What They Don't Know (Won't Hurt Them Trilogy #1) (33 page)

“Have a seat, Stone.
So tell me how everything was?”

He smiles again. “She
was impressed with everything, the car, the set-up. My companionship.
The fundraiser was pretty cool.”

“Yeah?” I question
with a delighted smile.

“Yep, it was for
cancer. Something close to home, you know.”

“Right, how's your
mother?”

“She's doing well;
she's getting stronger and looking good every day.”

“That's great, Stone;
it really is.” His mood seems to change with this conversation, but
it's understandable.

“I checked my account
today,” he smiled.

“Right, your earnings
were transferred at midnight. Make sure you keep all receipts, turn
them in to me weekly if you can. I like to keep copies and itemize
some things. I normally reimburse you.”

“Cool,” he says. He
puts his hand on his chin and looks as if he wants to say something.
Of course, I call him on it. The last thing I want is for him or
anyone else in my circle to be reluctant to speak to me.

“What's going on, you
look concerned about something. Did I pay you enough?”

He laughs. “No, B,
that's not it. I received a phone call from one of the ladies I used
to see as a client. She's in town and she wants to see me.”

“No can do, Stone.”

“I told her that.”

“I'll have to get a
background check on her first.”

“She's visiting
family; she'll be here a few weeks.”

“Do you want to see
her?” I ask.

“I do, but I'm not
going to see her just to talk,” he says sarcastically.

“Did she say what she
wanted?”

He laughs. “Uh,
yeah.” He points south to his lap.

“Oh, right,” I say,
embarrassed I didn't catch that. It went completely over my head.
“Okay, I need her first and last name if she wants to see you. I'll
contact her; is she private?”

“Oh, absolutely, her
sons are around my age.”

“Oh, okay. Wow, you
said she's a friend of your mother's?” I ask him to make sure his
story didn't change. I feel confident with Stone, but I have to test
everyone. Trust is a big issue with me. If you lie to me that means
you think I'm capable of being stupid.

“So you don't know
her sons?”

“No, never met them.”

“How did your mother
and she meet?”

“She's a donor, both
monetary and organs.”

“Makes sense.” I
nod. I open my email to send to Tripp. “What's her name, Stone?”

“Georgia Alexandre,”
Stone tells me. I send Tripp the information to get her checked out.
He gives me a call back to let me know about BP, who I now know is
Bruce Pierce. Speaking to him briefly, he informs me that Georgia is
going to be two days longer. She's a financial donor; all of her
files will take more time.

“Okay, Tripp, no
problem. Thanks,” I say ending the call.

“Stone, were you okay
with your last event?”

“Yeah, for sure.”

“Can I ask you a
question; it’s personal?”

“Sure.”

“Did you have sex?”

“No,” he answers as
he shakes his head.

“Okay, I just wanted
to make sure you are using protection. Remember, you test every
thirty days as stated in the contract. Eventually, I'll change it to
every sixty days.” He nods. “Sorry, I feel like a mother
sometimes, but I have to keep you protected. So far you're my number
one.” He laughs. “I need to take care of you.”

“For sure.” He
nods.

“Let me know if
you’ll need anything. I'll contact Georgia for you to set things
up, and get a feel for what she wants. Maybe she does just want to
talk, but I'll find out all of that. I want her to understand what
purpose I serve for you. Is that okay?”

“Of course, I'd
rather let you tell her than me. She'll try to manipulate me.”

“Oh, really? I see.
What are your plans for today?” I ask him.

“Are you asking me on
a date, B? I'm expensive,” he says. I laugh as he stands to leave.

“I can afford you if
I wanted to, Stone,” I say again in my seductive voice. It just
flows from me at any given time. I surprise myself sometimes.

“Good answer, so
what's your first name?”

“I've allowed you to
come to my office and you didn't notice my name on the outside of my
door?” I give him a one-eyebrow look. He walks to my door and looks
at the nametag on the outside of the door.

“Ahhh… perfect,”
he says.

“Have a great day,
Mike.” He turns and gives me that panty-dropping smile.

