Boxed Set: Seduced For Revenge (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (8 page)

Absentmindedly, she dialed the hotel room number but hung up before the first ring. Her resistance seemed to be failing her, because she caught herself dialing it again. With her heart in her mouth she waited for it to ring. After three rings someone picked up.

“
Hello
?”
A female voice answered. She was surprised and hesitated
,“
Hello, anyone there
?
”

“I’
m sorry, I think
I’
ve got the wrong room. I was looking for Koltan Grey
,”
she replied.

She was about to hang up when the woman spoke
,“
No, this is the right room, h
e’
s in the shower. Can I take a message
?
”

As she replied her voice sounded squeaky to her
.“
No, i
t’
s okay.
I’
ll call back
,”
she hung up the phone. What she really wanted to do was ask, who the hell are you?

* * * *

Harriet Grey hung up the phone and frowned, but as she walked away it dawned on her that the tone of the girl reminded her of herself when she was younger. The girl was jealous, plain and simple. She wondered if it was someone special to her son.

“
Who was that
?”
Koltan came out of the bathroom wearing jeans and polo shirt, his hair still damp from his shower.

“
A woman
,”
she smiled
.“
You did
n’
t tell me you had a girlfriend
.
”

“
What did she say
?
”

“
Nothing, she just said sh
e’
ll call back. But there was something in her voice that told me she thought I was another woman
.
”

He looked confused
.‘
Was it Victoria
?”
he asked anxiously.

“
She did
n’
t say
.”
Harriet told him exactly what transpired with the call along with her intuition about the tone of the woman on the other line. He smiled and ran his hand through his damp hair
.“
Yo
u’
re smiling. Does that mean
I’
m right? Why do
n’
t you call her
?
”

“
Not yet.
I’
ll call her later
,”
he told her.

“
Oh, do
n’
t want to seem desperate? Nice move
,”
Harriet shook her head in approval and smiled at her son
.“
She must be special
.
”

“
She is, mom
,”
he lifted his mother and spun her around in glee. The fact that Victoria called and seemed jealous, was great news. It was simple, she missed him!

“I’
ve never seen you like this, your father must be losing his touch
,”
his mother smirked.

She knew the man well and knew about the arranged marriage business deal. If it was left to Harmon, everyone around him would be miserable as long as he got what he wanted. She would never forget what he did to reach where he was in life and she waited for the day when some would bring him to his knees.

Harriet was a beautiful woman in her early fifties, looking a decade younger than her age. The only tell-tale signs of aging was her graying hair which she refused to color. The dark hair with the silver streaks looked absolutely gorgeous on her and many people thought the streaks were done at the salon.

Harmon had abandoned her twelve years ago when the company started getting back on its feet. He was an evil man and she would never forget how cruel he had been to her and his own son. He made it clear that if Koltan had no intention of working in the company then he would disregard him as his son. This was the reason she had encouraged him to join his father. This was the one way to secure his future sine the man had left her destitute and in need.

“
Mom, I know what you are thinking. Please, h
e’
s not worth it
,”
Koltan broke t her thoughts
.“
On a happier topic. Victoria works with me and she is beautiful. If all goes well,
I’
ll let you meet her soon
.
”

“
Okay,
I’
d like that very much
.
”

Marcy Hendricks was not easy to find. Sh
e’
d moved several times during the last fourteen years and it seemed the last move was out of state. The last landlord gave Victoria a forwarding address but no phone number. The landlord told her that the address was two years old and tha
t’
s where h
e’
d been sending her mail.

She took the address and left feeling disappointed. If she wished to speak with the Marcy person, she would have to go out of town for a few days. That could be arranged, but she did
n’
t want to go alone. She wondered if maybe Eli would consider going with her. The man was so secretive that she was certain he would turn her down.

Koltan was returning in two days so she put in for time off and made the arrangements to fly to New York to find Marcy. She felt childish for playing such games, but she wanted to feed him some of the medicine h
e’
d dished her by not calling and having a woman in his hotel room. When he got back she would be gone.

Eli proved not to be as bad as sh
e’
d imagined. When she asked, he agreed to go with her if she stood the expense. She left her hotel information with Beth and told her only to call in case of emergencies. He met her at the airport looking much different from what sh
e’
d expected. His baseball cap was gone, his face clean shaven and he was wearing a suit. He looked like any other businessman going on a trip.

“
Wow, you surprise me
,”
she told him at the entrance to the airport.

“
I did
n’
t want to embarrass you. I knew yo
u’
d probably be wearing a suit
,”
he replied with a grin.

Something was different about him
,“
Are you going to tell me exactly who you are? You were so secretive before. Why the sudden change
?
”

They entered the reception and checked into their flight
.“
Harmon is an evil man, I was
n’
t sure what he would have done if he found out I had
n’
t left the country. But now that h
e’
s dying, I fee
l…,”
he was saying.

“
What? Dying? What do you mean dying
?
”

“
He has some rare disease that ca
n’
t be cured. The old bastard is going to die soon
,”
Eli told her, still grinning.

This was
n’
t going down well. Will all my hard work be in vain? How is Koltan dealing with this?

At that question she paused
.“
Is that why he resigned
?”
she wondered out loud.

“
I suppose. So we need to move quickly before the bastard croaks and there is nothing we can do
.
”

She was silent during the almost five hour flight to the JFK Airport. After checking into a nearby hotel, they made plans to meet the flowing morning to go see Marcy, since it was after nine at night.

