sigh when I see it’s only six o’clock in the morning.
How am I going to make it through the day?

I ride the elevator alone and I can’t help but think of how difficult it will be to bite my tongue around Jennifer today. Max, Lia and my legal counsel have all convinced me to play it cool and pretend I don’t know anything. I was willing to be defiant, but Laurie’s last sentence has been looping in my head. Gabe’s team wants to scratch the surface a bit more and verify Laurie’s allegations before I put myself in a compromising situation. If there’s a link between those monsters and my parents’ death, I don’t want Maleficent to tip off the owners of BoostaSlimz-X30 Green Tea & Ginger Cleansing Total Body Cleansing System—obviously she knows more than she’s willing to let on.

When I push open the door to the office, a wall of silence hits me. The space looks so empty without the usual busyness. In some strange way, I look forward to occupying my thoughts with work.

As I turn the corner on my way to my desk, a voice comes from one of the conference rooms.
Shit, I thought I was going to be alone. I’m not in the mood to make watercooler chitchat this morning with one of my colleagues.
I drop my coffee on a desk nearby and try to make out the voice in the background before deciding if I should go say hello or not. I’m too far away to hear clearly. I decide to tippy-toe closer to find out who else could possibly be at work at such an early hour. When I make out the person’s voice, I freeze.

Jennifer.

To say I’m annoyed to find her already at work would be an understatement. My first instinct is to go back down the elevator and find a coffee shop I can work from, but then I remember I need a few important files and a number of back issues to magazines in my cabinet to help me write my plus-size features. With a sigh, I walk back to grab the coffee I left on one of my colleagues’ desks and I plunk myself behind my iMac. I shrug my shoulders and resign myself to the fact Jennifer has ruined my plans to have the office all to myself for the next few hours.
If her conversation becomes too distracting, I’ll put my headphones on to drown out her annoying voice.
I grab my coffee and take one last big gulp before diving into my work.

As much as I try to focus on writing this article, I can’t help but catch a few snippets of my boss’ conversation. Suddenly a question she asks breaks my concentration and I find myself listening in more intently.

“Baby, do you know how much I miss you?”

I guess she’s talking to her husband Seth. Funny, she never sounds this loving when she’s speaks to him usually. She must be buttering him up for something.

I chuckle to myself and get back to my writing.

“Please get me out of here. I’m suffocating.”

Huh?

I’m doing my best to focus on my work, but Jennifer’s voice is carrying through the empty office and her last statement has me intrigued.
Trouble in paradise?
Forget about work. This is way too juicy.
I pretend to type just in case Maleficent walks out of the conference room, but I’m really listening in on her conversation.

“I told you one year ago when you came up with this plan that I hated being far away from you. Every day we’re apart is like torture for me.”

Okay, she’s not talking to her husband. Does she have a lover? Oh, this is only getting better.

“Please, stop worrying. I’m still playing it cool despite the fact I’m dying to see you again soon. As far as everyone here knows, I was in Hong Kong dealing with a sick aunt. No one suspects anything so far—not even my assistant. I made great headway with the product while I was there, honey.”

Product? Who is she talking to so early in the morning?

“Of course I can’t avoid Candy forever. I’m painfully aware I work with her. I’ll have to keep my feelings about her in check until we can sort this mess.”

When I hear my name, I hold my breath.
Why is she talking about me like that?
Something about Jennifer’s tone sounds too personal for it to be about work. For some inexplicable reason, I get up from my chair and I tippy-toe until I get as close as possible to the conference room.

“Thank God for small favors. At least I’ve not had to deal with Candice since her cat died. Yvette, my assistant, was the one who told me about the pesky creature’s passing.”

So she’s known about Leo from the beginning but never brought it up?

“Pity the furball ingested some of the diet pills.”

She knows about the pills Leo swallowed? So she does read my blog.

I duck under a desk near the conference room. My gut is screaming at me to keep a low profile and I tuck my body in as best as I can to be as inconspicuous as possible as I listen in on her conversation.
Holy shit.
My heart is beating so fast I feel like I’m going to throw up, but in a moment of lucidity, I fish in my back pocket to find my phone.
There’s no way in hell anyone will ever believe this if I don’t record it.
I push the Voice Memos icon on my phone and hold it as close as I can without being made out.

“I was able to quickly put two and two together the minute Yvette told me about the news, since I’ve been pushing our fat plus-size editor to take the BoostaSlimz pills home to test them.”

Fat plus-size editor? Bitch.

“Listen, I can’t believe they were able to link Marvel West back to our pills so quickly.”

Our pills?

“We didn’t even have time to set up a contingency plan. And this is particularly annoying since last month was one of our bestselling months. We sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of our diet pills online to desperate women looking to get back into their skinny jeans. I was hoping Candice would have completed her editorial by now on our pills to boost sales even further given the prime target of
Sassy
magazine’s audience.”

Oh my God, there’s no remorse in her voice whatsoever. She was willing to let me ingest those pills fully aware they were dangerous.

“I’m pissed off at all these stupid incidents that keep getting in our way. Now the latest news has gone viral and the police will start looking for the bad guys.”

What does she mean? Is Jennifer connected to the company behind BoostaSlimz-X30?