Scattered Thoughts (Betrayed by Love Book 1) (13 page)

When I opened my email app I broke out in a full mouth smile.

Date: April 22, 2015 9:07 PM

To: Isabella James

From: Alec Payne

Subject: Lunch tomorrow

Ms. James,

Lunch. Tomorrow.

IT’S NOT A REQUEST.

Alec Payne,

Incredibly Demanding Control Freak & CEO, Payne Enterprises

Control freak
, my inner voice snapped. I typed out a quick message.

Date: April 22, 2015 9:39 PM

To: Alec Payne

From: Isabella (Izzy) James

Subject: Lunch tomorrow

IDCF,

Fine. But you’re clearing it with my boss.

Sorry I missed your call.

Izzy James,

Overworked & Totally Exhausted IR Manager

Dimarco

I hit send and before I could close out of my email I heard that familiar tone.

Date: April 22, 2015 9:39 PM

To: Isabella James

From: Alec Payne

Subject:  Lunch tomorrow

Overworked & Totally Exhausted,

Let me remind you. YOU work for ME. Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Alec Payne,

CEO, Payne Enterprises

Tossing my phone on the table, I switched off the light, a smile on my face. Alec’s demanding ways were starting to grow on me. I pulled the covers around me and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to find me.

I was up before the sun again the next morning but I didn’t care. I was just relieved I hadn’t had another nightmare. After dressing in my office clothes, I headed downstairs to make a pot of coffee, taking my suitcase with me. I still had a lot to do before my flight and since I was up anyway I figured I might as well get to the office early.

The house was dark with the exception of the dim light in the foyer. My body tensed as I moved further into the darkness. Even though last night had been nightmare free that uneasy feeling of the darkness still lingered. Walking as fast as I could to the kitchen, I hit the switch in there. When I saw the room was empty I let out the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

After the coffee finished brewing I poured the hot liquid into a travel mug and headed to my office to pack what I’d need for the day then, with my bags in tow, I headed for the car.

Traffic was light in the early morning hour and I made it to the office in well under an hour. Jonathan wasn’t in when I arrived so I was able to slip into my office without delay, where I wasted no time getting down to business. I couldn’t afford even one setback if there’d be any hope of having lunch with Alec later.

The morning flew by with the back to back meetings I had scheduled. Jonathan hadn’t been around all day so when I heard his voice it surprised me. “Izzy,” he called out from the doorway.

“Jonathan. Hey. What’s up?”

“The car service is here to take you to your next appointment.”

An unintentional smile crossed my face. “Thanks.” Jonathan was gone as quickly as he’d appeared. After checking myself in the mirror, I rushed out the door, doing my best to contain my growing excitement. I’d somehow managed to avoid delays all morning but I wasn’t about to take any chances now, not with Alec waiting downstairs, so I slipped out using the back stairs.

Preston was standing next to the car when I pushed open the heavy metal door from the stairwell. “Good afternoon, Ms. James.”

“Hey, Preston.” He opened the door and I slid in.

Alec looked at his watch. “You’re late.”

The smile on my face got even bigger. I slid over and kissed him on the lips. “Just be happy I made time for you at all.” My teasing brought out his smile and I kissed him again before moving over to my seat. “Oh, speaking of time, I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of it.”

“Forget about your seatbelt, Preston, Ms. James is in a hurry.”

I rolled my eyes in mock protest of his teasing. Alec unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me onto his lap. “And you should be happy we’re not alone right now,” he whispered in my ear.

“Why is that?”

“Because I’d show you what I
really
think about your eye rolling.” Nervously I bit my lip, silently wondering what he meant.

Alec nibbled on my earlobe, sending goose bumps all the way to my toes, before releasing me. Quickly, I moved back to my seat, struggling with the seatbelt this time, momentarily forgetting my arm still hurt like hell when I used it.

“Did you call the doctor?” Alec asked when he saw the pained expression on my face.

“I promised, didn’t I?”

“That’s not an answer, Isabella.”

“Oh, but it is, Mr. Payne,” I teased. Every muscle in Alec’s face tightened and I couldn’t help the smile that formed. “Okay, okay, I called. I even went for x-rays.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“X-rays?”
Shit.
That was a detail I hadn’t wanted to share until I knew for certain they were negative.

