WIFE WANTED (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (13 page)

But the man who’d hired Mitch had been sloppy. That damn man thought he could get away with everything, and it made him sloppy. Now, Mitch was going to have to clean up the pieces somehow. He had to find a way to distract Phoebe again, get her mind off pursuing these documents, but she had to keep trusting him. He glanced down the hall and saw a fire alarm on the wall. He went to it quickly and pulled it.

A few seconds later, he rushed back to the room just as Phoebe burst out with her purse and coat. “There’s a fire?”

“I don’t know,” he said, “the alarms just went off. Come on.”

He took her hand and together, they ran up the steps and out the front doors just as sirens sounded in the distance.

Chapter 14

Riley walked Into his office with Ben right behind him. “Listen, I don’t care what Yancey is saying. He stole research from us and I want to know how,” Riley snapped. “This is ridiculous! Two clients in one week? He has to be up to something, Ben, and I need something to throw at him.”

“We’re working on it, but there’s no trail to follow yet. We haven’t found any sources of hacking or break-ins.”

“So you’re saying it’s an inside job?”

Ben sat down in front of Riley’s desk and stared at the papers in his hand. “I don’t want to doubt anyone who works for you, Riley, but it might be the only explanation. How else would he get the information?”

“It’s that Chandler woman,” Riley said, plopping down in his chair. “It has to be. None of this shit started until my grandfather died and she showed up at the damn reading of the will.” It all came back to her. He wasn’t sure how, but it did. His grandfather never would’ve divulged company secrets to anyone, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t found a way in. And her relationship with Yancey—that worried him more than anything else. They were close, anyone could tell that.

Had she been with him when she’d been with his grandfather?

It couldn’t have something to do with the ranch…he picked up the phone and called the ranch. His great aunts were there, or at least he hoped they were. Maybe his grandfather had something there that could explain this.

“What are you doing?” Ben whispered, but Riley held up a finger, indicating for him to wait.

After four rings, it went to an answering machine, and he left a quick message for Bethany and Darcie to get back to him as soon as they could. “The ranch. She seemed a bit upset at the reading of the will when he gave the ranch to his sisters.”

“You gotta stop being such a stalker around people,” Ben laughed.

“What? I’m a people reader, it’s what I do. That’s how I nailed half our clients at functions. You know that.” His grandfather had taught him a lot about the business, but most importantly, he taught him how to find potential clients and draw them in, understand what it was they wanted so he could give them exactly that. It was how he’d built the business and how Riley intended to keep building it.

If he could keep Yancey’s damn hands out of it.

“It’s all connected somehow. We’ll figure it out, don’t worry,” Ben said. “But you have to be in a good mood tonight.”

Riley frowned. “Why, what’s tonight?”

“Seriously? It’s Friday night, your ice cream date with Anna.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to wonder about that, too,” he said, rubbing the stubble on his chin. His beard was growing back, at least, and his hair. He felt a little more like himself.

“What? You worried about her now, too?”

“She does work for Yancey’s company.”

“You know, I really don’t think she’s involved in any of this.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Ben leaned in real close and said, “Because she’s the girl you gave your jacket to at your grandfather’s funeral. I recognized her the second Linda walked over with her. She looked happier, granted, but it’s the same girl.”

Riley nodded as he thought back to that day. He hadn’t really paid any attention. Just saw a girl in the rain who needed a coat. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty positive. I’m good with faces.”

“But you don’t think it’s odd that she was at the cemetery the same day I was?”

“Okay, if you’re going to start getting all paranoid on me, I’m going to look for a new job. Yancey is up to something, and we’ll figure out what it is. In the meantime, you have less than two months to find a wife to keep all of this. Focus on that. Let me worry about the rest.”

Riley turned in his chair, thinking. “It still seems a bit odd.”

“If she was at the cemetery to watch you, then she’d know you’re really Riley Marston and not Ben. Why would she keep pretending that you’re not you?”

Riley opened his mouth to argue but couldn’t think of anything to say.

“That’s what I thought. Now go home and get ready. I’ll take care of the rest of the afternoon.”

“You just like my chair.” Riley laughed as he stood and Ben immediately took it.

“Maybe I do. Nice to feel like I’m in charge for once.”

Riley barked a laugh as he headed for the door. “Don’t kid yourself. If I didn’t have you around, half this company would be in ruins. I’m too much of a computer geek. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“I want all the details, man, and I mean
all
the details,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

Riley headed out the door and waved bye to Linda, who was on the phone. He hoped things progressed tonight, at least past the point where their time together always ended abruptly. It would be nice to actually sit down and have a chat with her…maybe a kiss, maybe more. But who was he kidding? He hardly knew this woman. For all he knew, they’d be alone and she’d start acting like all the other women he dated.

Except she still thought he was someone else.

The thought made him pause. Should he tell her who he was? Let her know the truth? But part of him liked having her not know him. He didn’t think he could handle it if she started treating him differently. So, for now, he’d let her keep believing he was just Ben. That, and he still wasn’t sure how much he trusted her.

Chapter 15

Phoebe played with her cell as she stood outside her building, waiting for Ben. Their ice cream date was in just a few minutes, and she was shifting from foot to foot, wondering if this was the right thing to do. But they were just friends, right? And she and Mitch weren’t exactly exclusive, at least not that she knew. Thought she did feel a bit guiltier now, after Mitch spent all that time last night trying to help her figure out what to do with those files. Yancey was up to something, and right now, her only ally in all of this was Mitch.

