so far, but that won’t tell them who did it. It’ll only show my name.”
Gianna loved Mary-Lou and would do anything to help her, but she also loved Jordan and she couldn’t do that to him either. I do. I love you Jordan. What a time to figure that out.
She walked over and sat back on the couch. “So whoever is doing this is out to hurt you? But why use Mary-Lou to do it? As far as I know, you hardly know her.”
Jordan sat down beside her and said, “I don’t think this is about me or Mary-Lou.”
Well that made no sense at all. She asked, “Then who?”
“You,” he said softly.
“Me!” Her heart raced. “Me?” She flew off the couch again pacing the room. Her mind tried to process it all but it all seemed too much. Then she stopped and looked Jordan in the eyes. “Marvin,” she growled. He didn’t seem shocked by her assumption. “But you already knew that didn’t you?”
“It’s my hunch, but nothing so far has traced back to him.”
She wasn’t one who scared easily. Right now she was petrified. Before this she felt as though she could handle Marvin on her own. Heck, she’d told Jordan that on several occasions. Now this was bigger than anything she ever could’ve imagined. Gianna still didn’t understand why Marvin would do any of this.
Her eyes burned as she fought back the tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Jordan walked over to her pulled her into his arms. As the tears flowed down her cheeks, he said, “It’s Marvin who’s going to be sorry. You did nothing wrong.”
She felt so safe standing there. The rest of the world didn’t exist. It was just the two of them. But that wasn’t reality. Tomorrow she had to go into the office and do her job. She wasn’t just working this hard for herself any longer. There were her employees who needed her to keep it all together. If she broke down, if she let Marvin win, then they all lost along with her. I didn’t work this hard to move past it all, only for it to break me now.
When her tears had dried up, she lifted her head and said, “Jordan, what am I supposed to do?”
“Exactly what you have been doing. You worry about your business and let me worry about Marvin.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do that. Look at what has happened already. He’s trying to get you arrested. What if he…” Gianna couldn’t bring herself to even voice the words, what if he tried to hurt Jordan physically too?
“He’s not going to do anything. Marvin’s not even in New York,” he explained.
“But look what he’s done from a distance,” she reminded him.
“That’s what Sal and Connor are for. And just so you know, it’s not just the two of them. So if you find yourself feeling like someone’s watching you, they probably are. But in a good way,” he added.
“Jordan, why are you doing all this for me?” she asked.
He cupped her face and said, “Because I love you.”
She yearned to hear those words. Her heart was ready for them. Through trembling lips she said, “I love you too Jordan. I just wish things could be…different. But I think you…you should go.”
He tensed and said, “I’m not leaving you Gianna.”
Marvin was a millionaire. He had a lot of access to things she couldn’t afford. Of course Jordan was also financially out of her league, and probably had a protection team watching him as well. This was too much. Unnecessary. Maybe if she’d gone and had dinner with Marvin, they could’ve talked this out. Maybe she could’ve made him understand that she wasn’t interested in him like that. Not interested in him in any way.
“I know you want to be here. But if Sal and Connor are actually watching me, then I will be safe.”
“You’re safe with me here too,” Jordan stated.
She sighed. “What if Marvin is also watching me? I mean he might…he might go after you even more.” She couldn’t bare that.
“Honey, I’ve known Marvin a long time. A lot longer than you have. He should know that I don’t back down. If in fact this is his doing, he knows I’m fucking coming after him.”
“You don’t need to. Just call the police. Let them handle it,” she said. Someone had to put an end to it otherwise they’d always be looking over their shoulders.
“We’ll talk about what sort of action takes place when we