When my phone vibrated in my hand, I answered without looking to see who was calling, relieved to have any distraction I could get at that moment. “Izzy James.”

“Mrs. James this is Dr. Leonard’s office. We got your x-rays back. I’m afraid you have two broken ribs and a fracture in your left forearm.”

“What? Broken? How’s that even possible?”

“I’m not sure, but Dr. Leonard wants you to see an orthopedist as soon as possible. You’ll need a cast for your arm.” Double Shit. I wished I’d let voicemail pick up this call. “Dr. Choi is right down the street from your office. I’ll call and see if they can squeeze you in this afternoon.”

“I can’t today. I’m leaving for Tampa in a couple of hours.”

“You really should have that break casted before you leave town.”

I looked out the window, horrified by what she was saying. “Fine. Let me know what they say.”

Disconnecting the call I nervously glanced over at Alec. The look on his face said it all. He was going to want an explanation I didn’t have.

“Are you going to tell me what happened to your arm now, Isabella?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. I’d already told him what I thought had happened but he didn’t believe me. Dropping my head in my hands again, I sighed.

“Baby, please tell me.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Just tell me what happened.”

“I already did, Alec. It was a nightmare. Somehow I managed to fracture two ribs and my arm. That’s all I know.” I could hear how ridiculous the explanation sounded but it was the only one I had.

Tears filled my eyes as realization hit. My dreams were no longer nightmares, they were injuries, and the injuries were real.

• • • • •

“Thanks for lunch, Alec, and for understanding why I had to cancel my trip to Tampa today.”

He pulled me into him for one last kiss. “Anything for you, baby.”

“Seriously though, it’s just a fracture. I can drive myself.”

“We went through this at lunch, Isabella. Preston will drive you. End of story.” Damn it, he was using my own words against me again. I’d need to learn how to be more careful of what I said around him.

“Control freak,” I mouthed the words.

“Don’t forget incredibly demanding,” he said with his wicked grin that instantly had my sex tingling.

Preston opened my door and I reluctantly slid out of the car. “I’ll see ya tomorrow for our first official client meeting.”

“Until then, baby.”

After talking things over with Alec during lunch I was excited about working on the Payne Enterprises account. I’d worried this contract was Alec’s way of keeping me close, being Mr. Control Freak and all, but as it turned out there was a lot for me to do.

“Izzy!” Jonathan said from behind an oversized bouquet of white lilies. “Look what came for you.”

My smile grew wider. “I wonder who these are from,” I said although I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. I opened the card,
Congratulations on your new job
, it read.

“Well, who sent them?”

“It doesn’t say.”

“You want me to call the florist to find out who they’re from?”

I hesitated for a minute to consider his question. I was sure they were from Alec. He probably just didn’t want to get me in any more trouble with Tim, but the card seemed so impersonal, not at all like the Alec Payne I’d come to know. “Yeah, maybe you should,” I said finally.

Knowing Alec I was sure Lily already knew I wasn’t coming for the meeting but I didn’t like to assume, especially when clients were involved. I sent her a quick email and attached the latest status report while I was at it.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get Alec out of my mind, and the flowers certainly weren’t helping. The florist wasn’t able to give Jonathan much information about who’d ordered them, only that a blonde woman came in yesterday and paid for them in cash. Distracted by the mystery I finally decided to email Alec to put a stop to all the wonder.

Date: April 23, 2015 2:55 PM

To: Alec Payne

From: Isabella (Izzy) James

Subject: Flowers

Mr. Payne,

Thank you for the flowers. Lilies are one of my favorites.

Izzy James,

Issues & Reputation Manager

Dimarco

I sat back in my chair and waited for Alec’s reply. It wasn’t like I was getting much work done anyway. I’d been looking forward to spending another night with Alec, but thanks to my broken arm that wasn’t going to happen.

My cell phone rang bringing me back to where I was. “Izzy James,” I answered.

“Hi, Mrs. James, this is Dawn from Dr. Leonard’s office. I have good news. Dr. Choi had a cancellation and he can see you today.”

