All I've Never Wanted(125)
Roman racked his brain but came up with nothing. “I don’t remember hearing it.”
“Actually…” Carlo said slowly. “It does ring a bell, but I don’t remember when I heard it.”
“Is it really important, though? I mean, James is really nice. I don’t think he’s the kidnapper. We’ve probably just watched way too many detective movies,” Venice insisted.
“No, I need to figure out where I’ve heard that name.” Adriana’s mouth was set in a stubborn line. Suddenly, she gasped, all the color draining from her face. “Oh my god.”
Roman’s head snapped up. “What?” he nearly shouted, his heart in his throat.
She didn’t answer him. Instead, she whipped out her phone and furiously typed something into it.
“Adri! Answer me!” He was full-out shouting by now. “Now’s not the time to text!”
Adriana’s hands stilled as she stared at something on the screen. Then slowly, ever so slowly, she held her phone up.
“You guys. I think you need to look at this.”
They immediately crowded around her phone. There was a picture of Rico two years ago, walking out of the courthouse after he’d been acquitted of rape charges. It wasn’t the picture that was chilling, though, it was the headline that accompanied it: Tevasco Heir Found Not Guilty in Toni Holtzman Case.
* * *
“Well, that looked painful.” James’ face was half-amused, half-disgusted as he eyed the vomit on the floor. “It’s a good thing I brought some water.” He turned to Tattoo Guy. “How long has she been up, Carson?”
“Not too long.” Carson’s own face displayed one hundred percent disgust. “She’s quite a chatty one.”
I barely heard the rest of their conversation through the loud buzzing in my ears. It was like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the room.
James. James. James. James was the one responsible for this? Was this some kind of sick joke? Why would he do this? He was supposed to be my friend!
My breath was shallow and labored as a cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
“Why?” My voice was weak, but it did cause the other two to stop talking.
“Why what?” James asked, unscrewing the bottle cap and holding it to my mouth like I wasn’t tied up and kidnapped. I ignored it, my eyes burning into his face.
“Why did you do this?” I asked through gritted teeth.
He sighed, lowering his arm and capping the bottle again before tossing it carelessly into the plastic bag dangling from his arm. He nodded at Carson, who shot me one last disgusted glance before exiting through the side door James came through in.
James pulled up a chair and sat right across from me, too close for my liking. If I’d been able to move, I would have flinched away.
“Maya, Maya, Maya.” His eyes searched mine. “It’s really your own fault, you know.” He sounded almost sad.
My own fault? Was he kidding me? He was insane! My thoughts must’ve reflected on my face, because James just shook his head and clucked his tongue.
“I honestly thought we were going to be good friends. When I saw you at Stan’s party, you were like a breath of fresh air. I especially admired the way you stood up to Roman—“ His voice soured a bit. “If you’d kept that up, we really could’ve been great friends. But then you had to go and date Parker.” James’ face darkened. “As if that wasn’t bad enough, you started being friends with the Scions. You lived in Carlo’s house. You dumped Parker for Roman.” He laughed humorlessly. “Turns out you’re more of a social climber than I thought.”
I could literally feel my blood boiling. “I am not a social climber,” I hissed. “Not that I need to explain anything to you, but Parker and I weren’t really dating, and I’m dating Roman because I actually like him.”
“Right. Because there’s so much to like,” James said sarcastically. “Please, Maya, spare me. Although I suppose it’s all for the best, because it seems as though that arrogant little scumbag has really fallen for you, which certainly makes my plan that much easier.”
His words left a horrible taste in my mouth. Although that could also be because I’d just puked my guts out earlier.
“What plan?”
He sighed. “You really aren’t as smart as I’d imagined. It was all part of the plan. All of it.”
All part of the plan? What was he—
Suddenly, I froze, and it took all I had not to throw up again. “You. You’re the one who hired Lexi.” My voice was flat.
James didn’t even blink. “Yes.”
“Why?” That seemed to be the question of the day.
He sighed again. “Well, I think I’ll just answer your questions in the order they were asked, if you don’t mind,” he said almost merrily. “I was the one who placed Lexi at your father’s company. I got her that internship. Not hard, considering my uncle works in the human resources department—that just so happens to be a stroke of luck on my part. She’s very good at her job, as you must have noticed. Although she never did get him to sleep with her.”
James smirked. “That would’ve been so much more entertaining. “Then, lo and behold, I found out you were going to New York that day. Did you really think I bumped into you by accident there? Out of all the stores in all the world—“ His mouth twisted. “You should’ve figured it out. Barneys isn’t my type of store at all. But I was there, keeping an eye on you. I heard you were all planning to go to Masa, so I called Lexi and let her know. She convinced your father to take her there for dinner and, well, the rest is history.” He chuckled.