Chapter Six
Mason
I watch her because I know this news will send her over the edge. When it does, I’m there to catch her. She shakes in my arms and I hold her until she settles. I don’t know who has it in for her, but when I find out, I’ll fucking kill them with my own two hands.
Harry’s waiting out back for us and the coast is clear. Pete waits for us at the back door with an envelope in his hand. He hands it to me.
“What’s this?” I ask, frustrated.
“It was dropped off by a courier about thirty minutes ago. I was about to run it up when you called about leaving.”
“Who dropped it off?”
“A courier. A signature wasn’t required.”
I have a bad feeling about this.
“I’ll drop Ms. Morgan off and be back to look at your security footage. Have it ready,” I say in annoyance.
“We’ll be ready, sir.” Pete nods and heads back in the door.
When I get Melinda into the car, Harry raises his eyebrows in concern.
“She’ll be fine.” I nod and motion for him to leave. I want her as far away from this place as possible. Melinda doesn’t say a word during the entire ride to the Plaza. She holds tightly to my hand and stares at the back of Harry’s headrest. He and I exchange a few glances in the mirror. God damn, this is turning into an even bigger nightmare than I imaged. There are pictures and videos of Melinda out there—God knows how many—that could go viral at any moment and whatever is in this envelope can’t be good. I get her into the hotel room unnoticed. She still hasn’t said a word.
“Melinda?”
“Hmmm?” She looks up at me, obviously disoriented. Immediately, she turns her attention to the windows and glides over to them. She hugs herself with her good arm as she looks out over the park. I feel ferociously protective of her in this moment as I see her looking so fragile. Instinctively, I take two long strides to wrap my arms around her from behind. She drops her head against my shoulder and drapes her good arm over mine. We stay like this in silence for a long time and stare out at the view. I know she needs this time to gather her thoughts. The realization that someone has been spying on you in your own home is more than anyone should have to deal with.
“What’s next?” she says and steps out of my embrace.
Carefully, I ask, “Is there anyone you can think of who would be out to get you?”
Shaking her head back and forth, she sighs.
“I’ve wracked my brain over it. I can’t think of anyone. I don’t have any known enemies.”
“I need you to open the envelope Pete handed to me as we left.” I motion to it on the coffee table.
Instead of a refusal or having me do it, she rips it off the table and opens it.
“I hate whoever’s doing this to me,” she says quietly and hands me the piece of paper.
A typed message in large font reads:
This is only the beginning Ms. Morgan.
There’s so much of you to expose.
You’ll receive further instructions soon.
Have $250,000 cash ready.
Until then….
“I need to get back to the hotel and look at the surveillance tape. Will you be okay here?”
She nods.
“I won’t be long. Whatever you do, don’t leave this room. Understand? You’re not safe. Tell me you understand?”
I know I’m speaking to her like a child right now, but I need her to realize the gravity of this situation.
“I understand.” Her voice sounds small and frightened.
I hug her to my chest to reassure her that she is safe here.
“They have strict orders to not let anyone up. Don’t answer the door, no matter what. Right now, we trust no one.” I lean down, take her lips in mine, and trace their soft fullness. Fighting my own battle of personal restraint, I pull back.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Melinda
When he leaves, I feel an extraordinary void. I chalk it up to everything that has happened. The last thing I want is to be alone right now. There was a time before all this mess started when I loved my alone time. I craved it because it was an anomaly in my life. Now, the silence is deafening. I constantly return to that damn letter, to pick it up and set it down. I can’t for the life of me imagine who would want to destroy my career like this. I made it a point not to have enemies in the industry. I was always kind, never back-stabbed, and always stayed true to who I am. Because of that, I have many friends and acquaintances and up until recently, I never thought I had an enemy.
Even thinking of my last three boyfriends, we parted on friendly terms—well except for Nathanial, but he’s not savvy enough to put cameras in my home. He could barely work his iPhone, let alone set up an elaborate camera system to spy on me. One that’s been recording me for a year and a half. How is that even possible? This is someone who is out to kill and destroy at all costs. But why?
Who the fuck could it be? The thought echoes in my mind.
