Love Beyond Words (City Lights, #1)(57)
David sat down and went through the accounts on his computer. Natalie had meddled thoroughly. He closed all the files she’d stuck her pointy little nose in and vowed to change the passwords to something Julian didn’t know; something he should have done months ago. The most careless of all mistakes, left over from the days when he hadn’t been stealing from Julian. From when he had nothing to hide. He felt a hand on his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Thank you for clearing that up.”
David eased a sigh of relief. But Julian had betrayed him, had hurt him. And David hadn’t done a thing to deserve it.
“You should have asked me first,” he said. “After six years…I thought you would have asked me first.”
“Next time, I will.”
“There won’t be a next time,” David said. “I’ll make sure I keep you updated on everything more closely. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do before I do it…”
“No, no, that won’t be necessary. I’m not going to start policing you.”
David was inwardly satisfied. Outwardly, he shook his head morosely. “She’s turning you against me. Can’t you see it?”
“To what end? I’m the one who called her over.”
“Likely because she’s planted the seed in you that I’m not trustworthy. She’s never liked me. From Day One.” He pretended to straighten his desk and muttered just loud enough to hear, “She’s probably after your money.”
“That is patently untrue,” Julian said, “and I don’t appreciate the insinuation.”
“I’m sorry, but all this talk of you revealing yourself? That wasn’t happening until she came around. We…You were perfectly happy until her.”
“Perfectly happy?” Julian barked a harsh laugh. “Tú me estás jodiendo! I was miserable. I don’t want to get into this right now. I have a lot to think about. In the meantime, please don’t undo all the progress you two made over lunch the other day. I’d hate to think I set you back.”
David restrained a snort of disgust. Don’t stress yourself, sweetheart. There was no ‘progress’ and there never will be. But if an empty promise was what it would take to make Julian forget about this business with the dividends, so be it.
“I’ll do my best, Julian. For your sake.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. And if you would just show me the donation statements from the charities, I’ll consider it a closed matter, all right?” He patted him on the shoulder a final time and started out. “Oh, and I want you to sell all my stock of EllisIntel. Immediately.”
David swallowed a laugh so it sounded like a gurgle. “Of course. I’ll get right on that.”
He stared aimlessly about his office until he found the brown paper bag on the table. He’d almost forgotten about the little flask he’d allowed himself to buy at the 7-11. It wasn’t a good idea to let it become a habit again. Julian’s employment, friendship and love—yes, love; he knew Julian loved him, loved him enough to buy his stupid lies—had set him straight. But the pressure of Cliff’s threats and the pain of Natalie’s very existence were like huge, jagged boulders, crushing him between them.
He twisted off the cap off the fifth of Jack and took a pull. It burned sweetly but a few more and he’d hardly notice. But not here. He had to get out of here. No doubt Julian was f*cking that Natalie woman at that moment. He considered taking a peek as he had in the past when Samantha was the nuisance to be weathered. But as he approached the bedroom door, he heard their voices. They most definitely weren’t f*cking; they were talking about him. Arguing. He heard Natalie say his name. She made it sound like a dirty word.
He started to press his ear to the door but stepped back. After everything that happened today, if they caught him listening in, it’d be all over. That they were fighting was a good sign, though not enough to lift his spirits. He left, head down and feet dragging, wondering with dejected anxiety how long it was going to take him to make up donation statements from charities that had never seen a single dollar of Julian’s money.
Chapter TwentySix
Natalie watched the lights on the bedroom’s security console flash orange, and then go still in concordance with the front door opening and closing. David was gone.
“Good,” she muttered.
“Look, he told me what happened, and I believe him,” Julian said from the bathroom sink.
“I’ll believe it when I see the donation statements from the so-called charities your money is going to,” Natalie said, pacing. “And cash, Julian? No one makes cash transactions that large. No one legitimate, anyway.”
Julian emerged from the bathroom looking sleek and dark, having run some water through his hair to tame the curls. “I asked him for the donation statements and he said he’d provide them. End of story.” He smiled to take the bite out of his words, but it didn’t warm his eyes.
“If you say so. It’s your money.”
“Yes, it is.”
She whipped around. His smile had vanished.
“Julian,” she said, her voice unsteady, “you’re the one who asked me over here to snoop around in his business. You’re the one who suspected something was wrong.”