Chapter 35

Helen waved a dismissive hand. “I wasn’t counting Gina. The others are Natalie, Bobbi, and Ashlee.”

Goddamn. Three – four, if you counted Gina – who were directly linked to my shenanigans. It sounded like I was the weak link.

“We’ve been able to rule out Ashlee and Natalie. Ashlee went missing for an hour when she met up with you. I’m not sure why she didn’t notify anyone where she was going during business hours, but it appears she went directly to the coffee shop and then back to the office. As for Natalie, Andrew confirmed she was in her office all day.”

“That leaves Bobbi,” I muttered, strengthening my suspicions. She had a motive. She also had opportunity, seeing as I left her to her own devices all day yesterday. The fact that the professionals had her on their short list was a very significant nail in the coffin.

Helen placed her hands on the sides of my face and directed my gaze to hers, “Marcus, don’t worry too much about it. If Bobbi did leak information, it’s only that you inherited the Gerrard company and name.”

“There’s also the other stuff,” I said, referring to the very rough and questionable encounter she and I had the night before last.

“That’s nothing. We can make that go away relatively easily, and if she’s a larger thorn in our side than we anticipated, we can always silence her.”

My eyes widened, “You mean… kill her?”

Helen’s eyes widened a fraction, “What? No. Pay her off! Jesus, Marcus! This is the real world! Not a bad novel!”

“Sorry. I just…”

“No one can blame you for the thought crossing your mind,” Helen said. “I’m sure more than half the analysts who worked with her have imagined shoving her out of a window.”

I grunted a response, still working through the implications of Bobbi going to the news.

“You won’t enjoy the anonymity you wanted so badly,” Helen said.

“Yeah.”

“How many calls have you received?”

“Twenty-two,” I said, then checked my phone. “Scratch that. Twenty-seven.”

Helen pulled my gaze back up to hers once more. I could feel her thumb brushing my cheek as we exchanged looks.

“Don’t worry about them. Listen to me. Just by inheriting the holdings from your grandfather, you are already culpable in several crimes.”

“What?”

I had to run her words through my brain’s processor several times to verify that I heard her correctly. Did she just tell me I’d inherited crimes as well as money, and she only thought to mention it now!?

Helen shook her head and dipped it down to capture my lips between her own. Neither of us said anything as the kiss continued, and my desire to want to know more wrestled with my lust for my beautiful, blonde, angel. Finally, she broke the kiss.

“It’s nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing that should ever concern you as long as you have a good team of lawyers on standby. I’m telling you that you’re involved in things that would get a normal person imprisoned for life. It comes with the territory of being the wealthiest man alive. And it’s mine and Erin’s job to prevent that from happening. Moving forward, you need to be cautious about what you say and do. You need to be careful of what you leave lying around, and you always need to make sure Erin, myself, and anyone else on your staff knows what they need to know in order to make sure we can do our job.”

It felt like Helen was reprimanding me, and I opened my mouth in protest. Sure… I probably could have made better decisions over the last few days, but had Helen given me this speech sooner, I might have.

However, as soon as I opened my mouth, there was a knock on the door. Erin peeked through the opening and her dark brown eyes took in the sight of Helen sitting in my lap. I glanced at her, feeling guilty, but Helen simply looked over her shoulder at my assistant, “Yes?”

“Sir,” Erin said, “Bobbi Nanford is here to see you?”

My stomach twisted in knots.

Helen slid off my lap and straightened the blouse she was wearing before walking around my desk to sit at one of the two chairs on the other side. I glanced at her and she arched an eyebrow at me.

I cleared my throat and combed my fingers through my hair, “Go ahead and send her in, Erin.”

“Yes sir.”

Erin disappeared from the partially opened door and was replaced a few minutes later by Bobbi as she entered the office and closed the door behind her. I immediately wanted to toss the paperweight on my desk at her head and had to restrain myself from doing it. I’m honestly not sure why I slept with her… or why part of me wanted to do it again. Sure, she was a smoke-show, but everything else about her was as palatable as paint thinner.

Bobbi looked as defiant and full of herself as ever, but I couldn’t help but notice the tension in her shoulders as she took stock of the room. The last time she’d been in the same room with Helen and me, I’d humiliated, blackmailed, and slapped her. Judging by her reaction when she spotted Helen, she remembered it too.

“Have a seat, Bobbi,” I said, nodding at the chair.

“No thanks,” she said, her tone clipped. She was trying hard to put on a tough exterior, but the way her eyes kept darting around as if looking for an escape, I could tell she was just as nervous as I was. That made me feel much better about the confrontation we were about to have.

“Fine. Where have you been?”

Any pretense of toughness evaporated, replaced entirely by a look of confusion, “At my desk. I’ve been there all morning.”

“Since I last saw you, stupid!”

“I told you!” she said with a tinge of panic in her voice, “I think the pill made me sick, so I stayed with my friend!”