While I wasn’t looking forward to the appointment at least it’d be over and I’d be able to make the trip to New York tomorrow for the Payne meeting. Alec was going to introduce me to his executive team so I could get started on my first assignment, and I was really looking forward to that.

“Great. What time?”

“That’s the thing. It was a last minute cancellation so you’ll need to go right away.”

Shit. I was expecting some sort of notice. I certainly wasn’t prepared to drop everything and run to an appointment. “Alright,” I sighed. “I’m on my way.”

I grabbed my purse and keys and walked out into the hall. “I need to go out, Jonathan. Reschedule my last two meetings for early tomorrow morning.” I hurried down the hall not waiting for a response. Alec was going to freak when he found out I drove myself to the appointment but it was the only choice I had. Preston wasn’t back from taking Alec to the airport yet and there was no time to wait for a cab.

• • • • •

When I walked out of the orthopedists office sporting a short arm cast I was horrified. There was no hiding the injury now. Luckily Dr. Choi said my ribs would heal without intervention, as long as I adhered to the long list he gave me of things to avoid, but the cast was hideous.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Choi hadn’t believed me when I told him how I got hurt. “You have a spiral fracture in your forearm, Ms. James, and the only way to get that type of injury is by literally twisting your arm,” he’d said. I shuddered as I considered his words. Someone did this. There was no way I’d broken it in my sleep.

What I didn’t know was who it could be, or how they’d gotten inside the house. Spencer installed a top-of-the-line security system a few years back, including door and window alarms. If anyone so much as cracked open a door or window without entering the alarm code the entire neighborhood would know about it. So if someone
had
gotten in, did that mean they had the code? My head was spinning with possibilities. Then I remembered the shadow. Spencer. No, it couldn’t be him. He wouldn’t hurt me. Would he?

When I got back to the office I decided to use the stairs, hoping to avoid being seen. My plan was to grab what I needed and sneak back out before anyone even knew I was there. The fewer people who saw me in this stupid cast the better.

Jonathan was barely visible behind the huge vase of flowers so I was able to duck into my office unnoticed. The cast slowed my progress but I finally managed to get my laptop and the files I needed into my bag.

Opening the door, I peeked out. “Hey, Izzy, Jonathan said you weren’t here.”

Shit. Busted. “Hey, Kari. I just got back, come on in.”

Kari’s mouth dropped open when she saw the cast. “Oh my God, Izzy, what happened?” Great, she was making a scene. As fast as I could, I pulled her into my office and shut the door before anyone else could see me.

“Oh, you know me,” I said with a fake laugh. There was no reason to tell her the truth, well, the only truth I knew. No one seemed to believe it, including me. Distraction was my only hope of avoiding a long explanation. “Have you emailed Chris yet?”

“Yeah, we’re having lunch tomorrow. I’ll be on site overseeing his remodel anyway.”

“Perfect. I think this change will be good for both of you.”

“You’ll still be around for our weekly team meetings, right?”

“I’m still working out the details with Payne Enterprises but that’s the plan.” I glanced down at my vibrating phone. It was from a private number so I let voicemail pick it up. When I looked up again I noticed the frown on Kari’s face. “You’ll be fine, Kari. You’re great at what you do. And you can always call if you need me.”

“Thanks, Izzy. I needed to hear that.” My phone vibrated again. I glanced down, it was Preston this time. Kari stood to leave. “I can see you’re busy. I’ll let you get back to work. Try to have some fun while you’re in New York.”

Thoughts of Alec raced through my mind at the mere mention of New York and an involuntary smile crossed my face. “I’ll do my best.”

Kari closed the door behind her as I dialed voicemail to retrieve the two messages. I was happy to hear Preston made it back from the airport so I could get out of the office. I deleted his message and the next one started to play automatically, the message from the private caller. I recognized her voice immediately.

“Hey, Bella,” Valerie said. “I want to see you. Call me.” I’d been meaning to call her but with all the traveling I’d been doing I kept forgetting. I scribbled a note to remind myself to call her and dropped it into my purse. That familiar tone signaling a new email chimed. I just wanted to get out of the office.