Page 373 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

I wanted to laugh at how ridiculous Rob was. Instead, I started crying. It suddenly felt like everything was slipping away from me. I had gotten so used to James being there to comfort me that the thought of him not being there made me cry even harder. I lay down on the couch and covered my face with my arms.

"He'll never love you the way he loved her."

I needed someone to calm me down and tell me everything was going to be okay. I needed my best friend back.

Eruption - Chapter 21

Saturday

It was a good thing that Ellen didn't work on the weekends. It would give me time to clean up the mess I had made. I had somehow ended up in bed with all the pictures spread out, a bottle of wine, and a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream. And lots of tears. I had tried to find out Rachel's last name, but I didn't have much information to go on. I wanted to walk up to her house and tell her to stay away from James. But that was ridiculous anyway. He had gone to see her, not the other way around.

I stepped off the elevator.

"Penny!" The man at the front desk called as soon as he saw me.

I knew my eyes were still slightly red from crying all night. I walked over to Cliff, trying to avoid direct eye contact. "Good morning, Cliff."

"Good morning. You've got more mail this morning." He handed me a few envelopes, which included another manila envelope. This one didn't have an address. It just said Penny Taylor on the front.

I glanced up at him. "Did someone drop this off?"

"I'm not sure. It was just in your box when I got here this morning. I can call the guy who was on duty earlier if you'd like?"

"No, that's okay. Thanks," I mumbled. I turned away from him and walked out of the building and into the bright sunshine. Ian was already waiting there with the car. I climbed in and stared down at the envelope. It was a bad idea to open it. Isabella was just trying to mess with my head.

I bit my lip and tapped on the glass that separated Ian and me.

He lowered the partition. "Where to, Penny?"

"Where did you take James on Tuesday after work?" I asked.

"He had some errands to run."

"I know. But where specifically?"

Ian disconnected our gaze in the rearview mirror and turned around to look at me. "If you're trying to figure out what James got you for your wedding present, I have no idea." He gave me a small smile. It wasn't guilty looking necessarily. But I knew he knew. He wasn't my employee. There was no reason why he should divulge to me where James was. He had probably signed some confidentiality agreement.

I laughed. "You got me. Sorry, never mind. Can you just take me to Kleinfeld's?"

"Of course. Are we picking up anyone on the way?"

"No. My friends are meeting me there." I wasn't sure why I lied. I didn't want Ian to pity me more than he already seemed to. No one was coming with me to my dress fitting. I had asked Bee to come last night, but she already had plans this morning. Jen had gone back to California after the engagement party. My mom was coming up Thursday for the wedding, and I didn't want to bother her with a day trip. And Melissa still wasn't talking to me. I could feel Ian's gaze on me in the rearview mirror. I felt like I was going to cry again. "I need to make a quick phone call," I said and closed the partition so he couldn't see me anymore.

Maybe I should try Melissa one more time. I called but it went straight to voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message. There was nothing to say. "I'm sorry I slept with your boyfriendtwo and a half years ago, but can you please come help me make sure my wedding dress looks good?" didn't seem quite good enough. She had to get past it in her own way.

I looked down at the manila envelope. Isabella had moved on from James while they were still together. And now they had been separated for over three years. I had been with him most of that time. Why did she suddenly care again? She just wanted what she couldn't have. And now she wanted me to open this envelope. I didn't want to give her what she wanted. But it was like it was staring at me. I needed to know what was inside.

I unclipped the top before I could change my mind and pulled out another photo, just one this time. There was a post-it note in the middle of it:

He's been pretty busy this week. He can't control himself, remember? It's a sickness. I tried to warn you.

My heart starting beating really fast. I slowly removed the post-it note and looked down at the photo. Isabella had James' suit jacket collar gripped tightly in her hands and she was kissing him. James' hands were wrapped around her back. Like he wanted it. I shut my eyes tight. No.No.It was photoshopped. That's what it was. James wouldn't kiss her. He wouldn't do that to me.He loves me.I opened my eyes and stared down at the picture. It was in James' office. It must have been taken on Monday when she had shown up. So James told her he'd get a restraining order against her after making out with her? This is why he actually stood me up for lunch? So he could shove his tongue down his ex wife's throat? I felt like I was going to throw up.

"He can't control himself, remember?"

I needed to talk to him. I needed to hear his voice. I put my face in my hands. I was letting Isabella win. She was successfully manipulating me. But what else was I supposed to think when I saw that picture? What other explanation was there?

If I couldn't talk to James, I needed to talk to Melissa. She was always the best at calming me down from stuff. Maybe Tyler could convince her to talk to me. I picked my phone back up and called him. He answered right away. "Hey, Penny. I missed you last night."