Page 40 of Beautiful Revenge

“Again with the formalities,” he mutters as he leans forward to rest his forearms on his desk. “I used to read people for a living. My curiosity means I’m nosy as fuck, Harlow. But I also watched you go through some shit. Your stepmum is a bitch, and it’s clear the man you were engaged to had a whole different side to him that’s no good. I thought you could use a break.”

My eyes narrow, because I can’t believe what he’s saying. “So you’re saying you looked into my father as a favor to me?”

He proves there’s no bullshit to him, just like he claimed. “Not completely. Remember the nosy as fuck part? I’d say it was ... thirty percent for you.”

My brows rise. “Thirty?”

He leans back in his chair and returns to twirling my keys. “Okay, forty percent. But the rest was to satisfy my craving for information.”

The man is odder than I gave him credit for. “What exactly were you going to do with the information?”

“Until I found out you kidnapped your own father and planned to pin it on his wife?” Another twirl of the keys. “I was going to tell you.”

“So it was sixty-forty for you over me, but you did it to tell me. There’s no logic in that.”

“Does there have to be?”

“Yes. You seem like someone who appreciates logic.” I drop my arms and plant my hands on my hips. “You did it for me more than you, and you’re not willing to admit it.”

“Logic rarely comes into play in human nature when emotions are involved. I promise, that’s not the case.”

I take a step forward. “And you bought me flowers.”

He points at me with my key fobs. “Wrong again. Those were in the café and are three days old. New ones arrived today. I simply moved them to the suite to get your attention so you didn’t miss my note.”

I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips. “You repurposed flowers for me?”

This time it’s his turn to frown. “You like that?”

My smile pulls wider. “I like it better than the flowers themselves.”

He stares at me like I’m an odd science experiment that he doesn’t understand. “You’ve proven my point that logic flies out the window when it comes to humans. You’re not like most women.”

“And I’ve never met anyone so grumpy who goes out of his way to be selfish to cover up the fact he’s done something nice.”

“I’ve hardly done anything nice.”

I pause and decide to think about that later. “Before we have more lessons on the lack of logic when it comes to human nature, I need to know something. Are you going to tell anyone that I moved my father?”

“Yeah,” he drawls. “Janie Madison is a real gem. I’ll rat you out later today.”

“Last night when you told me that you learned it was me...” I don’t look away from him as I finally take a seat, cross my legs, and let out a sigh of relief. “That’s exactly what I thought you were going to do. Or worse—officially report me to ... someone.”

He tries to defend himself. “You ran off and didn’t give me a chance to explain.”

I lean back feeling comfortable for the first time since I finished my risotto last night. “I might’ve run off, but all you had to do was explain. The way I see it, it’s sixty percent your fault. You had the element of surprise. All you had to do was put it out there. You’re the one with communication issues.”

He lifts his chin. “I’ll take that as long as you tell me something.”

“You’re awfully demanding for someone who has no stake in this horrid game that’s become my life.”

“You forgot the fact I’m housing you. You’re basically a stray at this point.”

I roll my eyes. “You got me there. What do you want to know? And whatever it is, I reserve the right not to tell you.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I’ve done a lot of things in the last few days, Devon. Which one are you talking about?”