“Who did you talk to?”

“I didn’t talk to-”

I stood up and rounded the desk, approaching her. I probably looked ready to punch a hole in the drywall. I certainly felt that way.

“Don’t you dare fucking lie to me,” I growled as I halted just inside her personal space.

“I…” she glanced at Helen, her eyes seeking solidarity from the only other woman in the office space. “I spoke to my sister! I told her what happened!”

“What did you tell her, exactly?” Helen asked as she stood up from her seat and joined me. The pair of us had her cornered against the door she’d just walked through.

She glanced between the two of us, looking genuinely scared now. It was almost shocking how helpless she looked after giving me so much grief. Why had I allowed her to walk over me so often over the past year?

“I just told her I was feeling bad. My friend too.”

“Mr. Upton,” Helen said, “You might want to go ahead and press charges against Miss Nanford immediately. She’s clearly saying things she shouldn’t.”

I glanced at Helen, unsure of what her game was. Catching a gleam in her eye, I picked up on what she was trying to do and immediately played along, “Alright, Mrs. VanCamp.”

I turned and reached for the phone on my desk.

“I told them I’d been kicked out of my house, alright!?” Bobbi was near hysterical at this point. “I blamed it on my roommates! I also told my sister that I was robbed by an ex and asked if she could loan me some money! She wouldn’t!”

Bobbi immediately buried her face in her hands and slid to the floor, sobbing.

After a few moments of the two of us standing over her huddled frame, Bobbi peered at us through her fingers, “I didn’t give any names! I didn’t say anything! I know better! Please Marcus. I didn’t say anything to anyone. Please don’t call the police! I’ll do anything! My family can’t find out what I did! They already think I’m a fuck-up! Please!”

I just stared at the pitiful creature crumpled in the corner of my office. Her mascara liberally stained her fingers and cheeks; her hair hung like a wild curtain around her face. She looked distressed and lost… I couldn’t continue to torment this woman, could I?”

I felt Helen’s hand on my shoulder and glanced at her. She leaned close so her lips brushed my ear, “I know what you’re thinking, Marcus, but I’ve known too many women like her. She’s an entitled, vicious brat. If you don’t get her under control, she will be a liability.”

Moments passed and Bobbi’s sobbing began to calm as I watched her try to pull herself together, wondering what to do. I had no real reason to show Bobbi sympathy, but seeing those liquid grey eyes peering out from a tear-streaked face full of genuine panic… a small part of me wanted to put a blanket around her and tell her everything would be alright.

“Marcus,” Helen said, “This is a defining moment for you. Don’t let this woman set a precedent that will be your downfall. Especially not this one.”

A good man would have simply called the cops and prosecuted her. Or perhaps he would have forgiven her and tried to help her get her life back on track. I wasn’t a good man. I was just a regular guy who had been given an opportunity any other man would have killed for. I could have everything and anything… surely no one could blame me for continuing to take advantage of a situation… to find my own way of righting a wrong.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked over to Bobbi. Seeing me approach, she hid her face in her hands and pulled back into an even tighter fetal position. Reaching her, I crouched in front of the scared woman and placed my hand on hers. I gently tugged at her fingers until she surrendered, revealing her blotchy face to me.

“You’re scared.”

We stared at each other for several moments, the silence only broken by her stuttering gasps as she tried to recover from her breakdown.

“You didn’t tell anyone about me at all? You swear?”

She nodded. “I…” she swallowed and had to stifle another sob before continuing. “I… swear. I didn’t say anything. Y-you said you would have me a-arrested.”

“You want to stop being scared? You want to feel safe?”

Bobbi nodded.

“I can promise you safety, Bobbi.”

She simply stared at me. Another sob shuddered through her.

“You won’t have to worry about prison. You won’t have to worry about money. You won’t have to worry about a place to live. You’ll be well-cared for and provided for.”

Her face inched further into view with every promise, interest radiating in her bright eyes.

“Like I told you, I own you, Bobbi. All you need to do is everything I say. Can you do that? Can you continue to honor our agreement? I promise you, you won’t have to worry or be scared about anything again… except making me angry if you disobey me.”

I could feel Helen coming up behind me, but I ignored her. My attention was all on Bobbi as we kept our gazes locked on each other.

“This is your only chance though, Bobbi. I didn’t feel sincerity from you yesterday, so you can understand why I’m suspicious of you. So I’m going to make it very clear to you once more. You agree to my demands before you leave this room, and I’ll take care of you. You don’t, and I’ll make sure you never see the light of day, but there won’t be any forgiveness with me, Bobbi. You do what I say, when I say it. You don’t, and it’s over. You fuck me over, and I’ll make sure wherever you land is an absolute hell. This is your second and only chance.”

I offered my hand to her, palm up, “If you agree, take my hand. Do it and I’ll believe you.”