I pace the hotel room, unsure of what to do with myself. I don’t want to take a nap. Every time I close my eyes, the memories of the night in the park rush in. Except when I’m in Mason’s arms. I allow my subconscious thoughts to surface. Memories of sex with Mason cause heat to rise to my cheeks. I’m sure if I looked in the mirror, my cheeks would be crimson. Despite the electric something between us, I don’t know what possessed me to have sex with him. I didn’t think and simply looked for comfort, but I feel as though I received so much more than that. Quickly, I banish the thought. The last thing I need is to think there could actually be something with Mason Tanner. There can’t. End of story.
I jump when I hear the door open.
“It’s only me.” His auburn eyes meet mine, and my stomach does a little flip. Knock it off, Mel, I tell myself before I smile at him.
“How’d it go?” I hope he found something.
“Pretty good. The courier and the person who dropped the package on your doorstep appear to be the same person. They wore a baseball cap and dark glasses both times and made sure you couldn’t see their face in the video, but their walk was the same. The baseball cap was the same in both videos. We think a male. Tall, about five ten. Pete’s on the lookout for him, and he’ll update the rest of the staff to take careful note of anyone who comes in with a package for you.”
“I feel like I’m living a nightmare.”
“I know. That’s because you are right now.” He extends his hand toward me. I glance at him before I take it. He pulls me toward him and I relax instantly when he envelops me in his arms.
“What did you do while I was gone?” his chin is resting on my hair.
“I probably wore a hole in the carpet near the windows. I’ve tried to figure out who could be doing this to me. It simply doesn’t make sense.” I breathe in his aromatic scent before I continue. “I’ve considered everyone I can think of and not one of them stand out for me.” I raise my head from his chest and look at him.
“Have you ever had a crazed fan or a stalker?”
“Not that I’m aware of. I do have a fan club run by one of my old high school friends, but it’s completely innocent and completely silly in my eyes. I mean, I’m no one.”
“Let’s get one thing straight, you’re not no one. You happen to be one of the biggest super models on this planet, so I would say that makes you a big deal, even if you don’t think so yourself, which also makes you a big target.”
He releases me, and I feel the loss of his touch so deeply inside me. Wrapping my arm around myself, I bite my lip to stifle the confusion I now feel about this man. Barely a few days ago, I couldn’t stand the sight of him. Now, I want nothing more than to have his arms around me or him pounding into me. Jesus, what is wrong with me? I must be so fucked up from getting the shit beat out of me.
“Melinda?”
I startle, so lost in my thoughts I didn’t hear him behind me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie. “I’m tired. What’s the next step?” I change the subject to stop it from getting too heavy.
“I’ll head to your office in about an hour.”
I force myself to not get hysterical at the thought of being alone again and say as calmly as I can, “I’d like to go with you.”
I can see in his eyes that he’ll say no and when he does, I’ll freak the fuck out. I feel like a caged animal and I swear, I will snap.
“I think it would be best—”
I don’t even let him finish.
“You know what I think would be best? If you would stop telling me what I can and can’t do! I can’t stay locked in this hotel room like I’m goddam Rapunzel. I have a fucking life.” I’m completely hysterical now as I fight hard against the tears that threaten to fall. My outcry unleashes something deep inside me, and I scream. I lunge toward Mason and his hands fly out to stop me.
“I fucking hate this! I hate all of this. I want my life back.” I scream like a mad woman. I’ve completely lost it, but I don’t care. It feels good to scream and release all the fear and rage that has simmered below the surface. Mason grabs my arm and swings me around. He clutches me to his chest but I continue to fight and struggle against him.
“Melinda. Stop.” His voice is firm and final.
For some reason, his command makes me stop immediately. I struggle to catch my breath and my chest heaves up and down as I try to calm myself.
“That’s it,” he says softly in the back of my hair.
“I hate this.”
Mason
This won’t be the last time she freaks out, unfortunately. The shit show that is her life right now will get worse before it gets better. I don’t fault her for the freak out. In fact, I’d be worried if she didn’t have them along the way. This is big shit. Her reputation is at stake and I know how much that means to her. I’d flip my lid too, except I don’t care much about my reputation or what people think of me.
“I’ll release you, hellcat, under one condition. You can’t try to beat the shit out of me again.” I want to laugh but I’m not sure how she’ll take it in this moment, so I stifle it under my breath.
“Don’t release me yet,” she whispers, the plea barely audible.
I do as she asks and hold her from behind, letting her support her weight on mine. If I am honest with myself, I like the way she feels against me. Fuck. She’s getting under my skin. Melinda stays eerily still, not saying a word. I’m sure she’s grappling with the emotions running through her body.