As she showered and ordered room service she thought of Koltan and whether or not h
e’
d returned. She was tempted to call, but restrained herself. She told herself that it made no sense getting all worked up since their relationship was basically over.

Most prominent on her mind, however, was Harmon Grey. How he secretly hid his illness and resigned without letting anyone know. If Harmon happened to die before she could confront him, she could still clear her fathe
r’
s name, but she wanted Harmon to be the one to admit what he did.

The following morning they went in search of Marcy Hendricks with the hope that she would cooperate. They found the address without trouble. The apartment was a tiny studio in Brooklyn. The woman at the door was blond with brown eyes.

“
Yes
?”
she looked at Victoria and Eli, then she did a double take at Eli and the blood seem to drain from her face.

“
Hi Marcy
,”
he greeted
.“
This is Victoria Fischer
.
”

“
Actually, i
t’
s Brennan. I now use my mothe
r’
s maiden name. How are you
?
”

“
It was
n’
t my fault, you have to believe me
,”
the woman cried.

“
Marcy let us in and le
t’
s talk
,”
Eli pleaded.

She told them she was an actress and at the time she was pretty young and desperate. She knew there was nothing wrong with the product because sh
e’
d used it for months.

“
What I did was wrong, but I needed the money
,”
Marcy declared.

“
So you signed a non-disclosure agreement and collected the money he promised? Eli, can he sue her if she tells the truth
?”
She turned to Eli.

“
The document might be illegal, you may want to talk to a lawyer about that
,”
he replied.

“
Marcy, would you be able to tell the truth if we can void the contract you signed with Harmon? By the way, do you have proof that Harmon asked you to lie
?
”

“
No,
I’
m sorry
,”
the women sadly replied
.“
All I have is my word and
I’
m willing to come clean. What that man did was evil. I will tell the truth
.
”

Victoria felt relief that at least one person was willing to come clean. If she could only find the others who Harmon paid to lie about the painkiller, she would be happier. The reporter who leaked the story to the press was also vital in this because he too was paid to make sure the information got out.

When they got back to the hotel she saw that there were messages left for her from the office. One was from Beth and another from Koltan. She ignored Kolta
n’
s message and return Bet
h’
s call.

“
Beth, wha
t’
s the emergency
?
”

“
The boss is back and he is
n’
t too happy yo
u’
re gone
,”
she replied.

“
Beth, tha
t’
s not an emergency.
I’
ll see you in the morning
.
”

“
Wait, something happened, I think you should know
,”
Bet
h’
s voice sounded serious.

“
What
?
”

“
Some reporter was found dead in his apartment. I
t’
s not looking good for the company Victoria
.
”

“
Beth, what are you talking about
?
”

“
The guy left a suicide note and a diary claiming that he leaked information to the newspapers some years ago that caused the company to lose millions of dollars
.
”

The blood drained from Victori
a’
s face and she gripped the receiver tightly, her knuckles also going white
.“
Was his name Thomas Brown
?”
her voice became tight from the constriction in her throat.

“
How did you know
,”
asked Beth.

“
I heard about it. You said he killed himself
?
”

“
Yes, I thought
I’
d let you know
.
”

They ended the conversation, assuring her assistant that sh
e’
d be in the office first thing the following day. She spent the rest of the afternoon in her hotel room mulling over the events of the day. She could not understand why Thomas killed himself.

On their flight back that night, she told Eli about Thomas and his reaction was exactly the same. No matter how they looked at it, the events that took place so long ago could not have been the catalyst that led to him taking his own life. The man must have suffered from some other trauma which led to his depression.

This bit of news brought back the most horrible moments in her entire life.  It was as if she was reliving her fathe
r’
s own suicide all over again. She could see him falling from the roof of the apartment building and heard the screams of the neighbors who had gathered outside. The sound of the sirens as the ambulance pulled away was also echoing in her head.

She did
n’
t sleep at all that night. The name Thomas Brown kept haunting her along with the face of Harmon. But in the middle of all that she wished she had the arms of a man to embrace her and make her feel safe. Kolta
n’
s arms came to mind. His embraces were secure and she missed them.  She missed his tender touches and caring ways, the way he would make sure she was okay.

Staring at the ceiling in her bedroom she felt the corners of her eyes grow moist and for the first time in a long time tears broke through the tough exterior. Victoria turned her face into the pillow and sobbed, not only for the pain of her fathe
r’
s death but for the loneliness a life filled with vengeance had given her.

* * * *

It was a very lonely week without her, and even though h
e’
d enjoyed every moment with his mother, he missed Victoria terribly. When he arrived at the office that afternoon he learned that sh
e’
d taken time off to go to New York. He saw that she cited the days of as for personal reasons.

This was
n’
t how he pictured it. He was supposed to come in, present her with a gift, apologize for not calling in, and hear her rant about a woman in his hotel room. Then he would smile and calmly tell her the woman was his mother, after which sh
e’
d feel sorry and they would kiss and make up. He was trying to figure out what she was up to when he got a call about some reporter committing suicide.

“
What does that have to do with our company
?
”　

“
Mr. Grey,
I’
d rather speak with your father at the station
,”
it was a police officer on the line.

“
My father is not in any condition to speak with the police. H
e’
s been ill for a while now
,”
he told the police.

“
Well, you will have to do, sir
,”
the man stated.

Koltan wanted to know what the problem was, but the officer would not say it over the phone. He knew that his father was a cruel man and suspected that he must have done something to this person who committed suicide, tha
t’
s why the police wanted to speak with him. He agreed to the meeting, but just before he left, she called Victori
a’
s hotel and left a message.