Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal) - J.C. Reed Page 0,38

Maybe it was destiny for me to meet you. I don’t see a pattern in anything about us.”

“What are you saying, Chase?”

“The answer’s simple,” he said. “I wanted to meet you. We arranged for you to attend an interview. On the day we were supposed to meet for the first time, I wanted to make sure that’d you nail the interview, so I got into that elevator with you. That day the floor crashed, and that was a coincidence.” He took a sip from his glass, taking his time before he continued. “I didn’t mean for that to happen, just like I didn’t plan to like you. There are no fixed patterns. Only plans and hope and coincidences, and a whole lot of mistakes that indicate something bigger than us is out here.”

Was I the mistake?

I had no idea, but a more important question hovered at the back of my mind.

“Who is ‘we’?” I asked.

He frowned. “What?”

“You said ‘we arranged it.’ Who’s that, Chase?”

“My brother and I.”

“That would be Kade?” My question sounded more like a statement. He nodded. “I thought you were an only child.”

“Well, you thought wrong.”

“Are you sure you’re related?” I replied. “You don’t look alike at all. Could be another one of your lies.”

“Not everything I told you is a lie, Laurie. I think I made myself clear on that one,” Chase reminded me softly. His hand moved toward me, and for a moment I thought he might touch me. That he didn’t sent a jolt of disappointment through me. “What I’m telling you right now is the truth.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I mumbled.

“My parents adopted Kade after I was born,” Chase said, ignoring my remark. “When they found out they couldn’t conceive, but wanted me to grow up with a brother.” He raised his eyebrows at my expression. “What? Is that really so hard to believe? You of all people should understand it. Clint adopted you when he married your mom.”

I frowned. “You know?”

“I did my research, Laurie,” he said dryly. “Obviously, I know.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Adopted is adopted. The circumstances don’t matter much.”

I stared at him in thought, undecided whether to believe him. “Talking about truth and all, did you send your brother to Acapulco to follow me?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I told you already that I had absolutely no idea he was here. He didn’t tell me.”

He looked so earnest, I had no doubt he was telling the truth—for a change. He also looked pissed, but I didn’t care. I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded him to see if his anger would manifest itself in some way. He didn’t vent, but then Chase never did, and that was scary.

It would have been easier to believe that he was a good actor rather than a lawyer. Mystery and fantasy were easier pills to swallow than reality. The thought that I might be falling for another one of his tricks turned my stomach to ice.

“I find it very hard to believe you,” I said at last. “There’s no way you can prove you’re not responsible for the fire.”

People did all sorts of things for money. He had already added deceit to his résumé, so why not arson?

His lips tightened, and the frown on his forehead deepened. He gave an exasperated, annoyed sigh. “My brother owns LiveInvent. You think he would have let me do that? Is that proof enough for you?”

My heart thudded in my chest. It shouldn’t really have been a surprise, and yet it was.

“Look, Laurie.” He leaned forward, misinterpreting my expression. “The building had some minor construction problems from the beginning. We were working with an engineer to solve the issues, and the renovation plans were awaiting approval. Everyone thought we had time. The whole thing was a ticking bomb.” He shook his head, his eyes dark and gloomy. “Trust me, no one wanted or anticipated that to happen. It just did. It cost Kade a lot of money, and it sure made things difficult for us to get close to you. It also pushed back our plans because we had more pressing issues to deal with.”

“What do you mean?”

“It kept the legal department busy for a while. That’s when I came up with the idea of befriending Jude.” He grabbed the bottle from the bar, filled another glass, then moved back to his seat. The space behind him was black, and I realized it was a partition that could be rolled down to