I want to get back to her office, but I want to do it when it’s closed and no one else is around. Since the first zip drive was dropped off there, I want to see if anything stands out to me and I don’t want Sarah or Viv’s prying eyes to see me snooping. Both of them are on my list of suspects, because right now, everyone’s on my list until I can eliminate them with one hundred percent certainty.
Melinda pushes herself from my arms and I watch her curiously as she steps toward the large windows. She pauses and looks out while she twirls a strand of hair between her two fingers. Even with her purplish, yellow eyes that are healing, she really is the most beautiful creature on the planet. The assholes who did this to her will pay when I find out who the hell they are.
“I want to go with you,” she says, her voice steadier than before.
I exhale through my nostrils before I respond. “On one condition.”
She turns and eyes me cautiously. “You have a lot of conditions for me.”
“My job is to keep you safe. You’ll have to disguise yourself. We can’t let anyone know you’ve entered the building. We’ll go after hours so it’s safer for you and anyway, I want the place to myself. Harry will take us around back, so we can get in unnoticed. I assume you have a key.”
“I do and I can disguise myself.”
I raise my eyebrow, amused that she isn’t putting up more of a fight.
“What time do Sarah and the rest of the crew usually leave for the day?”
“It depends on what’s going on. Normally, everyone is out by five or five-thirty. We have a big campaign coming up, so they may stay later.”
“Can you call her to check in? You mentioned to her earlier that you would call her back. I need the place to be clear so I can check it out. Keep it vague.” It’s an order, not a request, and I need her to obey it.
“Yes. I can do that,” she snaps at me. There’s the feisty girl I love to hate. My mouth twitches into a smile.
She snatches her phone, hits Sarah’s number, and walks to the kitchen.
“Hey, Sar. Sorry I couldn’t talk earlier.”
Sarah says something I can’t hear.
“Yes, he’s a real pain in the ass.” She glares at me from across the room. “So, how’s it going with the campaign? Are we all set for release in a few weeks?”
I hate that I can’t hear Sarah’s replies, but I’ll have to deal with it.
“Oh, good. Yes, you girls have worked your assess off. Thank you. I hate that I can’t be there. I’ll be back next week, though. I see the doctor on Monday, so I should have the go ahead to get back to my life. I miss you.”
She hangs up, tilts her head to the side, and looks longingly at the phone. “They’re leaving at four thirty today. Sarah’s letting everyone off early and taking them for cocktails to celebrate the new line that comes out in a few weeks. The campaigns are basically done.”
I see the longing in her eyes and know how much she wants to be there. A pang of guilt hits me.
“I’m sorry you can’t be there.”
“Me too. I’ll go get ready.” Without another word, she walks upstairs to her bedroom. A rush of desire runs through me and I have to steel myself to not go after her. I know she needs her space, not my attempts to get into her pants.
I do a little digging on Sarah Sinclair via my old friend, Google. Sarah’s history is exactly as I expected. She came to New York after high school, signed with a modeling agency, climbed up the ladder as one of the top ten models and in her late twenties, started working with Melinda on her clothing and accessory line. Five years ago, Sarah gave up modeling to work with Melinda fulltime, which seems a little weird to me. Sarah was one of the most sought-after models, so why would she give that up? Both she and Melinda said she got tired of the travel and limelight and wanted something more stable, but I’m not sure I buy that. I need to do a little more digging on Sarah Sinclair without Melinda knowing. She already freaked out when I told her to be vague.
“Ready?”
It’s five o’clock and I’ve stared at this damn computer screen for over an hour. I’ve done a lot of research on Sarah but really came up with very little. I’ll check into Viv and the rest of her staff later.
I look up from my computer screen and meet her striking blue eyes. Damn, she’s gorgeous. I can feel my dick wanting to get hard. Fucking hell.
“Ready. Harry will be here in about fifteen minutes. Theo will meet us at the employee elevator.” I stand and adjust myself as I try to hide my semi-hard cock from her. “You’re not really disguised.”
“Well, I don’t have anything to disguise myself with. I can’t put my own hair in a ponytail either. I thought maybe a ponytail, baseball hat, and dark sunglasses would do the trick, but all I can manage on my own is the sunglasses.” She frowns and holds a ponytail holder out to me.
I swallow hard, unsure of how the hell I can touch her hair and not have a full blown hard-on. I’m like a raging hormonal teenager and really need to get control of myself. After a deep breath, I take the holder and motion for her to turn. Gathering up her thick black hair, I do my best to put it up.