“You too, B.”

It's 2:15; there hasn't
been any attempt from Cruz to contact me. I text Bryant to ask if
he's heard from him. He informs me he had lunch with him two hours
ago.

“Okay,” I say to
myself aloud.

* * *

I have a meeting at the
Local Bar in forty-five minutes. I clean up my desk, because
technically I'm not supposed to be here. So I will not be returning.
I make sure all things are in order as I leave the office. I remember
that I asked Ford to accompany me. He stated he would be early, but
I'm only five minutes away. When I pull up, I see Ford standing at a
black SUV, he spots me while I'm parking. He comes to my car as I'm
gathering paperwork. He opens my door to help me out. The only con
about my Infiniti is that it sits low to the ground. So trying to get
out of it ladylike is a challenge. Ford grabs my hand as he lifts me
from the car. “Such a gentleman, you are.”

“No problem, boss.”
Ford is on his job and he makes me feel safe. He closes my door and
takes my briefcase like a true security-detail agent. I think I'm
going to like being a boss, truly a power trip for me. He opens the
door and ushers me in. The Local Bar is just that, we pretty much
seat ourselves unless the customer asks for a booth. Today is that
day, we are seated immediately, and Ford is quiet. I give him a
playful shoulder-to-shoulder shrug. It breaks his serious demeanor as
he smiles.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, B, just
observant.”

“Are you okay calling
me B?”

“If that's what you
prefer. I'm here for you to do as you ask,” he says so seriously. I
take out a small piece of paper and a pen. I write on it and slide it
to Ford. He reads it, smiles, and nods.

I notice that he seated
me first in the booth; he's on the outside. I guess that's a
protection tactic. My phone chimes. It's a text from Bruce. He's in
the parking lot. I send him one back to let him know where we are.
Ford gets up from the booth to escort him back to our table. When he
arrives back, he comes back with... HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

Bruce.

Ford shows him to the
seat, but he doesn't sit right away. He didn't quite notice me at
first; but when he does, we just stare at each other not saying a
word. Ford is standing there confused.

“Bruce, have a seat,”
I say. He does, but still is silent. Ford stands at the booth
awaiting my instructions.

“Ford, you can have a
seat if you like.”

“No thanks, boss, I'm
fine.” I like Ford... Jon Ford, he is.

“Bruce Pierce, who'd
have thought.” He shrugs as if he's nervous. He should be after
that speech about loving his job at the health club and begging me
not to file charges. Life and God have a funny sense of humor. Now I
have to figure out how to play this revelation.

“First let's get this
squared away.” I hand him a disclosure form. “All this says is
that whatever is spoken about at this table, stays at this table.”
He nods in agreement. He looks up after signing.

“So all of this won't
be discussed with anyone else?” he asks.

“That is correct. My
business is not a secret; but it's a discreet society, if you will.”
He nods. “And to answer your next question, Bruce. No he doesn't.”
I'm referring to Cruz. “He doesn't know about any of this,” I
repeat. He nods again. “Are you leaving the health club?”

“I hadn't planned on
it.”

“So you'll want to do
this part-time?”

“What exactly is
this, Ms. Watts?” I wince at his mistake.

“It's B, Bruce.” He
notices right away, and Ford turns around to look at him as if he’s
stupid or in trouble. He shakes his head, turns back around, and
mumbles something that sounded like “idiot” under his breath.
Bruce has the look of embarrassment on his face. I want to laugh; but
I can't show that side, if I want this guy to take me serious in this
business.

“B, are you who I’ll
be seeing?”

“No, Bruce.” I
laugh, that’s not how this works. Ford laughs as he shakes his
head. I like Ford; I really do. I give Bruce the version of the
business that should scare him away. I need to know how big his balls
are. It’s doesn’t though, he still wants to be part of my team.
He has agreed to work part time with me and at the gym. That will be
difficult, being the manager of the gym. Cruz will want to know
what’s going on. He has to believe Bruce wants a career in
management and he has taken another part-time management position to
prepare him for it. That’s the story I give him to feed to his
current boss.