“You’re just getting ice cream with a friend,” she whispered to herself. “Just keep it friendly. No need to do anything else.”

But she had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the case. They’d nearly kissed Wednesday night, and she was extremely upset that she hadn’t had a chance to feel those lips against hers. They’d looked so soft and warm. And his arms…feeling his strong arms around her again… There was a warmth in his eyes that Mitch didn’t have. She was willing to give that man a second chance, and she was going to hold up her end of the bargain—until he showed that side of his that she really wanted to slap.

“Hey, Anna,” a voice called, and she turned after a second, remembering she was still going by a different name. “You ready for our date?”

She grinned as Ben came up to her, wearing his patent leather jacket, silver stud, and stubble that was quickly growing into a beard. It fit him, all of it. “Yes, I am. It’s been a strange week.”

“You’re telling me. Oh, wait,” he said and pulled a small, wrapped package out of his jacket pocket. “Brought this for you.”

Phoebe took the package and unwrapped it. Her eyes lit up, and she laughed when she saw what was inside the box. “Cutlass letter opener…cute. Very cute.”

“Told you I had one lying around.”

She tucked it away in her purse and slid her hand into the crook of the arm he offered. “So, we’re walking the whole way?”

“The weather seemed nice, and I could use the exercise. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. A walk would do me good. Maybe relieve some of my stress.”

“How’s your mom holding up?”

Phoebe’s smile faltered for just a second. “She’s in a coma, actually, but they think she’ll pull through soon.”

“Anna, I’m so sorry. If you need to be there with her…”

“No, it’s all right. The doctors said it’s really pointless for me to be there. I can’t even sit by her side right now,” she said, trying to keep it together. “She’ll pull through, and when she does, I’ll be there for her.”

He squeezed her hand with his empty one and held it for just a moment. “Where’s your dad in all of this?”

“He’s dead—just last year, actually.”

He stopped walking and Phoebe glanced at him, confused. “I just seem to have a big mouth today. I’m sorry, Anna, really.”

“No, it’s all right. Just how my life’s been going lately.”

“Well, maybe I can help turn it around a bit. Make it seem not so dark and dreary.”

She glanced at him. “With ice cream?”

“Hey, ice cream can solve even the worst problems.” He laughed as they continued. “That’s what my mother used to say.”

Phoebe’s eyes narrowed. He spoke of her in past tense. “Is she gone?”

“Yes, her and my dad, both. Plane crash, a long time ago.”

“Well, don’t we make a fitting pair right now,” she said. “I think we need a change of subject.”

“Yes, that might be a good idea. So you said you had a crazy week? What’s been going on?”

She told him a little bit about her job in the archives room and that she found something weird going on with the files, but she didn’t say anything about Yancey. This man had some connection to him. All the companies at the function the other night had been from the same field—all cyber-tech security firms looking for big-time investors. Ben’s boss might not have been there, but then again, she had seen him outside Yancey’s office. They knew each other somehow, and until she knew what the specifics were, she would keep the details to herself.

“It’s just strange,” she finished as they turned another corner and the ice cream parlor came into view. “Why would someone want to change out files like that? From that long ago?”

When she looked at Ben, she found his eyes staring straight ahead and his jaw clenched tight. What had she said to make him look like that?

“Ben, are you all right?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, sorry, just thought of something. Ah, here we are,” he said and held open the door for her. “Be prepared to have your taste buds blown away.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She gave him one last curious glance but didn’t question him further. Something she’d said had thrown him off. Was it about the files? He couldn’t know about any of that, unless he was in on it with Yancey. Hell, did he work at the same office she did and she just never saw him?

They got their ice cream in waffle cones, chocolate mint chip for her and cookie dough for him, before they found a quiet booth table away from the rest of the evening crowd.

“This is a great dinner,” she laughed as she took a large bite. “Holy crap, you weren’t kidding.”

It was smooth and sweet, the perfect consistency…she almost drooled at the way it melted in her mouth. She closed her eyes and was pretty sure she moaned before she could stop herself. His laughter brought her back to the table, and her eyes flew open, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

“I think you need a moment alone there,” he teased.

“You know, that might not be a bad idea.” She took another bite and watched him eat his ice cream. He was methodical in the way he kept it symmetrical on the cone. She grinned innocently and asked, “What is it you do for a living, Ben? I don’t think you ever told me.”

“Nothing exciting. Just a tech monkey, really.”

“Sounds better than what I do.”

He leaned forward on his elbows and took a huge bite out of his cone. After he swallowed, he shook his head. “It’s really not. I just play around with code all day long, sitting in my office, trying to avoid all the meetings I can.”

“Ha. I just have files to keep me company down in the bowels of the building.” He didn’t say he worked for Yancey’s company, but he didn’t even mention the name of the company. No matter. She’d figure it out eventually. “Usually, I spend my days talking to myself.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a bit of craziness now and again. Oh here, you have a little bit…” He reached out a hand and wiped a small smear of ice cream gently from her cheek. He smiled, then glanced away, his face turning a bit red. Phoebe smiled as she wiped the rest of it off her face. “I, uh…wanted to ask you something.”

“Yeah? What?”

He fiddled with the rest of his cone and glanced anywhere but her face. Whatever it was had him nervous. She hadn’t seen him nervous before. At least not like this.

“Do you…like to dance at all? I know a great club not too far from here.”

He said it in a rush, and Phoebe had a feeling that was not what he’d wanted to ask. But she answered anyway. “I’ve never really danced very much.”