“I definitely won’t replace your hair and makeup people anytime soon.” I step back to admire my handiwork. It’s not bad, considering I’ve never done that before. Maybe a little crooked, but it’s the best I could do.
“No, you won’t replace them.” She giggles. It’s good to hear her laugh, especially since her breakdown earlier.
“Here, you can wear this.” I hand her my Tampa Bay Bucs baseball cap.
“Really? You expect me to wear this? You do know I’m a Giants fan.”
“Then I’ll get more pleasure out of you wearing it, knowing they’re your rival.”
“I’ll have to wash my hair when I take this thing off later. I can’t have the bad juju of the Bucs on me.”
“Low blow.”
She smirks at me. “Let’s not talk about how badly your team is doing because I’m sure it’s painful for you.”
I shake my head in disbelief. Beautiful and she knows football? Fuck. A lethal combination.
“Let’s go, hellcat.” I take her hand in mine and the damn jolt of electricity hits me as our hands link together. Neither of us show we felt it as I lead her to the employee elevator. Harry’s waiting for us when I open the door to peer out. He nods to tell me the coast is clear. He is one I’ve already crossed off my list of would-be suspects. I checked him out thoroughly.
He’s a good man, married for almost fifty years with four kids, retired from the military twenty years ago, and decided to come out of retirement and become Melinda’s driver. Apparently, he was looking for something to do because boredom had set in. He knows Sam, so I know he’s been background checked to the extreme. Sam doesn’t work with anyone he doesn’t trust implicitly. I need to get Melinda’s permission to tell Harry what’s going on as I could use his expertise. I’d love to have a confidant in this who’s been around Melinda and her team long enough to fill me in on some gaps. My only reservation is that I’m not sure she’ll agree with it.
Harry’s not stupid. He knows something big is going on. I can see it by the way he looks at me and her. I know she’d be embarrassed if he knew the extent of her current circumstances, but I also know he wouldn’t judge and he’d be able to help.
I nod to him in the rearview mirror once I get her in the car.
“How are you Mel?” he asks and looks at her from his mirror.
“I’m good. You?” She makes eye contact with him and pastes a smile on.
“Truth?” he asks.
She grimaces, then responds. “The truth is my life is a fucking nightmare right now that I want out of.”
He smiles. “There’s my feisty girl.” He chuckles in amusement. “I wondered when you would let her out.”
“Oh, she’s been out quite a bit,” I reply. She swings her head and glares at me.
“That’s good to hear.” He watches the exchange between us and his eyes soften.
“If someone could get to the bottom of this fucking mugging, which is all it is, then Sam could call him off so I can get back to my life.”
I raise my eyebrow in a direct challenge.
“Fuck off,” she says and turns her head to look out the window.
Harry’s eyes meet mine and he nods. There’s a twinkle in his eyes as he tries to suppress his grin.
Melinda
I don’t know why I’m lashing out at Mason again. My emotions are all over the fucking place and he’s the only one around whom I can take it out on. I feel like a thief sneaking into my own office building when no one’s here and don’t get why Mason thinks he’ll find something. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, no one here would betray me. Sarah and I have been friends forever, Viv has been around for three years now, and the rest of my small team are all people I have come to love and adore. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for better people to work with. I unlock the back door and turn the alarm off. I remove my sunglass and stuff them into my coat pocket.
“Where do you want to start?” I ask.
“I want to start in to Sarah’s office.”
“No. I won’t let you go through her things. That’s a total invasion of privacy.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” He runs his hand through his hair, clearly exasperated by my remark. “What’s an invasion of privacy is cameras in your fucking apartment monitoring your every move and then blackmailing you with the images. That’s an invasion of privacy.”
My eyes grow wide as the words spew from his mouth. I want to punch him, but he’s right. My privacy has been invaded and exploited. I shrug my shoulders in defeat and lead him to Sarah’s office. Opening the door, I motion with my hand for him to enter first. I have no idea what he’s looking for, so I step aside to let him do his job.
“Do you have the password to her computer?” he asks. I nod because I have the passwords to all the computers in this office.
“SarahSmiles1111,” I respond, a sinking feeling in my chest. I shake it off and tell myself I’m simply on edge.
“Hmmm. That doesn’t work.”