“Bruce, one thing I
like to do for discretion is use your last name. No one should ever
know it’s your last name. You never disclose it being real or fake.
So from here on, in this world, you are Pierce.”

* * *

“This has been a very
productive day, Ford.” He looks down at me as we walk across the
parking. As we walk toward my car, I notice there’s some
discoloration on my door. It looks like my car has been keyed. “What
the fuck!” Not a normal across the door scratch. There’s a double
scratch leading down the door, not across. The entire door panel will
need to be replaced; this is great. Whoever did this took their time.

“Stay here, Bria.”
He circles my car to make sure no one is still in the area. He
touches the scratches as he looks around. ‘Whoever did this just
did it. These scratches are fresh. Do you know a body shop?”

“No, just the
dealership,” I say.

“Call your insurance
company. Have them tow your car to the nearest dealer. I’ll take
you home.”

“Okay. No, wait.
Ford, I’m having dinner with my best friend.” He shakes his head.

“No?” I question.

“Bria, whoever did
this is still in the area, probably watching.” I look around while
trying to dial the insurance company. An eerie feeling comes over me
while standing there. To think that someone may be watching me
doesn’t sit well in my stomach.

“Come on,” Ford
says, directing me to his vehicle. He opens the door to his Range
Rover and helps me in.

“You comfortable?”
he asks and I nod, still holding the phone to my ear. I arrange for
the insurance company to pick up my car. It’s 5:20; the dealership
is still open. I call them quickly to schedule the drop off.

“Ford, I’m going to
need a rental while my car is being repaired. They are closed now,
but can you come by my house in the morning to pick me up?”

“Yes, I can, Bria.
But you need to call the police. Also think about who could have done
this.”

“I can’t even
imagine; this could be random, Ford. It’s not that big a deal. I’ll
have it repaired and all will be well in Minnesota.” I laugh and
play calm. But in reality, I’m losing my fucking mind! MY CAR WAS
KEYED! MY CAR! My well taken care of vehicle was violated. OHHH GAWD!
I want to flip a table and throw some shit, but I can’t. I can’t
let Ford see me lose my cool. It’s just a car. A car.

As we wait, Bruce comes
from the bar. He sees me sitting in Ford’s truck. I wave for him to
come over.

“Hi, Pierce, when you
were coming in, did you happen to notice anyone in this area?”

“No, the parking lot
was pretty much empty when I arrived.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Is everything okay?”
he asks.

“Yeah, everything’s
cool, I’ll contact you tomorrow. I may have something for you.”

“Okay.” He nods.

Ford is on the phone
when I’m done talking to Pierce.

“Police are on the
way.”

“Huh, why did you
call the police?”

“They need to be
notified, Bria.”

“Crap! Okay.” I
dial my phone again. “Hi, Tripp, how are you?” He sounds winded
over the phone. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, working out.
What’s up?”

“My car was
vandalized at the Local Bar. Can you get footage from the security
cameras?”

“I can try if the
police haven’t been notified,” he informs me. I smack the
dashboard of Ford’s truck. “They have,” I say, sounding
defeated as I look over at Ford who’s looking suspiciously pissed.

“I’ll see what I
can do.”

“Okay, thanks,
Tripp.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he could try
to get the footage, but he’s not sure because the police are
involved now. Speaking of, here they are, Minnesota’s finest.”
Ford gets out of the truck. He goes over to the car where the police
officer is. They are having a conversation that I feel I need to be a
part of. He comes back to the truck and opens the door for me to get
out.

“He needs some
information, Bria.”

“Okay,” I say, as
he helps me from the truck. I’m nervous as hell, but I don’t know
why. I’ve never had any trouble with the law, but I’ve never been
a fan of forced authority.

“Hi, officer.”

“Hello, Ms. Watts. It
looks like you’ve been keyed.”

He did not just… I
laugh to myself. What I want to do is snatch his gun from his holster
and pistol-whip his genius ass. But I settle for the more simple
action.

“Yeah, not sure who
would do this.” The officer looks up from writing.