“You probably typed it in wrong. Let me try,” He steps aside so I can sit in her desk chair. I type in the password and notice I’m holding my breath as I press enter. Incorrect password.
“What the fuck?”
I type it in again—carefully, in case I hit an incorrect key on the computer—only to see incorrect password pop up on the screen again.
“Why would she change her password?”
“That’s what I would like to know.”
“I’m sure there’s a good reason for it. She probably hasn’t had the time to update me since I’ve been a little indisposed.” I lift my slinged arm to remind him, as if he didn’t know.
“Perhaps,” he says off-handedly as he begins to search through her desk.
When Mason finishes in Sarah’s office, I follow him to Viv’s. Her password works, as do all the other employee passwords. I watch him as he searches the entire office with a fine-tooth comb.
I jump when I hear the beep from the door to the office opening.
“Someone’s here.”
“Fuck,” he says and stands behind Lucy’s desk. Calmly, he puts everything back in its place and takes my hand, “Let’s go see who it is.”
“No. I thought you didn’t want anyone to see me?”
“You’re in your own office. Don’t you think the person who entered works for you? Let’s see who’s coming in after hours. You can tell whoever it is you wanted to catch up on some work. Now, let’s go.” He pulls the baseball cap off, slides the ponytail holder out, and fluffs my hair before pulling me toward the hallway.
“I was wondering who was here.” I’m relieved when I see Sarah walk toward us.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, clearly surprised.
“I wanted to grab a few things and catch up as best I can from home. Mason was kind enough to bring me after hours, knowing the reporters would probably be gone.” I fidget nervously with my hair and I’m not sure why.
She nods but watches Mason out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve got some files in my office I can give you to look over.”
Sarah gathers her composure, steadies her posture, and walks in her iconic model style down the hallway. I follow and look back at Mason who doesn’t move. I widen my eyes to communicate that I want him to come with me, but he remains where he is. Fuck.
Once inside the office, she strides behind her desk and opens the bottom drawer. She retrieves three files and hands them to me with a smile. “We miss you around here. How are you, really?”
“I’m fine. Still a little banged up and not sleeping soundly but other than that, I’m okay.” I look at the files and notice the tabs. Finances, campaign expenditures, and campaign ads.
“Thanks,” I say and wave the folders vaguely.
“Do you want me to come over tomorrow? We can have some wine and catch up.”
“I’m not staying at home.” I instantly regret the words as they tumble from my mouth. Mason will kill me.
“Oh,” her eyebrows raise, “Why?”
“Ryan thought it would be better that I not stay home in case my attackers got any information off my apple watch before I wiped it clean.” I steady myself and find new confidence as I lie through my teeth.
“Gotcha. That makes sense. Well, I can come to wherever you are. Where are you staying?”
Great. I’m not sure how to avoid this one. However, Sarah is my oldest and closest friend. I know I can trust her with my life.
“The Plaza, but only for a few more days. I mean, Sam and Ryan are totally over the top with all of this. I was mugged, for Christ’s sake, and they act like I have a crazed lunatic targeting me.” I scan her face for any sign of…well, don’t know what to look for, so I’m not sure what sign I should take note of. Mason’s making feel crazy and doubt my best friend. I don’t like it.
She smiles her beautiful smile and her eyes are soft as she embraces me. “I can’t wait until you’re back.” She hugs me tightly. I slide my good arm around her, which also holds the files, and embrace her as best I can.
“Me to. I hate that everyone is so cautious around me. It’s driving me crazy.” We fall into our comfortable rhythm and catch up for a few minutes.
“What are you doing back here? I thought you were taking everyone to happy hour?”
“I did but I can’t keep up with those young kids. I paid for the tab and left them there. I should have gone home but I wanted to catch up on a few things. With the launch so close, I want to make sure every ‘I’ is dotted, and every ‘T’ is crossed.”
“That’s why you’re my business partner.” I step back and give her a wink. “Thank you for holding down the fort.”
“We’re a team. That’s what we do for each other. Now, go rest and I want to know all the details about you and that gorgeous man. Don’t think I didn’t notice the way he looks at you.”
I open my mouth to object, then close it.
“You cannot lie to me, Melinda Morgan. We’ve been friends for far too long.” A giggle escapes her as she walks me toward her door.
“I’ll fill you in over wine soon,” I whisper and heat rushes to my cheeks.
“I knew it!” she exclaims and hugs me one more time.